A sprinkling of snowdrops

I've been working on some textile pieces around the theme of snowdrops. I am enthralled by them & I was trying desperately to finish them before the snowdrops disappeared!

Above is a narrow sketchbook given to me by a friend - I gessoed the brown pages & will use it as a flower book, as they come out in my garden, helped hopefully by the inspiring DMTVvideos by Linda & Laura Kemshall that I subscribe to, small bite size clips that I plan to work thru.....

All the rest of the photos are looking decidedly sepia - I guess they are that color & I don't always have access to good daylight ;) Above I layed out & loosely stitched down some varying textures of white, gold & lacy recycled fabrics - I didn't use bondaweb as it's getting hard for me to stitch into.

 I'd been round the shops in Edinburgh when we had a stop over picking up the Youngest for our journey to Wales for Christmas & found this wonderful collection of lace for a very reasonable price

Above is a 'small hanging', about 5" x 13" In the middle, not desperately clear, is a sprig of Pussy Willow using scrim & bits of tea dyed silky fabric for the 'whisps'. I may need to define it somehow & also add a couple of stems to make the snowdrops 'nod'

Above is an abstract version, needs more hand stitching, (about 5 x 5" as are the next 2)

 I made a total of 15 little drop petals, using the miss shapen ones for my sample piece. I learned to use a stablising fabric for the 'silky' ones as they obviously just curve in - I did stuff the one in my sample piece, a little bit of stmpwork! I've used lacey bits too in the willow above.

 I left the middle petal half free & knowing someone might take a peek used a textured fabric for the underside.

 
 There's gold organza for the top or crown  of the flower.

 A couple of small brooch sized patches & all the bits I cut the petals from I turned into a flower

Here it is in my 'main' sketchbook page - a drawn & gold painted layout - oh how I love that gold acrylic! a ref pic from a mag - I'm trying to sort my piles of gardening mags useful for reference but I reaslise you just don't need to keep them ALL ;) & my sample piece about 4 x 4 so good to be able to touch what you've made in your sketchbook when the 'real' pieces are either covered up or sold, what a favour I did myself when I started to make samples!

I'm off the the Creative Stitches Show this week at the Glasgow SECC, which they've changed to the Quilting, Stitching & Sewing show or something  like that, can't wait, books to buy, stitchers to see, it'll be fun!