Pink Moon Progress

 

I've been working, on and off, on this piece inspired by the Lewis & Irene Hares fabric. It's such a gorgeous print and I loved the colours which are very unlike my usual go-to palettes. The purplish tint to them made me think of tinged fields and a bright pink moon - I don't know why, the brain works in mysterious ways but I'm so pleased it did because I am loving working on these colours!

Although it's slow going I'm enjoying the process. I started on the moon itself because I didn't want any fraying (I didn't back it with any vilene so it's all my usual raw edges) and because I was just really excited to start that bit! Amazingly, both the moon and the top dark purple layer are the same fabric. It's a beautiful Moda Gradients print which starts at a purple that's so dark it's like an aubergine, then washes through to bright pink and fades out to this gorgeous baby pink at the other end - a totally justified purchase with many different Stitchscape uses to be had!

For the moon I initially just outlined the obvious colour changes with whip stitch but then wanted to add different textures so had a go at the little streaky shading lines in two different colours over the washes of matching colour underneath. There were still areas of the edging that hadn't been secured so I then added little running stitches on the inside of the whip stitch plus then of course it was edged with bullion knots- lots of texture for one little moon. 

As always, there's a long way to go with this one as the first layer hasn't fully gone down yet and then there's all of the extra details and plant life to go over the top. I have some flat pearlescent beads which would work brilliantly with the printed Honesty seed heads and would just add to that moon-like glow. I could maybe use some silky threads as well which have a slight shimmer to them....so many possibilities!! 

Part of the reason for it being a slow burner is because I'm currently not using the bus to get to work and back so my commute has dramatically changed following lockdown. I'm not sure how long it will last as it relies heavily on The Mother driving me there in the morning and both Parents collecting me when I finish. For me it's absolutely great because I get an additional 45 minutes lie in, a whole hour to get ready and eat breakfast, then it only takes half an hour to get delivered straight to the office front door, through which I go and stay until 5.30pm when I'm picked up directly outside and am home half an hour later! My day's outside work are much longer and it's just a fantastic feeling to have my evenings back. 

The magic this brings does mean that because I'm no longer hanging around for the bus, or sitting on the bus for an hour each way, that my stitching progress is slower and I'm instead fitting it into lunch breaks and pockets of quiet at home. 

Now we're more out of lockdown our weekends are filling up again with socially distant social events and trips out with the family which is really lovely. I did mange to sneak some quiet sewing time one Sunday morning a couple of weekends ago though and had half an hour whilst the rest of the house snored to sit in bed in my jim-jams and lose myself in the stitches. 

Because it's a colour palette that I don't work with often, I also had to treat myself to a handful of new threads! It amazes me that although I have my own personal collection of threads (rather a large one), as well as an inherited thread collection and threads specially for workshops and Stitchscape kits - that I still needed to buy so many to try and match to different areas! Just goes to show how many beautifully coloured fabrics you can buy, we really are spoilt for choice!