US and us

Which, however you look at it, is bad grammar.

Remember what I said in my last post about commissions with no brief? Well you can't really refuse when it's your mother who asks. "Something small in quilting or embroidery," she said, "With some Scottish connection or emblem. For a friend in 'The Valley'."
She didn't have to say which one, I knew very well she meant The Shenandoah Valley.

I started with emblems. The Saltire was obvious, but it could have been a thistle or a unicorn, or maybe one of our dozens of castles. We had recently been on the west side of the big cold wet stuff and it occurred to me that apart from a common language the only thing that divided us was the sea and the sky. The land forms are surprisingly similar, coastal plains leading quickly into hills and mountains, but they look different because the colours are different.
One thing we did notice while in the USA was that the flag flies everywhere. I wanted to grab that feeling of national pride. We Scots can understand that.
Bang, crash, wallop. The Saltire won.

What I finally came up with was a picture in four quarters. To the top, because that was where it fitted best - otherwise there would only have been some red and white stripes - the flag of the USA, to the bottom, the blue of the Saltire. I felt that appropriate because it could also signify the Atlantic. To the right, the darker colours of the Scottish landscape, to the left, the softer, lighter shades of the US.
In my minds eye, the Scottish landscape on the west coast is more like a colour-block, while the east coast of the USA is more varied and shaded, so when I stitched the left hand side I used variegated threads, but used solid colour threads on the right. I decided that I would stitch the Saltire quarter in a variegated thread too, to show the turmoil of the ocean.
And the white of the Saltire goes from corner to corner, because whichever corner of the USA you go to a Scot will always find a warm welcome.

And what about the title? "US and us" is a depiction of the strong links between Scotland and the USA. It's also a play on language. In parts of Scotland the plural of you (singular) becomes youse, and the title could be read "Youse and us".

It took me 76 hours spread over about 8 months to design and stitch "US and us" and it was the first piece I submitted to the ANG Exhibit (Nashville).