Walk in the Woods - The End is in Sight!

Just a little more on either side and then the bottom needs to be 'adjusted'

The fence is coming in really handy. Won't be too practical in the winter though.

I decided the other day how to bridge this to the bottom. There are still a number of things and trees before I can get to the stitching. The angle is lousy but the tone is there.

Polar Bear - Day 2

Not a full day here.
I stitched for a few hours (yes hours) avoiding the hard part, and then finally in the afternoon I tackled the muzzle.

The teeth make all the difference.......and he needs a nose job.

One Last Polar Bear

Here at the end of this long winter, I think I'm, ready to embrace Spring, but there was one last imagine in my folder I wanted to work with.

I heavily cropped it to one animal.

This interesting piece of 'hombre' fabric spoke as the ice wall with a second fabric for the Ice.

This is a standard collage piece .

This is as far as I'm taking it for now, but it's looking pretty good.

Samples

Sometimes the samples I make are for my own use.
Translating cloth art to cloth art is usually only a matter of material choices. Translating from a photo or acrylic/oil paintings, and watercolors usually deals with colour blends or light that is harder to reproduce in cloth.

And sometimes I just want to try a piece before I commit to a grander size.

This little art piece caught my eye.

The brilliant light is straightforward, but the misty background is not. In fact my mind tells me that the scene happens as a result of being 'blinded' by the light. Hard to reproduce that effect. This is part of deciding what to throw away, and what to keep.

After a few trials I did use some organza plus netting to dull the background, but it is no where near the illustration.
And while this piece would have done nicely with 'freezer paper', I'm all out.
Oh well, move on.

This is not finished.

A second cropping may be in order.

I'm undecided whether to add a lot of thread painting to the distant trees and the yellow field
But here is what I've spent a few days playing with.
And I can't decide about the little bush in the foreground. I'm more inclined to add some vines to the wire fence......

We'll see.

Chekamus Canyon River - Day 16

Today I worked with two different methods for foliage.
The first was the sandwich of 'solvy' with fabric chips stitched together. The second I hadn't done for a while. So it was rather meditative......stitching individual leaves to a stem.

This plant was tall with a broom type flower head. Here are 4 already placed. I will do more in the foreground as we near the end.

Chekamus Canyon River - Day 14

I couldn't post yesterday. I had to re charge my camera!

But I think I'm very near the end of the evergreens.
I've used a number of thread colours to add depth and shadow but now it's time to work the outer layers of the trees.
I first thought this variegated thread would be too bright but it added the 'life' I needed. For the last panel of branches in the hoop I used two different threads, adding a little more variation to the needle colour.

The lighter colours lift the branches and more the tree forward.

Chekamus Canyon River - Day 12

A lot more deciduous foliage is assembled and stitched........................

and then covered with thick evergreen boughs in two colours.

Chekamus Canyon River - Day 8

From here on, everything that is stitched is for a specific location. In other words the individual trees are 'painted' one by one. This really slows the process as there is a specific order in their placement. Most are going over rock faces that also need definition as I move forward. Order become very important to make sure that branches that should lay over another, do so.

I jumped from rock face to rock face on either side of the river as well as elevation.

It looks as though I didn't get very far. But in spite of some distractions this morning. I'm happy to stop here.

Chekamus Canyon River - Day 7

It was nice to finally add some deciduous foliage amid the unrelenting evergreen forests.

Chekamus River Canyon - Day 1

Design and Colour blocking.

After I enlarged the photo to fit my interfacing ( 33x45 ) I started with the sky.
I had a FQ of my own painted fabric that I wanted to use. It embodies the wonderful sunsets in the mountain.

But it was too small, or rather the wrong shape. After some internet research I decided to cut it up.

The sky is Glue tacked. Fast but secure enough for now.

The River, glued, will be covered with stitched gauze, but blue water may poke through..

Then I moved to the very distant features, the rocky out crops and the misty? forest.
These and all the rest will be fused. Some of the pieces will be small. Fusing is the most secure.

Enough for today!

Naomi's Boat - Day 3

This morning I worked on the rose hips? We had all agreed that the shrub looked like a rugosa of sorts.

I started with free motion stitching a scattering 'rose hips' in a loose pattern over hooped netting. I used a very bright rayon so they wouldn't disappear.
Over this I stitched branches visually following the layout in the picture.
Next it was positioned and anchored to the base with more branches in a darker colour.
All the excess netting was cut away.

