I got through a lot of tv and audiobooks working on this project, but it’s finally finished! It’s definitely a style departure from my last piece but I’m really happy with the outcome.
I experimented with some new techniques on this one, including using Mistyfuse to make a pretty abstract background that would reflect the murky fall pond layers – but in a pretty way. I started with one layer of silk ribbons, then added another layer of Mistyfuse and organza on top of it. It still wasn’t dark enough for my taste at that point, so I added yet another layer of Mistyfuse/organza to get to the colors that I wanted. At this point I had basically obscured my pattern transfer and ended up tacking and tracing on top to add it back in. I am happy with how it came out though!
I used a huge range of threads for this, with most coming from stash. My Oliver Twist variegated collection got a good workout, but I also used some historic replica threads and some thicker ones that were almost like yarn to mix up the textures. In the end I made 17 pieces of needlelace and 22 flower petals for this project that only measures 5 by 5 inches.
I ended up going with a different mat color than this entirely when framing, but it was useful to try out some different options before I actually went to the framer. In the end I went for a dark gold frame and a brown fabric mat with a pinkish tint to it, with a wider area than this highlighted so the background is more of a feature. I think it lets everything breathe a bit more and shows off the background I spent so much time on.
This is going to an exhibit at a local museum in a few weeks, so I’ll be happy to see it framed and finished! Sadly it will have to live somewhere else until December when I get it back from the show. In the meantime I started brainstorming my next project, and might have even gotten braved and purchased some sewable electrical circuits…