Day by day? (Whitney. There it is.)
It's really difficult to concentrate with synthesizers.
Below is the process of pillow creating I follow. I approach the task like I do most business in life: with abandon, gusto, inspiration, and...haphazard planning. It works out decently for crafting and schoolwork, but I am one lousy cook without a recipe.
Step 1: Abandon gets paired with inspiration, then coupled with gusto. I first make a square on my sketch pad to mimic the pillow size, then come up with a sketch. This next pattern focuses on embroidered Christmas lights strung between two reindeer antlers atop an appliqué forest background. At this point I have a color scheme in mind.
Step 2: I begin with the random, but purposeful, selection of material. The back and front panel's material are chosen and cut first, then the pattern is snipped from various other patterned material. I eyeball the size and dimensions for each shape, but generally reference the pattern to make sure I am staying on track. Once the shapes for the pattern are cut out, I start pinning and trimming the material onto appliqué adhesive. The pinned pieces are shown below. Ironing fuses the material to the appliqué.
I then embark on the most satisfying part of the process, Step 3: peeling the paper backing from the adhesive. It should be added to this list. (You will not regret clicking that link as much as you may have the first two…)
Steps 4 thru 12 help the material picture come together, layer by layer. I bet how I go about this process would drive the measurers-of-the-world crazy, but this works for me. I don't measure, or try different patterns on top of one another, I just go for it. If Mr. Lincoln cared about appliqué, I would probably have to offer an apology.
Anyway.
And there it is! This pattern is now ready for embroidery, which will be particularly enjoyable due to the extra details of twinkle lights not made of material. I tend to pick the thread colors ahead of time, then settle in to the long process of embroidery with Miles Davis and Joni Mitchell records, episodes of The Wire, or Jo-dog eye contact. Truckee always makes it weird.
Thanks for visiting. I'm excited for this one. The sun is officially up, it's time to wrastle this day.
Peace, love, (and planning),
Jo
