I wasn’t Born in Texas……

But I got here as quick as I could, as the bumper sticker says. You just don’t move to Texas, it moves into you (probably another bumper sticker). I was born in North Jersey and moved to Texas in the early 70’s, so by now I think that makes me native. Ranch, check, cows, check, drive a pickup…. you got the idea…..  Life has handed me some twists and turns of late and my writing/needlepoint inspiration had abandoned me. But yesterday, I was struck when my new housekeeper, with only three days on the job, killed a pretty big snake just outside my garden.

 

This guy is a coral snake, yes he is poisonous and yes he is dangerous. But as pointed out by Harper, my spicy daughter, he is iconic. A slithery symbol of the Texas landscape. This got me thinking about all that inspiration around me! Just the striking colors in this picture stopped me in my tracks! He is the third snake this summer, the other two being more venomous cottonmouths. But the best Texas snake symbol would probably be the rattle snake, luckily one of those has not visited ….yet. Several customers in the shop have stitched snakes, including this rattle snake by Liz Goodrick-Dillon that I did several years ago……..scary….maybe this is too many pictures of snakes, might have nightmares.

So now it is life as a cowgirl…..

 

My desk chair proudly displays my motto. This canvas is by Patti Mann. Life is so different than it was in the 70’s………

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So speaking of the 70’s,  I have been working on my Texas Armadillo, specifically his armor.  The stitch used for his armor plate reminds me of a sport coat my Dad wore in that era, almost exactly.

 

Figures and images of Texas are all over this canvas. The big Guadalupe Bass will be stitched in basket-weave and then covered with clear sequins to look like scales. We shall see…. But he is coming along.

For fun I made each prickly pear pad a different stitch. I am thinking that the tunas (fruit) will need some dimension, but we are still talking. The blue bonnets just cried out for french knots. Done in one of my favorite new threads, several  Threadworx overdyed Kreniks. The monarch has some Flair, some beads and some turkey work, made him flashy.

Had some issues with the grass, still needs some more beads, but now that I am a little more motivated he is starting to come together.

So be inspired by the world around you, Be Texas loud and Texas proud!!    “The last best place”, according to Ted Nugent!

 

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