I have included a picture below that shows a detail of where I am working right now, which is the end of the knot-work of branches above the yellow flower.

I have a situation there where this small branch is supposed to end up branching off the main branch, then curling over in front of it. I finally decided that the best way to achieve the look would be to cut he main branch where it goes behind the small offshoot branch. When I cut the section out I cut this section as one piece, then I gently curved the offshoot piece a bit more so it overlapped the piece that it was to go over the top of. These were cut in basically the same position they are now, but i added a small bit more curve to the branch over the main branch just to cover the seams.

The way it is here is only partially finished. I will come back and tuck the rest of the branch, cut out separately, behind the offshoot to look like it is a complete branch, then I will finish stitching down the offshoot branch. For now, I need to finish sewing the underside of the first segment of the main branch.

I will say one thing about this – it could well be the last time I ever make a hand appliqued quilt for selling. I already know I can never sell this thing for the time invested in creating it.

I am quite happy with the fabric I picked for the trunk of the tree. It is a deep rusty red with black mottling, and so far the mottling as fallen quite a few times where there would be a natural shadow effect. I can’t wait to see the finished quilt and see just how the rusty fabric worked out overall.

You can see the finished flower in the lower right of this picture, taken shortly after I started sewing the trunk down. This was taken a few minutes before I realized I would go blind making blind stitches in such poor lighting, so I added another four of the bulbs back to the chandelier. You can see the difference in lighting between this picture and the next one – both taken in the same location with the same camera.

In this picture you can see where I have the full right side of the tree and the first branch sewn, so have started up the left side of the trunk. The pins are placed maybe half a inch apart along the line to hold the applique in place. The stitches are made at about 14 to 20 stitches, or more, per inch. Yeah, I believe in making sure that my applique won’t go anywhere. I used to make Barbie^® clothing when I played with Barbies^® as a kid. My mom commented one day when she was looking at a dress I had made that the stitches were tiny enough that the doll could have done the sewing herself.

I am currently working my way up the left side of the tree trunk. I gave up on using the hoop I had used for most of the flower, finding out as I worked on a small pillow cover that I preferred to work without a hoop on applique. Hoops are great for embroidery, but I can move the fabric much more freely without one when I work on applique.

I am also not using a freezer paper backing. Instead my template was fused to the surface of the material. Why? Because I don’t like the thought of having to cut the back out of the fabric to remove the paper. This quilt is intended to be a usable piece when it is finished. I want it to be as strong as possible so it will hold up to many years of being crushed into car trunks, crumpled on sofas and thrown through washers and dryers. There is no sense in making something like a quilt if it can not be used as a blanket. Right?

It is my largest work so far and will measure an estimated 20″ tall by 12″ deep by probably 24″ wide when finished. It will also be exceptionally delicate, so shipping would be a major concern. I have already decided that it will have to be built in sections that would be assembled by the end buyer.

What is it you ask? A pair of nesting wyverns. I have the basic structure of them both already made, as well as the eggs which are made from real chicken eggs that I emptied, cleaned thoroughly and painted. The eggs are what dictated the size of the rest of the sculpture, which is to be made entirely of polymer clay with a metal armature to stabilize the overall figure.

Right now the female is just a basic armature, the male has the first layers of polymer clay on it and has began to be scaled starting at the end of the tail. I am about halfway up along the tail, so I have a long way to go before the male is finished. I have not even started on wing design for the pair.

Basic members can list and sell items for free, with limits on how many items can be listed at one time.  Or, for a low fee of $7 a month (as of this posting) you can list unlimited items on the site.

You can Register on ArtFire.com today and start selling your craft items for free to test it out, but hurry because the $7 a month membership is a limited time offer that is filling up fast.

I’m not sure what the new figure is going to be.  I had started out with a plan in mind, however, when I began trying to make the face it did not look right.  Nose too long.  Scrap and rebuild.  Mouth too low. Scrap and rebuild.  Eyes too close together and too high.  Scrap and rebuild.

The figure is in the basic layers stage now, preceding when I begin applying the clay to build the features, so I am taking a little time to think about what I want the figure to look like before I try this one more time.  If it fails to look right this time I am just going to forget the predefined figure idea and go with whatever it is that the clay is trying to force me to make instead.  Might be interesting.