Twin Peaks Embroidery V – Killer BOB, The Giant and The Log Lady

This is the last post of Twin Peaks Embroidery from my current show.

These are all fairly large, Bob and the Giant are 2×3 and the Log Lady is slightly larger.

I used all 6 strands of floss included in the standard Embroidery floss pack, so the stitching is pretty thick. They are all done in stem and chain stitches.  After I was finished embroidering on the cotton I stretched them over canvases and used spray adhesive to secure them.

This is ten solid hours of knot work on Bob’s beard. I struggled a long time with how to do the stubble, as I knew the knots would take me forever, eventually I could not come up with any other viable options and gave in to the knots. Oh, colonial knots, thousands of colonial knots.

I kind of hated the one for the Giant, until I got it on the canvas. Now it’s my favorite of the large pieces.

Now to go work on tiny, tiny patches (one inch) of  Twin Peaks character…. is this my new fate… bleeding fingers for Twin Peaks?

Twin Peaks Embroidery IV – Nadine and James Hurley

I am still trying to get all of my Twin Peaks portraits posted. So, here are the latest two, Nadine and James Hurley.

Nadine has always been one of my favorite characters, so it was incredibly fun to work on. Her hair was my absolute favorite thing I did on any of these.

I think James is by far one of the most boring Twin Peaks characters. (Sorry James fans…if there are any.) I felt like he is just such a key character, however that I needed to include him on the first round of pieces. (I feel the same was about Donna…does anyone actually like Donna?) And poor James Marshall is just a strange looking fellow, so I had the hardest time with his face.

I was really excited about how is jacket turned out. I used the same technique as Audrey’s sweater, a tightly packed modified colonial knot and finished off the sleeves with alternating satin stitches.

Twin Peaks Embroidery III – Agent Dale Cooper and Donna Hayward

Here are two more portraits from my Twin Peaks Series. I am still not excited about the likenesses on these, but I am happy abut the overall results none the less.

Since I covered most of these stitches in the previous post I will spare us all the repetition.

I used packed Colonial knots again for Donna’s cardigan, but I held the knots slightly tighter than the ones I used for Audrey’s sweater.

Twin Peaks Embroidery II – Audrey Horne and Leland Palmer Portraits

As promised, here are two more of the Twin Peaks portraits I did for my show.

I am very pleased with the amount of detail I was able to get into these. They are currently framed in oval 8×10s.  I thought I would break down how I made the pieces because that is what people seemed most interested in while talking to me at my show…well that and how long thing took and you probably don’t want me to answer that one. A long time.

Doing Everyone’s hair was probably my favorite part. I just use a simple stem stitch for all of it but I alternated with different colors and amounts of embroidery floss to get the textures.

To get the texture on the sleeves of her sweater I modified colonial knots by holding them ultra loose before pulling through the knot, then packed hundreds and hundreds of them close together.

For the organic pattern on the front of her sweater I modified a lazy daisy stitch and connected them with stem stitches. I wish I had drawn them out first. I tend to do all my detail work freehand and it was a bit stressful with this particular part.

Leland ended up being one of my favorites. I decided on White Haired Leland because I feel it is most representative of the character on the show.

So, I use a lot of modified stitches in these portraits, it isn’t so much laziness as I need to achieve a certain texture and am just let down by the classic stitches that are established.

For Leland’s shirt I used a basic long and short pattern and placed whipped chain stitch in as the stripes. I modified a long and short pattern for the jacket  and used a satin stitch for the tie.

Things got a little dirty in the transportation for the show. Next time everything will get wrapped in plastic for that part, but I was so pressed for time I just didn’t get it done. But since they were a little mussed already I was encouraging those who mentioned wanting to touch to go ahead. A lot of people want to touch. Hey I understand, I am a tactile person and am always sad when I can’t touch things with interesting looking textures. Anyway I need to rewash and stretch them all before they go up at the Flightpath. I should probably go and do that now.

Art Show – Twin Peaks

My art opening is coming up on October 24th , thats next Saturday. It’s at Blackerby Violin , located at 1111 W. Anderson LN.

Also Exhibiting; Don Jolly with original pages of  his comics SUBHUMANOID and FARLAX the LAST ELF, Max McDermott with paintings and Katie Pipkin with her exploration on Breathing, featuring painting, drawing and violin sculptures.

The show is at 6pm to midnight, there will be free beer and food and live performances by RADIOLA, the country power of MOUTHWASH PICKETT, and the triumphant on-stage return of  THE FAT MAN and TEAM FAT – Austin’s legendary videogame sound designer.

Its should be a ton of fun, so if you’re in Austin you should swing by and check it out. If you cant make it the show will be moving to the Flightpath  for the entire month of November.

The Incredible Art Show IV

I am exhibiting the Twin Peaks portraits I have been working on like a mad woman the last month. Sorry about the lack of posts lately, but if it doesn’t involve a needle and thread  or making coffee then I haven’t been doing it. These portraits have become all consuming

Here is The Man From Another Place

Be on the look out for Leland, Nadine, Cooper, Audrey, Donna, and James. I am currently finishing up oversized embroideries of The Giant, Killer BOB, Laura Palmer and The Log Lady. If your favorite character isn’t here then don’t fret, it is coming soon.
I will have pictures up as soon as the art show craziness is over and I have a moment to take pictures and get them all loaded.

