100 Days of Paint, Paper, Stitch—a recap

100 days. 40 watercolor compositions. This year’s 100 Day Project, Paint Paper Stitch, is finished.

My stack of watercolor and stitched compositions from The 100 Day Project 2024.

My 2024 100 Day Project involved watercolor painting on watercolor paper with the addition of hand stitching and some slow drawing. I participated with my quilting friend, Tari, who worked on mixed media compositions with a “leaf” theme. We kept each other on task with weekly reviews and photo exchanges.

Tools and supplies

Most of the tools and supplies needed for this project I had on hand. I did purchase a jumbo tablet of watercolor paper, but found a spiral sketchbook worked better as I was able to turn the sketchbook orientation as needed during some of the painting exercises. The thick tablet was more cumbersome. 

Willa Wander’s “Watercolor for Relaxation” course was the perfect starting point to learn about watercolor painting and I found her class exercises so helpful and informative. I took one of her other online courses and would highly recommend her classes.

Stitching and painting supplies and tools.

The frame jig I cut from a piece of cardboard (shown below on the right) was so helpful. I was able to line up the square frame on a page, draw a light pencil line for the painting boundary, and I was ready to paint. This kept the composition size consistent and the square format was conducive for posing online. 

The plastic drafting templates—tools from my days as a paste-up artist—resurfaced in the toolbox and were used for various painting exercises and as a guidelines for punching holes for stitching.

Various templates used for painting and stitching.

My process

I started with the painting exercises—loading brushes, color mixing, creating a color palette—to learn how to work with the watercolors. 

Color mixing with watercolor paints.

As the project progressed, I began to add stitching to compositions. The stitching started with simple lines following the painted shapes. 

Days 38 (painting) and Days 45, 92 (stitching added).

Days 14: drawn flowers with a background wash. Day 73: petals were painted.
Stitching on Days 74 ,75, 84.

Once comfortable with stitching through paper, I started to think about using the stitching on its own as another layer of design. 

and Day 89

Layer upon layer

Many compositions entailed multiple days of both painting and stitching. Some of the painting exercises required drying time before the next technique was added to a piece, so spanned over a day or so.

Day 32. Painting shapes and then learning background flat washes.

Later in the project, I began to revisit earlier compositions to enhance them: stitching, drawing, and adding depth and texture.

Days 64, 69, 70,71, 93. Adding stitching to the painted compositions at different stages.

Drawing and stitching were added to this painting.

Days 48 (painting), 50 (drawing), 79-82 (stitching).

Beneath the Surface

The following composition, called "Beneath the Surface," was worked on the most number of days. It started as a painting exercise (Day 6) and got more complex with each day of stitching. This composition taught me the most about different weights of thread, using stitch patterns, and reusing holes.

Day 6 (left) ad Day 99.

I used Floral Stitches by Judith Baker Montano as inspiration for trying different stitches on this composition.

Using Floral Stitches by Judith Baker Montano for stitch inspiration.

Below is the final composition. It was started on Day 6 with a watercolor painting. Stitches were added on Days 46 47, 49, 90, 91, 94. On Day 95, I went back into the background and painted more shapes. More stitching was added on Days 96 - 99.

"Beneath the Surface" Day 99.

A few close-ups of Beneath the Surface.

Detail of "Beneath the Surface."

Detail of "Beneath the Surface."

And here is the back view.

"Beneath the Surface," back view.

Threads

I used various threads for stitching: embroidery floss, perle cotton, a few yarn scraps, and tested two new threads from Scanfil (a 4-ply cotton and a wool/nylon mending thread).

Days 76 and 83 using a cotton mending thread.

Days 77 - 78 using a wool mending thread.

Day 100: the final composition

For my final composition, I went back to the beginning of my daily process and pulled a color mixing exercise (3 primary colors) from Day 5. A successful flat wash was painting in the background (a technique I’ve been steadily improving on). Then, with whatever threads were left in my working needles, I stitched a sampling of patterns in circular motifs on the painting. 

Threads remaining in the working needles and pre-punched holes ready for stitching.

Day 100, final composition.

A wonderful learning experience!

With this 100 Day Project, I learned more about watercolor painting and practiced many techniques through the “Watercolor for Relaxation” course with @willa.wanders. I discovered the challenges of and learned the differences between stitching through [watercolor] paper vs fabric. I found ways and tools to adapt to this technique and have the results feel like it was successful. 

