Tag Archives: “modern embroidery”

Giant Octopus finished at last!

1 Reply

This is the biggest thing I’ve ever embroidered.Embroidered Octopus Suzanne Forbes 2016

Embroidered_Octopus Suzanne Forbes 2016I started it a few years ago, when I had just begun embroidering again as an adult. I had trouble keeping the fabric from wrinkling on such a big hoop and wasn’t sure how to finish it. But now I am much more expert and confident, and have lots more colors of thread!

It’s amazing how much embroidering is like painting.

Embroidered_Octopus Suzanne Forbes 2016Just like with every canvas I paint, I made sure to leave a few small areas of the original blank surface. Here’s a peek at the back, for the curious. It is a mess, as usual.

Beaded Beetle!

2 Replies

embroidered beetle Suzanne Forbes 2016I was just started to mess around with adding beads and fabric to my embroidered works when we left the States, as seen in my mermaid pinup piece. In the interregnum between then and our stuff arriving, I really started to experiment with materials like plastic wrap and Swarovski crystals.embroidered_beetle_Suzanne_Forbes_2016

Now I’m unpacking my lifetime stash of beads and crystals and ribbon, and this beetle is just the beginning!

lagniappe: I use gold paint to freehand sketch the outline of the works on black felt. I wanted the gold to show through here and there with this one, and it didn’t quite work out, so I’m going to try it again with maybe another subject.