I will also have a plethora of my Mustache Beer Cozies for sale at the show, so you should probably pick on up for yourself. Don’t have a mustache? You don’t want to be left out. Already have a mustache? Well, its being hidden by that beer can…and we can’t have that.

Your Future Lies Smoldering At The Feet Of The Robots

This is another nightmare with the glitter embroidery floss. I love the finish product but it took me forever. Every stitch was an argument. I thought working with the glitter floss was rough going when I was doing embroidery, but it was nothing compared to trying to wrestle it through 18 count cross stitch fabric.

Those of you who were In/Humanity fans or just hate robots, will appreciate the quote.  Once again, the sampler motif comes through for the classic grandma feeling.

My favorite part is the “Blip Bop Beep Boop” line towards the bottom. Not everyone notices it, but I think it is such a funny detail.

Some of My Favorite Inventors: Embroidery

I decided to do these inventor portraits awhile ago. I think they are some of my favorite things I’ve ever done.
I decided on Nikola Tesla, Robert Moog, Leon Theremin and Thaddeus Cahill. It seems that many people are not so familiar with the Telharmonium but I have been fascinated with Cahill’s story for some time now.

I think researching eye color was the most hilarious part. We learn that Telsa claims to have lighted his eyes with the power of his mind and stumbled across some document by some chick with a serious Moog crush going on and on about his eyes…girls.

Before I started on these portraits I had never heard about Leon Theremin’s involvement in Cold War espionage.  I was surprised to learn he had received the Satlin prize for advancement in Soviet espionage technology and his biggest coup, The Thing.

I did these all cotton/ rayon on cotton. I drew out the portraits from some classics. The majority of each piece is done with a basic chain stitch except for some detail work, like eyes.

Coming soon: Tesla vs Edison. Fight!

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Anatomy Lessons

I have a weird interest in medical drawings. I especially am interested in medieval anatomy illustrations Anyway I have spent some time recently looking at some of my anatomy books and was inspired to start on a new embroidery series.

I made this digestive tract piece first. I am not sure why I think it is so funny. I like making things that send me into fits of giggles periodically while I am working. I think it may be throwing up blood, but maybe it is a speech bubble that needs filled.  Any ideas?

I made this heart which I simply used a cotton/rayon blend embroidery floss on some cotton broadcloth using a simple modified backstitch. I cut it out and pinned it on some pretty cotton fabric that I dug out of a remnants bin years ago.

Well, there is a nervous system that needs completed…

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Beer Cozy

I have been cranking out these beer cozies. The design was super simple to make. I just crocheted in the round until it reached the desired size,  then crocheted out a tube from there. When the idea hit me, it was the middle of the night and the only wool yarn I had in the house was a Merino/Cashmere blend. So as silly as it is, the first few are cashmere beer cozies. Hilarious.

So I finished  a few of the luxe ones up and headed to Miss Maddie’s house. A case of Lonestar cans awaited me. We needed to test out the effectiveness of the wool to truly keep our beer cold. And what better way then an all night summer drinking session on a hot Texas porch? They were perfect…ice cold till the end. I am okay with Lonestar. It’s decent enough for a super cheap beer, but I think it completely unpalatable once it has warmed up at all.

Maddie was totally in love with the color of the ones I brought over and requested a hummingbird on hers

I have been making them non-stop ever since I finished hanging my current show. I am hoping to have quite a few for sale at the opening on the 22nd.

I like this “I love Math” one a ton!

The Flightpath show has been a success for me so far. I’ve sold a few pieces. I did have one piece stolen out of its frame. I am pretty upset about it.  It was the pink and blue skull handkerchief from my last post. I had it framed without glass and mounted with spray mount and dress pins on a white fabric so that the details of the embroidery and the loveliness of the hankie edges are on display. Someone just stole it right off of the frame. It makes me a bit nervous because I almost never use glass for the framing of my needlework pieces, as I don’t want all my stitching effort squished all flat. The Flightpath was dismayed, in 17 years of art shows they have never had a piece damaged or stolen. Several people have tried to cheer me up by saying that I should be flattered. I appreciate their efforts, but I am not flattered. I would be less upset if someone stole $150 out of my wallet. Boo.

I need to start working on pieces for my next show at the end of October with Don Jolly and friends. I don’t have all the details quite yet. There will be info up soon at The Incredible Art Show.

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Embroidered Handkerchiefs

I’ve jut finished up a ton of pieces for the show I have up at the Flightpath. I’m sharing the space for the month with Logan Cooper of Boots in the Oven and Andy Sams, both are exhibiting photography pieces. The show will be up until September 1st.

I’ve been picking up vintage handkerchiefs for the last several years whenever I come across them an thrift stores. I took a few and attached some hand embroidered sugar skull appliques I had made foe each individual piece. I struggles endlessly with attaching  the appliques as the hankie Fabric is not only thin but incredibly delicate due to age. I ended up ruining one…my favorite one…it was very sad.

So if you get  chance, swing by the Flightpath and check out our show.

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