Sneak Peek!

Here's a sneak peek at a huge project I've been working on since, oh, probably April.



Completely hand sewn from leftover volunteer t-shirts. They are for a favourite charity to include in their silent auction.



There are two of them, one boy, one girl. The boy one is a t-shirt with a bear (their logo) reverse appliqued on it, about 12 month size and the girl one is a dress with flowers relief appliqued on it size 12 months to 2T - it grows into a shirt as the child grows.



Guess how many hours of stitching this was! Happily I've found a better solution for inside labels!

Red Petal Onesie. Stitching Love.

This was the scene at my house Saturday. I woke early to get the most out of that precious quiet time when the house is still before everyone else wakes up. Stitching and reading. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

I was in progress with a onesie for a baby I know (not Anya, sorry, Jessica). I appliqued a pale yellow base - an old work shirt that I loved the color of but didn't fit me really well, and red petals from an old sweatshirt of my daughter's (also used on this project).


You can see some petals stitched and cut out and some in the process of being stitched. I stitched the petals first, then the background fabric and then embellished with more surface embroidery. I was too impatient to wait and cut everything out after it was stitched, so I stitched 3 and then cut.


And here is a shot of the finished shirt (below). You can't see, but there are green and yellow stitches on the background. Once I did those I felt the petals looked a little plain, hence the stitching there. Next time I do this shirt I'll be a little simpler with the embellishing. I wasn't entirely happy with the stitches in the petals, but it was colorful and pretty for a little girl, so I left it (plus I was running out of time).

Anyone care to leave a comment with suggestions for stitches for the petals (this is feather stitch)? I have another onesie and am thinking of doing this design again.

I might go super simple and ditch the yellow background next time around. I don't think it added that much to the overall design. I can't wait to see it on it's new owner ... it's a little big still, though.

I'm also thinking of making my own baby t-shirt pattern up instead of using bought onesies to give myself more flexibility in the design. Working around the pattern already on the shirt was a pain in the butt. They'd be fairly quick to sew up due to the small size and could probably be made from one large adult t-shirt. I could see making a tonne of these once I've got the pattern right.

By the end of the week.

OK, folks, remember this from way back in October?

Well, I am so happy to say that it's finished!

I am so excited about texture, can you tell?

And this is the shot that only blog readers get to see. I left the back raw because I felt that's what it needed. She feels a little shaken up by the world. (Don't worry, the stitches won't come out! She's sturdy.)

I imagine her hanging in a quiet corner inspiring contemplation. A reading corner perhaps, or in a spot where you usually rush by to tell you to pause for a moment and be mindful.


Here's her listing in my little shop.

Progress:

Remember this?
Here are more work in progress shots:



I cut her out of a felted wool sweater using my original drawing as a template. I love the texture of the cables in the sweater. I am playing with texture and detail vs. simplicity and economy. You will see what I mean when I show you the stitching next time.




These pants were my favourite work pants until they had an unfortunate confrontation with the corner of my desk. I tried and tried to figure out a creative way to fix them, but decided against stitches or patches on my butt. So now they're being repurposed for my embroidery projects. Now that I have them on the hoop I think they are perfect for this project. The weave is nice to work with for stitching, the colour is perfect and it has some subtle character I couldn't have planned into the piece if I'd tried.

I think I'm going to go stitch now. The house is quiet like Christmas morning before everyone else gets up and I've got work to do.

By the end of the week.

I won't bore you with the details, but the 2 year old with pneumonia is all better now and, after much drama and disappointment and repeat drama and a ridiculous long story with an unhappy ending we're taking our house off the market and hunkering down for the winter.

On a completely unrelated note, I have a work in progress to show you. There were supposed to be several more pictures but I'm having trouble finding them in the abyss of my new computer. Really steep learning curve. seriously.

So here's a teaser. The piece will be called "By the end of the week" and it's about some days when you feel defeated and just want to curl up in a ball in a dark corner somewhere. I'm sure you can relate.

This drawing is just the beginning of the process - the pattern, as it were. It's drawn on a piece of construction paper with a soft pencil. I usually shy away from drawing things that are supposed look like real things, as I have no art training whatsoever and little innate skill with drawing reality (and, frankly, little interest in art that is that analytical for me), but this one just poured itself out of me onto the page. The artists out there will know what I mean.

I promise to post the finished piece when it is done.

After!

I finished the sun Mandala piece. (WIP here)




The details ended up being small but it delivers a punch because of the red. I ended up loving the blue stitching. It was a gamble but I like the contrast. I think it gives it interest.

I backed it with a pin back. The kind with a safety latch so it won't poke you in the chest when you wear it. It's my first pin - I hope you like it.





I started making this pin after spending a morning in an office with no outside light. Interestingly, just after I finished it I got the good news that I'll be moving to a new office with a window. Hmmmm.... I like the way that worked out.... what should the theme of the next pin be??

It'll be listed in my shop in the next day or so.

Work in Progress - Sun Mandala

I love, love, love work in progress shots, so this will be the first of a probably more than a few.

This is a sun mandala I'm working on to make into a broach. It's on some delicious burgundy felt used to be a sweater I found a the thrift store and felted up in the washing machine.

Mandalas are interesting to make -- basically it's a circular pattern that builds upon itself, the whole emerging as you stitch.

I started this sun mandala after spending the morning in an office with no windows.

I'll post the finished piece next week - it's changed quite a bit, but I like the simplicity of the design in these photos. I often have trouble figuring out when to quit.

Now, maybe someone can tell me what the secret is to photographing red! The color of the felt is closest in the top photo, but the stitches that look white are actually ecru, and the yellows are washed out. The red isn't as overpowering in real life, I find.