Waiting for Spring with Autumn Leaves

After some beautiful balmy weather (above zero c.) we're getting hammered today with what I think everyone hopes is the last dump of snow for this year.  It's really hard to stay motivated. I was out to a guild meeting last evening after which I couldn't sleep till the wee small hours. (Ed says I get over excited when I stay up past my bedtime) Went through the motions at the gym. Came home, showered and hopped into bed. When I looked up it was 1 pm.
I forced myself to go down to my studio and work. I mounted a customer quilt on the long arm and left it. I pulled out an unfinished piece I had assembled a few seasons ago and looked at it for a while.

This piece was started as a result of another, using dimensional leaves, leaves folded or rumbled and stitched down. I had all these templates I had drawn and cut out so I assembled a few scraps of materials, cut them out and fused them and the silhouettes of their shapes to this piece of recycled pillowcase.
When I realized the fold lines of the pillowcase were not going to iron out, I threw it in the "later" pile.

For want of any other ambition I started micro stippling the background to anchor fresh batting to a canvas backing. And to my satisfaction the fold lines disappeared when they were stitched over.
Well this started to become a little more interesting.
So I have been hopping from my Janome to my Juki, trying out how inconvenient two machines were going to be. The Janome is set for satin stitching and the Juki FM.

So I started "tarting up" the leaves.

On a few I simply accentuated the pattern on the material. The olive green is tiny circles, the brown, swirls. Then each was tightly satin stitched.

This one is just cross hatched. I may go back and double the density of the hatching.

 

The slim silhouettes are satin stitched on either side, some times in 2 colours.

 

 

There are still a number of very bright and important leaves and I have yet to decide what motifs I will put inside. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I'll work on this (after shoveling the snow drift from my from walkway) or maybe I'll start quilting a customer's quilt.

 

Right now it's time for a glass of wine. Dinner is ready thanks to my dear husband.

Thinking about beading the whole thing.