memory cloth from breast cancer ride

Above are some photographs of a memory cloth I embroidered while on a recent breast cancer benefit ride in honor of a weaving friend Marji Umbricht who died of metatastic breast cancer in April of this year.

It is a rough indication of my route along the Mississippi River from New Orleans in the south to Memphis in the north, but is not realistic in any geographic sense. The names of the people who sponsored me in Marji's name are in red orange ombre, while the names of others who sponsored me in memory of family or friends are in maroon ombre. The shaded blue ripples represent the river, the shaded green, the trail of my bike and memories, along with the names of the towns I stayed in. The small blue squiggles represent river crossings and in three corners are the names of the guilds I belong to, along with my favorite ride stop in the fourth corner, all of whom also sponsored me, or carried information about the ride on their websites.

I started the central part with the ribbon and dedication while on the ride, and added to the embroidery as I had time, energy and could put my hands on my sponsor list.

The entire piece is done on a 14" square pink bandana which I selected because the fine white lines reminded me of the paper I learned to write on and I figured they would help me orient the lettering a bit although someone also mentioned to me that they looked like the white lines along the side of the roads and highway. You decide.