If you keep up with my
Instagram postsyou’ll have seen this Green Carpet moth as a work in progress. What you can’t always tell from a photograph is the scale of the beast. Laura thought you might like to see exactly how mega he is by putting me in the shot for scale! Anyone not keen on moths will probably be appalled – just imagine this flapping round your head! He’s not complete yet but I do have plans for him and he’ll look more mothlike once he’s got his impressive antenna and a hint of legs.
I’ve worked with multiple layers of sheer and hand dyed muslin fabrics to build the colour and pattern. Having studied moths at close quarters I’ve been amazed at how furry they are – I’ve tried to reflect this by adding detail with frayed scraps of chiffon. The free motion quilting attempts to suggest the scales and patterning of the wings. Right now I’m continuing to add fine detail by hand stitching French knots and seed stitches in Madeira Lana threads. Lovely to have a bit of slow stitching as a stress buster!
Ruby Star Quilt Project
Laura’s had her own slow stitching keeping her occupied since last year. I’m all admiration that she’s managed to make her Ruby Star quilt entirely by hand despite having neuropathy in her fingers because of the chemotherapy treatment. There were times when she couldn’t feel the needle at all – can you imagine how difficult that must have been? Of course she is her own worst enemy as she works with the tiniest of needles and each of those diamonds only measure an inch.
Here you can see how the backing for the quilt is taking shape. Everyone who has sponsored Laura has their name on the quilt back. We know that many of you choose to donate anonymously but if you’d like your name to be included then please get in touch so Laura can add it before she starts the quilting. If you think how fascinating it is to those of us who are interested in quilt making when a maker has provided information about their quilt you’ll understand why Laura wants this piece to be fully documented.
New Video Workshop – Beautiful Painted Papers
I often work with mixed media and combining paper, fabric and stitch is a real favourite technique of mine. It’s important to have the right kind of papers though and in this week’s video I show how I create beautiful, jewel-like examples using the simplest of materials. I hope you’ll make a heap of your own so that you’ll be ready to be creative when we show how to use them in a couple of weeks.
DMTV Members can view this video now, if you’re not a Member why not consider joining us? You can check out our
free videos to give you a taste of what we offer and sign up for access to over 30 videos for just £12.
Thank you for reading our newsletter this week. We’ll be back again soon with more.
Love Linda and Laura xx
