A little before (above) and a little after (below)...
I love thread painting. When I work in long repetitive lines, I like to sew left to right. This means that I am making these trees sideways. It always helps my brain to turn the source photo sideways as well. I'm not very good at thinking sideways apparently : ). This is how I work...
Looks funny, doesn't it? That's her photo up on the screen. I'm pretty happy with the work so far. It's small at 4x6 inches. I start with the faded background first, then work forward. Unlike most threadpainting instruction, I don't work light colors to dark colors. I prefer stitching down the middle or main colors until I have everything in place. Then I will go back and darken that dark parts to create definition. Lastly, I'll add the lights or whites for the highlights.
Yes - I always drop my feed dogs because with this buckrum canvas, it does cause drag to keep them up. And yes - I always use my Janome 'blue arrow' bobbin case.
It's set a bit lower so that I never need to bother with adjusting the top tension. Whether I use cotton or rayon, it doesn't much matter. This set up seems fool proof for me.
Tip- when free motion sewing, always ensure the presser foot lever has been raised BEFORE rethreading a new color. This way, the upper tension discs are open and the thread will get into the right place inside your machine.
I'm getting there! I would say I'm about half way done. The front foliage will be easy now that I have the background and trees in place. I'm having fun! I love the way the scene fades into the sunlight. Thank you Megan for your patience!
9 comments:
What an ingenious way to work....with your photo sideways! Thanks for sharing your process. Your work always amazes me! I am eager to see the finished piece!
I'm reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and the author suggests it is easier to draw (copy) something from an upside down position so you are confirming what I'm reading.
Beautiful Monika! your work is always fantastic. Anxious to see the finish piece.
I love seeing your process! I believe I do my colors in roughly the same order most of the time. I can't think sideways either!
It's looking great! I love the depth in this one...looking through the trees.
(I have a bunch more buckram scraps if you want them?)
Thanks for the tips. It is looking really good.
Very cool idea to work sideways - I'm sure it lets you break down the photo into its parts without your eye blending everything together.
Great FMQ tips! You really are painting with thread! I've only done pretty basic designs, and had never thought about all the light, dark, shading and such that goes into it... just like painting with paint, I'd suspect. I've honestly never had a painting or art class. Thanks for sharing some of the process! Oh, and feel better :-)
It looks amazing! I'm so excited now, I'm starting to think about framing and where to put it!
I hope your household is now germ free too, I hate those change of weather germs that seem to just fly around everywhere. We've got the opposite weather change germs hanging around here at the moment so I have been hiding at home a lot trying to avoid the worst of them!
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