Embroidery: Axiom’s End (Patreon)

Oops.

I started another embroidery project before I finished the last 😬

This is the cover to Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis (Powell’s and Amazon affiliate links), which was my favorite prose book I read this year. Wait. Was that this year? Did it come out last year? I’m not even making a joke, 2020 is just this timeless, floating blur to me.

Over multiple days, I painstakingly edited out the blurbs from the cover and set that beautiful orange-yellow speckled background to seemlessly repeat— only to discover that those subtle details and rich color did not translate at aaaaaaaall to the Spoonflower-printed fabric. LOL

Because this design has so many fine details, I was afraid doing my usual simple line transfer (printing in black ink onto water soluble paper that is sewn through on top of the fabric and then washed away later) wouldn’t sufficiently capture all those delicate elements. Hence: printing through Spoonflower and then embroidering over that.

My favorite thing about this project is how the embroidery floss is EXPLODING off of the surface of the material :3

Ok, wait, I said that I “read” this book but actually I listened to it as an audiobook that I borrowed through Libby, my library’s app.

A couple years ago I implemented a new book-acquiring system for myself, in order to clear up some much needed shelf space in my home. Instead of buying the book I want to read, I’ve gotta borrow it from a friend or library first, and then if it turns out to be one that I really, really want to possess, then I can go purchase it. So, yeah, after I listened to the audiobook from the library, I did go reward myself with the physical item to treasure forever U_U

I got that inky color by combining black and blue floss together. The most surprising art lesson I ever learned is that the richest, most natural black comes from mixing other colors together, NOT from the container of pre-made black paint.

So, this was a shorter project, only took about a week, I think?

Haha how many glue smears can you spot on my back covering?

It is our tree-topper now. What else are you supposed to do with embroidered book cover fanart?

Legit: I have too many embroidery ideas. My sketchbook has multiple pages that are just lists of my ideas, so I won’t forget them even if I never get around to making them. Pages and pages of ordered columns of potential projects.

Oh, also, Tig got stuck in a tree down the block from us for an entire day and it was a Whole Thing.

It’s fine. She’s fine. She learned absolutely nothing from the experience.

Oh! Right! Embroidery!

Ok, my loves— wait, is that too forward? My Esteemed Financiers? My Decent Human Beings.

My Decent Human Beings, thanks for everything. Thanks for reading, thanks for giving me a place to share.