Free Form Embroidery

It has been another very wet week in the Midwest and I have been preparing for several long summer teaching journeys. But a bit of energy was directed toward more digital embroidery experiments on my 730 Bernina with basic Artista software. 

Synthetic threads are often used for machine embroidery because they are colorfast and strong enough to endure the wild action of the programmed machine stitches. These threads tend to be very shiny, so I have been tempted to try using shiny fabrics, too. So here I began with two silk doughnuts fused to a black cotton background. The sewing machine gives you the dimensions of your design, so I was able to center the thread spirals almost directly in the center of each silk circle.

The gray thread looks like silver and creates a wonderful glowing effect. By marking the background I was able to place the designs in almost perfect symmetry. These practice pieces have also allowed me to play with different interfacings and hooping techniques. Frankly, it is hard to stay away from the sewing machine these day, as so many ideas are floating by.

The spider was stretched so he was big enough to become the grounding element of the little composition. I am really enjoying the collage possibilities of mixing and matching separate shapes.
But my machine will have to be content to rest while I am on-the-road meeting new friends and collecting design inspiration.