Over this more branches and three shades of leaves we glue tacked. These were placed to cover the linking threads of the 'hips'. It may have more applied but It depends on the next section and how much it moves into this area.

CQA Group Project - Naomi's Boat

I am privileged to know and stitch with a group of very talented ladies from our guild.
Most are very quiet about their work but in the approximate 10 yrs we come together they all have brought fresh eyes to the various projects we've tackled.
Last September I twisted a few arms and minds and most of us agreed to try a composite piece for the CQA Quilt Exhibition in Ottawa, next June.

Right from the start those of us familiar with 'calls for entry' made it clearly understood there was a definite and ever looming deadline for this. In our case, (while the applications are now open,) we're targeting the closing date of January 31.

This is what the group chose.

The picture was taken by Naomi's husband. He's really tickled pink we chose his photo.

Those more experienced in deadlines and competitions deliberately pushed for quick decisions so the project didn't get over thought or hurdles raised to our completion of this.

It was enlarged and divided into 8 slices and distributed with only one common fabric.

I know most have been working on this, and when I finally got a break in 'Life', I too dove in.
I drew the second slice. It has a touch of the stern of the boat but is primarily vegetation.

As is my way, I colour blocked the background and under colours.

 Starting from the top I began working the branches in the background.

Today I worked down to where I now need to 'manufacture' some rose hips on a wild rugosa.
Everything is simple glue-tacked.
That was a good place to stop today.

Summer Afternoon - Day 6 - Final

I didn't miss a day, I just didn't find the time to post.

This piece changed directions a few times and I believe that's because I put it aside for other things.
I intend to use this for a sample or teaching purposes so there are a number of techniques included.

I decided yesterday it was a little dull but I thought adding fully finished birds might be to heavy.
Instead I took a page from a sketch book and only partial finished 3 birds. The parts finished, the heads are unmistakable.
Leaving them unfinished keeps the view light and still encourages looking deeper into the foliage.

The birds were added using the same method as the maple leaves, stitching over an outline on paper.
The black heads were added, then some light grey outlining of feathers. The last addition was some of the white, just enough to exclaim 'Chickadees'.
Maple leaves were added here and there to finish the quilting and to balance the amount of stitching.
Hummmmmmmmmmm.......I may add more..................

Summer Afternoon - Day 4

Its not as though I work all day on this.
Since the heat broke yesterday evening, there's time spent in garden, weeding of course, and catching up with the neighbours, these are important too.

The stitching fill for this is not intended to be total. I'm leaving gaps. It softens the look.
One more session should finish it.

I stopped today...... because the bobbin ran out.
As good a reason as any.
Now for a book, on the chaise, in the garden.

Summer Afternoon - Day 3

Finally found some time this afternoon and started in on finishing the trees themselves.

After stitching the branch pattern in the upper left corner, I worked for about 2 hours 'drawing' leaves.
I don't usually use variegated threads on these pieces but today it fit.

A cooling summer storm has finally started to roll through town, so that enough work with the machinery today. I'll enjoy the rain for now.

Summer Afternoon -Day 2

On those days when I'm in and out, I find it hard to shift gears and do a lot of work.

I had thought about a bit of detail last night.
I really liked the diminutive deer I had placed in the Deer Park piece. I liked the way it gave a real sense of size and perspective.
On this piece I didn't want the Deer to stand out,....

just be there, as part of the woods.     

Using freezer paper and the same template as before, I cut out a single Doe in the purple organza and tucked her under a few of the layers of other colours.

How to anchor this?
I decided NOT to stitch around it as it would draw the eye. In the end I placed a hint of a tree over top. The Deer can't go anywhere and it now its part of the forest.
As Deer should be.
Maybe I'll add more.

Summer Afternoon

To keep myself busy while I decide on a another large project, I spent about 3 hr this afternoon putting together a forest scene using organza. I love the way the layers change their colours and intensities.

I had been thinking about the onion dyed pieces of silk, a piece of which I used in the Cave Bear. I though it would be a nice colour background for this one.

To maximize its colour I laid it directly on white batting, and then started layering about 10 different colours of organza ranging from lime green through to purple and black.

I used some slivers of cotton for the tree trunks.
A layer of netting and pins and it ready to finish.