After a long dry spell I did get back to some painting but in preparation for a wall hanging. Meanwhile I’ve been playing with fabric. I come from a long line of stitchers.
On my mother’s side my great-great-grandmother was a tailoress, she made suits for young boys in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
My great-grandmother stitched quilts. My grandmother did every kind of stitching and when she was widowed very young and had to earn a living she opened a knit shop.
My aunt, Mother’s only sister, was an expert seamstress and made all of my cousin’s prom dresses. She was the practical sister. My mother, the not so practical one, was a designer and while she designed and made her own clothes as a teenager, when I was in need of a dress for a special occasion rather than make me one, she gave me one of hers and helped me restyle it to suit me.
While I didn’t think I liked sewing I’ve always been a fabric junky. I have a stash of fabric. Awhile back I had posted that I was starting a quilt project. While surfing around on the internet to learn more about quilting I came upon a couple of on-line classes that sparked my interest. Add to that interest – it’s been hotter than blazes and my sewing machine is in the cool basement.
This piece is something my mother might have done had she played with a sewing machine like I now have but it’s a far cry from anything my grandmother would have done. This one isn’t finished, I’m ready for the last lesson in the Stupendous Stitching class.
I don’t think either of them would have done something like the two purses that I did with layers of fabric – The Stitch and Slash Class but I sure had fun.
The paintings that did get done are part of a series, “Walks of Life” and since I’ve been playing with fabric I decided that they will be transferred to fabric along with some that aren’t done yet and I’ll be using some of what I’m learning in these two on-line workshops. Here is one of the paintings in the series… “Still walkin’, just goin’ a little slower now”
