The last time I posted an update on our boutis challenge it was one day before the fire. Little did I know that one day later our lives would change forever. Because of my heavy involvement with the Paradise Camp Fire survivors I was unable to work on my piece, for obvious reasons, so I folded it up and tucked it away until life calmed down for a bit. Karen was still able to work on her piece. Hers is done...I haven't seen it yet, but she took photos of her process and I will share as if we were both working on our pieces at the same time.
These photos show what things look like as I stitch along. This is all done by hand.
As I reach the outside scalloped edge, one way to finish it is to do a very tight buttonhole stitch around the entire edge of the project, again by hand. I used a DMC coton a broder. Once the project is stuffed the excess fabric outside the buttonhole stitch will be carefully trimmed away for a finished edge.
Once the stitching of the two layers of batiste is completed and the buttonhole stitch is done around the outside edge, then the stuffing can begin. I am using Lily Sugar'nCream for my stuffing, readily available at Joann's. It is a 4 ply yarn so that you can break it down to whatever ply is needed for the size of the area that you might be stuffing.
I choose to do a lot of my stuffing using the tweezers with which I spread the warp and weft of the fabric to create a hole in which to push the yarn in. For some elements like the long elements, i.e., stems for instance, I will thread my tapestry needle and start at one end and come out the other side to fill up the space. The yarn is cut maybe an eighth of an inch close to the boutis and pushed in to the space to fill it up. The hole is then closed by pushing the warp and weft together. Toothpicks come in very handy for pushing the ends of yarn in as they have some friction to them whereas the point of a needle does not and just slips by the hole.
I start in the middle and work my way out to the outer edge. I always have my work in a hoop. The stuffing is also worked on the back side of the boutis, the unmarked side.
BEAUTIFUL WORK KAREN!!!! Thank you!!! Cindy