I Finished It x3!

I can't tell you how relieved I am to have this done in time for the sale at Solar Gardens!  I took the photos on Sunday, and then worked all week non-stop to get this accomplished.  Here's the image that I couldn't resist.

I wanted to make my 5x5" square sizes, and thought, 'how great to make several sections of this view!'  And I away I went...

Day 1 - I will count that as the day I headed out to the hills and took the photographs.  Later, back in my studio I loaded the images, sorted through them, picked my favourites, made some crops and brightened a few up.

Day 2 - I spent this day selecting the right fabrics, pressing them, snipping them, coordinating then, fusing them, messing up, taking it apart, snipping and re-snipping and then fusing them.  With fabric markers, I marked out where I wanted the faded layer (too lazy/exhasted to snip a different green). Then I cleaned up my huge mess from the last project and started to select my thread colours.  This took an entire day.

Day 3 & 4 - Freemotion stitching.  It worked out fairly well to have three on the go at once.  I like how each is different, but look great together.  As always, I end up pulling way more threads than I start with.  Once I really look and work through a scene, I always discover colours I didn't notice the first time over.

The end of Day 3 is where I'm left with the ugly phase. Sorry.  No photos.  lol  It is the phase I question myself.  Can I do this?  WHY did I start this?  What was I thinking?  Should I just stop now?

By the end of Day 4, I am seeing the light.  YES!  I can see the finish line.  This is turning out to be awesome!

Day 5 - Today is Day 5.  I did it!  I finished all three.  I spent the rest of the day photograping my work and writing this blog post.   I just need to hand stitch in my signature on each.

Day 6 - I will be signing, cleaning glass, matting, framing, putting on the backing & the hardware, pricing, and packing it up.

I feel so good about this accomplishment!  I can't wait to set up in the Glass House out at Solar Gardens.  I need to thank my husband for making the treck to Weyburn for pick up and Regina for drop off on my behalf, and to Caryl at Handmade House for switching shifts so I could use Friday to work on the show.  THANK YOU both -  I got an entire week to produce art, and it was well worth it.

See you Saturday?  : )

Things I Love Thursday

I love that drive we took out to Solar Gardens last week.  Here are a few more images I captured - some of which I have been working on with thread in time for the show & sale this weekend.

I love that soft palette!  There was a light drizzle that morning and the hills were misty.  Doesn't it look 'fake'!?  Wow.

I love this next one very much.  It's a crop of a longer image I took.  I love the layers and layers...  I love how far you can see, or how far you can't see.  !  : )

Incredible.  It got very dark and the colours were so deep from the rain.  I love it so much!  I am very grateful to have had a view like this.

Up close was beautiful too,

I love how you can see every blade of grass.  I love how they each have their own colour.  It's so pretty.  (sigh)

On the way back to the city, we passed the softest, fluffiest fields.  The cattails were just in shock from the frost the night before.  Look at the colours and textures!

It was amazing.  I love this season.  I picked out some threads and have been stitching all week, every day, all day.  It's a pleasure to get to get to use some of these colours again! : )

I'll post once more before the weekend. : )  Please say hi if you come out to Solar Gardens.  There will be three buildings with art - the Dining Hall, the big Tent, and the Glass House.  You can find me set up in the Glass House.  : )  We are told that Solar Gardens has credit card point of sales available on site.  Bring a friend!

Happy Thursday!

Goldenrod at Pike Lake

I finished the most recent commission!  I'm pretty happy with it.  It's getting the sweetest of comments of facebook, I think because I showed the initial stages with the completed photo.  From a couple pieces of batik to the finished threadpainting, it is quite a transformation.

fabrics based on a photo I took

woo boy!  Photographing in the studio on a grey day is rough.  I will have to try again when the light changes.  My studio lights are so bright and all-encompassing that there tends to be no shadow in the photo, making it look rather flat.

And here it is!

Goldenrod at Pike Lake, 2015

I love the sunshine and shadows so much,  I think it's my first time threadpainting Goldenrod.  This is a place full of childhood (and possibly adult)  memories for her.  : )  I love that title.  It's personal, and I wonder how many people will say that out loud before they read the title.

Last week, I had mats cut and ordered a standard frame for it.  It's all ready to go.  My initials are hand stitched in the bottom corner.  Here it is photographed before the glass was put in.  This is what it will look like in it's new owner's home once it's put together and has the hardware added. : )  It will live in Edmonton, AB.

Now I'm on to the next commission which is a gift for a loved one.  : )  Back to the studio...

