Working again on new piece

I finally got to spend a few hours in the studio stitching! This feels so nice since the past weeks have been very busy with studio work...but not stitching. I have been embroidering on the red panels (see previous post) and am almost done with them but to change a little, I started working on the outside panels for the box. Because the fabric is dark blue and the design very intricate, I had to use tissue paper: let me tell you about it because it is a great tip when you have quilting, appliqué or embroidery designs on dark fabric. Since a light pencil is necessary and since they brush off very quickly, it is essential to protect the traced design while you are working. Otherwise, by the time you are done with a small part of the design, all the markings for the rest are gone. Soooo frustrating!

So I deal with that, after the design is traced on the fabric, by basting a sheet of white tissue paper over the entire thing. Then I tear small bits of tissue paper just on the area I am working on. It tears easily and protects the rest of the markings. This has saved my sanity on many occasions. One word of caution, use only white tissue paper! If you use colored tissue paper and a drop of water falls on your project, the tissue will dye the fabric!