Blue Category Winner - Rainbow of Stitches Contest

Hi there! I was tasked with the challenge of choosing a winner in the blue category, and let me tell you, there was a lot of really amazing stuff to choose from! Ultimately, though, there's only one winner - and it's meaganileana!

Describe yourself in 10 words or less.
'exploring a body of lines one stitch at a time'

What inspired your entry?
I was alone in a hotel room in Ahmedabad, Gujurat (India) feeling hot and sweaty...thinking of a project to fill a few lonely hours and focusing on my body (as usual!) which was feeling especially private during a time filled with modest Indian clothes and behavior. The desire to experiment with shading to, at some point, create more complex pieces birthed this piece.

What is your favourite stitch?
How can I pick one? I love back stitch, chain stitch, seed stitch, running stitch and the occasional french knot. I feel like these stitches would fill every stitching need.

Who or what inspires you to stitch?
I draw from true moments in relationships and also from bodies. Things I return to: plants, babies, nudity/anatomy, queer relationships, friendships, private moments and sweet nothings. The most recently finished piece is the one that inspires me to keep going, It's like an addiction. Sometimes even the stitches themselves are what excite me about starting a new piece.

How long have you been stitching and how did you get started?
My mama taught me when I was tiny (3 years) and my family is one full of sewers and embroiderers, but I fell into what is available on flickr in 2008, when I was out of college and looking around for fun new ways to make art. Since then it's been experimentation with a few successes.

Are there any stitchers in the Feeling Stitchy Flickr pool you have noticed?
There are many, but a few entries that particularly caught my eye are SewLovelyEmbroidery's white, Lady Hazard's purple, evilsarah's blue, and many black pieces: Elizabeth J. Smith, Spider's Paw, goodcanary, distracted muse. So many lovely pieces!