I thought I might write a bit more about designing the grocery tote.
To Gay and Joe, no, I do not have a pattern of any kind. For the structure dimensions I just measured the bag I wanted to put into it. It is basically just a box. For the birds, butterflies, and flowers, I looked at pictures on the web, and then roughed out my own. The actual images are created as I stitch, since I really can't draw much better than a sixth grader. I undo frequently.
For Karen, I don't know what the overall design will be, because I don't plan it out. As I worked on each image, I was aware of the spaces around it and played with ideas of what will fit in next.
This is how I designed the flower side:
I started with the pink fuchsias on the top because I wanted flowers that hung down. The lavender flowers on the left are wisteria which also hang down. The small leaves above the wisteria visually contrast with the larger leaves of the fuchsias.
Although I had thought I would do only flowers on this side, I added the hummingbird because they love fuchsias. I looked at a color picture on the web of a ruby throated hummer. You can't see it on this picture, but I used iridescent embroidery floss for his head and throat. I had seen it at the craft store a few days earlier and once I had decided on a hummer I bought it, and tried it on a sample before using it on the tote.
As I built each side, I filled in some of the areas of black background. I knew I was going to lose the hummer's beak if I didn't put something lighter behind it, so I added the green leaf.
I wanted a large flower that came up from the bottom. The idea of using bird of paradise came to me as I was falling asleep. The next day I looked at some web images and discovered they could be yellow, orange, or red. I chose red.
After finishing them, I filled in the rest of the black on that side and decided the lower right corner needed something. I did the little star flowers as an over-stitch. They are a repeat element from one of the other sides. As I look at it now, I think I over did hem a bit. Sometimes less is more.
I wanted do some yellow roses in the mid section of the space, but after three tries and rip-outs I settled for anonymous petaled flowers. (I will be experimenting with rose images in the future, I don't like to be defeated.)
The final addition was the two tiger lilies in the lower left corner. They were inspired by images by Al in Travels With The Bayfield Bunch.
So, there you have it. A blow by blow of how I think. I remember when I was creating animal heads I would have an overall goal in mind, but had to concentrate on creating the whole, piece by piece.
It just happened. Sometimes things work, and sometimes they end in the trash. The nice thing is I'm doing it for me now, not to sell.
Was this interesting to anyone?
