How to Stay Warm on a Cold Day

I spent my Sunday out at Bernie's sunny attic studio teaching a Beginner Threadpainting class that was postponed from November.  At minus 50 degrees celcius with the windchill, my van was frozen solid.  After a boost and letting it warm up, it literally cooled right down again once I was out on the highway.  DAMN COLD.  Nonetheless, it was a full class - crazy tough Saskatchewan folk we are!  : )

the view from the sewing room

As much as people complain about the cold, my goodness - it has been a sunny, sunny winter.  For that I am grateful.  Bernie's attic is a beautiful place to be.  Look at the sunshine spill into the room!

Thank you Bernie for once again hosting a class.  This one was Beginner Threadpainting.  It was a very diverse group - some stitched very, very slow with deliberate long stitches.  Here is a picture of Bernie - 'Fastest Threadpainter in the West' I dubbed her.  : )

Bernie C. stitching in her beautiful attic sewing room.

There were great results from each of these women, even the ones who didn't finish.  The stitching and the blending was beautiful.  Great job ladies!

The next three photos were taken just before everyone was packing to leave.  They are so cute!  : )  First, sharing the results of their stitching with each other...

Candid shots are always best.  Then the group pose!  haha

Sweet.  Thanks for your hospitality Bernie and thank you to all the women who participated on such a cold, cold day.

I pack up my supplies and headed back to the city just as it was getting dark.  It was a very good day.

Saskatoon glowing on the horizon, Sunday night in January

Basic Threadpainting Class

Today I ran my Basic Threadpainting beginner class for the third time.  It went REALLY well today.  Thank you ladies!  What a fun bunch.  I never brought my camera to the last class, my apologies.  Here are some photos from today's bunch...

her first time threadpainting = AWESOME!

I really like being at Creative House.  The teaching area is a solarium full of plants & natural light.  It makes me happy.  : )

following the feathers' lines

Nearly everyone hooped their work and used a tear-away stabilizer underneath.  I like to give everyone the choice.  In the last class, only one person use the hoops.  They have some great rubbery ones there that grip so well you never have to tape or tighten.

a second pose

I provided 2 Chickadee poses with permission from the photographer, Edith Maracle.  I am just not good at photographing birds.  I found these images on Flickr and they were perfect for a threadpainting project.  So... thank you again Edith! ; )

grey on white...

Everyone in the class was also given the choice of background fabric.  Every woman't work was different!  It was wonderful!

stitching with the source photo nearby

This was the same class I offered last year in Watrous at Annette's home.  The Chickadee is a great project because pretty much everyone has white, grey, beige, and black in their thread collection.  And THANK YOU for reading through the handout!  lol  Making the 3 page hand out was the hardest part for me, so I told everyone that they had to promise to read it!  Carly / Citric Sugar was there, and assured me that she read it twice.  : )  Sweet.

Thank you so much, have a great weekend and keep stitchin'!

Threadpainting - My Sweet Canary

A long long time ago, Quilting Arts magazine had a challenge to stitch your pets.  I was all over that!  I printed out a photo of Pippin, my Canary.  That's as far as I got.  It stayed pinned to my inspiration wall since then.  I'm sure it's been a year.  Since I'm making class samples up for things I'm teaching in the fall, I thought this would be a good time to threadpaint Pippin as an example for the Basic Threadwork class (like the one I did in Watrous).

My kids (6,9,12) were deeply engrossed in Mario Cart.  I clicked on my sewing machine and thought how simple it would be to hook up my video camera for you to see.  I didn't.  There were two solid hours of laughing and screaming and play by play at the top of their lungs just feet away from where I was and I didn't want to put you through that.  I will make a video this fall - promise!

I had a moment of jealousy, absolutely sure that Anna Maria Horner MUST have a housekeeper, a groundskeeper, a cook and a nanny or two.  sigh.  There's just no way.  (ps- I think she rocks.)

As it turns out, coloring in a photo with thread took no time at all.  I was done Pippin in less than 2 hours (uninterrupted!).  It was super-simple and took only 6 colors of thread.  Trust me, my landscapes done by sight take way, WAY longer.  My point is - basic thread painting is not difficult.  Birds are a terrific subject because their feathers are all laid out for you to stitch.  It's super simple.  Check it out.  First, in no apparent order - bright yellow.

first the yellow - in shiny rayon (Wonderfil)

I'm kicking myself for not turning on my video camera.  Next... a brassy colored rayon.

brass colored rayon added next

Then I added a matt grey cotton, and some white/offwhite too.  Again... it took minutes.  By the way, I'm sewing on stabilized stabilizer because I dislike working with hoops.

My Sweet Canary - Pippin all stitched in.

I finished his little foot.  I stitched in the perch with some variegated brick & brown colors.  I highlighted it with white.  I changed the perch to hide the fact that it's covered in poop.  lol  I did some decorative stitching to help fill up the back.  I wanted to minimize the fact that there are bars behind him.  I like it - it's kind of festive.  This bird took under an hour.  The decorative stitching took about the same amount of time.

Pippin 8x10 - all done!  Click photo to see it larger.

THIS is my favorite part.  I love the details.  : )

Thank you Mario Cart.  Now off to cook, clean, wash, water, & feed everyone, and hopefully throw in a family bike ride too.  :  )  Linking to TN&TN.

