sewing, take one.

I've recently taken to sewing projects - nothing big, yet. Just a few little items to test out my skills and attempt to learn some new ones.

So far:

I've pricked myself a few times.
And I'm not that great at tying knots. But, I'll get there.

I've seen a few map projects lately and have been becoming obsessed. I mean, inspired.

This would be a cute one if Ryan & I were from other states.

For you, Gin! (Could be taken the wrong way though..)

I wanted to do something with Pennsylvania, of course.

And then I REALLY fell in love with this one...

It originally was a print, but I thought, "Hey, why not stitch this?"

I originally tried fabric and embroidery thread, but it got all bunchy and wouldn't lay flat.
I then tried paper and embroidery thread, but the paper got all mangled from punching the holes and the thread looked too thick for my liking.

So, I opted for the thinner thread and paper. Along with those materials, I printed out a map of Pennsylvania to trace and I printed out the above map to borrow the wording (let's face it, it's just beautiful).
After tracing and cutting out the state, I make my initial holes without the thread so that my paper wouldn't get mangled again and I added some more holes since my state was a little bigger. My end result it pretty nice.

I need to purchase a bigger frame and I'm planning on backing it with some gray fabric. I'm still deciding if I should stitch around the state or just leave it simple. Any suggestions?

-K