Friday Finish - Just in a Nick of Time ; )

That's a funny phrase before Christmas - just in a Nick of time.  Anyone know where that comes from or what it really pertains to?

Well, I did it!  I finished my last commission for 2014, as promised.  This was no easy task.  It's a big one full of hand work; a remake of From Humble Beginnings.  A client asked for her own version of it.  I said yes... and later I really wondered how on earth I would create that building again!?  But I did it!  It worked and I am breathing a happy sigh of relief.

commission for the building on Bergheim road

I made the first version of this just before my Winnipeg show 2 years ago.  One of my favourite people in the world owns it.  It was very satisfying to recreate it.  It's a little different from the first in both the sky and the foliage.  The first version has a darker foreground.  This one has a brighter foreground.  Of course, I added those fat honey bees that were hanging off the alfalfa where I was kneeling down for the photo.  ; )

Now to email her the final results, and then I can ship it to her on Monday.  I hope she loves it.

Happy Winter Holidays everyone!  

See you on the flipside.

Stuck in the Trees

Here it is... the long awaited commission for D.  She's the one who said, "just make me something.  Be creative."  I don't want to make her something she might not love.  I had to probe a bit more and did get the words green, summer, and trees from her.  This image popped into my head.  It was from the end of Bergheim Road, east of the city.  I found it the day I went searching for flax.  I've always wanted to stitch this one!  Here's my process so far...

choosing fabric colors, source photo nearby

It all begins with the perfect sky.  This one was a section of cloth from Dahn (sounds like Dawn) Cassleman in the Yukon!  She's at the Wilderness City Quilter blog.  I don't dye - or haven't much yet.  So when friends send me sky fabric, I'm quite thrilled.  It was a terrific barter for the thread I sent her.  I stick all the land pieces on with glue.  Lapel Stick works best for me.  I know many threadpainters dye or paint silk backdrops first, or transfer photos onto the cloth... but the way I do it means I can begin stitching right away.

machine stitching, blending colors, painting with thread

I go top to bottom in the scene.  It really is like painting.  I add thread by color where it's needed.  I blend.  I have stitched into the sky before, but this is nice the way it is.  Plus, it will be somewhat covered in tree boughs when I'm done.

One of my favorite parts of the process is finding the right colors - whether it's the base fabric or the threads for stitching.  My thread stash is SO HUGE (yes - I am indeed bragging here) that it's like going on a scavenger hunt in my sewing room. Fun.  ; )  It's incredibly satisfying to find the perfect color match.

i always have the right color since that garage sale last summer!

I love love love to work with variegated threads.  Look how perfect this next spool will be for the brush in the corner of that scene!  (See?  The constant exclamation marks tell you I'm excited!) 

auditioning thread

I got to the point yesterday where I had pretty much finished the background.  Here it is so far!

7x9... maybe a tad bigger.

My plan is to stitch in the trees by machine, and then embellish the foreground by hand.  I am nervous about the trees.  It was a lot of work, and there's no going back if I screw this up.  I figured that this time, I need to have a plan and sketch it out a bit first.  I came up with this idea to have the opening off centre.  I love the way the tree line top is in a V-shape.  It has nice movement to it.

sketching out a plan...

Now I am 'stuck in the trees'.  I spent an hour trying out thread and combinations of threads, and a variety of stitches & tension alterations.  I'm getting close... I think I'm ready but WHEW it's time to call it a day.

practicing up for the trees

There you go!  Linking to WIP Wednesday at The Needle & Thread Network.  See you there.

Frames, Photos, Threadpaintings (oh my!)

I have lots of news today!  I had a meeting with a local framing store to entertain the idea of passing that job on to someone who knows how to do it and has all the right supplies.  No more coupon trips to Michael's.  No more wiring frames.  No more 'making the art to fit the pre-cut mats'  !!!  Ooh I can't wait!  I'm hoping that I will have my December show all framed professionally by them.  If I'm a regular customer, I can likely get a good price.  Plus, I plan to still mount my own work which cuts down cost.  Sigh.  Oh it feels FANTASTIC to move forward this way.  It won't affect the current prices of my work.  I raised them back in the spring and I feel they are good where they are at. 