Thread Paintings for Gardenscape 2015

AAAH!!!  Isn't it truly amazing out there?  It is spring in Saskatchewan.  Before you know it, Gardenscape will be here!  March 27, 28, 29 at Prairieland park.  This year I understand that the art will be in Hall E (not A as it has been in the past).  I think Hall E is the first entrance you see when you arrive into the parking lot.  You might recall that last year's attraction was the butterflies.  This year, it's Orchids!  That will be wonderful to see.  I have six threadpaintings completed for sale and a few more in the works of varying sizes.  Here's a couple of  sneak peeks of what I've been working on.

Above the Creek Bed, 2015 (work in progress)

It's mostly done.  I need to go back in and add some tree trunks by had and then sign the art as well with my stitches.

I'm working on this large, long piece.  It's from a cell phone capture while driving home from Pike Lake on the last hot day in September.  Here's how I start - photo nearby, and some batiks to block the main colours in place.  For big pieces, I sometimes sketch out some general shapes with coloured pencils.  It gives me a chance to move things if I need to.

I love this one so much!  I have the perfect frame for it.  It's ready for the hand stitching now. I'll be adding in the fence posts, wires, and lush blooms down in the foreground.  I love the way the evening light is working in this.  : )

work in progress - home from the lake

Mmmm.  I'm enjoying all the green. I have some Canola fields and a few Autumn scenes as well.  I'm actually quite SHOCKED at how quick and effortless threadpainting feels after months of hand stitching.  * I have a new appreciation for hand work. *  Now that we are fully resettled into our home, I have been so productive.  That feels GOOD!  I'll have a full display at Gardenscape and some new pieces for the MacKenzie Art Gallery shop as well.  I'm hoping to drop new work off there this weekend when I head through Regina.  I'll keep you posted with what goes where.

Have a lovely week!  Linking to WIP Wednesday @ TN&TN  

Sunday Snapshots

Sunday was a BEAUTIFUL day.  It was windy which kept the mosquitoes from landing.  It was between 20C - 22C which is about room temperature: not too hot, not too cold.  There was not a cloud in the sky and the the air was so much cleaner after a few days of forest fire smoke blowing in.

I sewed nothing.  Nada.  I took the whole day off to play, hike, swim...  it was awesome.

Enjoy.

The above was taken at Pike Lake into the evening.

Below was take at Beaver Creek Conservation Area.  Bee Balm, right?

Oh it was GORGEOUS.  None of these photos were touched up or brightened.  It was just that pretty and bright out there today.  : )

High above the Saskatchewan River...  look!

joy

And Ooooh!  Look!  The Saskatoon Berries are ripe!  mmmmm....

high at the tops of the bushes

Is it me?  These photos make me want to cry.  They are so clear and colorful.  I can't take credit for them.  It's all mother nature.  The prairies seemed to be so vibrant today.  : )  It was really worth my while to head out and take a day off.

And then just as we were heading back, deep in the bushed in a remote trail I found them!!  Prairie Lilies - our provincial flower - in full bloom naturally.  *Those suckers are hard to come by.

Yay!

Happy Sunday.  I hope you enjoyed yours as much as I did.

Sunday Snapshots

One last day at the beach...

o my gosh.  i love her little toes!  : )

It's the middle of the afternoon in these photos.  The shadows are sooooo long and the beach is littered with leaves.

Pike Lake Provincial Park.  The beach is 15 minutes from the city.

Hot September.  Dry September.  Not a cloud in the sky...

Lady bugs and dragonflies are everywhere!  ; )  I like this little picture.  The shore was so interesting this day.

: )  Have a lovely Sunday.

Sunday Snapshots

Look at the colors!  Can you see them?  Look close.  We don't get much red at all on the prairies (except for the fact that our skies get it all the time).  So when these 'plum' and red colors pop up without being planted... WOW.

dark green, light green, red, purple, yellow, cream.  click to view full screen

Love it.  Saskatchewan is FULL of dark green and bright yellow.  Those happen to be the flag colors.  (haha - go figure!)  There's a great mix of gold and blue and purples as well.  There are soft pinks and deep orange.  In the above photo, there are reds and plums in here too.  I love it!  If you click, you can see vertical red lines through the whole scene.  (ie: little stitches, right?)  Oh if I was a weaver, this would make a beautiful tapestry.  : )))

I notice similar colors in the next photo from the back yard...

the girl's pansy boots.  Doin' fine this summer.

Here are some of the same colors again!

Thistle as the sun goes down.

Happy Sunday,