Friday 4 February 2011

So far - so good.

I overlapped these strips slightly, using Bondaweb to secure them to a backing of lightweight flannel material. As it is white I don't want any to show through.
The colours deeper and richer than they appear here and I now have to chose what threads to use for the stitching. I think a bit of machining first to help secure the bonding and then quite a lot of hand stitching. Before I get to the hand stitching I may cut the piece up into four and rearrange the pieces so that the strips form a pattern.

The greens are far more prominent in this piece than they appear in my photos. I used a rather nice deep gold coloured fabric with a metallic thread woven into it, so there was no need to worry about covering the background completely. I rather like the way little glimpses are seen here and there, though in these photos the depth of colour and the glint of metal thread seems to be lost.
This pic gives a good idea of the variation in widths of the strips.

This little section looks very landscapey to me - I must be careful how I cut it up so as not to lose that effect.

I'm off to choose my thread colours while the light is still good.


I caught sight of these little gems as we were going out yesterday. They look rather insipid here but in fact are a gorgeous deep pink. Inspite of galeforce gusts of wind these little cyclamen seem quite unperturbed as they are so tiny and hug the ground. It sounds far more like autumn than approaching spring out there. The wind is roaring and screaming round the house and through the trees, and the birds are having trouble flying but a few have ventured out to feed in the garden. I daresay the weather will have settled down by the time they are starting to build nests. No sign of any squirrels today - they'd need safety nets to travel above ground without risk of losing their footing.





12 comments:

Ann Christy said...

I can't wait to see what you do with the strips Heather. The flowers look lovely. It is so nice to start to see some colour coming through in the garden. We just have handful of snowdrops that look to be struggling today with these really strong winds. The poor things.

Annie said...

Really love the effect you've got with the sari silk ribbons. Looking forward to seeing what you're going to do next. :-)
A x

Kat Mortensen said...

You're so luck to have spring flowers popping up already. We can't even see the bare ground here!
Your colours are now putting me in mind of an Indian marketplace. I think I can smell the cardamom!

Kat

The Bug said...

Those are gorgeous! I can't wait to see what you do with them either.

Jealous of your little flowers. Maybe by the end of March we'll see some green. Maybe.

Heather said...

Winter must seem interminable to you - Kat and Bug - I'm impatient and would hate having to wait until March to see any sign of spring. Just a bit longer for you, and then you'll be rewarded.

Carol Q said...

oh yum Heather, don't they look gorgeous together. i've been trying to find a lamp to use in the evenings which will produce accurate reproduction of colours. I think one of the free standing Ott lites looks possible. I find lack of good light really puts the kybosh of creating.

Totalfeckineejit said...

Wow even richer than the pics?! Great colours Heather.

Jensters said...

These look so yummy altoghter...i love sari ribbons.....i embellished mine together for a book cover...cant wait to see what you will do with yours.

Crafty Green Poet said...

those colours all look so rich and vibrant, lined up together like that!

Sara lechner said...

I also like the last one with the landscape. I am already wondering how you are going to work on top of all these!

Julie said...

I love the frayed edges you have kept Heather. Sari ribbon is beautiful, I shall look forward to seeing the next step.

Thank you so much for your kind comment on my blog post. So many people have been where we are now and it is comforting in a way to know that others have been there and know how I am feeling.

Maggi said...

The strips look fantastic Heather. Hope you haven't suffered any damage from the wind.