Chelsea Swan

I still had this piece sketched out from the hand embroidery pieces that never happened so I thought I would give it a crack on the sewing machine and see how it compares – and if I could do more detailed work with the machine as everything was a bit rough and freehand on my first attempt.

So overall it looks ok, some threads just do not want to be pulled about as much as I would like which is why the rainbow thread is only on three drops. It’s not really as satisfying and feels less part of me when I have not done each stitch personally with my hands. It is quicker but I would rather put in the time. I could layer up the stitches to get over the thinness of the lines and it does feel more like drawing but in a tense and controlled way not relaxed and natural. I think it may just not quite be for me but I have not ruled it out for a possible big tapestry piece that would benefit from the quickness. I just need to experiment more. For certain the image sketch and composition needs to be done with the medium in mind which is why this one may have fallen down.