Don't Blink

This one is for all you Whovians out there.

I love the way her hair turned out...it has a great texture.

The text is nice and simple. I just used my own writing...like a quick note when you can't look away....

Wow! A Month!

It has been an entire month since I posted here. Yikes! Sorry about that. Summer seems to be a down time - must be the kids being home. Or me working a new job. That last one is the more likely culprit.

I have been creating though, just in spurts.

Let me introduce you to My Fair Zombie...

She is fabulous...just don't get too close, zombies are contagious. But at least her hair is still rockin'!! I was lucky to find some rhinestone crystals for the retro eyeglasses...love it!


Before my last set up in June at The Rust Belt, I made some new embroidery pieces...this time using my machine. I love the sketchy look that be achieved making them this way. I have lots of them to show off in the next week or so also :) So be sure to stop back in. Hopefully it won't be much longer until they work their way into the shop as well.

This 12 inch hoop is a nice & simple skyline of Detroit.

And I just had to make one of the Detroit D as well...this one sits in a 7 inch hoop.

Resident Evil Times Two

I finished up a couple smaller embroidery pieces last week. Took forever with everything going on. But they are complete.

This first one is the T-virus container in a 5 inch hoop.

And then there is Alice's eye when it goes all Umbrella. This one is in a 6" hoop.

I had a tough time with the drawn images though. On the scrap fabric I tested, the lines came off...not so much once everything completed. But I don't think it's a bad thing. Actually, in the T-virus one, it looks kind of cool under the lines around the container. Almost like a shadow.

Hoping for a nice sunny day - when I am actually home - to take pics of all my newer pieces so I can get them in the shop. Feels like it has been forever since I posted something new.

Elvgren Bedroom Reader

I have a few (quite a few) Elvgren pin up girls slated to embroider. I thought I'd start the themes with one of my faves...reading. Granted, she is sexy & in a nightie...quite different than the way I read....but more interesting :)

I tried to capture her hair, but it was not easy...

And for those of you who have not seen the original before...here she is:
I obviously simplified her and changed some minor details. I liked her twirling her hair instead of the pen. And I of course skipped the background.

Sparkly Alien

I finished her :)

I went with glitter. I did do a light coat of paint first, but it looked too dull. I kept thinking I wanted her to shine. Duh - sparkles! Broke out the glitter glue and BAM! Done :)

I even added some red to her shoes.

Alien Chick Flash Embroidery WIP

This is my latest embroidery piece. I absolutely love the design. I saw it as a tattoo on someone and went searching for it online. I found the sketch on a free tattoo flash site. This is what she started as.....

I need to adjust a few things though. The print was just too overwhelming for her dress to show up well. So I think I will paint her nightie in. Not too dense, just a light, sheer overlay....like a nightie should be.

And her legs. I tried embroidering the fishnets...didn't work. I may try one more time with a single strand. Or just finely drawn paint lines. Any other suggestions?

The backside. I have been forgetting to photo these. Not that they are pretty, but sometimes they look interesting. In this case, you can see the design much better than the front side :P

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy has struck again. Well, I struck her I suppose. Repeatedly. With a needle. And thread.

I couldn't quite grab the color right for this pic, but I think you can see the texture in the hair better close up. Kind of.

And the vines. Love them. I did draw them out, but found myself free-forming it as I went.

Wordless Wednesday

okay - some words....the smiley face is where the Brain Cell hung...which just sold :)

Batwoman

I can't get the Batman theme music out of my head as I write thing...but don't worry, I have resisted adding the music :)

I think she turned out pretty good. I debated fancy stitches, but I do so like the simplicity of the backstitch. And since her hair is not Poison Ivy wild, there was no need to get all fancy there.

The darker blue background works too. Gives it that dark shadowy edge. And her boots & belt really pop!

And I finished off the I Read Banned Books (design by Urban Threads). I am on the fence about painting the hoop. And if so, what color?

Pac-Man WIP

My son asked me to make a "thread painting" of his Pac-Man picture. I thought I had finished it, but then I was told the words, ghosts, dots & Pac-Man were to be filled in. Ugh. This is on a lightweight stretch canvas - this won't exactly be tons of fun.

Off to stitch - the things we do for our kids :)

Feeling Stitchy Stitch Along

Such a cute little octopus. I decided to take part in Feeling Stitchy's Stitch-along. This month is an octopus stitching. The text portion was left up to us. She had the alphabet, we had the sayings. My oldest is a huge Beatles fan. So he helped inspire this also. I may even add a small submarine at the bottom. Not sure yet.

I tried some crayon tinting...it did not work out as planned. I may recolor, hand paint a bit or just leave as is. Not sure yet.

And the text color only looks bright enough during the day. I need to remember to pick out colors in the evening.

