The idea of stitchery and music coming together might seem like an odd mix, but in the case of artist Liza Abbott and Tecolote Guitar Works, it’s a seamless match. Abbot creates an almost 3-D world in fabric, taking vintage images, including retro travel posters and photos of musicians of the 1930s and 1940s, and transforming them into farmable art. On Saturday, Oct. 11, the venue will host an opening night reception for Abbot’s “Creative Stitchery Show” which will run through Dec. 31. “The combining of a music shop and gallery is definitely a good fit,” said Tecolote Guitar Works resident artist Kat Kirby. “Although, I think people are astounded sometimes when they enter the gallery, looking for a dusty old repair shop.” The reason behind the guitar shop/gallery paring seemed obvious to Kirby. “Musicians are artists, and artists enjoy music usually, so it made sense to us to put them together,” she said. Abbott has been a mainstay of the local music scene since moving to San Diego in 1977, most notably as co-editor of acoustic music magazine The Troubadour since it’s founding eight years ago. “I suppose stitchery is a great way to de-stress, but to tell you the truth, I’ve been so busy over the last couple of years, I haven’t been stitching as much as I used to pre-Troubadour,” Abbott said. The magazine provided the initial impetus for the show. “We advertise in The Troubadour, and met Liz and (co-editor) Kent Johnson when we first placed an ad,” Kirby explained. “Liz told me about her artwork, and I wanted to see it. It developed from there.” Up to 90 pieces will be on display, with prices ranging from $300 to $700. Abbott said stitching is a very time intensive art form, with each piece taking between 10 and 30 hours. Abbot’s introduction to the craft came about almost by accident. “I had had a box of hand-stitched quilting squares sitting under my bed for about 20 years and finally decided it was time to make something By the time I got around to making a quilt for my mom, there weren’t many squares left, so I decided to do a tribute to her by doing a ‘story quilt,’ she said. Using a photo of herself at age five with her mother, she reproduced it in fabric as a center piece for her quilt. “That was so much fun that I wanted to do more,” she said. She next decided to recreate vintage orange crate labels. “When I had done about 30, I realized the quilt would look way too busy, so they sat in a pile until I got the idea to frame them for show,” Abbott said. While she thoroughly enjoys stitching, she admits her work situation at the time helped motivate her. “I ended up becoming the mad sewer,” she joked. “Partially because I wasn’t happy in my job at the time and vented all my anger and frustrations by stitching.” While she has made fabric art of this style for numerous clients, including The Pannikin and The Brockton Villa, it’s the opportunity to use pre-1950s imagery that appeals to her the most. “I just love vintage anything, you name it: photos, posters, magazine covers, odd little drawings.” At the moment, her favorite subjects are music ones. “I have fantastic promo shots of various musicians, like the Girls of the Golden West and the Ink Spots to name a few,” she said. While her art subjects tend to be from the pre-Kennedy era, she has stepped further. “I also stitched the cover art for the Beatles’ ‘Meet the Beatles’ record,” she said. For her part, Abbot enjoys all aspects of stitchery but with her 60th birthday approaching, she has “slowed down a little lately,” but still finds her work therapeutic and most of all, fun. “When I was heavy into it awhile back, I’d finish one and then couldn’t wait to pick the next image to work on.” Her latest inspiration is particularly close to home. “My newest project is a baby blanket for my webmaster’s baby, Oliver, which depicted the Little Prince on it,” she said. Abbot marvels at the idea of having an art show based around what was initially just a hobby for her. “I got started kinda through hit and miss and kept going and perfecting my technique,” she stated. “And now it’s all this.” “Creative Stitchery by Liz Abbott” Opening reception: Saturday Oct. 11, 7 – 10 p.m. Tecolote Guitar Works 1231 Morena Blvd. www.tecoloteguitarworks.com