I have been stitching a felt leaf every morning for our Big Ski Chair Affair project. It’s a little nerve racking because if the needle hits the wire base, the needle breaks. I have broken four needles so far. It always happens when I try to speed up a bit or don’t pay enough attention.

Here’s the leaves I finished. I haven’t added any veins. I am going to check with the other ladies before I do. Maybe the small ones don’t need any?

I’m still working on my colored pencil drawing. It takes a lot of time. You can see in the upper left corner that I am blending the background. I am using odorless mineral spirits and applying a tiny bit with a brush. And it works! The colored pencil layers blend and cover the white of the paper.

Here it is after the first layer is blended including the leaves. I haven’t started on the water lily itself yet. Trying to learn how this works before I make a mess of the flower.

And here is the water with a couple more darker colored pencils added. It definitely gives richer colors than just using colored pencils alone. You don’t push down hard with the pencils, just do a light circular stroke to cover the page. That way you don’t damage the tooth of the paper. Next, I will add more layers and details to the leaves. Once I finish the leaves, I will try the flower.

Hope you have a nice weekend!