You can peek at everyone's over at the Flickr pool here.

Biohazard

Another Urban Threads design! I had a hard time deciding some things with this one. Do I fill in the yellow bits? Paint inside the orange circle and bits? Barbed wire - which color? As you can see, I skipped the filling in of parts. Actually, I did start to fill in the yellow and took it out. Didn't care for it. The barbed wire became a compromise...4 grey and 2 black strands :) You can see it better in the angled pic below...

Have you peeked at my shop lately? I have started adding my embroidery pieces :) Yippee!

Embroidery Wall

I have spent the past couple days painting embroidery hoops, making the cardstock backings and gluing the fabric around to the back side. And then putting them all up on my wall for display. You can peek on my Flickr to see the wall closer up.

The wall will eventually be used for listing photos. Yes, I have decided to start listing them. Still working out pricing, but hope to start dropping them off in the shop next week.

Now I just need to find a cute way to cover up the hooks I used. I used those inexpensive plastic hooks with the (supposedly) easy to remove adhesive tabs. I did not want to put a bunch of holes in my wall. Especially since once hoop leaves, the next one to go in may not be the same size & therefore need a new location for the hook.

For the cover up, I was thinking of labels. Kind of like the type you'd see in shops or something when artwork is displayed. And done cheaper...probably using cardstock and eyelets to put on the hooks. Still thinking.

Any ideas?

Resident Evil

I love Alice. She just kicks ass so well and looks great doing it. I plan to make one hoop for each movie. This is the classic red tunic outfit from the first movie.

You can see the lines pretty well in this angled shot. I only tacked each line down in a couple spots. I wanted them to be as straight as I could. Almost floaty.

Ignore the wrinkles in the organza. They should be easy enough to steam out later. I was originally going to hand paint the dress but then I remembered the organza. It was the perfect color. And has just a little bit of a fun sparkle. You can kind of see it in the light stream here...

I may still hand paint the skirt and/or boots. Not sure yet.

And for those who do not know what he image is referencing...a promo shot from the movie.

Now to go find some shots from the next 3 movies. Either that or re-watch them on the computer and get ready to snap some screenshots to sketch off.

Plant Cell

I am still quite under the weather and have not been able to finish up my bags. But I did manage to finish up this embroidery piece the other night. It's the last cell for now. A plant cell this time. Think Spring! On a micro level anyway...

And the fun angle view. I tried some double knots in the mitochondia - that's the dark green ovals.

The backside is a bit blurry. It was difficult to tell when I snapped the shot...darn burny eyeballs :P

When I get back into the groove & will have some actual bags to show you. Imagine that, a handbag shop person making actual bags. Who woulda thunk it :P

Bacteria

More science fun :) I am beginning to think these are also being inspired by the sick little boy I have here with me at home. He has been kind enough to share with Mommy too. How sweet :P

On to the latest germ...

And a close up angled view...

The backsides are turning out pretty tidy now...

I have one more sciencey piece to do and then on to some fanboy stuff...Resident Evil, Dark Willow & Dr. Horrible are the next three that I have hooped & ready to go.

Brain Cell

Brrraaaaiiinnnnnssssssss. Well, cell anyway. It even looks a little like a monster depending on how you look at it.

I had a hard time getting an angled shot. I think it was the light colors. But you can see the filled in sheath areas here (the coral colored rectangles).

And the backside. I did say I would be taking pics of it, so I figure I should show it. I have been cheating a little and starting my lines with a knot instead of tucked into the line.

And a big thanks to Mr X Stitch for featuring this on their blog!!! :)

Paramecium

I have my Bachelor's in Biology and have always loved the illustrations. I decided to use some from my notes and old books to make some embroidery pieces. This is the first and my fave single cell organism, a unicellular ciliate protozoa to be exact...the Paramecium - always fun to say :)

It should have cilia, I know, but they are so short I just left them off. I may still add something for effect, not sure.

And the sketch it came from...

Ivy's Backside

Um, no, not that backside! Although, it is quite prominent in the piece :P

I am talking about the actual backside of the piece. I have been trying to keep things nice & tidy back there.

Some of it, like the hair, looks pretty cool. I might try to make it the front side on a piece sometime.

Finishing off the piece has been making me a little crazy. I browsed many shops on Etsy to see other people's backsides (okay, that sounds wrong). I was hoping to find some I like to try myself. But so few shops had pics of the back. So I turned to tutorials online. I found a few ways that I want to try. This is the first trial. It is simply some card stock cut and lightly glued to the inner hoop to sit between the fabric & hoop.

No matter which way I end up using for the long term, I plan to use this signing method. The awesome Handmade stamp was one I found at a great Etsy shop, Wine Makers Sister. You should check this shop out - very fun!