Poppy Fields

Firstly I'm sorry these photos aren't quite as good as my usual ones. They have been taken on my phone as the cat decided to push my beloved camera off a desk and now the shutter button doesn't work!! I don't quite know what to do about it as everything else seems to be fine, just that button won't now 'click' so no photos are taken. The cat is very much in the doghouse about it. 

Anyway, these cards didn't end up quite how I'd expected them too. They are almost abstract with different layers of poppy-ness about them rather than the scene that had initially been in my head. It is a brilliant example of what happens when you just let things evolve. I don't ever really plan things out beforehand, unless it has a structure to it like a building or something, but in my head I was going to do more of a close view of a field and the poppy heads were all going to be in the red fabric layer, perhaps easing up into the layer above and the bottom layer would be stems and stripes. 

I started with the top green layer to add in some texture and I think when I added in the little french knots in red that's when the ideas started to change. The layer was covered in single strand seed stitches first off and then scattered across with the two strand, one twist knots. I've edged the layer beneath in a soft yarn which matches more of the colour of the top layer than the one I'm actually edging which plays a little bit with the perspective and almost pushes that darker layer back into a horizon. 

The dark layer I was initially just adding stems onto and then I was going to put little poppy flowers on top but I really liked the subtle texture of the stems so left it as just the long straight stitches, angled in slightly different directions and at different heights. 

Of course, then if those two layers weren't going to be more realistic in their interpretation, I decided to just have some fun with the rest of the piece, stitching rows of one strand back stitch in red between all of the spots on the red polka dot fabric below to make a diagonal cross hatch pattern. I started, and then regretted, adding in french knots in black coton perle thread in the spots where the threads meet. The dark green fabric, which is overlapped by the red polka dot, is a batik cotton which means it's more tightly woven than the craft cotton on the top and I really struggled getting my needles through these layers for the knots!! It took me absolutely ages as I had to do it in little instalments and I still ended up with blisters on my thumb. I should have gone and bought some long nose pliers to help me bring the needle through. Eventually I got there though and there were spots everywhere!

For the bottom layer I then had the idea of using small circles to create little poppy heads, and played around with the idea of using circles of felt, perhaps not evenly round circles, or hole punching red card to make little tiny spots. In the end I came across these flat sequins at work and decided to use those to add a little bit of discreet sparkle as well. I could have combined all three ideas which would have been interesting but I was running out of time to complete these cards before the deadline. Perhaps it's something that could be explored in a bigger hoop situation.

I would also have liked to use black or dark blue beads to hold the sequins on but I couldn't find any so I've used more of the black coton perle thread and made bigger french knots than those in the red layer to wedge the sequins on. 

I am quite pleased with how these turned out. It kind of gives hints of poppy field-ness without actually saying it, and there's a slight air of sketchbook experimentation about it, trying to translate the theme in as many ways as possible and then layering them together. My university tutors would be very proud I'm sure. 

The final stitch run down for these cards is; seed stitch, french knots, couching, straight stitch, back stitch, and bullion knots. Possibly the least number of stitches I've ever used in a set of cards! But hopefully they aren't too boring and fit in with the rest of the cards coming in from across the country for the swap.