A re-newed love affair with painting

For my latest piece I tried a new idea; incorporating acrylic painting into my embroidery. I wasn’t really sure it was going to work out until I actually started working on it. I’ve never painted on fabric before so I had no idea how the paint would go on. However, once I was working on it, I couldn’t believe I had waited this long to do this. I L O V E  it. 

Here’s a little bit of background on my art experience: I started drawing as a child (like most people), then eventually got into acrylic painting. My Dad is an acrylic painter, so basically I didn’t really know there even was other types of painting until I had the opportunity to learn about them in art class. Eventually I discovered that water colour painting was my favorite and dabbled in that for a while – but most of my artistic experience outside of needlework is in acrylic painting. 

As much as I’ve struggled with painting in the past (it’s just not meant to be my main medium and focus), I have to say….wow did it feel good to pick up that paint brush again. It makes me realize that even though it’s not my main focus, that doesn’t mean I can’t still love it.  Something about painting on fabric was just so satisfying. I guess maybe it was the thrill of using a skill I spent a lot of time working on in the past in a way that’s so relevant to my current work.

However, I didn’t use painting too extensively in this piece, it’s pretty minimal. Mostly because it was an experiment to see if this idea would even work, and also because I still wanted the embroidery to be the main focus. Also, I haven’t used my acrylics since the painting class I took about 3 years ago, so I had to work with the colours I still had on hand – I didn’t even have white. Needless to say it was a bit limiting for mixing colour. I am heading out to buy some new paints tomorrow.

This piece is framed in a 6 inch hoop and is for sale in my Etsy shop here – http://www.ceestitchery.etsy.com

This is what it’s all about. When you have one of those ideas that gets you so excited you can hardly keep your hands still. There will be more pieces incorporating painting into my embroidery to come. This is the start of a new love affair, I can feel it.

 

Singer sewing machine dreams coming true

Ever since I started sewing I have dreamed about owning a vintage Singer sewing machine. Well that day came a couple of weeks ago, and I am now the proud owner of this beauty:

This is actually the third one I’ve come across. The first one I stumbled upon at a flea market and battled with myself the whole time trying to decide if I should buy it. It was beautiful and only $50. However when I went back to look again, it had been sold. It was sad, but I guess not meant to be. The second one I  found was at a another flea market. It was in way worse condition than the first one and the man selling it was really pushy. Once again, just didn’t seem like the right one, so I passed it up.

This time my friend happened to find this one at a thrift shop. When she saw it she texted me pictures right away. I was unsure at first but decided it wouldn’t hurt to go look after work. So I did. And instantly fell in love. This one was perfect. It was in great condition, still working, and I love love loved the table. It was a lot more compact than the other ones I’d seen. I honestly probably would buy the table for my home even if it didn’t come with the sewing machine, it was so perfect. I just knew this time. Probably the fact that I had turned down two others already made it easier to say yes this time. So, $75 later and I own a vintage Singer sewing machine! Dreams really do come true.

The Singer website is amazing. It was so easy to date my machine. They have model and serial numbers listed which match up with the year the machines were manufactured in. My machine was made in 1948. http://www.singerco.com/support/machine-model-numbers

Now I just want to learn everything I can about vintage Singer sewing machines! I’m so happy I found the right one ❤

Thanks for reading!