I have more good news!  One of my photos was selected for a provincial themed calendar.  I just got the email from SGI to announce that they are sending me a $500 honorarium for that.  WOW.  At the top of my lungs I hollered, "WOOHOO!" for a half hour and did (mental) back flips around my living room until I could calm down enough to phone my mom.  She gets that calendar every year and always encourages me to enter.  This is so awesome!  I haven't been this pumped up for a long time.  This prize will pay for a lot of framing too.  It just couldn't be better timing.  BIG SMILES all around. 

Good news comes in threes, right?  Well, here's my last bit.  I 'Finished it Friday'!  Apparently it's B's birthday soon and she sounds pretty darn excited about this commission.  ; )

"Prairie Summer" 2012  (sold)

Prairie Summer, 2012   4x6" Double matted & framed

Thank you once more to MeinkeToy for the $25 gift certificate and also for the goodies you sent my way.  And now, the winner is...  KIT LANG! : )  Congrats!  She was picked randomly by my six year old.  I'll pass Kit's email on to MeinkeToy and they will get in touch with you.  : )

Have a great fall weekend everyone!

Flax Captured!

Whew- I've been waiting three years to capture a blooming flax field.  The first year, I had the timing all wrong.  It only blooms in the morning.  In the late afternoon, this field will appear green and you'll miss it.  The second year, I drove and drove and apparently failed at the directions.  This year, my friend Bernie said they are in view from her place.  Sure enough - there they were!  2 of them.  I have many, many photos.  I happen to really like this crop from a larger photo I took.  I think it would be pretty stitched out.

Of course, there's always Canola...

And if you are in luck you'll get a bit of both colors.  : )

Sweet!  Hope you are enjoying summer as much as we are.  : )

Beautiful Bergheim

DSCN8923 (3), a photo by My Sweet Prairie - Monika Kinner on Flickr.

I went out today in search of flax. I found lots, however, this is my favorite snapshot of the day. : ) Thanks for the heads up Bernie!

Monika

Working on One More...

I was planning on putting "A Prairie Dress" into my display at the Centre's Jade Gallery (which would look REALLY terrific in there!) but now I'm thinking I can't.  It needs to be delivered to the offices of the Saskatchewan Craft Council very soon.  Wow - I still can't believe I am saying that!  This new show I was accepted for is called "Seeds" and runs Jan-Feb 2012.  It is specifically for emerging Saskatchewan artists who are in the first five years of their career.  I am only 2, so I'm thrilled to be able to get in on such a fantastic opportunity!  The problem is that now I have unplanned extra space in the Centre gallery (which is a large public display wall behind glass in one of our biggest malls in the city).  Remedy?  One last piece...

work in progress...

YOU might not be able to see it, but I can.  It's bare, bare bones right now.  It's going to have an old post in it.  The inspiration for it is from these particular photos I took in July, one of which is incredibly teeny.  I was hunting for good compositions to stitch.

I may incorporate these prairie lilies too.

how lucky to stumble upon wild prairie lilies!  (our provincial flower)

We'll see how this one turns out!  I know I'm going to enjoy stitching in all those silvery grey leaves.  Can anyone identify that for me?  Is that what they call wolf willow?  There was a lot of it this summer.

I've also decided to try something different.  I've had this cropped shot on my desktop for some time now.  I took it at the end of Bergheim Road, just before getting back onto the highway from Bernie's this fall.

this is a perfect example of a crappy photo that could inspire something great.

There's no sky in the shot, but I love the colors and I think it makes an interesting composition.  I also think I'll have to try this one in a large scale at a later date.  Can anyone identify those dark dried up plants by name for me?  They were seriously abundant this year too.

...off to do more stitching : )

Linking to The Needle & Thread Network.