Day 2

Question: How do you design a project, do you start with a plan or do you let the materials tell you what and where they want to be?

Bouncing Button Balloons by Christen Brown

I had purchased the two cloth face buttons, and stored them away in a box for several years. Then, I came across a group of celluloid buttons in the same tones and thought, hmmm, you belong together. I pulled out a stash of bengaline, moire, and silk scraps, that were mostly cut into strips. The pieced base was a natural choice, but seemed plain, so I coupled several sections with vintage lace pieces in a variety of widths. As I sprinkled the buttons around the base, I thought they looked like balloons floating in the air, and the project seemed to click. I embroidered the stripped seams and around the buttons with Wildflower threads from the Caron Collection, and added seed bead embellishments.

This piece can be found in my book, The Embroidery Book, by C&T Publishing.

Happy Stitching~Christen