Almost Ready For Takeoff...

Monarch Front

I've finally released the butterfly from its hoop. First I used an awl to open small holes so I could insert each wing part. 

After each wing section was inserted, I turned to hoop over and stitched the wires to the back side of the body. I added a small bend near the end of the wire and continued to secure them so the wings couldn't be pulled out. I repeated this four times, securing all wing sections.

Monarch Back

Once the wings were attached, I cut the fabric away from the hoop, leaving enough extra to wrap around and secure the new body form inside. 

This photo shows the back after I finished sewing the fabric around the form. I'm a bit chuffed that the stitching on the back of my wings mirrors the front, making the wings look more realistic.

Closeup of Monarch Body

As you can see in this closeup, I haven't stitched the back of the body detail to cover all the fabric yet. It's really fiddly to hold the body in my hand while I complete this embroidery phase, so I admit, once I enclosed the body form, I took a break for the rest of the day.

All I have left to do is that detail stitching, and adding the legs! I'll share photographs once my Monarch is ready for takeoff!

A Lost Day...

All my Monarch supplies are still waiting for me. We had a family emergency today that completely derailed my stitching plans.

I won't go into details because we want to honor our family member's privacy, but I can tell you that Handsome and I are fine. This will be ongoing for the foreseeable future, but I should be able to get some more work done today. 

My first job will be to remake the body form slightly bigger. Once that's finished I'll be inserting the wings onto the stitched body and securing them to the back. Then I can remove the body from my hoop and begin encasing the form with the stitched body. These steps will take a while, but I'll make sure there are photographs to share  

Thanks for any prayers you may want to lift for my very vague family member's healing. God will know who you're talking about. Big hugs for all of you from me.

 

Beauty In A Jar...

These tomatoes were so tasty! I turned nine pounds of them, along with half a pound of green peppers and six ounces of sweet onion into these three gorgeous quarts and one pint of stewed tomatoes. 

The jars all sealed, are cleaned, labeled and in the pantry already. I'm looking forward to more tomatoes when they're ready to make more of this scarlet-colored goodness. 

Today is my first day of my new early morning shift. I'll be done by 10:30 am and will have the rest of the day ahead of me. It's going to be interesting to see how this night owl adjusts. We'll see.