Ponderosa Pines

Worked on the pine branches on the right panel.  Found just the right material for the branches - brownish gray with texture... definitely looks like bark.  The picture has solid mass of needles.... at this point, I have more sky showing through than the original picture.  We'll see if it stays that way.

Can't wait for my camera to come back so I can take a picture.

More sky

Worked on the sky of the right panel.  It's all done, ready to have the pine branches attached.

I ironed on  the pine needles to the left panel yesterday.  84 needles (and two pine cones)  for just that small space!  It looks really nice. Still need to sew them on ...

I have a short work week this week so I plan to sew work on the pine branches on the right panel and do the center sky. 

Camera is now in the shop....

Sky light, sky bright

Cut out and worked on arranging the sky for the left panel tonight.  Unfortunately, my camera took a nosedive to the floor last night while the lens was open, resulting in a LENS ERROR message and a lens which will not go in or out.  Thus no sky picture. 

I like how the colors of the blocks are blending .... at a distance they create pockets of color, of clouds. 

Panorama

Here is the panoramic view of the mountains.  The material edges are folded over so those areas where there is a sudden stop of a hill will not be that straight line when finished.   

 Below are the close up shots of the bottom edges.

Yesterday while I was at a craft fair I cut out the pine cones and started on the pine needles.  Ponderosa pines have their needles in clusters of 3.  If you go back to the original photo, you will see that there will be a LOT of pine needles. 

Sew, sew

Tonight I worked on the center panel... much easier to sew than the previous one.  Even though the panels will be somewhat separated when finally hung, I pinned them together so I can begin to envision the bindings.  Instead of the usual solid color binding. at least the inside edges will be bound using the landscape fabric.  

Pinning the panels to my wall also allows me to see where I need some more "trees".  I thought I had stretched all my trees across the two panels.  Obviously I hadn't as you can see.  Reforestation project in the works for this weekend!

My bookcase is pushing the left of the landscape forward, creating some wrinkly spots in the photo.   

Today

Two hours later, the right panel is sewn. I still have to add the trees in the front.  Before that, it took me an hour and half to iron down the three panels (used fusible web on most of the material) and to add any additional mountains. 

Oops there's a couple of pins still in the picture. 

The goal for this week is to get the three panels sewn.  I had to do work for work one day each of these last two weekends - sure cuts in to my sewing time!

The Final Mountainside

This is the center and right panels ... with a bit of Niles, my cat,  placed solidly in the sky.  I still need to add some trees against the sky line but I'm really pleased with how this last panel turned out.   Also will be adding some ponderosa pines in the foreground but I need a different dark green material so they will stand out.   Obviously the white line down the center won't be there . I hadn't pinned the right panel when I took the picture so I was hesitant to move the panels. 

Stretched out

Today I laid out the two panels on my living room floor and placed the sky material on one of them. 

The Mountains Connected (somewhat)

Here's what they look like side by side (almost)...   the third panel will need to wait until tomorrow. 

Panel Two - first draft

This is panel two, or the center panel.  In person the yellow is not as bold as it appears in the photo.    Even though I haven't cut the sky yet, I love how it's playing out. 

Panel One - second draft

Inserted a dark pine material... still not sure it's what needs to be there.   That's the great thing about auditioning fabric.  You cut and pin and don't sew until everything us JUST RIGHT. 


On to Panel two now

Panel One - first draft

This is the first cutting for the left side panel. I spent hours ironing the material and then attaching fusible web.  I had made a general pattern of where the different groves of trees were but it's difficult to distinguish clearly from the original photograph.  What you see in terms of the trees is only the bottom 3 feet of the panel.  If you look closely you can maybe distinguish where I laid down sky materials one on top of another.  The upper 5 feet of this panel are sky with two clumps of pine branches. 

Critique of draft 1 - the near trees are cut okay but there isn't a distinguishing tree line between the near hill and the second one back.  There is a well cut tree line but the color I used fades into the background.  Need to switch that color completely.  The farthest left part of the second mountain (to right of picture) is angled too high.    Need to do revisions and then take another photo.   .

My construction plan as follows:

• 
  
   to cut out all the mountains first (two more panels)
• 
  
   to cut and sew the sky together
• 
  
   to sew the mountains down
• 
  
   to cut and sew pin branches
• 
  
   to cut and sew pine needles
• 
  
   to cut and sew pine cones