Lulu-Safari Princess by Donna Halpin

Lulu, designed by Kathy Holman, was one of the first cybercourses offered by ANG. This was a somewhat new concept for many of us, and we were enthusiastic that we could participate in a class with a national teacher in the comfort of our homes. However, when the photo of the piece appeared, the colors were so distracting....some said it reminded them of a quilt gone wrong....no one in my area chose to participate.

I, however, looked at it as an opportunity to learn about threads (one of the objectives of this course), and to also try my hand at working with a monochromatic color scheme to give a piece impact. I enlarged the diagram approximately 20% greater than the size provided, emptied my closet of every cream and taupe thread, and began determining which threads met the "requirements for each square....S twist, difference in weight of the same threads, matte vs. shiny, etc. Twenty-three different types of threads were used with another dozen variations within those types. As I took Lulu to the framer, I was certain she was the reigning princess of any safari.