And yes, before you tell me I do know that 'eye-edness' isn't in the dictionary but in this case it fits! First of all, I'll show you a photo of what's been happening on the landscape....
Do you see the fence in the foreground? Firstly, I stitched the wire part with the machine using a grey thread but it wasn't the colour or the texture I wanted....so.....a peruse of my embroidery flosses yielded one that rather looked (at least to me!) that it might represent a rusty fence. One strand of floss - and I undertook to whip. Every. Single. Machine. Stitch. On. That. blankety blank. Fence. Over 5 hours later and I'm about half done.
Am I crazy?
Am I obsessed?
(don't answer that)
But is it worth it?
Oh yeah!
(and what's worse - trying to actually SEE
those little stitches while my eyes are percolating
cataracts - just another level of idiocy!)
Today's quote...."If you want to know how rich you are, find out how many things you have that money cannot buy"
Good fence, haha!
ReplyDeleteI think it looks better in real life, but that's just my opinion!
DeleteYou are an artist!
ReplyDeleteHow kind of you! I have a hard time accepting that I am - still wavering on the cusp of thinking I'm a craftsperson and not an artist. A cross I obviously have to bear!
DeleteOh that is tough--before I had my cataracts done, i thought I'd never do embroidery again...but afterwards it is fine...
ReplyDeleteso hang in there...
Well the fence looks super--
Julierose
I live in great fear of losing my sight to the degree that I won't be able to sew or read....I will go start raving mad if that happens.
DeleteI think you captured the essence of old wire fence perfectly and it was worth the time.
ReplyDeleteGreat progress Mary Ann.
Thanks Janie - I think it's worth the time too, but when I've spent that many hours on something I begin to second guess myself!
DeleteI think it looks very authentic and worth the effort :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary Ann - I guess it was worth the effort but I sure didn't think that in the middle of doing it!
DeleteLooking good! I've been known to spent hugh volumes of time stitching thinks like that too. By the way, regarding cataracts: my doctor told me several years ago that it isn't necessary to wait for them to 'ripen' (old term that is used). He said why wait and have all that difficulty seeing when it can be done immediately. I didn't even know I had the beginnings of a cataract as my vision was fine but he did my surgery and I haven't looked back. In fact, I have progressive lenses so I no longer need glasses. Reading glasses, if the light is low, like in some restaurants. For fine embroidery and with good light, I'm good to go with my own 'eyes'. They were expensive but my insurance paid the full cost.
ReplyDeleteI don't think 'ripen' is the term they use any longer and that's not really what is happening with me. When I had my last check up I had what he termed the 'beginnings' of cataracts and I had the option of seeing a surgeon right away or leaving it for 6 months. He felt that waiting would be the best of the two options and I was happy to go along and he did tell me that if my sight deteriorated I could call and the next step would happen sooner. Of course then Covid hit and all that went straight out the window. Now I have to wait until the eye dr. is allowed to reopen and then for the backlog to clear before I can expect anything to be done. I didn't know they could do progressive lenses - interesting. I have those in my glasses already so it might be an option.
DeleteBut it sure does make a difference!
ReplyDeleteIt does - at least IMHO!
DeleteYour posts always brighten my day. Mary Anne. The fence is so realistic and the time spent in the making is well worthwhile. You are both a good Craftsperson And a Fabulous artist. Maybe very soon your Rules will be relaxed enough to visit your eye surgeon. I hope so.
ReplyDeleteGosh, you must lead a pretty boring existence if all it takes to brighten your day is a post from me! I must say that all the hours spent on that fence were worth it (over 9 hours final count).
DeleteI got too much interesting stuff on your blog. I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! Keep up the good work. humalog
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and leaving a comment!
DeleteI won't answer your question in case it incriminates me. =) All those hours of work on your fence is paying off. It looks fabulous.
ReplyDeleteAwww - I'm disappointed! You and I both know there's a certain degree of obsession about what we do.
DeleteThis landscape is absolutely amazing!! I love everything about it---and your fence is absolutely worth it. Takes me back to my childhood, and scenes just like this.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm glad you like it. I grew up on a farm so wire fences were the norm (altho' my dad kept ours in a bit better repair than this one!).
DeleteSometimes the things you put more time into give the very best gratification! I think this excellent detail will bring about your "best seller" so far.
ReplyDeleteThank you Joy! Unfortunately the fact that I put that many hours into 'just' a fence isn't apparent to most people, unless they take a close up look and happen to be stitchers themselves.
DeleteWow, your barn art is a thing of beauty! lovely scene and great links.
ReplyDeleteHappy Saturday!
Thanks Caroline! I have fun with what I do, even though a lot of my time is spend wondering about how to achieve a certain effect I'm after.
DeleteThe fence is fantastic. I am in awe - at your stubbornness, and always with the end result. :)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, stubbornness reigns supreme here! Or idiocy - take your pick.
Delete