In a recent post, I wrote about a new work I’m planning, auditioning fabric for it and saying how I was going for what I’m calling the ‘shimmer’ effect; and yesterday stumbled across this photo in an old file which exactly fits the colour scheme I have in mind.

I took this photo on our local beach, Carrasco just after sunrise. l’m sure I must have taken it for the beautiful colours and smooth sand with sun reflected off the gentle waves lapping the sand, all combining to present an air of peace and calm. At that time of year it may have been the dawning of a hot day, and the clouds in the distance might be a receding storm (our ‘weather’ comes in mostly from the West and South-West) It’s hard to say, because I don’t remember anything specific about that day.

I’m still working on how best to use the square within a square motif using sheer fabrics plus metallic stitchery.

Today I had a brilliant idea – fusing 4 strips of silk organza into a square and overlapping the ends produces corner squares in a darker version of that colour:

Working this way will reduce the time needed to get the squares into place on the fabric before stitching. Earlier I estimated I’d be doing 165 squares, which is quite a few! Each of these fused into place on the grid will fit within the hoop, so there’ll be no need to stop and move the hoop during the stitching, which makes project less daunting. So now I just have to make the final decision on how to deal with the small squares at each corner and in the middle. I have plenty of time for that, and even to have another brilliant idea or two, because I’m still maybe 40 hours away from finishing the heavily stitched piece I’m working on at the moment. I actually still love the version of stitched square motif I’ve already used so much in the past few months – upper right corner below, so I think that decision’s really been made.