Another Journal Cover/New Exhibitions Fall 2013

 **Please check my Exhibitions page for two new shows in November 2013.


Here is my painted, stamped and machine stitched piece transformed into a journal cover.   I am starting to get the knack of the contruction of these covers thanks to lots of good instructions on the internet.

I have finished a couple more machine stitched mini landscapes and was able to hand stitch a few ribbon embroidered bookmarks.  They just need to have backings added then zigzagged around the edges.  I am glad to be doing a little hand stitching again but I am taking it really easy.   I find the ribbon embroidery is harder on the fingers especially when using 4mm ribbon rather than the thinner 2mm.

Some of the mini landscapes will be mounted on matboard and framed, a couple will be framed in a double frame, and the rest will probably end up as postcards.   I still have a few sitting by my machine ready to stitch.  The more linear ones are simply straight stitch and zigzag with variations on the size of the stitches.  The more hilly or bushy ones have some free motion stitching on them.

Small Landscapes

I want to mention our guest at last night's Out of the Box meeting.  Her name is Judi Miller and she does wonderful detailed free motion work starting with her own photos Judi Miller Textile Artist
Take a look.  Her work is meticulous.



Here's something to put a smile on your face.... My leaf filled birdbath didn't deter this fellow.  First he drank, then he dove right in.  I took these through my kitchen window.  Most of the photos were just a blur of action but here are a few clearer shots.

I think I need a bath

It's a little chilly

Time for face washing

Ahh.   That feels better

This post is linked to the Needle and Thread Network's WIP Wednesdays
Take a look at some great Canadian Fibre Artists.

Fibre Art for the Library, Starting New Projects and Finishing Others

Prairie Dawn

In my last blog entry I talked about entering "My Sacred Tree" in a show at our local library in Stittsville, Ontario.  I had to abandon my hand stitched prairie piece for now so here is my second attempt, all machine stitched because I still can't do any hand sewing.  My hand was improving then the pain started in the other hand and my physiotherapist thinks the culprit is arthritis not a tendon injury so she gave me instructions and exercises which seem to be helping.

So at least I have been able to start machine stitching again.  I painted the satin sky, did some free motion on the fields, then painted the edges of a stretched canvas to match and mounted it on the canvas (still needs to be glued down).

Painted Edges

I love the premise of this show.   We took the first line of a book as inspiration.   This piece was inspired by W.O. Mitchell's 'Who Has Seen the Wind'.    The line reads as follows.

"Here was the least common denominator of nature, the skeleton requirement simply, of land and sky - Saskatchewan prairie" (Who Has Seen the Wind by W.O Mitchell, 1947, McClelland and Stewart, page 3).

I have also finished off my black and white hand embroidered piece by adding some subtle watercolour effects to it and framing it in a float frame.

Safe Harbour

Inspired by a photo taken in Prince Edward Island several years ago.


My latest project is completing some journal covers for a show in November.   I had ideas for the creative part  but really no idea of how to make a journal cover.    So I tried several techniques which did not work or only worked marginally.   Then I went online and looked at several tutorials then started again.   I completed three journals so far and working on more.  Here are a couple of them.

This next one, still to be assembled, started out by painting fabric, stamping with homemade stamps, then free motion stitching the leaves.  I've got to say that I think my machine skills are improving since I am unable to do any hand stitching.  I needed to have a reason to keep at it I guess.  The plan is for this to be a journal cover but it looks interesting as is.

Free Motion Embroidery

On Thanksgiving Monday, after a big turkey dinner the day before, I went for a walk with two friends to Mud Lake, a lovely spot along the Ottawa River.   We spied these Wood Ducks.   The female was aggressively grooming the male.   We wondered what he was carrying around in his feathers.

Wood Ducks

And the weather was fabulous!

 This post is linked up to  WIP Wednesdays     Take a look at what other Canadian fibre artists are up to this week.

The Sacred Tree

This post is linked to Needle and Thread Network WIP Wednesdays  Take a look at what Canadian Fibre Artists are doing this week.  I'm also linking  up with Off the Wall Fridays.  More great fibre art!

The Sacred Tree

 I managed to mount my tree piece onto a black canvas that I purchased.  I think that this will be my contribution to the 'Out of the Box' Stittsville library fibre art exhibition for the month of November.  It is based on the book "The Sacred Tree".    I have another possibility - a piece I have been working on with prairie grasses and big sky (Who Has Seen the Wind) - but I wanted to do more hand stitching and I am still nursing my injured hand (more physio - sigh!).  Yesterday they told me that it will take a long time to heal and my other hand is starting to hurt too, from overuse I guess.  So I need to exercise my hands but hand sewing is out of the question for now.  I'm trying to stay positive (ie when life hands you lemons, make lemonade, right?)....so here's what I am doing.

One thing I learned to do when I was a child and there were no left handed scissors, was to cut with my right hand.   So I was able to use my painted satin skies to make some 4 x 6 mini landscapes/postcards.   They are fused down and ready to machine stitch.   Placement was tricky because my finger splint kept knocking pieces every which way (but my nurse practitioner told me yesterday to throw away the splint anyway). 

I'm also taking photos of the wonderful fall colours outside my door.    Last month I decided to trim my maple instead of cutting it down.   Today it rewarded me by producing the most gorgeous red leaves ever.   Some years they are mostly yellow but not this year.....

And my newly cabled ash tree is brilliantly yellow out in my back yard....I do love autumn!

Tomorrow Junk that Funk is coming to take away a load of things from my basement as well as a removing a sofa from my fabric/computer room so that I can finally have a room dedicated to sewing.  I am excited!