wool quilt progress

i have finally moved onto the next phase of the wool quilt: today i embroidered the celtic moon and started sewing on the pearl beads. i found some great free share celtic patterns here. i knew i wanted something with an interlaced pattern and in black so you see the texture rather than a new element - initially i crocheted a long chain with intermittent abstract 'petals' but it wasn't quite right and would be too three dimensional. i thought i had some black darning wool in the stash i inherited from my mother's elderly cousin but the darning plait had lots of colours but no black. the black tapestry wool i have is too think and the cotton embroidery thread too thin for the purpose. then yesterday i went to the op shop in fairfield and there waiting patiently was a huge cone of fine black wool :) perfect!



the problem of embroidering black on black and onto knitted fabric which stretches was solved by printing the image and pinning the paper straight onto the fabric and just sewing through. the stitch perforates the paper and it comes off fairly easily - i will make it even easier tomorrow by dampening the paper. i'll also use this wool to quilt the top onto the other layers.

i'm alternating between enjoying the creative process and watching how the quilt unfolds and almost shapes itself and berating myself for having the cheek to think i can make something worthwhile, as though my other self won't allow any self-congratulation.