Making My Heron’s Legs

I saw the Heron legs so clearly in my head.  I knew just what they’d look like and how I’d sew them.

Although I pretended to look at other fabrics, I knew I would use this orange piece that came off the end of some Sari material that I bought on my trip to India (so long ago now).  And I distinctly saw the thread I’d stitch it with as being darker than the fabric.

So that’s what I did this morning.

I started working on the first leg of the Heron using a deep purple embroidery floss.  I kept taking a step back to look at it as I worked on it, just to make sure it looked right.  The further along I got the more I was troubled by it.

It looked like I had pictured it in my head, but it didn’t look right on the actual piece.

But I wasn’t ready to give up on it.  It was, after all, what I had pictured. So I left it and sewed the other leg down using a soft orange embroidery floss.  This way I could compare them.

Once I saw them together I had no more doubts.

The orange floss created the texture I wanted.  Suddenly the dark purple lines just looked decorative and out of place.

I tied knots for the knees (which makes me very happy for some reason, maybe because it’s a simple solution that really works).

To make the feet I’ll cut the fabric that’s hanging into three or four pieces (one toe may be hidden behind the sphere) and sew them down the same way I did the legs.