End of Another Season

Now is my time to explore pure art, simply creating with no real goal in mind. This is the shoulder season at LeBeausoleil where my sister displays and sells my work. They're closed till after Christmas. Her walls are filled and she even has extras to fill holes in the display when they occur.
I painted and dyed all summer. NOW is the time I get to re-examine what I made and use it.

This painted FQ was almost cut for another use but I'm glad I put it aside.

The colours in this are warm and muted. They are the colours of late Autumn, when the intense reds have vanished in the rain and wind.
Yesterday I played with stamping it very loosely. The deep brown at the top was a paint stick, oil.



The three leaves at the bottom were paint, also applied with a stamp. There but not there. There are a few in gold as well.

At long last I can apply some of that cheesecloth that I used to sop up all the leftover paints and dyes.
I placed this off centered and anchored it with a muted satin stitch.



Then I began cross hatching the whole piece. I usually don't think far enough ahead to the quilting of the background. But this time I did.

It's been awhile since I played on the fabric surface.
Here is a tight satin stitch mimicking the path of a falling leaf.

Organza  leaves appliqued in yellow and gold.

And then back to my cheesecloth.
These last two leaves of the day were hooped to hold the cloth tight while the leaf was sketched over top. Several passes with a FM zigzag were necessary to secure enough of the fibres in this gauzy material before I cut way the excess.



What's next?
There is definitely a call for thread painted leaves, but I don't want them yet.