Decisions

It's hard to say which I enjoy more... the design stage or the important decisions stage... Decisions I make at this point are not reversible and sometimes I don't realize I made the wrong decision until the piece is done.. So I try to take great care in my choices at this point.

Last night it was the fabric for the bird..  The bird is the most important element on this block and since the entire block is all gold, to make the bird stand out requires "super" gold.  As I went through my gold fabric I narrowed it down to a yummy elegant gold silk, a glistening gold taffeta and a small piece of metallic gold woven fabric... The latter won hands down.  Unfortunately it not scan well...

It actually sparkles and glistens like the ribbon pictured.  I do not want to lose this quality so will experiment with stitches that don't overpower it.. But the wing will be jeweled.. I only had that one piece of that fabric...about 5x7".. barely big enough for the bird as you can see.. Since it is woven and frays easily, I have backed it with Allie's wonderful knitted interfacing which will allow me to work with it off block on a hoop... My plan is to slightly pad it when it is appliqued to the block..

If you look closely you can see I have basted the outline of the bird on the fabric. I transferred the design to the back of the block using my "cut-away transfer" method and then basted it so it is visible on the front. And I do ALL the basic steps that I do for my birds on felt. The first and MOST IMPORTANT step is outlining it with a tight chain stitch to prevent fraying...  The chain stitch in this instance will also act as a guide for the couched cording.