Friday ( un) Finishes!

This week I have been working on and off, on different projects. One is a new punch needle design that I am working on, today I finished the main design, now I just have to add a border. It is always nice to see a piece in a photo, then I can decided what I do and don't like about it and of course, it always looks better when I antique it;) I think the hands need more definition, but overall I am happy with the piece.

A bit late for Valentines, but I was inspired by an antique fraktur and wanted to make this piece.

Another thing I have coming up is, my son's birthday. We gifted him money to pay for some things for his house and a loan to do the rest, so no big present, but I wanted to give him a little something. I found a nice frame and made up photos of Nicholas to hang in his office, he can change the photos when the new baby comes, but I liked the idea of doing 3 of Nick, just being a boy and having fun. The photos are 5" x 7", so today I learned how to adjust my photo sizes in photoshop;)

I always found some beach frames for my new room. Someday I will use the room, but for now, I am happy just decorating it and making things for it. I found a nice barn wood frame and a large beach themed framed for multiple photos. I will put pictures of all of the family with beach themes. I put one of Nick's photos in the white frame, he just makes me smile, so it is a perfect photo to put in that room.

I had to buy some extra fabric to do the baby quilt, now if I can just get it made. One more week till the shower so if nothing goes wrong, I can have it done, I work well under pressure;)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, filled with family and new memories.

New Pattern Available!

No weekend photos this week, Bill had to work one day and the other was spent catching up around the yard. The weather was nice but too gusty for me to paddle in.

Today I finished working up the pattern. It is a pdf pattern so once you make a payment, you will receive it within 24 hours. Usually you get it right away, but I do have to sleep so no over night deliveries;)

I took a photo of the piece after I antiqued it, but it doesn't really show how nice it looks in person. It gave it just the right coloring to age it without ruining the design. The finished piece is 5" x 7" and I left it flat so I can stick it on anything I want. I use double sided rug tape and it is a nice idea if you want to put it on a basket and then change it with another design. The only thing you need to do is put on a backing or the tape will pull out the loops.

Here is a photo of the piece by itself, you can see how the colors are more aged and darker, compared to the first photo. I still had to lighten it up for detail, so that changes the actual colors, as well. For the pattern, I added two drawings, one larger and one that is the actual punch needle size, so you can just print it out.

I thought I would play with photoshop and color in the design to see how that would look. I am not a good computer artist, I think I would do better if I hand painted it. I filled in color and then put it through filters to give it a painted look. I lost a lot of the lines and sharpness, doing this, so not a good way to do up designs.

New Fall Pattern!

I started a new pattern this week but it took me longer to punch it, and I just finished it off today. I do not have the pattern ready yet. When I make a new pattern, I draw out the design I have in mind, then I punch it and change it as I go, so I need to redraw the pattern with the new changes and I need a steady hand for that. I use an artist pen to do the designs, so they print out nicely and I cannot make too many mistakes or ones I can't fix with photoshop;)

I like how it came out in some ways but I also wish I had been able to use variegated threads for this piece and do more of an artistic style with the design. This is something that can be done with or without the extra details and I like to keep things simple for those who want to hook them, as well. This would also work nicely in stitchery or appliqué.

The pattern is an adaptation of an antique quilt appliqué. Do you like ones with more or less detail?
I thought about adding a building but my hands get tired after punching so much. So, would you buy a pattern from a color photo of the design instead of a finished piece? I have thought about doing designs and watercoloring them in for a pattern so I could do better designing. My punching is not what it  used to be so I don't always get the look that I would like, when I first envision a new idea.

I always appreciate your thoughts and I hope you enjoy my newest piece. I made it into a flat piece with a wool backing. This way, I can use double stick rug tape and put it on a basket in the fall. This is a nice idea if you have a basket and want to change out a piece for the seasons.

The colors are off, as far as the primitive look, this was also before I antiqued it. If you look at his hair, you will see I used a longer setting to give him curly locks;)