Birch Blog Day 1

 

Well here I am, as promised on the first day of my ‘make a piece in a week blog’. Today was to be a day of sampling to decide what was going on top of my strips of laced birch bark. As this piece will be in the forthcoming book on cutting techniques I had to use my die cutter with a leaf die. 

I was pretty sure how the wrapped cords should look so I decided to crack on with those first. Then I could lace the strips together and try my samples on the intended background. Knitting yarn, glitzy yarn and suitable top and bobbin threads were gathered and I began.  

The next hour went something like this:

 

Search for piping foot (has a channel underneath and doesn’t squash the cord). Fail.

Feed cat.

Find piping foot in thread box. Begin wrapping. Machine jams.

Search for machine brush for bunged up race. Fail. Borrow Clive’s razor brush.

Feed cat.

Remove sufficient fluff to stuff two cushions. Decide to do proper job and remove lots of machine bits. Clean and oil and re-assemble.

Machine purring nicely, commence wrapping cord.

Listen to Clive and cat discussing cat’s need to be fed – again. Close workroom door.

 

Miles of wrapped cords later I can start the samples.

 Several hours later I have laced some of the strips together and produced a variety of finishes on the cut leaf shapes. Now to try them out.

 It is really not my day. Blogger has just closed me down, luckily I had been saving. It is a little worrying that my Publish button is greyed out.

First sample: metal leaves, embossed and coloured with acrylic paint.

Followed by painted silk applied to Vilene. Too bright, not keen.

Painted Vilene, plus one metal.

Gesso-resisted painted Vilene. Like this.

Brighter version of the one above, plus metal. Ummmm

Mixture of gesso resist, metal and one leaf drawn on paper. I might have one more try tomorrow at replicating the drawn leaf in stitch. Then I will decide.

Which do you think I should use?  Or a mixture?