Zoom Zoom Zoom

Zoom - it's gone!

The Flooded Prairie, 2012 (Sold)

It's a good thing I took lots of photos of this one.  You can see full photos on the post from 2 days ago.  It's gone to a new home already!  Along with this one...

Flax at Jackfish #4, 2012 (sold)

And this one...

Bloom #4, 2012 (detail) sold.

Thank you so very, very much!  I am flabbergasted.  Well, I guess I have my work cut out for me now.  Time to sew!  How's that for a "Finished It Friday"?

Now what?  I have purchased loads of interfacing for a memory quilt.  It's something I promised I would do a long, long time ago for my cousin Steffi.  I don't know why this was so tough to get going.  To be honest, I think that the sheer size of the project scared me.  We had a couple of phone calls & emails, and it seems much more do-able now.  So in some spare time, I'm fusing and cutting squares from her late son's clothing to piece a very simple top for a queen sized quilt.  You can read more about that here.   Warning: heartbreaker.

Thank you for all the beautiful compliments on the latest art, and on my NJS entry as well.  That's been really wonderful for me to read.  And... WOOHOO - the outdoor pools are open! ; )  Happy weekend everyone! 

Wednesday Work in Progress

I am spending all day framing my work for the weekend and preparing all the little cards for each piece in my display.  I doubt I'll get the crocuses done in time, but that's okay as it seems to have been spoken for.  I just sold another Flax field too!  I was smart this time:  I made TWO.  : )  SO there will still be one at the show on Sunday.

3x9 vertical Flax in progress...

I DARE someone to count the French Knots in that piece!  : )

This will also be the week that I photograph all my embroidery before if goes under glass and is sold.  What crappy timing - again.  It's been grey and rainy for a couple days.  I think the same thing happened just prior to Gardenscape.   Dark & blustery - typical Saskatchewan spring.  We lost 4 out of 5 unbrellas yesterday while walking to school!  POOF - inside out and bent in half!  lol  Spring winds around here are not for sissies.

Tipi & Rosehips, 2012

I hope the weekend is nicer.  There will be walking tours on Sunday that bring in extra traffic to the Spring Show & Sale.  Elizabeth Cuming, an award winning art quilter from our guild, will be there as well!  I really want to buy an elevator from her and she has some lovely small works of local scenes.  Check this out from last fall at our bennial show!  They are both hers (I had posted these last fall on my blog with her permission).

Wall Hangings / Quilt Art by Elizabeth Cuming, Saskatoon

I love the hills on the other side of the river where the pelicans are!  Isn't she fabulous at what she does!?

Well... here I go.  Offline and to the cutting table.  I hope the sun decides to shine soon! This is why I love winter shows.  Winters here are MUCH brighter.   ; )  I'm linking up to The Needle & Thread Network for WIP Wednesday.  See you soon!

Making Progress, Counting Down

Here's what I've been busy with - another 'pile of prairie' for the Spring Show & Sale at the end of the month.  (see the top of the blog for details).

That photo was taken a while ago.  Now to do more handstitching...

starting on the handstitching now

hand stitching to be added - just a few tiny white stars I think.

mini flax field remake - 4x6"

Two more Bloom pieces just finished!  4x6" and 3x9"

I feel better after making this post.  It looks like I've done so much more than I thought I had.  I've been slowly working on things throughout the blog give-away week, but never really felt I had made much progress.  I'm linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.  Please drop by to see more fabulous works by bloggers from across the country.  Thank you for stopping by my blog!

Work in Progress...

I feel kind of weird. I just mailed away a Prairie Rug #3 to it's new owner in Vancouver (the far west of Canada), and my 'A Prairie Dress' is gone on it's way to Halifax (the eastern side of Canada) for the National Juried Show.  I am still in a blurr over that one!  How very strange to be spread coast to coast like that!  sigh.  Please be gentle Canada Post!  : )

I have been stitching too!  I have two smaller 'Bloom' redo's, and two smaller 'Flax at Jackfish' pieces.  I am currently working on the 'Denmark/Australia' commission... but I'll reveal that when it's done.

'Bloom' in progress once again.   Love it every time I stitch it!

For the rest of the week I have a hand quilting class, and YOU have more contests to enter.  Fun Fun!  I'm really glad I took a chance and asked for prizes.  I found some terrific sponsors!  So snoop around on my blog this week.  Winners will be announced on Saturday May 5th.

linking to The Needle & Thread Network!  Come see what others are up to...

Friday Finishes

I have been no-net for 2 days.  Here's the proof that it's all good.  I got many things accomplished.  I finished the second 'Flax at Jackfish Lake' and it is stunning.  My second-time-arounds really go together easier and the colors just all seem to fall into the right places.

Flax at Jackfish II, 2011 (detail)

I love the way the evergreens sink into the flax field!! I love the slight curve in the foreground.  I love the land on the other side of the lake.  I am super happy with this one.

I did a lot more work on the Wolf Willow & Prairie Lilies from the last blog entry.  The wolf willow has been stitched in.  I may add some light silver highlights.  The post is in.  I did a few more grasses, and then began looking for the right color to stitch in the prairie lilies.

Wolf Willow & Prairie Lilies in progress... SOLD

Yeah.  Really.  It's spoken for!  My head is spinning - half my work is sold already!  I am just aching to go thread shopping.  Oh let me tell you!  lol 

Notice there were no prairie lilies stitched in yet?  

