Embroidering fantasy creatures
Or an attempt to explain why I am making these patchwork panels
Sometime before Christmas I had a moment when I didn't know what I wanted to do. I had a few hours with no pressing business or chores and wanted to do something for myself. Not write, as that is also my business, and not crash in front of the tv. So I turned to my stash of fabric and pulling a few pieces together, I worked out a way to stitch them together and then embroidered the shape of a dragon on it. And this was such an experience. The tactile pushing the needle through and pulling the thread tight was just what I needed. No screens, no need to think overly much, it was the perfect time to let go and just be. Which is just what I wanted and needed.
The problem was, that after a few weeks (I think, as I can't actually remember how long that first one took me), I finished it. Then there was the question of what to do with it. I'd made it about the size of an A4 piece of paper, and it deserved to be made into something where I could admire it and be proud of the work I'd put into it. Just what. All I knew was that I wanted to make more panels and put them together to make something.
My first idea was to use this as the start of a quilt for our bed. But the logistics of that are intimidating. First, that is a hell of a lot of other panels to makes. 77 in fact, to make a quilt large enough for a king size bed, assuming all the panels are the same size as the one I'd made. Which is a lot. That also makes a lot of fabric once you put it together, and any pattern stitched over it to make the quilting (this is done over the whole piece stitching together the top layer of fabric, the bottom layer, and whatever is being put in the middle to cushion it) would need to be done while manhandling the whole fabric.
My sewing machine is normal size, rather than one of the long-armed machines you can get to quilt large pieces, so while it is possible, it would be incredibly difficult. As well, the pattern to quilt would need to be designed around the embroidery, as you wouldn't want to stitch over the top of it. And while there are people you can hire to do the quilting and put it all together, that didn't feel right for this project which I was doing purely for myself. And the idea of hand quilting it would probably take the rest of my lifetime to do as well as still having the problem of manhandling the amount of fabric.
Which left the idea on the back burner over Christmas and into the New Year. Which is when I thought again. I found this pattern for a Quilted Hug on Facebook and so that's what I'm going to make myself. I've worked out I can split the shape into nine panels of three different shapes, and that will be a much more manageable size of fabric. So, I pulled out my fabric again and stitched together the fabric for four more of the panels, and am now stitching different mythological creatures onto them. I've added the outlines of the shapes I want on these pieces and now I'm working to do the infill in different colours.
I have no idea how long this will take me, and to be honest, the point of it is the process rather than having the end product. I try to do a little bit of the stitching most days, but if I miss a few that's fine. It will get done when it is done, and then I will have the most amazing cape. I am tempted to add a hood to it, but I will wait to see how it all comes together before I decide on that. I have shared photos in my notes of how it is coming along, and I am sure I will share more as I keep going with it.
And, for those who are interested, the patchwork is machine stitched together, then I am hand embroidering with a back stitch/straight stitch to make the outlines and then long and short stitch to fill in the silhouette, using different coloured threads to make an ombre from top to bottom. I anticipate that the piecing it together and quilting will be done by machine as well. But I'll see when I get there exactly how that works. It's a long time since I've made a patchwork quilt, so I need to remember how I put it all together and finish it off, but I still have to make all the panels first.
I’m also a little worried that the long and short stitch leaves a lot of thread to catch on things, so it might not be practical to wear. But that is a problem for future me! And whatever I end up doing with them, the process of creating them is soothing my soul at the moment. I am so appreciating doing something that is just for me, rather than someone else, or with a future intention to maybe make money from.
For now, this is the perfect activity, and if I get a quilted cape out of it, then that is a bonus!