Wednesday 4 October 2017

Chameleon Inchie

I cannot believe how quickly this year is going - already it is October!  And another Monday challenge comes around for Every Inchie Monday the subject being chameleon.  I know very little about these little creatures but I do know there is a tiny weeny one that only just sits on your thumb coming in at 3 cms long and is thought to be the smallest reptile on earth found on an islet just off Madagasca which is where at least half of the 200 plus species hail from, and of course their most known feature is their ability to change colour and camouflage themselves to whatever their background. However I have since found out that this is not the case and that they only change colour to facilitate warmth from the sun or mood changes as in fear or aggression. (Thanks Di for that).  Not an easy creature to embroider to say the least, but I had an idea to use a thicker skein of embroidery thread and whilst doing the tail reduce the thickness as I went by taking a thread from the skein and couching the main run with it in effect taking it to the back of the work until I was down to 2 or 3 threads.  In theory this was sound but in practice ...hmm ..... especially since I chose a heavy count thread in shiny rayon - slippery little customer it was too!!  However when I twisted it, it became thinner so I managed to couch it whilst twisting until I was able to take it to the back of the work at the coil of the tail.  Couching the rest of the body took some doing especially trying to get the flow correct so it would show the legs but on smaller than an inch???  I also managed to try and embroider the eye radiating out with a French knot for the pupil which sits proud but I thought my pupil was black thread - it turned out to be navy!!!  Oh well.  Anyway I did actually enjoy the challenge of this one and I did the background in promarkers again as I was worried the green embroidery wouldn't show up on green fabric, I know it camouflages itself but what was the point of all that embroidery if you can't see it!!!  But the muted tones of promarkers suited it better and sets it off so you can at least see the little critter!

I had a couple of birthday cards to do so once again I used my fresh flowers between organza and a background painted dried out wet wipe!!  I then cut it into inch sizes and sewed a very pretty cord around the edges of four and mounted them on a card.  There was a piece left over and rather than waste it I decided to use it on a very simple card I made for a friend, it was one of those that sort of made itself in half an hour with what I had to hand!!!  But I was quite pleased with the result and the flower is lilac organza melted with a heat gun!

I do feel much more myself this week apart from feeling tired - I think it's the bear in me wanting to hibernate as it gets colder!  Anyway hope you all have a good week and thanks so much for dropping by and any comments you may leave, it's always nice to hear from you.  Take care and don't forget to click the link and visit all the other inch creations.

3 comments:

  1. The birthday card is so cool!, the inchie is really cool, I love the work on the tail

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  2. Your inchie is just darling, I love how you always manage to choose just the right threads and techniques to achieve your projects...and your cards are beautiful...I have never made heat shaped flowers...maybe, if I can get one of the lads to take me to town anytime soon to pick up some organza, (I am writing that with clenched teeth, can you tell?), I might give them a try...they do look soft and pretty.

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  3. Love your chameleon, fabulous colour and thread. Lovely cards as well.

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