The back of the skirt for my new dress is done! Took three and a half weeks and six bobbins. I ran out of solid green thread (which I'm using in the bobbin for the embroidery) right at the end of the final row. I'm running out of YLI Alaskan Twilight thread, which is the gorgeous colorway on the top side of the embroidery. Rather than run around looking for thread after work, I ordered what I need. So now I get to take a two- or three-day break from the dress (and green, ha ha!). Perhaps I might even be able to finish a quilt for this quarter... with March days rapidly running out!
My inexpensive little Brother sewing machine is the first I've had my whole life that I can see the bobbin while I'm working and be ready when it runs out. The skirt seams are long, so I took chances a couple of times and predictably ran out of thread before finishing a row.
After that double debacle, I decided to use up the end of each bobbin crafting the sleevebands. As I pieced the back of the skirt with leftover 2-inch and 2.5-inch strips, I cut off excess and stashed them in a neat little pile, fully intending to craft some sort of scrap project with the leftover leftovers when I finish the dress. After running out of bobbin thread mid-seam two times, I realized I could use those feet-long thread ends for the sleevebands to finish off the bobbin with little to no waste. By the time I finish the skirt front, I should have both sleevebands done, too.
I'd been thinking I could use either a green Kona solid for the bodice or perhaps a green hand-dye solid (both in my stash). But sometimes, as I'm stitching, I wonder how it would look with a blue or purple (also in my stash) bodice, then oversized green decorative buttons. Then, I began wondering, since I haven't yet found just the right buttons and don't really want to drive around looking for them, what if I do some applique with the tiny scraps instead of buttons? My mind began spinning, and oh, do I like some of the inspirations that are zooming in so fast, I can hardly keep track!
I'm enjoying working with these (mostly) green batiks. They are bringing back fun memories of all the wonderful things I've created with my green batik fabric collection and the joy I have wearing and using some until they wear out and gifting others. Working with these garden-fresh scraps tugs on my conscience because there are still so many green batik WIPs waiting to be done and cherished. Plus so many more green batik scraps just waiting to be used!
You're an artist. :-) Beautiful work, all of it. All the best to you. Regula
ReplyDeleteYou sure can make all green with envy. That backlog must be extensive, but better than none at all, as I'm sure I've said before.
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