Work in Progress # 3

Update photos:
Check out here for more details on making the foliage. I spent a lot of time making the green stuff but it works great to give a realistic look to the work.

Making greenery for the art piece.

Photos

I was on the fifth floor of the Parmount Building yesterday. Years ago, this building housed one of the old movie theatres in downtown St. John's. During a storm, its roof collapsed and was thus abandoned for a long time. Now it has a new lease on life and is turned into office space. The view from the top is spectacular! However, I had to be content to take my photos through the glass window.  As you can see, there are some interesting houses in the downtown core.

Patchwork Pattern Maker

Isn't the internet wonderful! Regardless of where you are (and you have an internet connection), you can read about all kinds of things. I just came across a reference to the Patchwork Pattern Maker on the Victoria & Albert Museum site.  This on-line program allows you to transform any image into a patchwork quilt. All you have to do is upload any image and convert it instantly into your own quilt pattern. Here's the photo I just did and the pattern made from it. This one is medium complexity (20 x 20 squares). I'm assuming the squares can be any size you want. Give it a try. It's quite easy to do!

This piece was a test for a larger one with five houses. It needs quilting in the sky as it sags a bit.

Experimental Piece: Row Houses

This is an experimental piece I did a number of years ago. The house fabric is hand dyed. The clapboard lines were printed onto the white cotton after been treated with Bubble Jet Set 2000. The C. Jenkins Co. invented this solution so they could print neck ties from the computer.
The sky is hand dyed satin which gives it a nice shine. In this piece, the sky should have been stitched to prevent sagging. The trees are stitched green organza that has been cut out using a stencil burner. The window openings are satin stitched. Black cotton covered with a grey organza is used for the glass. Bits of lace represent curtains. The flowers are hand embroidered.

After working out the bugs in this wall hanging, I decided to make a larger piece with five houses. That piece was matted and framed. It is now part of the Newfoundland and Labrador Art Collection.

Mother's Day Ideas

My mother is 88 years old. At her stage in life, she is trying to get rid of things. For presents, she wants only 'stuff' she can wear or eat!. Well, a number of years ago, I was at my wits end as to what to get her. I had been making small fabric fish for my art work and it suddenly dawned on me that she has collected small pins to wear on her clothes for years. That sudden inspiration lead to a line of wearable art pins(scroll down).  I make some images by stitching them by free motion on my sewing machine. Others have been designed and converted to stitch for my embroidery machine. Needless to say, my mother usually gets # 1 of each new design. Here's a few samples of my pins:

Here's some other ideas for gifts to make for mom (or yourself):

• checkbook cover
• eyeglass case
• pot holder
• cell phone case
• purses & bags
• bed caddy
• patio chair pad