Gerry asked for Jacobean flowers on her blocks. I've always loved the look, but I wanted to put my own spin on it (Janetean Jacobean) so I designed an iris using the gold dance-wear fabric. I cut the petals out and overlayed some goldish lace on the bottom ones. There is a little bit of stuffing behind the top and larger bottom petals to give them a little dimension. Then I couched down some gold cording around the edges. I actually did the "plunge" with the ends, using a big needle to take the raw ends to the back of the block and tacking them down with thread, which is a real goldwork technique that I saw demonstrated on Mary Corbett's Needlenthread blog.
The top petal got some different trim couched down, and then other trims formed the stem and leaves. Variegated silk ribbon made the "beards" of the iris. I used gold needlepoint thread on a couple of the seams (because I just can't NOT do the seams!) then added some orange beads. Some jewelry findings and golden butterflies were added. The butterflies are made so that they can be bent; their wings can lift up off the block, if Gerry so chooses. Later I added the sequins to the top petal.
The other blocks all have some color added, including the teal blue color. I tried adding a sprinkling of teal sequins to the background, but I decided I didn't like them, so they came out and I just added some teal beads.
Here's how the block looks now. I think it's ready to send on home to Gerry, but I have some time, so I may just contemplate it a bit more....
2 comments:
Janet, this is just beautiful! I love how you made the iris and it goes well with the other blocks.
This is gorgeous Janet.... the little metal butterflies are just precious.. I'm glad you took the teal sequins off...and as usual the seams are spectacular...
Post a Comment