It was tough settling to work on this piece. My mind wasn't focused. I took lots of breaks and that seemed to help.
After I finished stitching the background I rinsed off the stabilizer, and let it dry overnight.
It came up a bit stiff and there was some of shrinkage, but most of that will be concealed.
Without the netting the thread colours came up bright.
A few auditions and I started attaching the birch trunks.
Problems necessitate flexibility and this time was no different. There were two issues that arose. I intended to stitch the boles in a loose satin stitch and then stitch over that with a bright, shiny embroidery thread white. Whether it was the residual stabilizer, now in the fabric or the number of layers of fabric itself, the embroidery thread shredded quickly.
I abandoned the satin stitch anchor and just went with the looser irregular zigzag with the shiny embroidery thread to both attached the birch trees and highlight the white. This worked just fine.
The issues with the cloth itself simply meant I had to stitch much slower.
I know there is a scientific or maybe psychological explanation but an odd number of trees always 'feels' more satisfying.
I'm leaving this piece uncropped and unfinished on purpose. Part of this workshop is why I over build my pieces (dimensions) and how to decide how much to crop.
This piece has a decidedly different look when square
and when rectangular.
After I finished stitching the background I rinsed off the stabilizer, and let it dry overnight.
It came up a bit stiff and there was some of shrinkage, but most of that will be concealed.
Without the netting the thread colours came up bright.
A few auditions and I started attaching the birch trunks.
Problems necessitate flexibility and this time was no different. There were two issues that arose. I intended to stitch the boles in a loose satin stitch and then stitch over that with a bright, shiny embroidery thread white. Whether it was the residual stabilizer, now in the fabric or the number of layers of fabric itself, the embroidery thread shredded quickly.
I abandoned the satin stitch anchor and just went with the looser irregular zigzag with the shiny embroidery thread to both attached the birch trees and highlight the white. This worked just fine.
The issues with the cloth itself simply meant I had to stitch much slower.
I know there is a scientific or maybe psychological explanation but an odd number of trees always 'feels' more satisfying.
I'm leaving this piece uncropped and unfinished on purpose. Part of this workshop is why I over build my pieces (dimensions) and how to decide how much to crop.
This piece has a decidedly different look when square
and when rectangular.
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