Starting ANEW!!

He we go anew!!! 

Four Days back,  the day started  with that itchy feeling I'd been too long away from my passion. 

As the holidays had started to loosen it's grip on me , it seemed it was time to dive back in. What a relief to get lost in painting this small piece.  All white limbs were created by painting the negative (gray) space.  I'm never satisfied by adding white  ink painting atop a  darker painted area as the continuity of the surface seems altered.  Maybe seems a bit sick but I have always enjoyed negative space painting.   Fabric  now painted ( slight wrinkle in the rug look on left) ...... next to quilt. 

My goal in starting quilting is to outline with monofilament the major elements quickly and ditch any pins. That done I'm doing a whole lot of negative space quilting. Since the negative space is not the focal point, the infamous micro stipple (tight meander) works perfectly for my thinking.  There's hours in this micro stipple game  even on a small piece, but  if it's worth it, you do it!

Once background fill done, I added some thread detail on the cardinal, and did so with a goal of leaving much UNquilted. I am using a 100 wt poly thread which I love when thread seems called for but not in my face. 100 wt. is subtle. 

I've come to standing back and reviewing a subject just quilted, and often find small areas warranting correction. In this case an additional bit of quilting . The pins help me remember  where.

I think I like this Cardinal

Now DONE but for facing and other minor finish work.