Solomon Northup in redwork

I've known the story of Solomon Northup for a number of years. He & his wife Anne lived in Kingsbury/Sandy Hill (Washington County, NY my home county) where they had a farm, before moving to Saratoga Springs. He had ties to the Old Fort House in Fort Edward, NY across the street from my best friend's childhood home. A colleague of mine (Cliff Oliver) is a Solomon Northup re-enactor. I've read 12 Years a Slave more than once. The language is beautiful, & the experience visceral. I highly recommend it.

I was very pleased when the movie adaptation of 12 Years a Slave won Oscars for Best Motion Picture of the Year & Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Lupita Nyong'o). However, I was most excited when it won for Best Adapted Screenplay (John Ridley). To me, this was the biggest win, for it was like Solomon himself won an award for his writing. I cried.

Pattern of Solomon Northup

 Since there are no known images of Solomon, I used a still from the film, with Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon, as a basis for my redwork pattern.

 I was working on this embroidered portrait the night of the Academy Awards.

Tonight's #MovieToStitchTo is the #Oscars2014 of course! Embroidering a #12YearsASlave inspired #redwork pic.twitter.com/LEOFlbCk2h
— TishaDolton (@aprilsongstress) March 3, 2014

The final redwork portrait of Somolon Northup by aprilsongstress

I really like how the embroidered portrait came out. Just need to finish up the framing.

Saratoga Springs, NY has declared the 3rd Saturday in July to be Solomon Northup Day.

Happy Stitching!

My kid is a teenager!

Yesterday was my daughter Fiona's 13th birthday. We had such a great day, coffee & pastries at Starbucks in Saratoga Springs, NY, then on to X-Men: Days of Future Past at Criterion Cinemas (awesome, by the way & definitely NOT a #MovieToStitchTo). Next we went to Barnes & Noble for a paperback copy of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green which she has been dying to read (which is saying something, as she is not a big reader, unlike me.) Then had dinner at Denny's (I was very good & had a salad- no mozzarella sticks for me). Wilton Mall & Target filled out the day out. At home , after my run/walk, we watched Mean Girls. You can tell our gift cards were burning holes in our pockets!

To commemorate this momentous occasion on teenager-hood, I give you my latest embroidered portrait of my spunky, fabulous daughter.

Embroidered portrait of Fiona in Batman beanie

This portrait has Fiona's stamp of approval because she likes how she looks in this selfie she took.

Happy Stitching,

40th Birthday Redwork Selfie (but not a selfie)

Wow! It's been nearly a month since I posted. WTF!

Well, I haven't been idle. I've actually completed a few portraits in that time, 4 to be exact. Plus I started working on a historical music program I have had in my cranium for quite sometime. & then there is work, family & friends... Life can get hectic, but 40 is shaping up to be GREAT thus far. Oh, & I've started running. (shhhh! It's a secret. LOL)

Me (Tisha) at my 40th birthday party

Apparently, I suck at taking selfies (per my daughter, & she's nearly 13 so she knows everything). So, Fiona took this pic of me while we were waiting for everyone to simmer down so I could blow out my candle on my awesome cake (see pic at the end).

Redwork version of being 40

Using my usual technique, I made this redwork version of me at 40 sticking my tongue out at my daughter. I'm so very grown-up!

My 40th birthday cake

My bestie, Sandy of Quigley's Cakes, made this amazing cake for my 40th. She was able to incorporate my love of toile, redwork, books, & women's history all in one Tisha cake! Thank you to Sandy & all my friends & family who celebrated with me!


Happy Stitching!