Hot Stitchin'!

Polar Vortex, what...?  Meh!  Go ahead, let it drop to negative "Let's freeze the World on it's axis" temps.  It's been toasty warm and creative in our house!  I'm sure I'll feel differently when I see the oil bill...  but for now I'm loving the creative oasis in our dining room/sewing studio!

A lot of sketching has been happening.  I love Henna/Mehndi floral patterns and am always doodling them in some form or other.  But lately I've been plotting how to get more Henna into my quilting.  So why not just whole cloth quilt it - essentially drawing on fabric with my machine!  EASIER SAID THAN DONE!!

I had a simple flower and leaf patten on paper, drew the basic outline onto my fabric and set to it!  20 minutes later I had a jumbled mess of thread and lost my overall pattern.  Time to back up to something simpler.  Feathers!

I've done feathers in my quilting before, but I've never taken the time to practice or study them.  I just winged it.  When done correctly, they are beautiful!  Flowing, fun, some are formal or they can be more playful.  Whatever you need them to be, you can stylize them to meet your project.

After many, many pages of sketch practice, I came up with these first fabric attempts.  And I'm proud to say that every time it got a bit easier and (at least I think) a bit more artistic.  They really are fun.  And once you have your stem built, the plumage just flows naturally.

First Attempt!

Second Attempt! 

Ok, so not perfect but getting better, right? :-)

This afternoon, I tried adding the Henna back in:

It was also fun playing with thread colors, highlighting here and there...

In addition to feathering about, I've been working on a couple Valentines Day projects!   So far this what I've got.  I cannot take any credit for the overall design as I've seen it done a million times over - postage stamps, tee-shirts, wallets, etc...  This is just my version  :-)

16" by 16" wall hanging.  Thinking maybe Prairie Points to finish it off...?

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you are all staying warm and keeping creative!!  Feel free to share your projects either here in the comments or on my Facebook Page for M. Rose Quilt Studios!

And here's the link up to Leah Day and The Free Motion Quilting Blog.  I frequent both her blog and her books for quilting ideas - love her! 

Cheers and stitch on!!

Mood: Chipper
Music: "The Clincher" by Chevelle