From Laura:
I finished and framed, [quilted and bound] your BFC’s design,1496- Large Mountain Lion, and it is Awesome! I intend to use a small, natural branch and raw ride shoe laces as the hanger.
I did not have all the correct colors of thread. I was missing 2731-Hemp and 2793-Camel, substituted the best I could and wa-la, an awesome big cat. I think this would have turned out better if I had used the correct colors, but using the golden brown border fabric pulled out the browner tones of the puma and not the taupe tones. All in all, I am pleased with the results.
I would warn anyone intending to do this embroidery, it is time consuming! Although the 5 parts of this design are easily matched, each section has 11-21 color changes and is stitch intensive. I actually used 2 layers of Warm and Natural batting under the stitch out. First I used a fusible, woven interfacing to stiffen the fabric, then quilted it to the first layer of batting, then placed the second layer of batting under the design area before I started to stitch. I used a size 14 top stitch needle, and all went well there after. I also used 2 layers of tear-away stabilizer in the hoop. I would rather have a bit much in the under layers than not enough and have to deal with puckers in the top fabric.
Thanks for about the hundreth time for all the work you and Fred do on all of BFC’s incredible designs. Until next time, happy stitching!
As always a gorgeous job, Laura! Suz I lik the colors with the border.
