Aspens in Autumn

 This fall we were at the cabin and I was watching the colors of the leaves turn. The difference was very noticeable from one day to the next. I had never really studied just how the green just fades away and leaves only the golden colors of the aspens. I started picking a few of them so that I could study them. It has been several months since I got them and found it was interesting that the colors stay stable until they turn fully gold and then they start to turn brown even after they are picked.

I matched colors of DMC stranded cotton to the colors of the leaves so that I could stitch them. I wanted to be able to see both side of the leaves have the light shine through them so I decided to stitch them on a very sheer silk organdy. I was not sure that the fabric would hold up to all of the stitching but it worked really well. I mounted the silk in a hoop, traced the pattern on and then colored the silk with Copic pens to match the colors that I wanted. I stitched a wire around the edge to make them hold their shape and then used one strand of thread to stitch the veins of the leaves and wrap the stems.

After they were cut out, I used either the same color of cotton or invisible thread to attach the leaves together. They only have a few stitches where the leaves touch and form a cylinder that changes from green at the base to sunlit yellow/gold at the top. I really like the way that the colors move up and the way that the light makes the top leaves glow.