Thursday, January 26, 2012

Tutorial on a Painter who tried to Sew

Let’s start with the tragic back story (as my kids say to me):
It is not that I don’t know how to sew, it is just an anxiety provoking reflex.
I took sewing in 4-H for about 10 years. Learned allot but did not like it at all.

I had painted this bunny on a huge barn wood frame but the frame had cracked and after trying many different things to fix the frame I came to the realization the it could not be fixed to my satisfaction. Barn wood is like that. So instead of throwing the painting in the trash I had an idea to make it more of a material wall hanging.
Out came the sewing machine…
Out came the ironing board…
Out came the swear jar-compliments of my kids…
The hard part was to try to get the painting off the frame with out destroying the black screen. That was a challenge.
Found some quilt batting and some material that was the right size.  Easy part done.
Next I decided to make my own bias tape. Had done that before in 4-H. I was not going to spend any money on this just encase I decided to throw it away.
Started to sew.  Added a casing on the back so that it could be hung by a dowel.  It did not go on as straight as I thought it would have been once the whole thing was done.  I even measured!?! 
The black screen is really heavy and the green material was fairly light so the machine (or may be it was me) was having a bit of a struggle.
Had to cut some of it down. Next came the bias tape. I was not sure how to do the corners. Called some folks that tried to explain to me how to do it.  Thought I knew what I was doing. Had to redo it a couple of times at the corners because I was not to happy about how it was looking.
Finally gave up and put it together the best I could.
Now the look on my husband’s face when he got home from work was priceless, the swear jar did not get completely filled up and boy did I learn allot!
Finished product…
Now I will need to cut a dowel and I think I will PAINT the round knobs orange.
I might try this again but not in the near future!
Enjoy your day,
Barb

13 comments:

  1. I must be stupid, I read the whole post but I still don't understand how you saved this
    and got it on the fabric.
    And I think you did a fantastic job sewing.
    I can't make my own bias tape!
    It looks beautiful.
    Hugs,
    Susan

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  2. Ok, you had me laughing out loud on this post! My hubby gets to fill up the swear jar frequently. You lasted a lot further than I would have... I would have given up way before the finish. But it turned out awesome. See, there you go! Looks great and you have the satisfaction of not letting it win, lol.

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  3. This Post is PRICELESS, LOL Barb I love it
    I love your finished masterpiece as well

    And I love that swear jar!! Good job on not filling it up LOL

    Hugs
    Brenda

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  4. I think it looks fab and you may have discovered a new venue for your artwork Barb! Don't put the sewing machine (or the swear jar!) away quite yet ;O) Nice job, Deb

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  5. I think it looks great Barb, you way have found a new venue for displaying your art! Don't put the sewing machine (or the swear jar!) away quite yet ;O) Great job, Deb

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  6. WOOOOHOOOOOO, BARB!!! Most excellent and I'm impressed that the 'Swear Jar' was not full!! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!
    }}Hugs{{
    Vicky

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  7. I can't paint, Barb, and I won't touch bias tape with a 10-foot pole! It looks too perfect to me...that's why I like primitive...it doesn't have to be perfect! (Who gets the swear jar money?) ~*~Lisa

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  8. LOL, your so funny. It came out great, you should fire that bad boy up more often!!
    Warm Wishes,
    Kim

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  9. Hi Barb, Wonder how come it took so long to find you on facebook. Love your post here.

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  10. Oh Barb, it's so cute and an awesome idea. You must try it again... practice makes perfect :)
    Hugs~Carol

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  11. LOL, the swaer jar gave me an out loud laugh. I have had projects go like this, even though I sew regularly. I feel for you LOL I have had night when I spent more time taking out stitches than I put in. My husband says: "honey. why don't you put it down for a while." well. This makes me all the more mad. I undo it. try again. Now it's 12:30 going on 1 a.m. It's done. I still don't like it. LOL It goes in my "done but I don't like it" bin lOL. But it looks great. It's just us that see all the teeny tiny imperfections.

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Thanks for taking the time to share your commments!!
Enjoy your day,
Barb