Sometimes challenges are good.

I challenged myself to create something new and different for the second lesson of Bastet, our Egyptian Cat Goddess.

The background is big and open with beautiful shading ranging from golds to oranges to rusts.

I auditioned lots of traditional stitches, darning patterns, woven stitches, laid fillings.  Many worked but they weren’t exciting me.

Next I started researching Egyptian patterns on-line.  The interenet is a big beautiful world of inspiration.   (ok, it’s also a big ole time waster, but that’s another story.)

This is one of the images I found that inspired me.  The patterns work nicely with the Art Deco feel of the cat.

I started doodling on paper and then on canvas and came up with the lotus stitch.

Rows of Lotus Stitch overlapping flow through the background in shades of gold and rusts.

It’s my own hieroglyphics!

Two sizes of Woven Plait fill the rest of the open areas.

We’ll see what’s next. Class is on St. Patrick’s Day and one thing’s for sure it won’t involve shamrocks.  🙂

See you soon.

P.S.  Some kits shipped Friday and the balance ship Tuesday.  I was ahead of the game for once.  Bad news is that there is an issue with the graph in the instructions;  the grid dropped out when it printed.  Those of you at the beginning of the alphabet that were lucky enough to ship on Friday will be getting an envelope in the mail with revised graphs.  For everyone else, I have opened your packages and replaced the diagrams so you will have correct instructions with your threads.  Sorry for the confusion.