Ginkgos Circling

20"X20" click on the image for a closeup
The painted gingkos are finally Wunderundered and machine appliqued in place. I think they look like pollen grain under a microscope! I switched to this brown/purple batik instead of the royal blue. I really wanted to couch the glitzy Oliver Twist chartreuse yarn along the leaf edge. The blue would look too cheesy with glitzy trim. A little glitz goes a long way so the larger outcircle is stitched with 2 rayon threads, a bright yellow and lime. Shimmer without the glam. I also tried metallic thread with good stitching results. No stabilizer was needed to do this applique. Invisible thread was used in the bobbin and for couching.

Broderie Perse Ginkgos

I always feel like I am getting caught up in my blogging. This post is 'what's up' almost right now. The objective of this City and Guild activity is to apply broderie perse applique technique to hand stamped leaves.

I used Setacolor fabric paint and a stamp made out of crafters' foam. The stamp is actual ginkgo leaf size. The stamping took place over a fews days. Day One: I stamped yellow and green on white fabric and let it dry thoroughly. I tried scoring some veins into the foam which helped a small bit.

Day Two: I wanted to get a bit of colour variation, but not too much. Ginkgos seem to go from chartreuse to brilliant yellow over night. I got into the red paint! I couldn't help myself. I wanted to try and get a brown fringe on the yellow but it didn't work. I noticed a watery wash helped to define the grooved veins a bit better.

Arrangement: I was fixated on using the centre threesome. I first tried circling the centre with another ring with all stems shortened, facing the centre, and tucked under the centre leaves. I hated to cut off the nice straight stems so I 180'd them to get the stems radiating out. Much more interesting to my eye.

Background: The blue fabric resulted from a very short audition. I just liked the combination. I see the stems hang off a bit. Oh well. Now to fine tune the arrangement before 'wonderundering' the lot. I am not sure how to finish the edges. My machine goes in for servicing tomorrow so I may practice a few hand embroidery stitches I recently learned.