I loved the snowflake effect this Madonna ended up having with the bugle beads. (The image of the Madonna on this is clear in reality.)
I worked on this block today adding more beads, leaves and button clusters. Finally I had to stop! I wanted to keep the lower Madonna more subtle. I may still have some work to do to get this to blend better. And I thought I was done, sigh.
I added some greenery to the blue buttons and rays to the halo, beads to the flower at the bottom. I still have to embellish the Madonna on the right.
These started out as 3 simple buttons and then they became a little garden. 
I added pearls to the cross buttons.
I couldn't get a good detail shot here but I added some beads (oomph) to the buttons leading to the lavender rose.
Do you think I should embellish around the roses in the 2 top squares? I am inclined to leave them alone.
My next step once I have the Madonnas as I want them is to break up the 2 straight lines of trim that divide the middle section. I don't like how I crookedly sewed on one of the trims and I think it could be more interesting with something done to it. I am contemplating a banner saying, "Mary, Queen of Roses" with a small ribbon bouquet or some ribbon roses.
I also plan to machine embroider some kind of stitch along the navy bias tape band so it has some definition (or not). I am not planning to embellish the light blue areas at all (except a sequin fell on there today and looked pretty good but that could take forever. . . .)
Comments are welcome.
18 comments:
O Debra, this is just glorious. I think my favorite is the top middle, picture #003.jpg with the wintry-looking snowflakes and the icy blue fabrics. I am also fond of the madonna picture on that one, too. As for the roses, I know you're anxious to get this done, but I think it needs something or it will look forgotten. I think a little touch of gold would look nice. Maybe you could use one of the decorative stitches on your Janome and do some outlines in gold metallic thread. Or couch (or glue?) on some fat gold thread.
It's magnificent! Are you going to enter it into that contest?
Maybe just a buttonhole stitch around the rose shapes, in red? Gold?
The outer blue blocks are lighter in value than the interior, and I love that. Could you emphasize that by machine quilting the blocks in a sparkly white thread, or light icy blue? In an overall pattern, to add "weight" and uniformity, not business....
The more "encrusted" the interior gets, the better I like it. It just goes with the images, evokes a much earlier age, when perhaps the Madonna was more central to peoples' complex hopes and dreams than She is today........
Insanely beautiful.
Now that I see it on the screen, I see that the roses could use some definition. I may do a thick thread around them or a line of beads.
The blue border area is all embroidered with machine stitches --they just don't show up in the pictures. A, do you think I should machine quilt over them?
R, I doubt I will enter this piece in the contest because the images are not clear enough and I probably won't finish it in time. Plus, it is very difficult to photograph. I would have to hire someone to do it.
I am beginning to think it needs much more encrusting too, which means I am no where near being done with it. I'll just have to pace myself and work on some other projects so I don't get too compulsive!
Thanks for your input!!
Nope, I wouldn't quilt over all your hard work with the machine embroidery!
I had one CQ that on and off took 3 years. It just had to hibernate for about 20 months during its gestation. These things take their own time, sometimes with a big push, sometimes slow and gradual development.
As long as you are enjoying the process, you know you are on the right track.
Sorry if I sound pedantic here..;-)
I like the idea of embroidery around the roses, and maybe a bead (or cluster?) in center. I love the light blue crazy blocks in the border. It's an amazing piece.
Kay
It's beautiful, and you've gotten some good advice. I'll underscore what Allie said about not pressuring yourself to finish by deadline. The work will tell you when it's done.
Deadline? What deadline? I think that passed about 8 months ago! I went in and looked at it tonight thinking that I could embellish it for the rest of my life and still not be done! I am going to reconsider adding more embellishments. . .
I love the contrast between the warm, fuzzy center and the icy, cool border. So much better than if it was all just one or the other. Very fire and ice!
Very nice, Debra. What a lot of work!
My camera has a setting called "macro" that helps clear up fuzzy close-ups. Do you have that on your camera?
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