Kat L-C
LightNews LightNews
banner
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Kat L-C
@katlombardcook.bsky.social
60 followers 70 following 71 posts
Teach: design & visual communication. Research: comics, embroidery, and semiotics. Love: music, soccer, and my cats. In my Baba Yaga era
Posts Replies Media Videos
katlombardcook.bsky.social
It’s tomato season! Making butter-braised tomato soup for the first time. We’ve got a few different varieties growing on the porch, plus some from a friend’s garden. Hoping it adds complexity to the flavor!
Various kinds of tomatoes from cherry to beefsteaks and heirlooms in a Dutch oven cooking in butter. Step one for the soup!
August 30, 2025 at 6:34 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Classes start back next week. Today I have been baking & crafting. Threw some dried blueberries my mother’s friend gifted us into an Izzy’s blackberry & pretended to be fancy.
In the foreground, at the bottom of the image, is a dark red drink with berries floating at the top. It could be a cocktail! But it’s fizzy fruit juice. Above, in the background, is a lilac piece of cloth which is in the process of being embroidered on
August 29, 2025 at 8:38 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
I think I’ll be making some pesto this week. Happily surprised none of the basil has gone to seed with all the heat we’ve had. Trimmed a bit of rosemary and Thai basil too. Tomatoes, leeks and the poblano peppers also going strong
String bag filled with freshly cut herbs from our porch garden Foreground has a small pile of Thai basil on the left and rosemary on the right. In the back there is a large pile of basil.
August 5, 2025 at 2:29 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Here’s my second draft of this design. ‘Hold your heart in your teeth’ is a Romanian proverb meaning to go forward bravely despite fear. Felt like we needed this energy right now.
Cross stitch embroidery in red on a lightly patterned aida cloth background. The text reads ‘hold your heart in your teeth’ there is a top and bottom border of wolf’s fang motifs. In the top right corner is a bird feather motif turned 180 degrees to point down and to the left. In the bottom left is a star motif. In the bottom right is a comb motif.
July 5, 2025 at 1:47 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Finished up a piece from a more recent class. The second of two classes by Shahnaz Khan for Tatter. For this one she taught a technique she learned from her Greek family-members: Punto Tagliato Embroidery. Cutwork always makes me nervous, but this motif came out nicely I think!
A hand embroidered flower in an embroidery hoop. There are two branches off the main stem. The stem and leaves are green and the buds are blue. On the one on the left, there are two small leaves that are done in satin stitch, and a large bud that has been cut. Two bars span the opening of the bud. On the right, the leaves are larger and also done in cutwork. One leaf has two bars, and on the other, the bars split like a Y. The bud on this branch is done in satin stitch. Finally, below and to the right of the flower is a tiny circle with a Y bar, a bit like a peace sign. This is done in white.
June 30, 2025 at 1:25 AM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Latest project finished. Tatreez featuring several tree motifs, mainly Cyprus trees, from villages and former villages in Palestine. Tatrees you might say ::groan, I know:: Stitched from a kit from Folkglory in Jordan.
Tatreez cross-stitch embroidery in a hoop featuring several tree motifs. The trees are mainly Cyprus tree, but there are some other variations. The motifs share many stylistic elements, such as a dominance of a triangle for the main body, but vary in how these are deployed. Historically, you could discern where a person came from based on the stitching on their thobe (the traditional garment in these villages). Each village had its own colors it worked with, and each had these variations on common motifs. There are a total of 7 tree motifs in this sampler.
June 15, 2025 at 10:39 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Really happy to share that ‘Tired and True’ has been accepted to the Hands OFF with Hands ON Art juried show at Kehler Liddell gallery in New Haven, CT from June 26–July 27. The piece is about reclaiming your agency to create a better world. I’m glad this piece resonated with folks.
June 11, 2025 at 11:50 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Bit of a grey and rainy day, but enjoyed going to the Common for the @bostonlegacyfc.com crest reveal. Wore my @swanseacityafc.bsky.social kit with almost-relentless-raspberry piping to rep the Swans. Swipe for cat tax and the nice merch I got.
Boston Common on a grey day with a soccer skills challenge set up in Boston Legacy FC greens, with the Boston Legacy crest reveal party in the background Me holding up a new Boston Legacy FC scarf in front of a swan boat in a custom Boston Legacy wrap. I am to the right of the angry swan in the crest. Her beak safely pointed away from me Cat tax! A nice sweatshirt in a varsity-jacket style, black body with grey arms. A cat enters the frame on the left.
