a new inspiration

i've been making good progress with my heart piece - doodling into the lace corner

 and adding some texture to the background

and then after a talk on beading, by Eliza McClelland, i was inspired to add some scrunchiness

i love the effect, the added weight and texture it brings - but it's a  bit shiny so i've added stitch over the red beading to soften it - i like that too so will be doing something similar on the green part

it is quite a contrast to my usual soft, rhythmic stitching, but it was time to get a bit more colourful - i wondered if beading would be too harsh, but in this case i think the softening effect od the over-stitching helps to integrate it - i may even extend the stitching further over the fabric

before trying the beading on this piece i had decided to use the technique on the new pincushion i was making - so this:

turned into this

it reminds me of a decorative pumkin 

i remember being really drawn by the gnarly seam around the middle

so now i have an idea of how i can recreate that

from appetiteforchina