Winter Banner

Here is the winter banner in my series.  It is sewn together but not quilted yet.  I used the thread painted pinecones and branches as the accent.  The branch wasn't quite long enough, so I had to use an extra bit of fabric to extend it to the border.   It reminds me of the Wolf Pines at the back of the garden shed.  And Russ picked the border fabrics to use.  He is getting pretty good at that.

 And here's a detail shot of the thread painting.    I used a zig-zag stitch to attach the branches and pinecones, and then a lot of straight stitches to secure the needles. 

  A word to the wise....I used the Featherweight and the plastic 1/4 inch foot to sew the watercolor background.   The machine began to bind up and squeak about a third of the way through.  Cleaning and oiling did not help.  Finally it dawned on me to swictch  to the regular foot.  That was it.  The  finish on the interfacing was causing a build up on the plastic foot and making the machine drag.   Lesson learned. 

 It's time to make cookies.  And maybe stitch a little later.