Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Trees Follow Me

{There is still time to enter the giveaway--and be sure to check the comments; some wonderful poems have been shared there!}

Look what Karen sent me, a surprise just-because postcard!



Thanks for the trees, Karen. Perfect.

Remember the little blue canvas from the last post? It was destined for an experiment:



I wanted to try embroidering right on painted canvas. Because of the wooden frame, I could only embroider in the middle, so the buds on the edges are painted on. Here’s the back so you can see what I mean.

Haven't neatened my floss ends yet...
If I used a larger canvas, I’d have more area to work with, but then the French knots wouldn’t be in scale. Like I said, experiment. My mind will churn on this a bit more. Some of the French knots are wobbly, because I had a bandaid on my left thumb. Makes it hard to keep a good tension on the knot! I nicked it Sunday while stamp carving (I know better; I was being stupid) and then the next day I sliced it while opening a can of tomatoes. Whoops.

This is about the extent of my creative output for the beginning of the week, except for some knitting and two patched knees. For the second patch, I attempted to make an iron-on patch using the heat-n-bond. Alas, as I should have anticipated, the short-cut method did not work at all. I hoped it would, as I was patching jeans and it’s hard on the hands to sew through two layers of denim, but seven-year-olds are even harder on the knees of their pants, and the iron-on patch was half off by the time he got home from school. I’ll run it through the laundry and then patch it properly, with needle and thread.

May is hectic around these parts. It usually is, but this year, even more so. My goal for the month is to take one day at a time, breathing all the while. Amidst everything else, I need to lay the groundwork for leaving for five days in early June. With that in mind, I ordered yarn to make Azami, which I hope to bring to Squam to me—finished, preferably, but if not, I’ll work on it there, too. I may shift into more knitting than anything else this month, as it steadies me and helps me remember to breathe, when I might forget.

How is May looking for you?

Lots more creative people here.

6 comments:

Bells said...

excellent goal. We all only have today. I want to try and be more about today (while keeping one eye on tomorrow). It's a good way to live.

I like the small scale stuff you do. Miniatures are lovely.

lamina@do a bit said...

Oh dear your poor little finger!! It's hard to do anything with a bandaid on... your game doing french knots! I love effect though :)

Donna Lee said...

I love the trees. I have a tree in the back yard that gets bright red buds on it. I think it might be the mulberry but I never remember to look closer.

I'm hoping to drive down to MDSW on Saturday but otherwise, May is looking peaceful. If the tendonitis abates enough, there will be spinning. Oh, and there's Jury Duty! Yes, once again I am called for Jury Duty. I am a magnet for these things.

Michelle said...

Oh my gosh, that's a month from now!!!!

I am barely aware that it is May. I haven't even looked at my calendar for the month.

Anyone seen April? I'm pretty sure it was around here somewhere . . .

Karen Isaacson said...

love those little french knot blossoms. but man oh man - the double whammy on the finger. (are you going to show us the stamp you were carving? I love stamps)

Emma (GirlAnachronismE) said...

I love sewing on canvas, it looks great and that's a really clever idea