Today I am back to stitching my applique homework, specifically a shadow applique sample from cotton fabric and an overlay of silk organza.

 Here is my sample piece that I tried out a variety of colors of threads to see which I liked the best. I did not used to do this but I find it really does help in choosing the right color of thread. I tried a dark reddish brown, burnt orange, pink and green. I never even considered the green but after I tried the first three and none of them did much for me, I decided to try green. And I really liked it. It makes the stitching stand out against the background. (click on the photo to see the different thread choices more closely)

 Here is the entire design and I’ve got about a quarter of it stitched. It is really hard to show the true colors because the silk organza disappears under the camera. The piece is actually darker and the green “pod” shapes are not as bright.

Here is the stitching design that I’m using. I made 8 different designs and chose the one I liked best.