....but decided to undo some, and go a bit further with the stitching that I've seen on Afghan and Uzbek textiles lately.
Here's the result....
..with lines of closed herringbone and bhukara couching.
The couching was quite time-consuming, but mostly because I used an Anchor Pearl 8 thread, which really was far too fine for this stitching that has to completely cover the background fabric. (I actually used an ironed-on shape to work to - you may be able to see the pink showing through!)
I enjoyed doing it, but will use a thicker thread next time - probably equivalent to 4 strands of floss.
That was the last piece of prepared background lurking around, so I can now really start on new work. I've been doing some searching, on the net, in books and in places, like ARTIQUE, that have wonderful stocks of tribal textiles....
Here are just a few of the pieces I found there this week...
...and there are plenty more to show later too!
(For those who would like to see more...I've uploaded all of my Artique photos to Flickr...and put them in their own Set.)
I'm now completely fired-up to start new things....
....but I'll still keep the essence of the old.
I'll also be taking it slowly, with thoughts of the many women who have also loved the feel of a needle in their hand, and the feel of fabric on their skin....
