Under the needle

The Ginkgo piece is getting its leaves stitched on by machine, and then it will get some hand quilting or big-stitch embellishment --And the elongated "heartbeat" piece is systematically getting its grid, with a lustrous reddish rayon thread in the bobbin --
The rest of "life" feels a bit frantic at the moment - it's good to switch off by doing some sewing!

At such times I find I need something that doesn't require much thinking - carefully following straight lines is perfect (and knitting is good too). I drew the lines onto iron-on stabilizer, along the direction it would tear off easily. The vertical lines have been stitched, the stabilizer torn off, and another layer of stabilizer added for the horizontal lines. The next stage, adding the ECG tracings, will be tricky -- but thanks to Cathy C-M and Debbi, I know now to get the T wave looking perky. A little knowledge of why ECgs look the way they do would be helpful -- it's like using a foreign language, you don't want inadvertently to say something inappropriate.

Thanks also to Sue and magsramsay for ideas on how to "drown" the gold in the Gingko piece - that got me thinking.