peacock feathers evolving

exercising my word for the year -- being BRAVE -- doing machine quilting!

beginning with this smaller piece to test this out has been a good thing because it has allowed me to test the technique without so much fear

here we have the stitching of the very first feather

 and here some of the stitching has been done on the second feather

I really like the look of the stitching in those places where it intersects

in doing this I learned a couple of things that will be useful for the final project that I'm going to use this on

first, the size 12 thread (which is generally intended for use in hand stitching and is considerably heavier that the size 30 and size 50 that is normal to put through the sewing machine) runs through my machine (with the proper needle) without issue -- a good thing

second, I'd like to experiment with some rayon thread to add some "glow" factor to this stitching -- I have considered using metallic thread, but my experience with it is not pleasant, and I don't want to press my luck for this piece if I can get a suitable look with some rayon

I need to make a trip to the local quilt store that carries the thread I like to use and see what I can find

third, I think the rachis of the feather (that long "stem" that holds it all together) should be a slightly lighter color than what I have used here -- so in the big project, I think I'll be using the gold toned part of the challenge fabric (and that may mean I need to do one more little sample piece -- smaller even than this one)

when I was in elementary school, I colored and drew a lot

a bad experience in a high school art class convinced me that I wasn't any good at it

fast forward over 40 years --- over the past couple of years I've come full circle --- back to working on "art" projects

and increasingly in the last few months, being unafraid to put pencil to paper to create some representational image of something either imaginary or real

yesterday as I sat in my recliner working on the bead project, I glanced across the room and saw the dog asleep on the couch with her chin resting on the arm -- this little drawing was the result

I think I see a quilt in there

it will be fun to work on something totally different that what I usually do

today we need to run some errands, then I hope to get back into the studio and work on projects