I've been busy adding my artwork to the site FineArtAmerica.com. Here's where you can find one of my favorite music themed pieces:

You can get this or any of my other pieces as a print (either framed or matted), a tote bag, cell phone case, and even a shower curtain! Visit the site by clicking the link above.

I have slowly been adding some of the stuff from my old website back into this new one. I was reminded this past weekend at the Tall Ships Festival in Dana Point that my new website was missing all of the tutorials. So, as requested, I have added a couple of them to this new site.

Go here to see the Easy Quilt Binding Tutorial.

Go here to see the Tips for Working with Metallic Thread.

The following 4-minute video shows what it is like to stitch details into this work in progress. And, in case you're wondering, no, I did not sew through my fingers.

Here's what my version of the USS Floyd B. Parks looks like as of Sunday. I've made some major progress and it is really starting to look like a ship. Below are some closeup views of the details.

This day's progress on the USS Floyd B. Parks consisted of a few shapes and several lines. The gif below shows the progress.  There were quite a few detail lines such as the antenna and the railings. I had to carefully draw the lines in and then even more carefully stitch them. I often joke that I can't draw a straight line. I think I am now going to have to amend that statement to include that I CAN draw a straight line with my sewing machine.

Here's a close up view of today's efforts. And yes, all of those lines were done freehand.

There is so much going on in this image, especially at the stern of the ship. Much of my time working on this piece right now is spent staring at the image trying to figure out what goes where and what is in front and what is behind. Below is a rundown of this day's progress.

Here's what the ship looks like at this point. It still looks kinda weird. But it is starting to come together. The images below shows the progress.

The tiny details are the most difficult part of the process. Each bit of color is made up of a piece of fabric that I cut out and then stitch down. Some of these pieces are minuscule. One of the problems with using this particular image is that the details in the stern of the ship are off in the distance and therefore much smaller. For this kind of art, smaller means more difficult.

In the 3 1/2 minute video below you can see a little of the process, including the mistake. (I made the hatch about 1/16" too wide.) This is what I have to do for each tiny piece of fabric (preferably without any mistakes). The video ended about 3 seconds too early. All it's missing is me ironing down the piece shown in the above image. Next the piece is stitched with an appropriate thread color or colors.

It doesn't look like much right now, but this is the beginnings of several days of detail work. That little piece of gray fabric that doesn't have any thread on it yet is the deck. It will be covered by lots of things after I stitch it down.

Here's the first two objects to be added to the deck. I don't know their purpose and so far my research has not provided any information. It seems that much of the time spent on the piece is going to be searching the internet to find information about the section I am working on. That, and staring at the photo to figure out the technical issues with creating this piece.

And speaking of technical issues... We had a couple of very humid days. Humidity can wreak havoc on fabrics and especially the rayon thread that I like to use. The humidity warped the piece. To remedy the situation I poured some water on the back and ironed it as I stretched it out. That got rid of most of the puckers. The rest will either come out as I add more stitching or it will get worse. Maybe I need to invest in a carpet stretcher.