June 7, 2025 at 11:46 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Next on my project finishing list, this was started just a couple weeks ago at Shahnaz Khan’s class for Tatter. This interlaced cross pattern is believed to originate from Western India (now the Kutch region in India & Sindh in Pakistan) but traveled to/from Armenia via trade, blurring the origin
Hand embroidery on a grey linen cloth. The technique is called Kutch stitch, Sindhi Taropa or Kadhi, Bavariya Bharat, Hurmitch or (Armenian) Marash. The central motif is four large crosses set in a diamond formation. These crosses are stitched in red and purple. Two are red stitches with purple interlaced, and two are the opposite, but it’s honestly hard to tell them apart. Around this diamond, a square border is made from the same stitch, done in a line, rather than cross formation. This border is done in blue and purple. In the four corners inside are four smaller crosses. These are red on red.
June 7, 2025 at 11:34 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Finished up this tatreez I’ve been working on since Dec. This will go in my office window. Based off of a thobe from a village outside of Bethlehem from a kit from Folkglory.
Tatreez embroidery (cross-stitch style from the Levant) on a natural aida cloth. The central motif is a feathered moon, mainly stitched in dark red with pink, teal, yellow and green accents. Below the central motif is a row of various tree and plant motifs that form a wall.
June 3, 2025 at 11:26 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Timelapse WIP of the frame for the big embroidery. I’m getting near the end so my brain needs novelty. Designed the frame in illustrator based on Russian windows & added some stock folk-art. Cut & engraved it on the glowforge. Still lots to do but it’s getting there. This is the end of a 2.5hr cut
May 25, 2025 at 12:43 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
With the business of last week, I didn’t post about the wonderful job our friend Adam did playing Bruce in Fun Home. While I know the book quite well, I had yet to see the musical. Very powerful & moving. The whole cast was great. We happened to pick Queer Joy night to attend. Bonus pts for the map
Assorted (filled!) cupcakes with edible circles on top. The circles have a variety of images and text: ‘fun home’, ‘queer joy night’, an image of keys hanging from a belt loop (which was the program cover), a stack of books, and a desk with a lamp. Others have blue frosting. Very tasty as well as pretty. Image of the set of Fun Home. Framed comic panels are on the wall. On the left is the program cover, a close-up on a set of keys attached to a carabiner hanging from a belt loop. In the middle is a map from the graphic novel, the map comparing Beech Creek, where Bechdel grew up, to The Wind in the Willows. Other set dressing and props are also visible.
May 21, 2025 at 11:35 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
As I wrap up the academic year, I’m finishing up some projects that have lingered over the past few months. First up this Tenango piece from a class by Maité Jiménez at Tatter. This style is from the the indigenous Otomí-Tepehua community near Tenango de Doria in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico
Embroidery of a fanciful four-legged creature with big ears like a rabbit, cloven-feet, and a long tail. Some plants surround it, including some that seem to be growing from the creature. The body of the creature is divided into six stripes of different colors. The embroidery style is Tenango or Otomí embroidery, which is entirely done in herringbone stitch, giving the colored sections a cris-cross texture. The creature pattern was drawn by an Otomí woman and provided in the kit as part of the class.
May 20, 2025 at 1:43 AM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
When we cleaned up the front porch ahead of my mom planting I decided to cut the chives that had already sprouted—partly to help me move the pot they were in, partly because I felt like we waste so many chives each year. Well that bundle got us 2 of these bags in the freezer! Anyone need chives?
Large bundle of chives freshly cut from the garden in a string bag Quart Ziploc bag of chopped chives for the freezer
May 19, 2025 at 2:43 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
When your thread runs out thiiiiis close to finishing a color 🤬
An embroidery work-in-progress. The main focal point is a blue mushroom done in long & short stitch. There is a very tiny corner at the top unfinished
May 4, 2025 at 9:00 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Signs of spring #2, geese getting settled into the lawn
Two geese that have nestled into the lawn on the Simmons University quad to soak up the sun
April 15, 2025 at 11:05 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Is it really spring this time?
