More Cute Bullions!

I just realized that this pattern, the Bits of Bullions Bubble, also has bullions on the back bodice. And I haven't even started on the body of the bubble yet. So here I am toiling away on one side of the back bodice. This little candy is made with three strands of pink and two of white. I didn't do too bad a job of keeping the threads from twisting around the needle, but it could certainly be improved. At least it's recognizable as a candy, and that's all that I'm aiming for here. It's definitely better than the lollipop from this post.

The little dragonfly is, I think, darling with the choice of colors. It has green stripes on the body which are formed by couching with the green thread, not by mixing the colors in the bullions, thank goodness!  The shaping of the wings could be a bit nicer. But that will come with experience.

This is my attempt at a posy of flowers with a few leaves. Not bad, except for the yellow, that certainly looks like a redo.  The whole arrangement could probably do with another leaf or two.

This is the whole of one side of the back bodice. I hope to finish the other side this upcoming weekend. 

One of the problems with this project is that I have so many colors of threads on different needles going at the same time. For example, a bullion with five threads such as the candy in the first photo takes a No. 3 milliners, along with a No. 10 threaded with white for couching. As I hate to throw away the leftover thread each time I need a new color, I dug out several extra needles to keep on hand in a pincushion. Do you remember this pincushion that I stitched by hand when it was my turn to ride while carpooling? It's perfect for segregating needles in a project. I have, starting with the solid pink top and going counterclockwise, Nos. 3, 5, 7, 8, and 10 milliner's needles. I actually wrote them on the tops of the points with a blue disappearing pen, but it is somewhat hard to see in this photo. I know it is a false economy to worry about a few inches of thread when it costs $0.39/5 meters, but there is also the aggravation and time spent of having to pull new strands and thread the needles. I may get out even more needles, as there's a whole lot of bullions going on here!

This is an extremely challenging project as the bullions are so much larger than I've ever made and have to be manipulated in all of these cute shapes. I have to admit that it is fun and somewhat liberating to be able to make these bullions do what I want them to do.  I am so used to making very tight bullion roses that this technique seems completely different. I have worked a project by Kari Mecca before I ever started this blog, and someday I'll dig it out, finish it, and show it to all of you.

I plan to have several more posts on this project showing the different shapes that I attempt.  So to follow this project from the start, just click on the Bits of Bullions Bubble here or on my cloud.