The Hills are Alive

I'm really pleased this week as I have managed to get some momentum going, working on a new piece for the fast-approaching Ten Plus Textiles exhibition in Stoke (details nearer the time). I was tempted to go in a new direction, but the little houses wouldn't leave me alone, so I'm working on a familiar theme, but developing some new techniques.

I drew the design onto freezer paper so that I could iron it onto the fabric and stencil in the hills using acrylic paint.

I cut out the hill shapes as I went,brushing the paint lightly just along the outline. You can see the areas I have already stencilled, brushing the brown paint off the edge of the paper.

The stencilling is finished. The next stage is to machine-stitch around the top row of hills, then trim away the excess fabric. I use this raw-edge method of applique as it allows me to draw quite steep curves.

I like the way the hills are silhouetted against the sky.
The little houses were then applied using bondaweb. I always stitch around them to secure them in place, but this will be done as part of the quilting when the top has been layered with wadding and backing.
I will show you more tomorrow.