I looked through my stash with no luck.  I recalled that I had red dye left over and died some floss I had made yellow earlier.  No luck.  I even dunked a brown skein into the red to see if I could get the right color.  Nope.

New dyes.  Useful, but not what I need right now.

I went to Periwinkle and the floss was either too rusty, or too light.  What a tricky flower!  I'll try one more shop...  In the mean time, I made up this little baby!  I started it a couple afternoons ago and have been plugging away at it.  It's complete.  I've signed it and everything.  It's a row of trees up at Cedar Lodge as you look back over to the canola on the other side of the lake.  You can't see the water of Blackstrap Lake from there because the hillside is VERY steep.

Twelve Trees.  3" x 9"

That's right folks.  Monika put trees into her art.  Sorry that's blurry - I snapped a quick pic in the dark to show you.  Once it's finished and I get a sunny day, I'll do a retake.  Believe it or not, I bought the right size of matting and frame first!  This one was a surprise finish.  I had planned to put the curly dock at Bergheim Road into that frame.  I suppose I can get more.  I'm really glad about how well Twelve Trees worked out!  Those tree lines are everywhere, planted as windbreaks around farms.  I love how they were planted in a row and properly spaced, yet the trees are certainly individual.  They have a lot of character.  p.s.  I did recreate each trunk as they were.  I thought they deserved that.  ; )

Have a great weekend!  Happy Turkey Day to my American friends.

I Was Blue Over Flax

Earlier this summer, I put out a request on the My Sweet Prairie facebook page for people to notify me if they are on the road and sight a flax field in bloom within reasonable driving distance from my city.  Because I work from my own photos, I want to get some on my camera.  My friend Carol-Lynne did just that!  (Thank you!)  She posted easy directions to 2 fields within an hour from here.  So a couple days later I packed up my kids and we went on a road trip.  We drove and drove and (boo hoo) we never did find that flax.  My mother was kind enough to send this photo taken near her cabin by her friend Howard.

thank you mom & thank you Howard!

It has Jackfish Lake just past the trees.  I wasn't sure I would use this because it's all one color, but look at what I have done so far!  (Deb and Becky - I won't even begin to count the French Knots this time!)

Flax at Jackfish, work in progress

Still, I'm a little disheartened that I couldn't spot that field that Carol-Lynne told me about.  And then I saw it!  Want to see!?  These are my photos.  I took them this week.

Flax in Bloom!

It's not just any 'Flax in Bloom'.  It's MY flax.  This is growing in my front yard at the bottom of the newly planted apple tree!  I was careful not to mow the plants down when I did the lawn.  After I watered the tree (in my pajamas), I returned back out front (still in my pajamas) to snap, snap, snap away with my camera.  Yes, I smiled and waved at the neighbors as they drove to work.

Look at the blue blue pollen!  click the photo for a closer look

going to seed - one Flax flower left here

Let me tell you I am just too happy about this!  I took nearly fifty photos.  Maybe some day I'll stitch macro florals.  I'm not really drawn to that right now, but it was terrific to really study this plant up close.  Linen fabric is made from flax.  Did you know that?  The flowers bloom only at a particular time of day so they are easy to miss.  The plants grow quite tall and straight so when a breeze comes they move easily in waves that resemble water.  When I lived in Calgary I saw a home where the entire front yard was flax instead of grass.  I'll never forget it.  It was the loveliest thing ever!  Can you imagine?   How tempting.  For now, I'll reseed these in the back yard I think.

See you tomorrow!

~Monika
...who is tickled pink : )

It's Good to Be Sketchy.

What better way to spend a hot summer than to lie around outside and draw flowers?  Yesterday I laid on the deck after supper and worked on these drawings while sipping ice cold pear cider.  (mmmm!!!)  I now offically have a good selections of wildflowers ready for Jesica's quilt.  Nailing that Lady Slipper made it all easy after that.  Here's snapshots of the pages if you want to see.  They are all worked from photo to sketch to continuous line drawing.  When I got to one I liked, I drew directional sequence arrows to remind me where to start when I free motion stitch them.

Prairie Lilies

Crocus

Blue Bells / Hare Bell

Blue Bell / Hare Bell with #s  (and dandelions I won't use)

Shooting Star

the Lady Slippers from last week's post.

So there they are.  You can click on any of them to see them bigger.  All of the plants are native to the prairies.  There's a few more, but I won't bore you (Rudbeckia and Lady's Mantle).  Now to work on an arrangement.  I'm not sure if I will link them all.  I suppose I could work each one from the edge of the quilt, so the start points will be eventually under the binding.  hmmm.  One thing for sure - I feel really great after each hurdle.  I was pretty nervous about all this.  Want to see how I manage my anxiety?

Flax at Jackfish (WIP)

I put together this background on Friday.  It's based on that photo my mom got me.  The lower 2/3 of the piece will be periwinkle-colored French Knots. 

after 2 days of stitching...

So far I have half of that blue covered with hundreds and hundred of knots.  lol  It's something small I can take along to the waterparks and work on when my kids play.  As I work my way down the piece, the green will show and the knots will be bigger as well as less dense.  So far so good!  I love the sky and the hills on the other side of the lake.  I couched a lot of colored strings onto there.  : )

See you tomorrow!
~Monika