Three Kings 1 - Zentangle - Complete

The first of my Three Kings projects is finished - well up to the point of all the stitching is complete - now  I need to decide if I mount it on a canvas or turn it into a quilt - any suggestions?  The full piece and a couple of close up photos.  By the size - from base of stitching to top of stitching it measures 40 cm (16 inches).

Beginning to feel better and Three Kings Update

So at long last I am beginning to feel better - am learning to breath through the stomach pain rather than taking meds and have adjusted the food I eat, therefore I think I am getting there.  Some days I wake up feeling horrid but there are the occasional days, like today, when I wake up feeling OK. On days like today I actually feel like being creative so moving on here is an update on the Three Kings - the first one is well in progress - free machine stitching is so relaxing and absorbing - like doing the zentangles I love so much.....

Today I also started planning and working on Three Kings 2 - it is much larger - as you can see from my trainers and the pen.  So far I have traced out the design onto Bondaweb and have a lovely stack of silk fabric - I was given this heap by a friend emptying her studio and the pieces have been sitting in my workroom for years waiting for just such a project.  I think it will just be bonded applique but am not sure what will happen next - How I will stitch it - Any suggestions would be welcomed.




Update:  Fabric pieces cut out...

Three Kings Update

So I have made a little progress on the first of my Three Kings Project, but before I show you that - once I mentioned to a friend that I am collecting Three Kings cards she found hers from this Christmas together with a couple of other cards I think I would like to translate......

So the first translation - I have redrawn the card, Zentangled it

 and have started a Free Machine version... not sure how I will add the gold highlights I added to my drawing.

Making a Start

I scanned the Three Kings card, then traced it and printed it out cut into 16. This is the resulting size (the original card is lying bottom right) - it will be square rather than rectangular.I have cut the printed fabric into 16 squares and will now print on a couple of them that look a little plain. Then I think the next step will be to cut each of the 16 squares into 4 pieces - some straight cuts and some curved. However I am going to try drawing out some cuts first.

A small kick up the butt

My office expected me back to work on Monday 16th but I have been signed off for the week as having had a bad stomach the doctor feels that my knee exercise/recovery has not been going quite as well as we would have liked by this stage.

What I have realised is that when I go back on 23rd Jan I will have been off work for a WHOLE month (except for one day) AND DONE VIRTUALLY NOTHING !! - you see I started my Christmas holiday by finishing work on 22nd Dec and then I went in for the one day back 4th Jan before my operation. If an 'artist' had a WHOLE month with a studio available would they work? YES.

The kick up the butt?? - A week off to do more regular knee exercises, get the stomach back right up to health AND DO SOME ART WORK!! I can take it steady and do art work!! So what am I going to do - well I have some ongoing projects - I need to write myself a TO DO LIST but for now I want to start more projects. So it will actually be a Started project/to finish and to do list combined.

I found this terrible piece of fabric (years old) which I had tried to stamp in the style of Sherrill Kahn (click HERE for her website)

- I thought it rubbish at the time, put it away and now it's time to a) cut it up, b) do some more stamping, c) apply the pieces to black cotton

and d) turn it into a quilt - in the rough style of Mickey Depre (click HERE for her website). There will be no real planning but just getting on with it. To start I will cut it into 16 squares and then cut the squares up into more pieces inspired by Mickey's article in the free ebook from Quilting Arts Magazine (available if you click HERE and register). Whilst working on this I am going to start work on a quilt for next Christmas - YES NEXT CHRISTMAS!!

I received this beautiful Christmas card this year from Jane Lemon

and want to translate it into a quilt.... I have started sourcing some lush silk scrap pieces

but will take my time as I need to a) decide on size, b) enlarge the design, c) source more silk - dye some in the graded colours.

My final colour scheme may not be exactly the same as the card - I am not too sure about the pink on the left - may need to change that to purple (ie swap the two colours over) but I will think it through.