Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Overcoming Stitcher's Block

Hallo en alle.  Wie gehts?

I find I am immersed in all things German this week.  In addition to having a German exchange student, Dominik, here this week (he helped me re-name my blog header for today), Jim's company has also been bought by a German company and he will be traveling there for a week the day after Dominik leaves.

It's been very busy since Dominik arrived last Wednesday.  We've had many adventures and spent a day in Baltimore, New York and Washington D.C.  Phew!  Today Dominik is going with another family to the Washington Wizards NBA game so I have a day off and can catch up on a few things, like writing this blog post.

Here's a picture of Jack (far right) and his friend (far left) with 3 German students in the middle at the Top of the Rock overlooking New York City.  Dominik is on the middle left.


We're having a great time even though it's been a bit of whirlwind.  Dominik is soaking in lots of language, culture, American food and he's even been hanging out with some of the nieces.  He's an internet DJ in Germany so he knows a lot about music that is popular in Europe and the US.  I am also happy to report that he likes Cozies for warming up his bed so I am sending him back home with one.   Let Cozy Love spread to Germany!

This morning, I did find some time to work on my wall for Mrs. Rose.

Remember I wanted to find a way of bringing the wall to the foreground so the seams would drop to the background?   I considered a number of different methods such as stitching, stippling or painting the blocks...but rejected them all.  Then I thought I might use organza cut into "blocks" to stitch onto the background but I didn't have a range of gray silk organza to work with...and it still looked too flat.

That's when I got the idea to print out a concrete block wall onto organza fabric.

First, I found a concrete block picture I liked on the internet...


Then I measured the size of the rectangle blocks on my piece and re-sized the bricks on my picture in Photoshop so that they would be the same size.  I then copied and repeated my re-sized wall section until it filled an entire 8.5"x11" sheet.  I printed a test sheet on paper to make sure that the size of the blocks would fit on the piece (middle sheet below).


Next, I used this ExtravOrganza product by Jacquard to print out my blocks.  You can see that the organza is pretty transparent...



But I'm hoping that when I stitch them randomly over the wall, that I can vary the shading by which blocks I choose for each space.



I'll be back to let you know if it works.

Dominik leaves on Friday so we're trying to squeeze in everything before then.

I'll post again if I can.

Auf Wiedersehen!

13 comments:

gracie said...

I thought I was lost at first reading your blog header! Can't wait to see if the organza works...I am sure you can make it so.

cucki said...

Sending you lots of love x

maire said...

What a happy time for you!!! Jack looks like he's had a growth spurt~~so tall and lean...the fellas look like they're having a whirlwind fun time too...
Your work on Mrs. Rose's room is fascinating...will stay tuned in!! Sharing in your joy, Maire

Rachel said...

It's an intriguing idea - I'm looking forward to seeing how it progresses.

It's always great fun to share one's home town with a visitor - it gives a whole new viewpoint...

Margaret said...

Got a kick out of your post today.

:-) My daughter studied some German in university so I could get the gist of the header...but only the gist! LOL!

And I think that ExtravOrganza will work wonderfully for that wall effect. I use it on occasion and have yet to be disappointed.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

It looks like a great time is being had by everyone and what an opportunity for these young men.

I think this organza is going to work just great from what I can see so far.

Hugs ~ FlowerLady

Catherine said...

Sounds like you have a been busy busy as usual! Can't wait to see how the organza works.

Createology said...

How very world expanding to enjoy Dominik and share your two cultures. I can only imagine how much fun your nieces are having! Your blog header is great.
I am intrigued by your organza blocks. Blissful stitching and lots of fun experiencing German culture...

Shawkl said...

Sounds like a very busy week indeed. I see that these German young men have also engaged in American women's favorite past-time...shopping! Ha!
Careful with the organza...it loves to unravel!
Hugs,
Kathy

Suztats said...

How clever! Looking forward to seeing how the organza works!

margaret said...

a great idea to do the wall this way, I am sure it will work very well

Judy S. said...

Perfect translation! Do I see a trip to Germany in your future? Hope your week is a fun one. Neat idea on the organza; it'll be interesting to see your results. Viel Vernuegen! (I don't have an umlaut key...)

Mary Ann Tate said...

Very cool idea...hope it works out:)

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