Almost There

PART V
Today I started sewing down the top layer.

I sewed down the upper part of the quilt, excluding the gravel and smaller rock.  I kept losing confetti out the side of the quilt, so worked with a set of tweezers next to me.  Actually I have found the pair of very long, angled tweezers (I have no idea what their real use is) that I have, to have been very useful in fussy placing confetti around some elements of the quilt.

This shows the difference between a sewn down section on the left and the non sewn part on the right.  As with the previous layer, I used smoke monofilament thread and a small stippling stitch.

Before starting on the gravel, I stitched a test piece, to see what stippling would look like on it.  I decided to forgo the stippling on the gravel and hoped that the quilt wouldn't become distorted, with such a large area not as intensively quilted.

Finally onto the gravel.  I had two quandaries,  I didn't want to measure out all the lines and work out some elaborate pattern as I am far too lazy for that (though it has to be said that my anal side was begging me to pre-draw this).  Secondly I really didn't want it to look like a tramway.

Well, I'm not sure how well I succeeded, especially when I realised that those who don't pre-measure are likely to come out a-cropper!  Anyway, it doesn't matter, it was far more fun to be liberated about it and just sew in the lines.

 I went back to the rock on the upper left and decided to stipple it after all.  On all of the lighter rocks, I added dark highlights.

I worked on the grey rocks, deepening the dark areas to look like crags in the rock.  I highlighted the sun side on all the rocks.

I highlighted the trees on their sunny sides to help define them.  The one thing I really dislike is the tree shadow. I just couldn't get it right.  At least I can go over that bit very carefully with more 'shadow, should I feel more inspired.

I also decide that the yellow and orange trees needed a bit of jazzing up, so I re-stippled them using neon thread.  I also stitched in all the roof tiles individually, to make the roof clearer.

I think this is more or less done now, unless I fiddle some more.  Hopefully, it will be finished by tomorrow.