Week in Review 2022 – 03/11

Experience

Is experience a blessing or a curse? Can it be both? That is a question I’ve been asking myself this week.

Image of a tiger cat with more buff and orange undertones than silver.
I began thread painting Lola. I start with the lightest colors and work my way through darker and darker values.

Sometimes A Curse

If I had written this post on Wednesday I would have answered experience is a curse. Why? Simple. I began work the previous day certain I knew exactly how I would “create” the cat I planned to appliqué in position on the stairs. Step 1 was to thread paint the eyes. Done! Then I positioned the eyes on the calico cat shape from last week’s post. OMG – talk about a disaster. Sometimes I am wishy washy about whether something will work or not. Not this time. Experience was not in my favor, or was it?

A cat is outlined, then various elements are sketched in with thread. The result a sense of legs, eyes and whiskers are evident.
I chose a tan, Bottom Line thread for the bobbin. This way should any of the bobbin thread be visible on the front side it will blend into the fur.

Sometimes a Blessing

This is when experience can be turned from a curse to a blessing. Because I have experience, I have more tricks in my tool box. If I can successfully thread paint the eyes, then I can thread paint the whole cat.

Bust of a tiger cat in profile.
Lola measures approximately 10″ H x 5″ W. Since I will be layering threads and stitching intensely, it is important to select threads that are not problematic for this type of work. I am using polyester 40 wt. threads. Not only are they easy to work with, but they provide a wonderful sheen.

One of the difficulties associated with such a large (10″ x 5″) section of thread painting is that the intense stitching distorts the fabric being stitched. This is why embroidery machines come with hoops that hold the fabric taught. I do have a hoop but it only gives me a maximum of 5″ in diameter to work in. Frankly, this is a pain in the butt for a piece of this size. Experience wins again. I layered my work from top to bottom with the printed cat, then a fusible and finally batting. I find fusible really helps eliminate some distortion. Second, I outlined the cat before I started stitching. This acts, much like a hoop.

The same image of a tiger cat sitting on stairs, but now there is much more thread painting.
The earlier photo of Lola was taken mid morning. This is what I achieved by the end of the day. The one specialty thread I used is glow in dark thread for the eyes. It really works. 🙂

It’s month three of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This month is yellow. Another plus for experience. I can whip up my blocks easily due to 36 years of precision piecing. Now that’s experience and a finish!

A scrappy 5 x 5 square units of predominantly yellow with black triangles in the corner and some white, as well.
The first of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks for March.

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By Gwyned Trefethen

I am an artist who uses fabric, thread and miscellany to create designs gifted to me by my imagination.