Not entirely convinced…
So now, I’m looking for a phrase..
Let’s do a bathtub review here (that means, start with something good, enumerate everything that’s wrong, then end with something good again).
I have done a small sheet of felt, covered in oak leaves, and, taking the idea from the way old tapestries fade, worked centres of two different blues. I’ve used slightly random feather stitch, changing the lengths to reference the lobes on the the oak leaves.
Then I cut them all out…
The running stitch outlines were enough to help me with the stitching, but I grant you, they make the felt sheet a bit confusing. Laying out the cut out leaves makes them a bit easier to see.
I know that oaks don’t really go into bushes, but what I’m trying to see with these layouts is what I think of the effect of this technique for rendering the leaves.
So, I hear you ask, what do you think of the effect, Rachel?


Well, I still like the concept. I think the idea may well find its way into the final piece.
I found them a bit tricky and frustrating to stitch, and moderately tricky to cut out. I don’t think that the stitching works. Too spindly?
So, maybe worth another iteration?
So, it turns out, the phrase I was looking for is “Not There Yet!”


In the uncut square of felt, it is hard to distinguish the leaves. After you cut them out and placed them in different layouts, it was much easier to see what they are.
I feel the beautiful shape of the oak leaves stands out better with more of the background showing. You are right; the oak is not a bushy tree.
Hmm. To me oak leaves have a clear, pale, centre vein that turns into the stalk, but the other main veins are straight indentations in the pillowy surface of the leaf, more than coloured lines. On the front of the leaves, anyway. The backs of the leaves are far more obviously veined. That’s just my take on oak leaves, which I love. I am interested to see what you are planning with yours.
Well they certainly look like oak leaves once they are cut out.
I do find the central veins dominate, to the point where I see them as the whole thing rather than the oak leaf shape.