These Just In....

Rio Rincon and companion canvas' designed by Terry Medaris for Sundance Designs were framed and photographed at different times accounting for the variations in appearance here. However, in reality they are identical in color and size. Earlier this week I returned from the framer where I left my first born and my leg; the framer knew it would be folly to take my arm so a leg and a kid is the going cost of framing these days....apparently.

These are just a few of Mr. Medaris' designs featuring stylized depictions of life in the southwest. Rio came complete with stitch guide and threads and were purchased at Old Town Needlework located in Scottsdale, AZ. The three companion pieces were stitched with threads and stitches stolen from the Rio kit. Otherwise I would not have been able to have them framed and they would have been hanging on the wall with push pins. :) Sorry the photos are sort of cattywampus.

The framer called today

to let me know my Terry Medaris, Rio Rincon, piece was ready to be picked up. It was held in captivity for 4 weeks or there abouts which isn't really all that long...just seemed like it. I think I like it, it's growing on me.

I am not sure I'm completely happy with the cutting of the triple mats, however, I won't complain. First I noticed there were a few cuts that weren't executed exactly along the lines of stitching, I also felt that the blue/green mat was a little large relative to the stitched piece. I also thought that the width of the yellow/tan mat should have been the same as the purple mat. I would have preferred that the purple mat be on top. The overall size of the piece and the order in which the mats were placed was not discussed.

I do like the framer I'm working with, think they're very professional and have been in business for a long time. I primarily think that the unusual cutting of the mat template must have been very difficult to execute. Maybe not, maybe I'm wrong.

I am working on three smaller companion pieces that will be framed together in one piece, using the same framing as Rio Rincon. I may have some changes made at that time. It would be great to hear your thoughts and opinions.

My Roots are Showing!

Southwest roots, that is. Raised in Arizona I cannot help but be attracted to just about anything southwestern. Here are three companion canvases to Rio Rincon (see May 18 posting). I am very anxious to get started on these friendly canvases, painted by Terry Medaris at Sundance, while Rio is at the framers. My plan is to have these framed as a triptych. Incorporating many of the same stitches and threads used in Rio, I am hoping these will look even more like they "belong" together. I'll be using beautiful threads from The Pure Palette, Soy Luster Solids and Shadows; more Amy's Burmilana wool/acrylic blend; Gloriana 12-stranded silk; J.L Walsh silk wool and bits of other accent threads.

It is a total indulgence starting these without first having finished my Magic rooster http://frontrangestitches.blogspot.com/2008/07/studio-time.html, which is the final of three pieces I have to finish before the November deadline. I have that piece well under control and just need to play with something else. It's been a while since I've started anything new and have been quite diligently about finishing several of my WIP's this year; there will be more evidence of this in the next week or two. I had planned on giving myself permission to start something new on my birthday in September; but the birthday God's had something else in mind: car trouble. Not to worry, I didn't have to leave the house for new threads or anything, had everything on hand to get started. Will keep you posted on their progress and meanwhile know that I am clam happy with anticipation that the framer will be calling any minute now.

Rio Rincon WIP

I continue to experiment with adding pictures. I was hoping I could just leave a link on the side of the blog where the pictures would be opened, but I haven't figured that out just yet.

Rio Rincon is a canvas designed by southwest artist Terry Medaris. There is a very large line of similarly painted canvases available and I have 3 more that when completed will be framed alike. I am nearly finished with this first piece and with Terry's stitch guide it has been a fast and fun project. I plan on using some of the same stitches for the other pieces in the collection. I particularly like the "Pattern Stitch" used in the sun with overdye. Other stitches include Padded Cross Stitch, Reverse Mosaic, Victorian Step and others. Threads used are metallic braid, ribbon floss, floss, overdye, Watercolours, Neon Rays, Fiesta, wool and rayon floss. Not much left to stitch, then I will tackle the beads. I don't really enjoy beading, the needles are so thin and sharp I end up wounding myself with nearly every bead!

Moving right along...NOT!

Well I definitely thought I would be much further along building this blog by now. Thing is, I am unfamilar with where everything is, like where do I get a counter, or more to the point, why do I get a counter??? I see other blogs filled with fun things to "press" and calendars and seemingly more options for formatting. Well, I'll keep looking.

Last night I went to a friend's house for dinner and stitching; together we are creating a needlpoint design of a place that we both have interest in. Neither one of us are designers so we are moving forward at a snails pace which doesn't surprise me. In general we both are fairly methodical in our approach and luckily have many other stitching projects to hold our interest when this get's bogged down. So far we have stitched the outline and have assigned symbols for each space in the design. More details to come.

I call my friend a turbo stitcher as I have never seen anyone stitch at a break neck pace before. It doesn't matter that she's working on 32 count, in the dark, with one hand tied behind her back, she's just plain fast. And good. Her work is quite amazing. I just don't have the discipline to do anything fast, except maybe gain weight.

Two projects, one I'm about to finish is Rio Rincon has been a fun project stitching up quickly. The other is completed, Chinese Lanterns, was also an unusually fast project to stitch. Since I got the chart out of a magazine this project came in under $10 total. No, not including the framing. The framing, yes that is a whole other price point.
So here's the latest submission. Thanks for visiting.