Saturday, July 24, 2010

Geometry is my friend

The last class that I took from Peg Gignoux was called "Finding Your Personal Geometry" and here is the result: my first all-but-finished wall hanging. I had so much fun 'working' on it, too.  The only thing left to do is to put the finishing touches on the sides and back.  
The best part of this class was discovering that I absolutely loved the design process and the meditative cutting and arranging and hand-stitching.  I am newly encouraged to find my inner artist :). 

cotton, linen, taffeta, organza, silk, pearl rayon cording, multiple colors of thread

Friday, July 9, 2010

Xylem Series - In the Beginning

I've been having fun in my studio for the last few weeks coming up with a new wall hanging to have for the Art Show I'll be doing starting in August (more on that later).  My inspiration for this piece is an image magnified 2,000 times of conifer wood xylem cells*.  It has a very uneven, repetitive geometry that looked interesting enough to springboard from.  Using some of the techniques I learned in my last art textile class, I sewed and cut and sewed burlap, suedecloth, cotton and organza to make 4 long segments that will make up the background cloth.  And now, I'm appliquing organza, cotton, suedecloth and felt in swirly dollops down each segment.  The hours have gone by enjoyably with each stitch.

* From "Heaven & Earth: Unseen by the naked eye", published by Phaidon

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Thread, Glorious Thread!

No one can accuse me of being afraid of color (but one could accuse me of being addicted to it).  Since I discovered Atlanta Thread, my thread stash is almost as big as my fabric stash :).  I love to use thread to add a zing or a subtle surprise.  It makes sewing infinitely more fun.
So which did I pick for this organizer?  Gutterman No. 16, my current fav (a pinky orangy red, 2nd from right).  (The green herringbone fabric came from Fabric Factory, the Paula Prass (of Michael Miller Fabrics) print is Par Avion and came from Little Cherubs.)