automatic sewing

an approach i have likened to automatic drawing in the art world. sometimes i just sew. i pick up the project and sew what ever comes to my head. i think while i am sewing and about what i am doing and record it in my head. new processes are born to me that way. so it may seem i am all over the place on this project, but i hate forcing myself, so i work on the parts that interest me for the moment and eventually the tapestry emerges.  this morning on the train i started quilting the forest floor. after doing the stitches on the life tree ( previous post), i decided to make the basic quilting of the whole piece in similar fashion using some organic lines and forms. i will also reuse the ghosting method of carrying the design from one block into another, avoiding straight edge stitching along the block edges.  i want to melt them together. i think this will give the whole thing an embossed botanical look. i will wash this whole forest section before applying to the main body to enhance the texture and pre-fray the ragged edges.  there is still the issue of what to do about quilting the lava in the front to this section in the back. but since the forest has been prequilted, i may just do surface quilting for the lava block. this is done by quilting only through 2 out of 3 layers of the quilt, which tacks the surface down but does not show on the other side. the few strays that get through are ok, little spots that give away the secret of the other world.