This quiltalong has been organised by the uber talented Ethne over at flaming stitches - thank you so much Ethne ... this is the best fun!
I chose this wonderful print as my inspiration:
Muskellunge
![shopFront1 shopFront1](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_jZl_GnBu59M/TYe1K2VmZXI/AAAAAAAAAuI/JCWki2r13kU/shopFront1_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800)
I’ve always been a fan, but to see them in real life, oh my! The colours! The lines! Swooooooon!
In the back of my mind was the intention to do something stitchy with his designs - I’d seen tapestry patterns but I’m not really in the mood for tapestry these days, so I just put the whole project on the backburner … until now.
Now, here comes the problem. The largest image I could find online of the muskies was tiny.
Let's have another look at the print …. see that prawny thing on the left? Yeah, small isn’t it?!
![Muskellunge Muskellunge](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_jZl_GnBu59M/TYe1OTp-J9I/AAAAAAAAAuQ/Hplml7cEgPA/Muskellunge_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800)
Blown up, you can see it’s even more difficult to work out those clean, sharp, Charley Harper lines … What to do?
![detail detail](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_jZl_GnBu59M/TYe1PaPY8-I/AAAAAAAAAuY/t8swt7zjXUI/detail_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800)
![61QksDMct-L._SS400_ 61QksDMct-L._SS400_](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_jZl_GnBu59M/TYe1X5zrcKI/AAAAAAAAAug/D_sJUmjqyl4/61QksDMct-L._SS400__thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800)
Well, I knew that Castor and Pollux also sold the amazing £120 coffee table tombstone of a book, “Charley Harper, an illustrated life”, (There’s a more affordable £35 version too, but I needed big!)
... so I set off with my camera and a smile …
I’m a regular exhibition goer there, so I was hoping that they’d kind of know I’m a good sort, and ignore any madness …
me: “Hi, can I ask a really big favour? I’m doing a Charley Harper embroidery and I really need to take a close up pic of the prawny thing in my favourite print … could I? Please??”
mr castor&pollux: “Err … yes, well, at least you asked! Go ahead”
Ta-da:
![P1010933_800x600 P1010933_800x600](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_jZl_GnBu59M/TYe1Z7cT61I/AAAAAAAAAuo/erH6qo26zvo/P1010933_800x600_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800)
That’s a bit better! The joy of Charley Harper is the simplicity of shapes that he used to create these works of delight. I couldn’t see any of that claw or leg brilliance on my silly pixelated mess.
I also picked up a few more details … like the yellow lines and the red blotches on the muskie himself … (not that it shows here, but the diamonds are yellow too)
![P1010932_800x600 P1010932_800x600](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_jZl_GnBu59M/TYe1bk8Q-9I/AAAAAAAAAuw/Du7_C2x1aFU/P1010932_800x600_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800)
and some sweet detail on the little fishies …
![P1010931_800x600 P1010931_800x600](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_jZl_GnBu59M/TYe1dQZhejI/AAAAAAAAAu4/PvDWZefGq-Q/P1010931_800x600_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800)
RESULT!
So, by way of thank you to them, and a little pressie for me, (it's still 10 days till payday, so I forfeited the roast chicken for Sunday lunch here!) I bought the exhibition poster, which I’d always meant to get last year - it was only £5. (Click pic if you can’t resist and want one too!)
![charley poster charley poster](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_jZl_GnBu59M/TYe1emN5HqI/AAAAAAAAAu8/0EVbvG6Fp3Q/charley%20poster.jpg?imgmax=800)
… and now the little prawny thing is cut, fused and ready to applique and embroider, along with the other creatures!
![P1010998_800x600 P1010998_800x600](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_jZl_GnBu59M/TYe1iQ9kxBI/AAAAAAAAAvE/mOpZpMzmM14/P1010998_800x600_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800)
![P1010997_800x600 P1010997_800x600](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_jZl_GnBu59M/TYe1lHC_cyI/AAAAAAAAAvM/bCfvkJpsRAs/P1010997_800x600_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800)
Yay! Let the detailing commence!
Have you ever had to wait to really get started on a project? Waiting for one key fabric, sewing thread, machine needle(!) ??