4seeds-thistles

The illustration is coming along. It is the biggest I have ever done, not by choice, but because I had to have it that big to have any chance of dealing with the hands. That is the biggest issue with fabric-I can only cut and stitch fabric that is so big-smaller and it literally falls apart. Am finding that the more realistic I want to go the bigger I have to in faces and hands.
If you can see it-the stitch I am using on the face and hands is not a basic whip stitch-have done that and it looks like I have made Frankenstein people. I stitch it at an angle and cover the whole edge- kind of what a surger might do. It can take some time, but have found the whole edge of skin, needs to be covered.
Have been intrigued with thistles and crows for that matter-been watching both along the country roads-Purple and black- being cool colors by nature hopefully will really pop out from the warmness of the wheat field- another way to contrast and bring attention- throw a cool into a palette of warms- or vice versa. I will be finishing the guy last because want to get the crows done before make a decision about his shirt-might have to take the whole illustration to the fabric shop to find the perfect fabric.
I'd say I am about half way done with laying down- don't know how long the crows will take- maybe longer, probably longer than I think- needs to do another row of thistles, this is not going to be enough and then weave stocks of wheat into them- then do the layer of stones and more struggling wheat and then the road-ahhhhh maybe I am not half way done.
I am not working on this all the time- have writing projects am doing as well.

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