Antique Flora Bunda

I have been finding it hard to gear up again and get going on all my work samples needed for this springs workshops. I so enjoyed just switching off and not lifting a finger to sew all over the festive period that I'm now not focused and finding it hard to find my inner sewing goddess.
To get me in the swing I spent a pleasant couple of hours drawing humming birds for my gold work embroidery, and I did manage to get a final design which I quickly marked on to my fabric and hooped it up ready for sewing when I'm sat in my comfy armchair over the next couple of weeks.
Tudor rose patchwork shop is high on my list of things that need to be done NOW so I took a trip over and purchased my palette of fabrics to make the hanging that was buzzing round my head.
Antique flora bunda is the title I came up with all those months ago when I sat in my cozy bed one Sunday morning and made up my titles for my up coming workshops.  Great fun when your creatively making them up. Not so good several months down the line when you have to make the project fit the brief but it does make me focus, many of them giving me a challenge and thankfully coming together each time.
I would like to show you my latest workshop where my students will learn how to free machine embroider these lovely flowers with their simple out lined leaves. The flowers look very controlled but believe me they are quite free and it is the choice of several colours of thread worked from the background to the forefront which give tone, texture and form to them.
I  then pieced some together in a patchwork manor adding cream lace and gold and cream ribbon to create a background witch I then wadded and free motion quilted . Once I had a background I then worked more free motion stitched flowers which I carefully cut out and reapplied at random on to the background to give a raised and dimensional look to the panel.
By the time I had this project under my belt my inner sewing goddess was up and yelling " Machine Embroidered Appliqué and Patchwork".
She is now raring to go, yelling ideas and creative encouragement at me by the ton.
IM BACK ON FORM AND READY TO CREATE FOR 2013.
THANKS TO MY INNER SEWING GODDESS who slacks off for a rest at times but is never to far away when I need her.