bee colour sample
We have the technology: we can make him better than he was before, better, faster, stronger———-or we can try to figure out a way to make him so that he fits in the piece without overpowering it, or looking like an afterthought.
beeginning 
First i cut out a printed copy of him and coloured him with magic markers. I wanted to see if the choices would make him stand out but not so much that he looked out of place. I like it! Some of my rusted fabric from a previous day/entry had the perfect section to use as his background, so i used dressmaker carbon to copy the pattern to the fabric, then did a basic stitch outline.
the first stitching lines
Next, i filled in some areas lightly with a copper metallic. I wanted to use some bobbin work, not only to add more detail and definition, but because my Aurifiil threads will only work in the bobbin on my machine. The first pass was a tan colour in the bobbin with dark brown in the top thread. I had to re-mark with a different colour as i couldn’t see stitch lines/outlines clearly because of the density. Then i added more with the same bobbin thread colour, but a lighter brown top thread.
marking from the back
machine stitching complete
I had backed the lightweight rusted cotton with a small piece of Sulky’s “Ultra Solvy”, a very stiff dissolvable, finding that it is firm enough to handle without needing to hoop. I could steer around with no buckling, jamming into the feed plate or borgling of fabric and thread–awesome! (That’s the same dissolvable i used for the red veined hand in this piece as well. MARVELLOUS stuff.) I also figured that it would stabilize the edges enough that i could then cut the bee out. Yep. Brilliant!
in place
A comparison of the original, the coloured paper sample and the resulting bee by bee product:
sketchbook comparisons
I very happy with the result. Bee looks integrated enough but still “important”. On to the hand stitching now!
This was sort of a tute, if you’re advanced enough, so i’ll tag it thusly
kathy
May 26, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Your rusted cloth was perfect to make this bee on. Very nice.
threadspider
May 26, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Awesome bee-objective achieved. It looks great on the rusted cloth.
Rosemoo
May 26, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Wait. I need to use dissolvable backing to do freehand stitching on my machine? I keep killing my sewing machines trying to do miracle free hand stuff. Is that the secret?
(slaps hand to forehead)
albedoarlee
May 26, 2010 at 6:59 pm
No you don’t have to–i rarely do! It worked this time because i wanted to be able to cut the bee closely to the edge. Normally i don’t–and normally i don’t hoop either
kay warner
May 27, 2010 at 7:40 am
He’s a beeeauty! I did something along similar lines, but I didn’t free machine it, I cut it out with a soldering iron. I still haven’t found a way to use it! I posted it here:
http://smockery.blogspot.com/2006/01/bees-knees.html
albedoarlee
May 27, 2010 at 7:43 am
Your bugs and bees have always been a source of amazement!