Filling in Shadow

A little at a time...

The green shaded area on the left is the darkest shadow in the whole picture, so I used the darkest green I have to lay the foundation.

The slow approach is paying off.  The dilemma is that the actual process of stitching has to be fast, but I have to rein myself in to stop it being fast and furious.  It is all too easy to get carried away and stray into the wrong area of the picture, and wreck it before you have even properly started.  

To check I was on the right track with the composition, I got my husband to stand on the opposite side of the room, and then I held up the work in progress.  For the first time he could see the picture emerging.  The fact that he knows the path well, and the photo I am working from, undoubtedly helped, but it was great encouragement for me to see his reaction.

Free Motion Mavericks this week is at Andrée's blog Quilting and Learning and I'm linking up!

A Picture for Sunday - Harvest Time

Evening light on a field of stubble, taken just a few feet away from where I took another photo at the same time of day over three years ago.  

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 245 - Wooded Hills

Doing a little at a time certainly works best.  Plotting the position of the elements of the composition takes ages.  The view is of an overgrown track with high hedges on either side, fields and houses in the middle distance, and wooded ridges on the horizon.  The few lines on the left are the bare bones of a holly tree which will fill much of the top left corner.  

Finally the scene is taking shape!

The detail I am most pleased with is this part of the horizon.  There is one wooded ridge immediately behind another, with the trees in the distance showing up darker than the nearer trees.  There are still more layers of stitching to come, but I have laid the foundation for later. 

Here goes for week 245:-

Many thanks to Vasudha for linking up with her gorgeous purple mountain majesty quilt.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more.

If you have no free motion quilting to show, feel free to link up and show any project you like.  Here are the usual rules, but feel free to ignore them.  To keep the original emphasis, however, preference will be given to free motion quilting when featuring projects from the previous week.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post.

3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for five days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Tuesday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Comparing Sizes of Cardigans

One of the hardest things when buying or making clothes for a baby is estimating the size of the baby some months ahead, and having the right size ready for the right season.

To decide on which size to cardigan to make when using my cardigan pattern, here are the measurements of the three sizes given.

Small (tiddler)

Length: 9 and a half inches
Width from cuff to cuff: 20 inches 

Medium (crawler)

Length: 10 inches
Width: 21 and a half inches

Large (toddler)

Length:  11 inches
Width: 24 inches

Slow Motion Landscape

Edging forward at a snail's pace. Seeing these blog posts must be like watching paint dry.

Free Motion Mavericks this week is at Andrée's blog Quilting and Learning and I'm linking up!

A Picture for Sunday - Seeds Ready for Flight

Ethereally pretty when magnified, great willow herb seeds cling to the sides of the seed pod before taking off in the wind.

It's a Production Line

Having made six cardigans, somehow I couldn't help making a seventh.  This time I have been slightly caught out by the maths.  I have made the cardigan in three sizes so far, so I made this one in the next size up.  However, not only have I scaled up the size of the cardigan, but also the slight dip at the back of the neck has been exaggerated.  I know what I need to do to correct it.  It just means I shall have to knit another.  Not yet, though.  

As always, choosing the buttons was a great pleasure.  These pale aqua buttons are just the ticket.