The Plan: Step 2

You may remember that I gave up on finishing this to my satisfaction to add to my ArtWalk exhibit back in June. It has been on the design wall ever since, bugging the heck out of me. I had a thought, something I thought might improve it, but lacked the desire to give it a go at the time - other things on my mind once the deadline passed. Also doing my usual mulling as to how best to approach it. I do not visualize well, and couldn't figure out how to mark squares around some of the quilted leaves in such a way I could see them for auditioning, yet still remove them if not working. I've been revisiting this thought pattern all week and suddenly hit upon this idea - pulling some of my pre-cut squares in various sizes and laying them over some of the leaves. Bear in mind, my intention is NOT to actually sew down squares of fabric, just give myself a visual and something to use as a guide. Although I must admit, I kind of like the idea of adding fabric squares, just not these particular ones.


The method worked fairly well - I could get a sense of size and balance, and with a couple of pins to secure them, the squares of fabric were easy to stitch around with a dark thread. That line of stitching would serve as my guide for couching down more of the Oliver Twist hand-dyed decorative cording.


I think I am on the right track, but it still isn't enough. I'm thinking I may need to carefully add some paint to the quilted leaves within the couched squares, or perhaps some beading, or both. I think I need to add a couple more squares too, so this is back up on the design wall while I mull some more.