A Stitchers Gallery

I'm happy to report I have recently received more photos of student's finished projects!  It is always so much fun to see all the different finishing techniques, not to mention all the wonderful stitching.  Jo Vitayne finished both Monet's Garden box and Orchid herself.   Now the amazing thing to me is that she had to make the box before she could finish it....and it's just perfect!  The hardware is available but there has to be a framework to support, as well as a base. Now the finishing technique for the Orchid has a print fabric used as a mat, which really sets of the design.  Something different, and very effective.  

Trudy Downing has sent Seasons for us to see.  She says,  "It will hang just inside our front door, practically the first thing people see when they come over."

I really enjoyed designing Seasons and am always so gratified when a stitcher has enjoyed stitching it as well.  Thank you for sharing Trudy....a lovely job....well done.!

As students submit photos of their finished works I will continue to post them here.  It is always enjoyable to see another stitcher's work. And, as you can seem, you might get a new idea for finishing off your own projects.  At some point over the next few months I hope to set up a gallery page so all the finished photos I have can find a permanent home.  I also have several photos from before this blog was begun which need to be added also....with proper credit given!

Now, I haven't written very ofter lately, but I was teaching last week and leave again shortly for another another week.  But then I'm back home for over a month so have good intentions to "retire" several of my current teaching designs and move them to "retired teaching pieces" which means the instruction books and canvases will be available for sale.  Also, Dahlia, recently seen on those pages will be added no later than May 15th, hopefully before.  This design finishes up the Silk Ribbon Flower Series I.

I don't plan to write again until after my return from Oregon.....around April 16th.  Hope everyone is enjoying Spring weather.

Colorwashing

I was thrilled to receive photos of Monet's Garden, stitched by Joyce DeMattei and finished into a beautiful box by Marlene Custom Pillows.  In workshops stitchers are encouraged to "make designs their own" by changing the size or quantity of flowers/petals, to use beads instead of or in addition to the French knot centers, etc.  Joyce's addition of beads and the way in which she varied the flower sizes are very pretty indeed! Thanks again for sharing.

On the studio front I have been continuing to work on my colorwashing techniques, as mentioned in my last post.  Shown are photos of the final version of the Harlequin Hearts canvas with the design outlined.  The design was marked first with a Pilot ultra fine point permanent black marker SCA-UF.  Then the colorwashing was done using Adirondack Color Wash in 5 colors.  The picture at right shows the original bottle of Stream Color Wash with the bottle transferred the diluted mixture to for spraying the canvas.  It is available in 12 colors and available at Joggles and other online sources.  The mixture is greatly diluted:  1/4 teaspoon to 2 ounces of water....the dye is very strong so there is the potential for a wide range of colors.  The colors can also be mixed. The colors can of course be used as they come but the spray bottle gives a combination of spray and splatter.  That can be a good thing....just not for this application.  The spray bottles I found are by Judi Kins and give more of a mist....just what I need....great for layering.  Even so, I found I needed to rinse the sprayer every ounce of so to reduce small amounts of splattering. 

So, to get back to the Harlequin Hearts canvas.  I used five colors, starting at the upper left:  Butterscotch, Lettuce, Bottle, Stream and Denim.  I sprayed the first color in the area where the true color was to be then extended the band a few inches.  Then the second color was sprayed, overlapping the first color by a few inches, and so on.  Because I used a very diluted solution I was able to layer colors without fear of have the color become too brilliant!  

After the canvas had dried I took it to the ironing board.  I sprayed the (one) selvage with clear water and pressed it first to shrink it slightly to match the rest of the canvas.  Then ironed the canvas with it set on cotton/linen (no steam) to set the color.  The canvas was allowed to airdry for another 24 hours before taping the edges. 

The original Harlequin Hearts canvas was colorwashed with Acrylic washes, mixed from basic yellow, red and blue.  However, when washing 15 to 24 canvases at a time in preparation for a workshop, that can become a little cumbersome.  Also, if you are a little afraid of trying to mix paint colors to this degree, this approach of layering washes of color might appeal to you, even if you are not preparing two dozen canvases at a time.  I'm happy with the way they have turned out and excited to have students try they hand at it with another upcoming project.....the POPPIES pilot......in June.

Finished Projects

I received the picture of this lovely finished Hibiscus project a few days ago from Joyce DeMattei.  This design is part of the Silk Ribbon Flower Series.  This method of finishing as a banner is unique and the deep red background really sets it off.  Thanks Joyce for sharing.  It is really fun to see photos of student's work and I plan to start posting more of these photos here over the next few months. 

The last few days has seen me colorwashing canvases for an upcoming pilot.  At the same time I have been trying out different methods to find one that will be the easiest for students to reproduce on their own.  One of the classes at the ANG Seminar this fall, POPPIES, has students colorwashing their own in class and I would like them to also be able to easily use the technique at home.  It's great to add a wash of color to a canvas if you want to have a little canvas peak through for added depth and perspective. 

I must get back to skeining threads for another upcoming class.