Things I learned about the stitching on paper

• pre-punching the holes is a must! At one point I found a awl tool that helped with this.
• stitching through paper is not like stitching on fabric. I had to turn the paper over when sending the needle and thread back to the front of the work.
• use a needle "just big enough" to handle the thread. It will minimize the holes in the paper.
• the same hole could be used for multiple passes for the same or different motifs.
• once a hole was punched in the paper, I was pretty well committed to the stitch path (unlike on fabric).
• I found the combination of the watercolor, drawing, and stitching, very interesting, different and rewarding.

Future explorations include trying different threads, yarn and silk ribbon.

Day 86

Watercolor painting techniques I learned

• color mixing
• how to make the colors in a color palette relatable
• flat washes and glazes
• "more water, less paint"
• There is no need to clean the palette after every painting session. Watercolor paints can be rejuvenated and used for future sessions.
• Watercolor painting is very frugal… a little goes a long way.

My 100 Day Project for 2024 resulted in 40 watercolor compositions/exercises. Some are on loose sheets of watercolor paper, a few are in a spiral sketchbook, and many are in a perfect bound watercolor tablet. 

I still have opportunities to continue this practice and I'm confident I'll use these techniques in various ways in future art. Thanks to everyone who cheered me on with "likes" and comments on my posts.

The 100 Day Project: Day 85 update

Happy Mother’s Day and Day 85 of my 100 Day Project 2024.

With only 15 days remaining of the 100 Day Project 2024, Paint, Paper, Stitch, I’m posting my progress with some of my favorite watercolor and stitched compositions.

Day 14 composition: slow drawing, background fills.

The Day 14 composition (above) started with the flower shapes drawn with a black waterproof ink marker and a watercolor background fill. Around Day 73, color was added to the flower petals. On Days 74 and 75, the feather stitching was added to the petals. The french knots were added recently on Day 84. This is how these painted compositions generally evolve.

The composition below from Days 30 and 31 used the flat wash technique and is one of the first that included stitching. The stitching with the orange thread gives this composition a focal point.

Days 30 and 31: flat washes and background fills.

The composition for Day 32 is a second composition in painting flat washes with these oval shapes. This composition came to life with the stitching using the backstitch. The variation in thread weight (thickness), thread color, and overlapping the stitched oval shapes gave this composition a lot more interest than the painting by itself..

Day 32 composition: flat washes.

I experimented more with wet-on-dry painting techniques (glazing) on the Day 48 composition. I needed a painted background on which to practice the slow drawing “U” pattern. Wanting to test a new cotton thread from Scanfil, the seed stitch and french knots were added over a period of a few days. Perle cotton and embroidery floss were used for the color stitches. 

This composition has become more intricate and layered. I have not decided whether to add more stitching…

Day 48 composition: wet on wet painting, blooming, slow drawing

The Day 7 composition was a “walk the dog” painting exercise from Willa Wanders’ Watercolor for Relaxation course. It was also an early experiment with running stitches.

Day 7 composition: color mixing, flat wash exercises.

Create Daily Tracker

I continue to use my Create Daily Tracker for documenting a daily practice. During the 100 Day Project, the date square is colored with the sky blue colored pencil. If my daily process consists more heavily on another technique—free-motion quilting, slow stitching, garment sewing, etc.—the block is colored differently. I’ve had a few finishes during the 100 Day Project as well, which is indicated by a color other than sky blue.

Create Daily 2024 Tracker: May 12, 2024.

A snapshot in time of a daily creative process.

18 days into the 100 Day Project

With over two weeks into my 2024 100 Day Project, 100 Days of Paint, Paper, Stitch, I've learned a few things already.

Watercolor painting: value exercise

By working through various exercises from the Watercolor for Relaxation workshop with Willa Wanders, these are my initial discoveries about watercolor painting.

• I've learned that the brush size and the water::pigment ratio is important to get a smooth flat wash. I'm getting better at painting smooth flat washes.

• I like the subtle color shifts when adding a mixed neutral to a color. It adds sophistication to the composition.

• Although I thought a tear-out, perfect bound block of watercolor paper would be good choice for this project—so I could easily tear out an individual page for stitching—I would prefer a spiral bound sketchbook for painting. It's much easier to rotate the sketchbook page that I’m working on when the book is spiral bound. Spiral sketchbooks with perforated sheets are available so if I need to tear out a page to stitch, I can still do that.

Choosing thread colors for stitching.

Stitching on paper

My end goal of this 100 Day Project is to take watercolor compositions and add stitching to them. My discoveries with this are:

• Choosing thread colors to match paint colors is more challenging. I am finding a lighter value of thread matches the paint colors better than a darker one. 

