outofthebasement

It's truly spring today, the first day! Sixty five and sunny! I survived my French class with no real problems, finished the bobbin work that I have been obsessing over for the last three days, and so I'm very happy.

Here they are, after all my agony. Those little shapes are barely visible, but that's what I wanted, and they look smooth, straight and even, and I think will set off the quilting. As I finished them, I realized that to achieve these very inconspicuous little embellishments I took a class from Libby Lehmann, bought a machine embroidery hoop (expensive), bought several different spools of Razzle Dazzle thread, and agonized for two days, trying colors, designs etc. Was it worth it? I guess, because for the moment I am satisfied.

As a technique note, using the embroidery hoop makes free motion work much easier, because having something to steer the fabric by makes the movement smoother. It's a pain to put fabric in and out however, and to maneuver the hoop under the needle. I also liked the Razzle Dazzle thread. On my machine it worked in the bobbin very easily with no tension problems. It looks better in straight stitching than free motion because you can make longer stitches that show up the texture more, but free motion is ok.