The Little Project That Could

Subtitle: I think I Can!

It's not uncommon for me to abandon a project gone wrong. I cut things up....toss unfinished projects in a drawer....or just throw them away.

But there was something about this little leaf project that I just couldn't let go of. I had to try and save it.

Like the little blue engine in the children's book....I started by saying I think I can...I think I can....I think I can....and I ended saying I thought I could!

So I thought I would recap the crazy journey of this little project that could. 

After the free motion stitching the watercolor bled like crazy on this particular fabric....and I'm still wondering why in the world I kept going.

And the watercolor splatters didn't help....it looked horrible.

I tried using green watercolor over the whole background. I didn't think it could look worse...but it did. 

The next day I decided to just rinse the whole thing in the sink thinking the watercolor would mostly wash out....or bleed together making an all over fallish color. Nope! the background was a pale putrid yellow...and the leaves lost most of their vibrancy. This is the only photo I have of that phase...I think this is right after I added the green watercolor. The yellow was even worse.

It was probably time to just give up and chuck it. But I kept kept going. I think I can....I think I can....I think I can.

I abandoned watercolor and switched to acrylic paint. First I thought about painting the whole background blue...and I tried a couple different options at one end. I liked the drama...and the way it showcased the leaves....but it was going to be too hard for it not to look messy. Posca pens would have been helpful...but sometimes they drag on the fabric and splatter....so that wasn't a good option. I didn't want spatters on the leaves. Oy!

So using a tiny paintbrush over the last couple of evenings...I used a slightly watered down white acrylic paint and carefully painted around all the rest of the leaves. TWICE!

The first layer of the acrylic paint reactivated the watercolor a bit and tinted the white paint. I didn't really mind it...but in the end I did a quick second coat to make it a little more crisp and clean. Or at least cleaner.

I added a bit more color in the leaves with colored pencil because I didn't dare go back to watercolor.

I actually liked that there's still a bit of its history peeking through. There is always beauty in the imperfection.  

The usable finished piece ended up being smaller than I thought....so I turned it into a coaster. Now it has form and function.  I thought I could! So I did!

Here's the back. Phew!

Dancing in the Rain

It rained ALL day today....and we badly needed it. It was the kind of rain that could really soak in and do some good. I actually love a rainy day...especially when I don't have to go anywhere....and every time I looked out the window I wanted to dance in the rain! I didn't....but I did dance inside...because of the rain.

Like many of you....I do the Wordle puzzle every morning. I try and make my first word fit the day...or something related to what's on my mind. If nothing comes into my head my go to word is olive.

My first guess today was rainy....and getting two letters was a good start. Working with the a and the n I thought about how my plants must be appreciating the generous drink of water....and plant was a helpful second guess. Three letters now...and two in the right spot!

I could see the next word in my mind right away....and it made me smile how it flowed perfectly with the others AND solved the puzzle.

My plants are giving thanks for this rainy day! I am too!

I put this montage together for Alyson last night....and included this blue found 5.

After I made the collage it occurred to me that the 5 was the blue that was missing in the veggie rainbow.  AND....in the rainbow acronym ROYGBIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet)....blue is the 5th word! I'm doing a little happy dance!

You can't make this stuff up.  Or then again....I guess I did.  

I think I may have come up with a solution for my problem piece from yesterday. Stay tuned. It was a dancing kind of day!

Rainbows and Doodles

Subtitle: Problem Piece

I picked up a rainbow of veggies from a small farmer's market while I was out visiting...and doing a few errands.

I've never bought purple cauliflower before...but it's what they had. I just read it has the same pigment found in red cabbage. As long as it's not dye...I'm good with it.

Is there anything cuter than a tiny radish? I still make my pickled vegetables at least once a week. It's interesting that the radish skins turn white in the vinegar/water brine....but recently I've been adding beets...so everything turns purply/red.

I'm anxious to see the color of the already purple cauliflower from the beet juice. 

Speaking of rainbows.....I shared a fabric piece that I've been practice doodling on with free motion stitch a few days ago.

Since then I've been playing around with some of my supplies to see what works best for coloring in the stitched shapes.

I tried watercolor...both pan and liquid, posca pens, colored pencil, regular sharpies, and some new sharpie paint pens I got from Becky. I labeled all the sections.

The clear winner this time was watered down watercolor ink using a glass dip pen gifted to me from Brenda. 

The tip has ridges that hold the liquid paint well....and the tiny tip could get into all the nooks and crannies.

 

I was able to paint these little purple loops...and vary the color based on how watered down the ink was. 

The stitching acted as a barrier...so it was really easy to paint with the rigid dip pen pushing the paint into the fabric. A brush worked...but harder to work with on fabric.

I'm not sure how colorfast watercolor on fabric will be...but I'm not making archival art. Posca pens and the sharpie paint pens worked well too...but the pigment is very dense. And some of my pen tips were too big for tiny spaces. 

I liked the way these little leaves turned out....which led me to another project. Turns out....fabric matters. 

My practice piece was on unbleached muslin. 

And the new project was on a cotton quilting fabric with just a hint of writing on it. The watercolor bled right through the stitching lines...but I just kept going. I'm not sure why it bled on this fabric and not the other...and I'm not sure why I kept going.

