Stained Glass Poppies

I made a decision a couple of weeks ago to stop reading quilt/art books, watching Simply Quilts (so far I've watched every one from episode 1 to episode 757), and surfing the web, and start making things that have piqued my interest from what I've seen/read.

So, not counting my rust-dyed Ghost Gums and small landscape, I've decided to start creating a series of small works, around A4 size (11 1/2" x 8"), to try interesting techniques.

Here's the first one - Stained Glass Poppies. The pattern came from a "free" website. Originally I was going to do the leaves all in a dark green batik, but they didn't have enough light shining thru, so I've used a little of the dark green, lime green "snail trail", a lovely orange batik, and a piece of rust-dyed fabric for the background. The leading is done using Clover 4mm fusible bias tape, and the border is some hand-dyed cotton.

Most of the sewing is done using clear monofilament thread - I still don't really like this stuff, but I think I've bought cheap and nasty (Birch!), and on a bulk cone, so I found it works better to transfer some to a smaller spool - and what a pain that is! I used a blind-hem stitch on the bias, and a straight stitch to outline the outside area. It's backed with a low-loft polyester batting, adhered with bits of visoflix.

I'm quite pleased with the result, and like the orange of the poppies and the rust-dyed fabric best.