Paisley panel

I marked out another 6 x 4 paisley design on this piece of hand dyed natural linen, then I thought I'd draw a couple more and link them together somehow to make a panel, to save cutting my piece of cloth. Unfortunately, I couldn't photograph the piece of cloth before I started on it but here it is, a work in progress. I haven't designed it first, I thought I'd just let it grow and see what happens.



Here's the first paisley bit. I've used a mixture of crochet cotton (some of it painted) and stranded cotton. The paisleys are outlined in buttonhole stitch and there is couching, four sided stitch, padded satin stitch, spider web and french knots.



Here's a closeup:

(click on photos for bigger image)

Sharon B put up a post about designing small motifs on her blog:

http://inaminuteago.com/blog/index.php/archives/2006/08/30/a-prune-or-a-pickle-the-process-of-working-up-a-small-design/

This made me think 'outside the box' because Sharon's design cutting off the paisley motifs at the edges of the box has so much more energy. Her design, for a postcard, has lovely curling, flowing lines.

Progress on this piece will be slow, and my blog will be quiet for bit, because the boss is on holiday for a fortnight, WHOOPEE!