Try It Out Tuesday : Changing Direction

Remember this?  Well...I'm still not happy.  I have had it kicking about the dining room, right in front of the computer, just looking at it.  I did some more thinking, and playing around, and finally took all those embellishments off the piece, and added one single thing.  It is a suede flower, in beige and a very pale turquoise/green colour.  Eau de nil, but a bit stronger.  It was just the right size to put in the circle, there... and immediately, the piece changed.  It took some of the detail out of the stitching, made a very clear focal point, and seemed to pull the whole piece together...or at least to begin to do that. 

So, I decided to take a similar colour and stitch into the top.  I did this to attempt to decrease the strength of the stitching, which gives the piece its structure.  Putting the flower in there makes it look like a vaguely retro 60's motif...which I rather like.  See what you think.  In the end, I used a variegated beige /mushroom/brown thread which really shouldn't go well, but seems to.

Am I happy now?  No, not really.  I don't think the stitching on the top  layer is strong enough in colour to defuse that strong, dark stitching behind.   I think more stitch is called for; what do you think?  Hand or machine?  More embellishment?  Strong Drink...?  Another layer of cloth?  Please do leave a comment, I'd be interested to see what you think.  We might even get a conversation going!

No matter how badly you feel about a piece, you can normally retrieve it using layer.  One way or another, by either adding colour and/or pattern, or reducing it by, say, burning away, you can change the focus and feel of a piece.  Try it... you know you want to.