WIP on a Rainy Wednesday

I have been struggling most of today to get stitching, so thought I'd post progress before I get right to it!  Distractions? Housework mainly (bathroom and kitchen could no longer be ignored).  And some computer work.  I've finally finished with my old PC and now have to get some software to clean out the hard drive (not just hide files as re-formatting and/or traditional 'deleting' would do, but eliminate them).

I also downloaded my favourite photo editing program (ArcSoft 5.5, which I've used for years -- since I got it with my current camera -- and which I need to upgrade, but which still does all I need for the moment).

Now that I'm through with all that, I'm ready to stitch!

I continue to work on "Back to the Garden", which now has all the stars (and stardust) in it's sky.  This is about 2/3 of it:

And I've begun seed stitch in the 'earth' part of the piece.  Here's a detail from the lower left corner, turned on its side so it would be in better light for the photo:

I'm using some hand-dyed silk embroidery floss -- 2 strands together -- left over from an old project.  I'm not certain of the origin...could be from Gloriana Threads, but it has no label so I guess I'll never know!

Best stop typing now and get going.  For the first time in ages I'm linking to WIP Wednesday over on The Needle and Thread Network.  See you there!

 P.S. still digesting yesterday's conversation about copyright, artistic voice etc....If you haven't listened, you might check it out.

Sampling Continues

Yes, I picked the layout I liked best, and I began to stitch.

Sulky (R) Colour #4034

First I fused the sky, earth and grass to a foundation fabric (light muslin).  Then I attached the strip of recycled  sweater, using Sulky Blendables 100% cotton thread in "Soft Blacks", using a zig-zag stitch, my stippling foot and the feed dogs up.

Sulky (R) Colour #4011

Sulky (R) Colour #4019

Next I added some thread painting between the hills and grasses, first with Sulky Blendables 100% cotton thread in "Milk Chocolate" and "Forest Floor".

Then I sandwiched the piece and fused the tree trunks, tot-stitching them down with a straight stitch, feed dogs down now, leaving a rough edge.  I stitched the first two with "Soft Blacks" but didn't like the harshness of it against the fabric.  Looking again in my stash I found a hand-dyed cotton thread that I bought several years ago from -- I think -- Stef Francis.  It bears no label, and I couldn't find it on her website, so I'm not sure she even makes it now (if she ever did).  Sigh...

The good news is that I've hardly made a dent in the spool, so I'll have enough of it for the larger assessment piece if all I use it for is stitching down the tree trunks.  :-)


Wanting to add some texture to the grasses (the brown section is grass that has died down), I debated: machine or hand or combination?

Above you see a section of the grasses free-motioned with a jerky stitch that I thought would give an interesting texture.  It was tiring to do on this small piece, so I can't imaging doing it on a larger one (I'm working on a domestic machine).  I kept reminding myself, "it's just a sample" and went on to play with hand-stitching.

First I tried adding some seed stitch to the already-quilted green area.  The dense machine quilting had made the piece relatively inflexible, so it was a bit tough to get the sharp needle to go through it.  I was using wonderful over-dyed cotton embroidery floss -- 2 strands -- "Celadon" from Weeks Dye Works -- a gift from my friend Jeannette Douglas when I went on a stitching cruise with her in 2009.

I like the way this makes the green grassy area look less stiff; somehow the hand stitching gives it life.  However, I liked this bit even better -- the hand stitching alone.

Here's an example of both, side by side.  I'm liking the hand-stitching alone more and more. (The brown is stitched in Gentle Art Thread's "Wood Rose", another gift from Jeannette.)

I thought about adding bits of painted fusible web to the trees for bark texture, but have yet to try it.  arlee's wonderful hand-dyed fabric is so effective that I'm not sure it needs anything else.  However, to be on the 'safe' side, I might just do it...just to see; just to answer the "what if?" :-)