Birch Trees - Day 1

As a reminder.....here is the internet photo image.

This one emphasizes the mature boles. I hoping for some interesting work here. I made some fresh "birch" material a few days ago.

As a trial, first thing the morning, it was folded to the size of an actual tree trunk and placed on the auditioning background material.

This is a good time to use those "mistake" materials. The colour is all that is important here.
And with that decided i pulled out all the possible foliage choices.

I had been thinking I might have to quick dye some suitable yellow, but these selections seem to be giving me what I want....so far.

So beginning with the lower foreground/background I sliced two different colours of foliage. These are much larger than usual but I wanted to fill the bottom/front with shadow. Each piece was placed individually, anchored with a light tacking spray.

To dampen the orange, a little colour interest was added with this scrap of material and then most of it was covered. Twigs are embroidery floss. There will be much more of that detail.

All the bits were stitched under netting.
Yes this is in two pieces. That decision I made last night. It will be easier to handle, and when the trees trunks (paper stand-ins) are added near the end, the two pieces will come back together.

Last of my Commitments

Too many things to clear off my table, particularly when I've got a project churning in my head.
We've been stripping the garage of my painting and dying materials. (We insist on having the car in for the winter. It's not getting any younger..........but then neither am I !!!.)
The holdup in the garage now is the last batch of beer. As hubby makes it from scratch he needs to cook and I won't have that in the house. ( Bad enough the wine fermenters bubble in the corners most of the winter,)
My stuff has to live under my worktable all winter. I will paint indoors but not dye. Too messy and unsafe.

These things will be sorted and "refiled" in their proper storage containers with the hope I'll be able to find what I want, when I want it next Spring.

And these two crib quilts are finished for the guild. I kept them simple. Babies like puffy?
So maybe I can finally begin?
Tomorrow......

Happy Hallowe'en

Too busy today carving pumpkins! We had such a dry summer there were no BIG ones so I had to make do with little ones
LOL
Enjoy!

Time For Something New

So I'm committing to this illustration. I was so impressed with the simplicity of the last piece I have to do it again.

But FIRST... I need more bark material, a full metre.

This was done in 3 phases. First it was spatter-painted in black and a touch of orange, then dried and heat set to fix the paint.
Second step was to wet most of the surface with a spray bottle of water and them throw more, slightly diluted black. It was set deliberately on an angle so the paint would run.
After that dried and was heat set, I re-wet areas and dribbled on walnut water, just enough to stain it again.
So how to use this?...Slices

These pieces will portray a more mature tree trunk.

A Quilt....At Last

These past weeks have been filled with this and that. I haven't started another Art Piece but I have a variation of the yellow Autumn Birch in my head.
I'm still debating size, primarily. I've been letting my roll of canvas dictate my size limit. Using canvas as a stabilizer has prevented me from doing very much on the Long Arm. The Juki doesn't like stitching through canvas and 3 or more other layers of cloth. I listen to that machine and choose accordingly.

But the trips and company are almost finished for a while. The last is my son's birthday this weekend, ( I'm presently cooking granola and then Cheesecake) plus Halloween. The yard is put to bed, for the most part. I did a massive cleaning in time to catch the city pickup. The rest can go into the green bin for weekly disposal.

But I did quilt a queen this week for the sister of one of our guild members.
This was her first quilt and with all beginners it comes with problems and oversites. I quilted it and did manage to improve its lay (I think). She did a stellar job of the blocks, "Pickup Sticks" is the name. With practise and experience she'll learn to trim the blocks and not just attach the sashing  "any old way". LOL

It's for her son at Christmas. He'll be pleased.....he's a boy.....Mom is perfect.
( I can only go by MY sons.)