I added some watercolor splashes to try and distract the eye...and it just looked messy...and way worse. I tried several more things....and it would have been faster and easier just to start over.  But I was....and am determined to find a solution for this little problem piece. If I'm successful...I'll report back in....but I may to set it aside for a few days. I will certainly test fabric before I do anything like this again with watercolor.

Pops of Color

I'm getting a late start tonight....so I'm keeping it simple and sharing a few pops of color from our morning walk.

You know how I love found objects...but I'm also looking for unusual things on our walks to add into my nightly photo montages for Alyson. I'll work these into the one I send tonight. 

These are from the last couple of nights. We're still having fun with this....especially pairing unusual things.  

As you can see...our pool is all closed up...and this young lady was sad to leave. Hopefully she'll find her way home.

Here are a couple that Alyson sent to me.We do love our pops of color! 

And this is such a wonderful daily creative practice for both of us.

Apply the Skills

As I go along with this Fabulous Free Motion class....I'm always thinking how I can apply the skills to my own projects.

Roseanne gifted me this birch tree fabric a while back....and I knew I would use it at some point. Using the reverse applique techniques I practiced in the class...I layered up three fabrics...and started stitching. 

Here it is in progress. I had to spread the cutting out over a few days as it's hard on my hands.

I layered a textured green batik and a dark blue under the birch fabric all on a stabilizer....

then outlined the trees in a double layer of stitching.

When I held it up...I realized there was no clear place to start and stop the reveal of the two different fabrics underneath. So I added more branches that connected the trees giving me clear spaces to cut away.

Then I started snipping out the gray fabric to reveal either the blue or the green.

I finished cutting out the gray this afternoon....I will clean it up just a bit more once I rest my hands. The loose threads do add a bit of texture. Nature is not neat and tidy.

And...I'm trying to decide whether to add a little fall color stitching here and there to simulate leaves...and add another texture. Maybe some hand stitching like french knots.  

Thanks for the fabric Roseanne! This was a fun way to apply the skills from the class. 

Moment and Day

Exactly 8:43 this morning here in the Eastern Time marked the autumnal equinox. The moment the sun shined directly on the equator....the day that there was an equal amount of light and darkness all over the world. And this is the day that marks the official changing of the seasons. I love everything about the changing seasons.

I love the whole idea of nature winding down for its winter rest and all the colors and sensory experiences that go along with that. I do enjoy all the changing seasons...but summer to autumn is my favorite.

I made it a point to be on a walk at 8:43 this morning.

The air was cool...the sky was overcast and gray....and there signs of fall everywhere. I also did several outside chores...and soaked in every sensory moment on this day of change.

Ahhhh autumn!

"Fabulous Free Motion"

I'm a few weeks into an online class called Fabulous Free Motion taught by Izzy Moore...an artist I admire. I've taken a few of Izzy's classes and I always come away with skills that I can apply to so many things.  

We are starting with the basics...practicing our stitch flow and doing simple projects with interesting techniques. We're also preparing backgrounds that we'll use in future projects and I'm doing my best to keep up. I could spend hours practicing.....free motion stitching is really an art. 

This is three layers of fabric...one of which is a meshy metallic gold.  

After I stitched...I cut away some of the layers revealing the fabrics underneath. It's often called reverse applique.  

We're also working on simple landscapes.

Today I worked on project using scrap pieces that we will cut shapes from then machine applique onto other backgrounds....I think.  No matter what we're going to do with these "tutti frutti" pieces....they were kind of fun. 

I started with a pile of scraps...and adhered them all onto a piece of fusible webbing. It's like a crazy quilt and could be cut into hearts or flowers. And it has fusible on the back...so will be easy to apply and stitch. We'll see.

Here's one in another color scheme...where I trimmed up the edges. I can use overlays like sheer fabrics to knock this down a bit...it's a little wild. But like I always say....stitching changes everything.  Stay tuned to see what fabulous free motion project this turns into. 

It pairs well with these beautiful asters at the pond.

Just Do It!

This is the first day in a while that I didn't have and event or appointment on my calendar. I'm lucky to have a full and wonderful life......but it was also nice to have a free day to tackle some of the things that have been on my mind. It was a "just do it" kind of day....and I did several things!

This last week was a keeper week in our Tiny Pages Art Exchange....and I was the last one to get my card done. An idea has been in my head...and I finally sat down today and just did it. The theme this week was fruit.  

Speaking of fruit...is this fruit? It's the seed pod/berries of a dogwood tree in our neighborhood.  I've always loved these beautiful bumpy beauties!

I knew I wanted to create a bowl of cherries...and this is the quick little card I came up with this afternoon. I used catalog images and gel prints for the cherries...and I cut the bowl out of a cyanotype I did with a stencil. There are areas in the cherries that should have had a little more contrast.....but it's done!

The back is a little lackluster...but it's also done...and that's what matters today!

Becky created this incredibly detailed raspberry.  She makes a drink for me when I visit using crushed raspberries....so this takes me right back to that! And I LOVE her background shading. 

And the back is great...or should I say grape!

Brenda filled her tiny page with these sweet little blueberries. I love the variation and that she left a few of them white.

And Tracie's card is soft and pretty orange slices and the background is perfect!  Fruit week ✔  We have a few weeks to do our next one....and theme is "changing seasons."