Free Motion Field Maple

Although most of the trees have now lost their leaves, there are still a few field maples giving a splash of yellow here and there.    I brought a leaf home so I could try capturing the shape in outline. After a dodgy start and getting a bad stitch because I had loaded the bobbin in the bobbin case the wrong way round, I managed to settle down to some serious treadling.

The leaf is strategically placed to cover the duff stitching.  I might get round to unpicking it, or I might leave it in as a reminder to keep my wits about me when putting the bobbin in.

Somehow I ended up making the leaves more or less actual size.  Really they needed to have been a bit smaller, so the gaps between the stems and stalks didn't look so empty.

The helicopters were a bit tricky because the wings stick out horizontally.  Perhaps I will leave them out next time, they felt like a bit more fuss than they were worth.

However, I enjoyed doing the leaves, even though they ended up looking a bit more like ornamental acers rather than the field maples in the hedgerows.

Tea cosy update  Carla has emailed me to say that the cosy has now safely arrived in Holland, and she has sent me a lovely photo taken at a free motion quilting class.   Thank you Carla!

This post is being linked to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Leah Day's blog for Free Motion Friday - lots more blogs for you to visit!