Stitched Landscape .....

Well, the first picture is another watercolour (from the 30 Minute Watercolour Book)!

It is a 'wet afternoon' although it does look a bit snowy I must admit. The clouds look quite stormy though and the hedgerows are decidely soggy! This is the stitched landscape - first of three I am doing for the Kindred Spirits 2011 Calendar.

The background is painted on cotton, the fencing is painted fusible web and there is some sheers laid down first for the background hills. The hedgerows are various types of silk waste, some are embellished and some stitched, and the tree itself is some dyed pieced cotton ('cos the bit I had wasn't big enough and I wanted to use that colour! The tree branches are stitched from the back, with a thick silk thread in the bobbin.

This is the same piece but I scanned it - the difference in the colour is amazing! The real thing is somewhere between the two. All three pieces are to be 12" x 8".

I recently went on a wonderful five day Retreat with South West Quilters to Beer - a beautiful little fishing village on the south east coast of Devon. Our Tutor was Barbara Weeks and we all had a fabulous time with her. The Workshop was Bonded Impressions, and working with silk, we all painted silk first, then stitched our pieces using various inspirations we had brought along. Above is my inspiration (a Christmas Card I kept) ................

and this is the piece I created. It is nowhere near finished, in fact it has only just started. I painted the background onto the silk, then painted a much finer silk with which to create the water refections. The foggy/snowy piece at the back of the trees is white silk chiffon. The trees are stitched using an embroidery hoop direct onto the painted background, then it was sandwiched and I have started to stitch the water. The piece is about 14" x 21", or will be when finished. I have to leave it now, as I have pieces I need to finish for the Kindred Spirits Exhibition in April, but I will post this one again, when I have quilted it.
Till next time ............