Preparations

Summer is nearly half over.   ~shudder~   Before you know it, September will be here.  I'm putting things together for the Showcase of the Arts which is the first week of August here in Saskatoon.  Creative House will be having a booth there and they've asked for their teachers to supply class samples.  I got a little bit done last night.  I think it will be a mug rug.  I really can't stand that name though.  lol  It's as ugly as the word "blog", don't you think?  BLOG.  ick.  Mug-rug on a blog.  ick ick.  So, I'll call it a Coffee Cup Coaster.

Rachel's scraps and some Tutti Wonderfil thread.

Here's a list of classes I'm offering with the corresponding dates.  I picked the Mondays that alternate with our Saskatoon Quilter's Guild meetings so that there's no overlap.  I'll also do some classes at the Studio on 9th in the evenings, and I'm getting booked for some private Sunday afternoon classes as well.  I'll post those once I know.

At Creative House, Fall 2012

Monday September 17 - Creative Quilted Postcards Workshop

Monday October 1 - Free Motion Quilting Skill Builder

Monday October 29 - Teens / Homeschoolers Doodle with you Sewing Machine

Monday Tuesday November 13 - Basic Threadwork / Threadpainting 101 (Rescheduled for stat holiday)

Monday November 19 - Dresdens Workshop

* * * You can read all the details of the classes HERE.  * * *

All of my classes are Monday mornings at 10 am and run for 2.5 to 3 hours, with the exception of November 12th.  Sign up is through Creative House by phoning 652-0455.  They have classes running all the time on so many topics, so check them all out! : )

Thread Work - First Class.

The wonderful and completely charming Annette from In Stitches & Seams invited me out to her place in Watrous to teach a 'Basic Threadwork' class for the first time to a group of five wonderful women (including Annette).  It was a great drive, about an hour out of Saskatoon on a beautiful sunny day.  I came with handouts, lots of practice fabrics, stabilizers, hoops, thread, and a beautiful project photo supplied by Edith Maracle from Kingston, Ontario.  (Thank you Edith!)

After some discussion, we set up the machines & adjusted the tension.  I had everyone test their stitches and then they began experimenting by coloring in on 'cheater' fabrics (see the apple above?).  Some hooped, some didn't.  Into the second half of class, I had everyone stitch out Edith Maracle's beautiful black capped chickadee.  First, each person traced the photo onto fabric using Annette's trusty light box (that would be her front door).

Simple scotch tape, an hb pencil, and some sunlight is all you need.  Away they went!

There's me in the mirror, cheering Annette on.  : )

She was so darn sweet - I got hugs and presents and even gluten free baking!

Here are some of the work in progress.  I picked these two particular photos by Edith because they were so clear.  You could see every feather.  The colors weren't too difficult at all to find in most people's stash: black, white, grey beige... and who doesn't love chickadees?  Check out their stitching!  Awesome...

haha - I told them I would only photograph their hands.  Looks like I got some toes in there!  : )

It's interesting to see who starts with what.  Everyone is different.

Good job ladies!  : )  

I look forward to seeing the finished pieces, and had a really great time meeting you all.

...and thank you again Annette.  : )

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

My goodness.  What isn't in-progress right now!?  

#1.  My yard.  #2.  The dandelion plot berries & veggies garden.  #3.  We are trying to transfer everything over to my new lap top and what a mess that is!  I had to get a new one because I had pretty much destroyed the 'enter' key, as well as the eyes for the sideways happy face on my old one.  lol  I have it back!  : )  (see?)  So I can smile again... but I am missing some important emails.  Oh dear.  #4.  As in yesterday's post, my presentation & framing is also a work in progress.  #5.  Some commissions are on the back burner as the next art show approaches.  (***Thank you ladies for your patience!!).  #6.  In about ten days I'll be at the Spring Art Show & Sale which is up in the header of my blog if you want more info.  I am a few hours away from completing another canola field!!  In the mean time, I started this on Tuesday afternoon.

in progress - wild crocuses to be added by hand

I'm not sure if starting another piece right now was wise, but I think I can manage this.  Besides, it was 'calling' me.  I had to answer!   : )  It's all ready for hand stitching.  I'll be putting wild crocuses into the foreground, inspired by the photos I took at Patti's farm.  There was one photo in particular that drew me.   It was that blue, blue water down the hill.  I think I'll be putting smaller crocus clumps into it instead of one big close-up as the original photos portray.  You can see them here.

Also in progress: #7.  I am teaching on Sunday, so I am getting ready for that too.  I'm excited about this.  I'm heading out to the town of Watrous to do my first Beginner Threadwork Class for a group of 5 women.  I think 2 are coming from Regina.  Annette from In Stitches and Seams is hosting it at her place.  We 'know' each other through The Needle & Thread Network.  I'll be bringing along some yummy Wonderfil Threads too!  Speaking of Annette, she happened to be the one to answer my call for the "Tag! You're it" postcard exchange.  I mailed her one of my Tag cards, and WOOHOO!!  Look what I got today from her!

only the BIGGEST art-to-mail that I've ever got!

It's ONE HUGE TAG!  I had to burst out laughing.  Look at what I made for the swap...

off to Ireland it went... 'Tag! You're It' postcard.

Only the tiniest tag ever!  lol  Annette, I love your card!  Thank you so much!  I'm so glad you swapped with me.  Don't mind me if I show that one off to my postcard classes!  It's a keeper.

Linking to The Needle & Thread Network.  : )