Have you been slaving away trying to get everything done for Christmas? Have you been burning the midnight oil trying to finish the Hedgehog pin cushion for Aunt Sally and the vase quilt for Aunt Jane, mug rugs for all your office mates?
IT’S TIME TO TAKE A BREAK
Keep your creative juices flowing by taking a short break—one hour away from the deadline projects.
Play a little -try something new. Experiment…. Answer the “What If Question”…
What if I used heavier thread?
What if I used linen instead of solid cotton?
What if I used a non-traditional leaf for Christmas?
I try to experiment like this regularly.
Most of the ideas are dead ends that end up in the trash.
I chalk it up to “Lessons Learned”… as in… “Things NOT to do”…
But occasionally I stumble onto something worth pursuing…
Recently, I experimented stitching colored thread on to a light background with the Sailboat.
This week I took that idea a bit farther (or is it further?)…
- Linen fabric
- Sulky 12 wt (very heavy) cotton thread for the decorative leaves and spirals
- Size 100 Denim needle (sharp)
- King Tut cotton thread for the background. NOTE–I used a size 90 Topstitch needle for the background. The subtle variations of this soft, lovely thread stitched up beautifully against the linen.
(See The Basic Leaf tutorial….and the Spiral and Reverse Spiral tutorials.)
This is one of the few experiments that shows real promise.
I have ordered several spools of Sulky’s 12 wt cotton (I already have a tub of linen from my home dec sewing days.)
I can’t wait to play some more.
What about YOU?
If you had a couple of hours to play—What new ideas, materials or techniques would YOU try?
We’d love to hear!
Staying creative by playing hooky,
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin, share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Thanks!