stretching my comfort zone

 in another attempt to develop my skills and a new technique i am taking an online course with Emily Jo Gibbs on Silk Organza Appliqué

i have completed the first samples, i feel fairly successfully - i have focussed on achieving neat regular stitching, later i will probably experiment with something more relaxed - the neatness is challenging but it complements the crispness of the organza and it's clean lines

i stitched the right han piece first using a variegated machine sewing cotton - i felt this would be the easier of the two as the coloured organza shapes are trapped under a layer of white organza - in the left hand piece the shapes are left uncovered, which meant that there was some fraying as i worked - that's fine on some of the straight cut shapes as the fraying can be left to add another element of shading or trimmed after stitching - but it's not so attractive on irregular shaping

the shading and colour change achieved by overlapping and layering pieces is a feature of this approach - these pieces were an introduction to that effect as well as a way of getting started with the stitching style - i prefer the more muted look of the right hand piece, but can see that the other approach will have uses

the next stage is a still life of a twig in a vase or jar - in my case a vase as i did not feel up to the challenge of the jar edge

now for the stitching.........