Detail views of the white stole samples

It's a typical spring day here in the Okanagan...some welcome rain showers and a little sun, but mostly a high bright overcast--great for photography, especially of whites! So, in between showers, I went outside to take some close-ups of the stole samples that I posted last night.

Again I'm using my favourite "bias strip piecing" technique. That means cutting all the fabrics in strips on the bias (30 - 60 degrees or so) and then stitching them in gentle concave or convex curves to a foundation fabric. My favourite foundation fabric is unbleached cotton (a.k.a. muslin or calico if you live in the US or UK!) In these samples, I've inserted the lace edging (which of course is not on the bias) into some of the seams.

To see larger views, double click on any image and your screen will be more than filled.

A New Stole in the Works...

Here are three samples of designs for the next stole. This stole will be worn by a minister officiating at his son's wedding at the end of May. Most of the materials were table linens and fabrics belonging to their grandmothers.

A white stole is worn on holidays like Easter and Christmas and celebratory occasions such as weddings and christenings.

In terms of designing this stole, an absence of colour means that texture comes to the fore. In this case, much of the texture is provided by the lace edgings and the brocade weave structure in some of the linens. The piecing pattern also provides some texture--whether I run the pieces in a chevron pattern as in the two samples in the centre and the right, or vertically as in the sample on the left.

Do you have a preference?

Getting to work!

I thought I'd start by showing you some images of my studio at the moment...what a mess! I woke up at 4:30 AM today thinking I need to tidy up before doing anything more.

In the background on the wall you can see the samples I've done so far. I started by sorting the materials (ties and scarves) into colour groups of reds, yellows, greens, and blues. Then I cut a narrow bias strip from each and used my favourite bias strip piecing technique on a cotton foundation.
Each sample has overlays of organzas.

Potential Designs for the Stole

In an earlier e-mail to Anne, I suggested she search for images with phrases such as "winter night sky" and "aspen trees in winter". She replied that when she did this, she realized that the northern lights really caught her eye. That really opens up the design possibilities. Northern lights have long fascinated me, but unfortunately I don't live far enough north to see them often. However, a few years back I experimented with layers of organzas and lots of stitching to see if I could re-create my own aurora borealis. Here's the result: I sent this image to Anne, and she replied that my image was right on. They get some awesome northern lights in northern Alberta. So with that, I got out my coloured pencils and several photos of northern lights and went to work. I discovered in my research that green is the most common colour for aurora borealis and red is the most rare. Here are the sketches that Anne is pondering now. Which one do you prefer and why?