It pays to PERSIST!

It is finished ! Well, the stitching is finished. I still have touchups, facing, sleeve and label to do but to all intents and purposes, it is DONE! Are we a nappy camper? We believe so!! Not fully satisfied, but relatively happy.

Here it is , all stitched and the background quilted. 

Closeup of the biggest bloom

These pictures were done hand held in bad light but I DID want pictures just to prove to myself that I am finished most of this piece.

Detail shots to show you WHY I am tired

More detail

And still more.

The first of the three detail pictures shows the little pebbles I did to suggest the gravel driveway on the original photo. The rest is all straight or slightly curved lines where the twigs and branches of the overhanging Berberis are in the photo. Now, I am ready for my bed. Poor me!

This is Wednesday now and I am no further ahead with this but I do have a sample almost ready for a class I am teaching in November. I am sick !!! :-( I have a sore throat and a cold and I am scheduled to teach for three hours tomorrow AM! Poor me!! Anyway, I AM posting this to the needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.com This is a lazy man's way to do it because I posted this earlier this week and some kind people have already commented. However, I decided I would show the rest of the people that it IS finished , all but the actual finishing- i.e., facing, sleeve and label. Please forgive for a lazy post this week.

Quilting done! Lily gilding to follow...

The background is quilted and I THINK it is done.

Just loose, freehand peony leaf outlines- all I am doing to the background-- I THINK!

The quilting is finished- I THINK!

My brain hurts now. Too much THINKING! I am pretty happy with most of the quilting and have started to do some "lily gilding", as I call it. Pencil crayons, Caran d"Ache Neocolor pastels- just to define certain spots. It should make ME happy but you will not likely see an appreciable difference. As it is almost time for TNTN to close for this week, I will post this and bore the people stiff. Sorry folks, but with a dud finger, I am not working very quickly. Others are ! Check out the needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.com and enjoy what you find there.

Quilting - at last--slowly

I have actually begun to quilt the big peony. Coming along nicely but finding the right thread is a bit tough. I needed a "white" for some of the petal edges but did not want a true white. Too stark! So, good old Superior threads did it again. Anita Zobens had two good colours. I bought, Seashelly and Canvas, both from the Masterpiece line by Alex Anderson. The colours are perfect. I have used the pink one but not the whitish one yet. I want a tiny satin stitch and don't want to change feet and throat plate etc just yet.

This is where I am to date. I am treading softly as I saw the Dr this AM about the ring finger of my right hand "triggering" ! We both agreed that intense use of the fingers is a problem so I am glad I am past the crazy cutting stage now and down to the machine quilting.

These two are pretty similar but maybe the colour is truer in the bottom one and the focus is best in the top. That comes from an overcast day and too much haste.

I will post this on the needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.com. At risk of boring everyone to tears I did want you to see that I AM making progress. Expect more of the same for six weeks while I try to rest this silly old hand so maybe I will get away without having to have surgery. I surely hope so. I am still recovering mobility after almost ten years since the last finger was done in 2004!

Check out WIP Wednesday on the Needle and Thread Network and enjoy the new posts there. Cheerio!

Making good progress

This is fun! I am quilting like a mad fiend and am fairly pleased do far. This is beginning to look nice and crusty. The little bits of metallic thread really sparkle it up too. I LOVE the crystalline look of iris petals. Other flowers have it too- Impatiens is one - spectacular in certain lights.

The big red petals are getting the heaviest quilting- bordering on thread painting , but not exactly.

Note the line of metallic along the orange-y edge of the petal.

Having fun with shadows and veining.

More fun with veining - reminds me of Fun With Dick and Jane! They never had THIS much fun!!!

There you are - I think the metallic shows better here.

This is an exciting project. My greatest regret is my lack of different  colour values. As soon as I am finished this, there will be a huge dyeing session! Remember, you heard it first here!

At the risk of boring people to death, I am going to post this at needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.com
There is always something interesting going on there. Check it out! 

FINALLY QUILTING :-)

At long last! I am quilting again. I have not done any for a long time now , so guess where my shoulders spent the afternoon?? Yep! Right up under my ears!! I finally relaxed just a few minutes ago but then had to stop to get dinner ready. Don't you think we all need staff - to cook and clean etc for us when we are heavily engaged in our art? Anyway, even without staff ( except DH) here are a few peeks at what transpired this afternoon with me and my Bernina and a whole bunch of pretty threads...

The very centre of the piece

One section of the veining started

All the same centre bit but different views

Bit closer

And the bigger picture

This is going quite happily. I may need to go shopping for some different threads- good excuse anyway! I am thinking of using a bit of metallic here and there- you know how iris petals look crystalline in certain lights? Maybe , if I can find a medium lilac metallic.... Stay tuned. 

All set to quilt :-)

Well, I am FINALLY ready to quilt this piece. I have commandeered the dining room table as my normal little cubby hole is too cramped for a bigger job like this.The quilt is layered, pinned and ready to go. I am still hoping to find some better colours of thread to use on it but what I have will get me started.

Here is the quilt all layered and pinned ready to go

And now, it is closer to the machine so I am ready to launch

Here is my little empire all nicely established in full view of the street. Mind you, the window badly needs cleaning so maybe no one will be able to see in! Gotta clean that before Christmas!

I will start tomorrow but before I can sew, I have another class at the Apple Store. I have had two sessions already this week on iPhoto and tomorrow is the last one of the series. Then, I will have a basis for deciding what I want to pursue in more depth. iPhoto is a nice little organization App. I use Photoshop for good editing but iPhoto helps me keep everything in order- well, MY sort of order:-)

Tomorrow's class is about using photos to create books, calendars, cards, slide shows etc. I am interested in the books particularly. My darling kids made a beautiful picture book for us several years ago of photos they took on a very cold, very snowy winter visit to us before they were married. Both of them are excellent photographers and the little book is a true treasure. I hope mine turns out as well.

I had meant to post this on WIP Wednesday but missed the time slot today. Too many irons in the fire! I guess it is getting to be time to knuckle down and do some work toward Christmas. Hmmm! That means stopping sewing, drawing, quilting... Well, a change will be as good as a rest- or so "They" say. BTW, I had my newest bed quilt quilted professionally - first ever that I have not done myself. It looks fabulous but I could not get the binding fabric here so have had to order it online from the US. As a result, it will not likely get finished by Christmas . Ah, well, it will be nice for the New Year!

Ready to quilt- I THINK!

All the pieces are made- almost, but I am playing around with the arrangement. This is where artistic licence can come in.

All ready for final placement of the little buds- squared up and trimmed off . That feels better!

The wee touches of red in place, just needing the top edge of the bottom right leaf

I have fooled and fooled and fooled with this and now, I think I am ready to make a decision.

Here we are, all nicely fused and trimmed and ready to quilt. It has been a long job but an enjoyable sort of puzzle.

Next job, sort the threads and choose the perfect colours for contrast and coordination.