• At this point in my process, I prefer the thread to add a subtle texture to the painted shapes rather than calling attention to stitching by using a contrasting thread.

Watercolor painting and hand stitching.

In addition to stitch, I’m combining slow drawing with the watercolors. More compositions are planned using multiple mediums.

Watercolor with slow drawing.

Old supplies with a new purpose

I'm using “tools from the past” for a new purpose! This has renewed my excitement for using these tools again. This flat wash exercise uses a quilting stencil.

Color mixing exercise using a quilting stencil.

A plastic drafting template that I used with rapidograph pens on paste-ups "back in the day" was used for this color mixing exercise. 

Using a drafting template for watercolor exercise.

I am enjoying the slowness of watercolor painting. More complex designs and the compositions that require color mixing take longer to complete. This contributes to relaxation and mindfulness of the process in this 100 Day Project.

My 100 Day Project for 2024: Paint, Paper, Stitch

I'm doing The 100 Day Project again this year! It starts tomorrow—February 18.

#dothe100dayproject   @dothe100dayproject

100 Days of Paint, Paper, and Stitch

For 2024, I'm going to combine watercolor painting on paper, and stitching. (I'm thinking hand stitching since it's portable, but I'm not ruling out machine stitching). 

Supplies for 100 Days of Paint, Paper, Stitch

The 100 Day Project Plan for 2024

I've got the supplies on hand and they are all portable:

• watercolors 
• brushes, including the aqua brushes with the build-in water reservoir (not shown above)
• watercolor paper
• floss, perl cotton, threads for stitching
• needles, scissors, sewing accessories

I will likely start off with watercolor practice exercises as I'm enrolled in a Willa Wanders Watercolor for Relaxation class. Once I've got some watercolor techniques under my belt, I'll experiment with stitching through the painted watercolor paper. I did stitching on paper while working through the Junk Journal January Challenge in 2023 and 2024. I think this informed the idea for this year's 100 Day Project. 

Being open, being flexible

Should the mood strike, I'm open to adding stamped images using my hand-carved stamps, hand lettering, and slow drawing to the compositions. I practiced and developed these techniques in previous 100 Day Projects. We'll just have to see how things evolve...

Open up your World is one of the stitching with found objects compositions from my 100 Day Project in 2022. 

Open up our World, 100 Days of Stitching with Found Objects, 2022

That says it all.

Just do The 100 Day Project!

The 100 Day Project 2024 starts February 18

Are you ready? Do you have your idea for this year? Here's the "heads up"! The 100 Day Project for 2024 starts February 18.

The 100 Day Project 2024 starts February 18.

How did The 100 Day Project get started?

I love this story! Read Michael Bierut's essay in Design Observer about how he gave this assignment to his graphic design students at the Yale School of Art. There are many examples of the projects his students took on. My favorite is the one about the clunky wooden folding chair. 

So really, ANYthing is possible.

Make your plan

I started doing the 100 Day Project in 2021. I've done 6 projects since then:

• 100 Days of fussy cut 3/4" hexies
• 100 Days of mindful mark making
• 100 Days of printmaking with rubber stamps
• 100 Days of slow stitching with found objects
• 100 Days of textile collages 
• 100 Days of hand lettering

Recommendations and FAQs from the 100 Day Project coordinators for choosing a project: 

Deciding on a 100 Day Project.

Get your idea and supplies ready

I've got a pretty good idea of what I'll be doing this year. My suggestions for choosing a project are:

• make it manageable: don't try to create a masterpiece for every day! You'll burn out quickly.
• make it simple: it can be one row of knitting, a line of stitching, hand lettering a single quote on a page in a sketchbook, a doodle a day, a simple line drawing... 
• make it small: since I take this on the road, my supplies are minimal—something I can put in a small ziplock baggie. You know what you and your life can manage.
• think of something you can do in about 5 minutes. We can all scrounge up 5 minutes, right? Do it while you sip your cup of coffee or tea. Do it when you brush your teeth. Do it right after dinner. If you are enjoying the process and you have a little more time here and there, you can extend the time you're creating.
• share your practice: if you're on social media, come up with a unique hashtag for your project and share your daily (or weekly, if that works better) progress. You'll be both inspired and encouraged by the others who are participating.

I hope you'll join in the fun! I've gotten so, so much out of the projects I've done in the past—learning something new, honing certain skills, using my stash/supplies/tools, and earning and relishing in that sense of accomplishment when I cross the 100 Day finish line.

It's free. 

Just DO IT!