My thread paintings are built by printing a photo on prepared fabric, then using a light-weight fusible to bond it to batting and to a backing fabric. This makes the assembly stable, and allows me to move it freely under the needle of my sewing machine. I use my domestic Bernina for thread painting, along with 50-weight thread. My favorite thread is Aurifil’s Mako cotton 50 weight, which I prefer for the subtle sheen of the finished surface, but I will use Mettler or Metrosene cotton/poly thread if I need a particular color.

Once the stitching is done, the thread painting is blocked and squared up, and then borders are added and quilted.

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Fredlet and Tommy were frenemies, sometimes chewing on each other, and sometimes curled up together. Thread painting from an original photo. Aurifil and other thread, inkjet printed fabric, Steam-a-Seam 2, cotton backing and batting.

Acadia National Park in Maine is one of our happy places. Standing here on the path, you can see grasses and stones under the surface of the water, clefts in the cliffs on the opposite mountain, and the fringe of boulders along the opposite shore. Don’t let anyone tell you landscapes are easy! Making Eagle Lake is documented in my lecture, Thread Painting, It’s All About the Details.

Thread painting on inkjet printed fabric, Aurifil and other thread, Steam-a-Steam 2, cotton batting, backing and borders.

Tigger and Ollie had completely different personalities: Ollie (on the right) was a go-for-it gal, and would trot after us on a walk down the road (in the dim dark days before our cats became Indoors ONLY), with Tigger hesitantly following at a distance. Here they relax on the cat shelf in front of a window.

Thread painting on inkjet printed cotton fabric with mostly Aurifil threads; Steam-a-Seam 2, cotton batting and backing.

An intense, improbable blue, Agapanthus are just becoming hardy in our Massachusetts climate, so I look forward to seeing the grand, exuberant warmer-climate varieties each time I travel to California.

Thread painting on inkjet printed fabric with Aurifil and other threads, Steam a Seam 2, cotton batting, backing, and border fabrics.

Miss Minnie Cat slept on the pillow next to mine, and woke me up by gently touching my arm or cheek with her pay (claws IN!) Even her veterinarian said she had the most beautiful eyes.

Thread painting on inkjet-printed cotton fabric, cotton (mostly) thread; Steam a Seam 2, cotton batting, backing, and borders.

Autumn Leaf was designed as a class project for my Thread Painting 101 workshop. The blue stripes are done with free-motion straight-stitch, the white stripes with free-motion zig-zag stitches, and the leaf itself teaches color blending and dealing with edges.

Thread painting on inject-printed cotton fabric using (mostly) Aurifil thread; Steam a Seam 2, cotton batting, backing and binding.

Based on a photo I took of sunset over Jordan Pond, this was my second ever thread painting, mostly completed in a workshop with Carol Shinn at Quilting by the Lake. Layers and layers of thread were needed for the rich colors in the sky and reflected in the lake.

Miss Minnie is a repeat subject of my work. This was my very first thread painting, mostly completed in a workshop with Carol Shinn at Quilting by the Lake. Pale lavender and grays were used for the shadowing under her chin, and many blue- greens for her exceptionally beautiful eyes. Minnie’s vet said she had the most beautiful eyes of any cat she’d seen, and who am I to argue? They stayed blue throughout Minnie’s long life, and are the main subject of this thread painting.