Thread Work Done! Design Wall Monday

Whewwww!!  My sewing machine has been going full speed this week, trying to get all the thread work done on the lilies.  It went nice and smooth though, so really it was a pleasure.  You see, my machine and I have a love/hate relationship at times anddddddd sometimes I just can't seem to get my vision translated to the fabric under the needle.  Not this week though!  With all the details put in, all I have to do is add the back and put in a few anchoring quilt lines.  You  can see in the detail photo, that most of the raw edges are safely under thread - not all of them - but most of them.  I like that messy shabby, chic kind of look. 

Click to enlarge it

I still get people who say to me - "Wow!  wish I could do that."  Listen - it ain't that hard.  Really, all I do is put my darning foot on and I use mostly - but not always - a poly  or rayon thread (yes I like it shiny!).  I usually use neutral bobbin thread in the bobbin, but with this project I just used my big cone of Aurifil gray thread.  Still, looking back, maybe I should have used the cheaper bobbin thread since I went through 7 - count them - 7 bobbins!  I used the batting as a stabilizer with the back not on and it worked up nicely.  Then I just start drawing with my darning foot.  I guess the hardest part of it all is getting up the courage to just let the needle go and draw what you have in your mind.  Still that comes with practice.  That's what's nice about doing an annual lily project.  You get to know how you want your lilies to look!



For the background "stones", I did some research through my art quilt books and looked at  some designs that other quilters had used.  I then postie noted them and pulled them out when I needed it.  I took my sketch book and just started to draw out the background, practicing how the line would go.  That way, when it was time for me to do it, I had a pretty good idea how to guide the needle.

I do draw up my beginning threads, but I don't bury my ending threads - I just clip them close to fabric.  I have these amazing Heritage Embroidery snips which work nicely. If I misplace them, I'm totally lost!  Sometimes I use gripper garden gloves, but this time I just found them a hindrance.   I wanted to feel the fabric under my fingertips.

Anddddddddd who doesn't like the feel of fabric under her fingers when a project is going well??  Hopefully, I'll finish this baby up this week and have something new on my design board next week!

See more great design walls at Judy's Patchworks!