Portrait Progress

I have been working on my portait and have most of it done.
Now I need to fix the crooked mouth and weird eyebrow, lol.
This is what happens when you sew, while watching tv;)

The hair is done with yarn, lopi lite. I still have plans to style it a bit and give it some more strands after everything else is finished. I am thinking of ways to shade the face, maybe painting in shadows and highlights. The bowtie needs to be tied, I have no idea how to tie one, so going to look that up. I will also tack down the pleats, so they drape better. Luckily, with hand stitching, I can change things without too much trouble. It is not what I envisioned, but a good learning experience and it is fun to do.

Don't forget to comment on the contest and the pattern sale, which runs until sunday.

Stairway to Quilting

I received my new stair treads this week and put them on the stairs to see how they look.
Of course the picture cannot show how nice and prim they really are, but I love them.
I found them on ebay from a seller called littlegranny. She has great prices and is willing to discount on full sets.
We still need to finish off the edges and I am thinking of sanding down the shiny paint my husband put on;)
Then I might do a simple stencil on each riser. And the guy making funny faces is Casey, he does that when I talk to him.



I finally decided to go with yarn for my hair and using my needle felting tool, I punched it into a wool template. Truthfully, this is what my hair really looks like, now, lol. Later when I finish the rest, I can go back and redo it, here and there, if I want. I do have a new couching foot, but I need to practice with it some more, then I can try hair with that. I made a tie and sewed it in, later I will figure out how to make a western tie and do it that way. I thought it would be fun to have a 3D effect on that. The picture is out of perspective since I have it one curved couch. The yarn looks mooshed since I had to use flash and I move too much.

The real me!

I started work on my portrait quilt and got a little started. I tend to think a lot and change my mind a lot and after hours of that and replacing things a million times, I am worn out;) So, it is a long process for me to create something. I am just going to have fun with this one and have been mulling ideas of ways to do the hair and the tie to make it fun.

This is the beginning, I used brown wool for the hat. I messed up with the sizing on the band and brim, so need to redo it to fit right. I am using light and dark tea stained fabrics for the skin tones. It may not look like me, but using wool and making it easier, is easier on my hands. They seem to be a bit numb these days, so I am working on this and some cross stitch, to give my tendons a break.



I added a little to the body. I love the old shirting my friend kelley gave me, works perfect for this. the vest is a dark red wool. This is thrift wool, 20% nylon that really felts up nice for appliques like this. Today I will add the rest and glue down the edges on the shirt and try to wrap my brain around, what gets sewed first, lol. If you would like to join in on the challenge, check out Say Cheese, and see what others have done.

Self Portrait Challenge

Victoria of Bumble Beans Inc, is having a challenge for anyone wanting to join in.
The challenge is to take a photo and create yourself into a quilted piece.
I thought it would be fun to try, and wondering what I got myself into, lol.
I am not photogenic, seriously, so I avoid having my photo taken.
When I do, it is usually while kayaking or biking, so not the best for head shots.
I always have my hair pulled up, so I look bald in most of my photos.
Soooo, I finally found a way to get into my old photos that I had stored and will be going with the silly, bizarre version of myself;)
This was from a photo we did while on a trip in NH. This is my family, lol.
This is years ago, but it is a rare photo with my hair down. My daughter will be 25 this friday, so you can see how old this picture is. And no, I am not this mean, I was trying to look tough, lol.



This is what I did to myself with the magic of filters. This will give me a guideline for the piecing and I will use the original, as well. I am still not sure in which direction I will go with this, but it will probably end up as naive folk art;)