let the stitching begin

from the drawing of yesterday to some actual stitching 

 while the grasses on the Warning Sky piece were actually cut out of the fabric in the shapes I wanted them to be, this piece will be made up by using only 3/4 inch strips of fabric cut on the bias 

 just a little work on a different technique 

when I get finished doing that part, I'm going to play with a little pearlized paint that I've had in my studio just sitting around since it was given to me at an art conference I attended in 2011 --- (insert here the discussion of "what are you saving it for?" and if you don't use them, they will just dry up - especially in this climate!) 

doing this first swirl actually went much quicker than I thought it would -- a good sign I think! 

meantime, the quilting on the Warning Sky piece is moving right along -- I've done all of the outline quilting along the edges of the foliage, and now I'll be doing the "ghost quilting" between them
 
one corner of the bead work is now done 

 I should add here that I'm really glad I decided to tear out and begin again as I am MUCH happier with this look than all that "pattern" 

putting the slice of shell in there to take the photo gives me a good look at what it will look like when the finishing is done  









here is where I'm happy to have programs on my computer that let me play with graphics - and I spent a lot of time yesterday playing 

a good look at the first two layouts made me decide to take the whole thing apart -- while I may like the way those pinwheels just seem to whirl, they are also reminiscent of other things that I don't want to go anywhere near 

in the end, I like the individual blocks set with the solid color blocks, and that will also mean I end up with two tops out of this little experiment  
about a week ago I started working on another knitting project and after three tries, I finally figured out that the yarn I had in hand for the project simply will not do 

so for the first time in a long time, the only knitting project I have going is the ever present afghan square -- another finished one here 

 need to spend some time in the yarn stash and the pattern stacks!