The wording needed to be something special. At the same time that I was working on my flags, I was helping a friend with her art project. She had some Arabic words that I knew would be the perfect touch. I barely speak any Arabic so I had to trace the words onto the silk. I then filled them in with the black gutta so that they would pop against the bright colors. Hopefully, in transferring the words, I didn’t alter the calligraphy. The words read: Peace, Wisdom , Love and Life.

After cutting apart the stenciled silk, I sewed the pieces onto the banner. This ensured that each and every banner was unique. The stitching is purposefully haphazard. I literally just sewed and reversed the machine, following my gut feelings. It’s kind of like random doodles and mark making but with thread. I then cut out each word and added one to every banner with the same haphazard stitching. All told, there are  eight banners. Loops of grey felt were stitched to the top of each banner so that I could hang them up. When it came time to string up the banner, I struggled in choosing the material. Nothing felt quite right. I ended up using the blue rope, mostly because it was what I had on hand. I may change that out in the future. I am seriously considering crocheting the perfect chain. I also have a few other ideas but I am not sure whether I will get to those or not. I started with a plan, albeit an unstructured one, and I just let my creative intuition drive it. I thought I might end up with a hot mess but in the end, I am pleased with the results.