Pergola 'progressings'!

My post is somewhat delayed as I have been away for a few days but I am back and have some progress on the pergola series.

As you will have seen in the previous post, I have already begun two pergola pieces which have yet to be completed. However, I did start yet another one. This began as two images - the ivy on my garage wall and the pergola image.

The colours were already quite wonderful but.... I overlaid it with the pergola pattern and put a filter onto it.

This was the basis of the next pergola piece. I wanted to print ivy leaves over the background fabric so I went and pulled a few leaves of different sizes from the garage wall and used them to print.

I used metallic acrylic paints and painted the leaves then printed them onto the fabric. I did hope that the paint might prevent the drying out of the leaves but it didn't and they are now quite crispy.

Next task was to stitch the pergola pattern over the fabric as I had done on the previous two pieces. I used the same thick black thread although the digital image showed a white pergola pattern. When I laid white threads - in fact I laid several different threads over the surface - black worked best.

Now I needed to add some dimension to the piece and decided to machine black sheer fabric leaves in different sizes and using a polyester variegated thread and a metallic variegated thread stitched the outlines and the veins on the leaves. They were then cut out with a soldering iron to seal the sheer edges.

I had to keep stitching more and more of these as I placed and stitched them loosely over the pergola leaving the leaves undulating and three dimensional.

Now I am thinking of creating even more of the leaves to hang freely from the pergola and blow about when wafted. So another piece ongoing. I really need to find the time to finish all three pieces 'before' I begin the next one. It is so tempting to start new pieces while there are so many ideas floating around in your head and one leads to another and another. Love it though!!!

When I arrived home -very late last night- I had an email from Batsford concerning the photo shoot list and as the editor is going away too for a few days I needed to work through the list as we need to finalise it for end of next week. Needless to say, I burnt the early hours oil. We are almost there and then I will have to label and pack all the pieces ready to take to the photographer.

I also received a short notice request to do a talk so I must also prepare for that. Everything is coming together at the moment. I think the saying is 'all or nothing' and I am on the 'all' bit. So if there is a long gap between blogs, please don't abandon me. I will be back whenever I can fit it in.

Cheers for now everyone