Photo of a flowering tree with pink blossoms in front of the Management Building at Simmons University
April 14, 2025 at 11:50 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
My benevolent overseer has decided I am finished my work for the day
In the foreground, a cat sits on a lap with her head towards the camera. In the background is the embroidery I was working on. (It features a moon with plants encircling it) The perspective makes it clear that the cat is longer than my arms, so I can no longer reach the embroidery
April 3, 2025 at 10:00 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Had a lovely evening seeing a friend and hearing @roxanegay.bsky.social and @cristelaguerra.bsky.social discuss ‘The Portable Feminist Reader’ and the state of the world. I look forward to engaging with this work!
Left hand holding ‘The Portable Feminist Reader’ edited by Roxane Gay
March 26, 2025 at 2:13 AM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Accidental art in the kitchen tonight
Photo of a curious composition that occurred when in the kitchen tonight. The central object is a white plate that has fish illustrations around the edge of the plate. There is a grilled chicken breast on the left-hand side of the plate. A fork rests on the right-hand side of the chicken breast. On the right side of the plate of a black hair elastic.
March 16, 2025 at 11:42 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
This was the last week of Tatter’s World Embroidery Series 1. We learned Lavradeira Portuguese embroidery from Viana do Castelo with Sarah Pedlow. Here’s my piece and a shot with the inspiration piece from the handout
Hand embroidered flower in Lavradeira-style, from Portugal. The flower is on a white/natural cotton cloth. It is outlined in light blue around the edge and center. The center circle is gridded cutwork wrapped with matching white thread. The petals of the flower are patterned with red thread that looks like netting. Around the flower are six stems, each with three leaves. The stem of each are red with a red leaf on the end. The two leaves nearer the flower alternate between white, blue, and red. Three versions of the same hand-embroidered flower. Two are reproductions on a handout—the original source for the design and the teacher’s reproduction. On top is the version made from the class. This is a hand embroidered flower in Lavradeira-style, from Portugal. The flower is on a white/natural cotton cloth. It is outlined in light blue around the edge and center. The center circle is gridded cutwork wrapped with matching white thread. The petals of the flower are patterned with red thread that looks like netting. Around the flower are six stems, each with three leaves. The stem of each are red with a red leaf on the end. The two leaves nearer the flower alternate between white, blue, and red.
February 14, 2025 at 11:04 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Poor Meg ate something she shouldn’t have last week & had to spend a night at the hospital. She got IVs. Please enjoy her various looks this week.
Long-haired grey and white cat standing on a white rug in front of a fake Christmas tree, arm chair, and side table. The cat’s body is facing to the right, but her head is turned to look at the camera. The cat’s arms have been shaved, making it look like she is wearing white fur boots. A long-haired grey and white cat is lying on a radiator cover with an arm outstretched. Only the front half of her body is visible. The cat’s arm has been shaved from the wrist to the elbow, making her paw look disproportionately large. A grey and white long haired cat stands on a cooktop. She is looking away from the camera, rather pointedly. Her legs have been shaved from the wrist to elbow.
February 12, 2025 at 2:15 AM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Yesterday I learned about the Ainu—indigenous people of Japan—and their textile traditions. Here’s the piece I made in the class. Thanks to Selina Ben for sharing her research and Tatter for hosting!
Hand embroidery in Ainu tradition. Navy cotton cloth in background. Very light & partially sheer white fabric has been reverse-appliquéd on top in a clock-wise spiral shape that has pointed ends. The appliqué is secured with a light blue whip stitch that becomes a satin-stitch at the points. Each point ends in a kiru—an exaggerated point made through a long laid stitch with a few couching stitches. Inside the spiral is a navy blue line made by couching. The innermost part of the spiral is outlined with a red chain stitch.
February 7, 2025 at 10:06 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
I have a tendency to work small. My profs always told me to go bigger & I’d try but end up back making small things. After many years, I bought a magnifying light & it’s been the best. Sometimes I want to craft in the evening so I ordered a floor one last night and am feeling rather judged at 42 😹
A collaged image with three white-haired people who are 60+ using a magnifying lamp to do artistic tasks such as painting, needlework, and jewellery making
January 31, 2025 at 2:50 PM
katlombardcook.bsky.social
Trying something for accountability. It can be hard to work on longer projects during the semester. So I’m going to try to make a gif of my weekly progress.

The first week back is always hard, so I worked on the kit I have on the go. I find tatreez to be very meditative.
January 25, 2025 at 11:31 PM