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Sendai Block - Work in Progress

My block for Hearts and Hands for Sendai has turned into what Sharon B likes to call "slow cloth".  I have a good idea of where I am going on it - it is just taking me a long time to get there.

This is where I am so far - thought it might be interesting to explain how my ideas progress.  The guidelines for the block were that it was to be 8", in jewel tones.  I took that pretty literally and went for sapphire, ruby, amber, amethyst. emerald and gold.  The two prints are precious little kimono fabric scraps, well at least precious to me!  lol  I chose these two because the geometric design is mirrored in both.  On the central piece, I was trying to make a tiny piece of fabric go too far and as a result the edges started fraying. I had to add a trim around it, going with gold and silver and I'll have to tie that in further along. 


On the center piece of kimono fabric I stitched over the lines of the geometric design with Gloriana Princess Petite Perle silk thread in a matching mauve colour.  More embellishing of this patch is in the plans. 
In the bottom corner on the kimono fabric I wanted to bleed the pattern out onto the adjacent blocks and have started that but need to do some frogging where I messed up.  This is where my limited stash at the trailer did me in.  It would have been so simple to use tracing paper or Press n Seal to copy the pattern and use it as a stitch guide.  Alas, no such things in the summer stash.  So, I eyeballed it and it hasn't worked yet as well as I want.

By now, I am sure you are wondering what that is I am building in the top corner!  I did some research before I started the block because I wanted to reflect some of the beauty of Sendai.
This is one of the photos I came across on my search, decorations used in the Tanabata Festival in Sendai.  I am trying to create a reasonable facsimile with beads and silk ribbons, as shown below.  This is still in progress and hopefully will get at least a bit closer to what I intended it to look like before I'm done.
So, that is where the block is right now - I hope when I am done it will come together and work.  Some of the other photos I found that I am working with in my plans for the block are below.
 - a pagoda because I would like to use this in one of the seam treatments,
 - the skyline of Sendai - I would like to do this in a silhouette with the sky above being a thin film made of angelina fibers.
The Selkova trees, since Sendai is called the City of Trees, if I am remembering correctly.  Wish me luck!

Comments

Amy in LA said…
Kerry-thanks for sharing your thoughts-it helps those of us who are just starting out! I love your lanterns(?), they look like the ones in the pictures! This will be a fabulous block. Love your little Bear-I have his opposite a white fluffy longhaired dachshund named Beignet. He sits on the back of the sofa too, sometimes as a scarf. Unfortunately it was 100 here today. I will mail him to you instead!gggg Amy in LA
June 2, 2011 at 4:56 PM
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