SYTYC Week 6: European Thread Sketches

8:00 AM


Ink was one of the harder themes for me in this competition.  Searching on Pinterest for inspiration only brought up tattoos.  I finally decided to do something with decor, and decided to make pen and ink art, but use free motion sewing rather than actually drawing or sketching.
What seems to be ink, is actually thread.

We have a lot of Italian influence in our house, and initially I thought about having the Colosseum, Leaning Tower of Pisa, and Rialto Bridge in Venice, but switched to have man-made landmarks in three different European countries instead: Big Ben {United Kingdom, London} the Colosseum {Italy, Rome} and the Eiffel Tower {France, Paris}

In our master bedroom we have a bare, large wall, and I thought the trio of interesting canvases would be cool.  Each structure represents countries important to our family.
First, I have a lot of Britisth ancestors on my side so Big Ben in London made the wall.
Italy's Colosseum in Rome is mainly for my husband who lived there for a few years before we got married and where we went on our honeymoon trip.
Our last name is French, my husband's ancestor was a stowaway from Bordeaux to the Americas in the 1670s, so the Eiffel Tower in Paris was important to include.

The process uses free motion sewing to actually sew the sketches of the different European famous structures.  The close up of these sketches looks a little "Tim Burton" but from a distance they look pretty great.

 I wanted to make the stark white canvas look like aged paper, so after sewing I dyed each canvas in tea.

To finish it off, I made my own wood frames, and stretched and stapled my sketches across.


I love the finished look, these remind me of something you'd buy from Ballard Designs or Pottery Barn, but in this case they cost me less than $2.00 for the whole set!

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35 comments

  1. This might be the most amazing thing I've ever seen you make. Incredible!!!

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  2. Wow! Those are really amazing. I can't imagine even trying to so something like that. They turned out really fantastic!

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  3. Those are so cool! I love how you always find something meaningful to make. And I love how inexpensive you did it for too! :)

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  4. that is a fantastic idea, and they turned out so beautifully! they definitely look like something expensive you could buy in a store. lovely work!

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  5. Wow! and wow! again - brilliant, totally brilliant! Love them X

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  6. Another incredible creation. I am amazed at what you free hand, whether it's these gorgeous pieces or the signatures on your quilts.

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  7. Amazing! I can't believe you've done that on your sewing machine! I've voted already for you. Good luck!

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  8. Holy cow! Those are awesome. Maybe some day you can do a mini tute on how you make your frames? Please?

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  9. Jaw Dropping. Do you have a cape? Because you are like my sewing superhero.

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  10. Seriously, those look incredible!

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  11. You are a real artist! So cool now sell them for 100's ;)

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  12. What?!!! I think that's the most amazing thing I've see you do. Unbelievable!

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  13. Those are great! I'm curious as to how you did your tea stain. I did some unbleached muslin this weekend, but it didn't turn out as nicely as yours did! Yours has crinkles whereas mine just turned out brown with some splotches!!

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  14. Beautiful! It seems like everything you make lately amazes me.

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  15. Truly amazing...I am speechless

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  16. I love the way you dyed the fabric after the sewing! You are a brave one. Turned out great!

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  17. You never cease to amaze me!
    Awesome.
    I am going over to vote right now.
    ~Michelle

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  18. These are totally amazing, Jess. You have major talent. Voted!

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  19. Jessie, TOTALLY AMAZING. Love them all.

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  20. AMAZING! I love them. I kid you not, you could make SO much money selling these on Etsy or something. I'm sure that people would pay really good money for them. Could you share where you got the sketches you based yours on?

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  21. Holy Smokes, these are gorgeous! I've tried free stitching on tote bags and had something more ambitious in mind, but these are amazing! Gotta try it and soon, thanks for the kick start up to another level of creativity.

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  22. I've followed you for awhile but not sure if I've ever commented. I've checked out the competitions you've been in and continue to vote for you and be amazed by the things you come up with. Your latest I believe really sets you apart. I won't be surprised to hear you announce your first book or fabric line!

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  23. Hi Jessica, these are fabulous. I'm just stopping by to say how delightful your blog is. Thanks so much for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris
    http://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.ca/

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  24. those are totally amazing jessica!

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  25. These are simply gorgeous. And they look way more expensive than $20. Amazing.

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  26. These are incredibly beautiful. I love everything from the idea through every part of the execution... And the finished product is To. Die. For. And for $2? I would consider them a bargain at 100x that, truly. What an inspiration! How long did it take you? Did you sketch them first, and if so on what and with what?

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  27. Ooh, what a great idea! I think I may just use it :)

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  28. Can't draw to save my life but this I might try! Thanks for the inspiration!!!

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  29. I've been doing lots of thread sketching recently and I was looking around the Internet to see what others are doing with thread and I found your blog. I love what you did with those 3 pieces of art.

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