An Incomplete Almighty

The painting on the left can be seen on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1510. The drawing on the right can be seen in the hallway of my apartment outside my bedroom, sketched by me in 2005. I pass by it without notice every time I go into the room, but in the back of my mind I've been thinking about completing it for 5 years now.

I guess there's something I really like about it's sketchy nature.. but it leaves a great something to be desired. And yet I'm intimidated! Now, I've done master studies before and I really enjoy doing them, although it's been far too long since I've caressed a paintbrush over a canvas. But ever since I completed this sketch, applying paint to it has seemed difficult, but perhaps I just haven't considered it for long enough. I'm certainly not one to leave unfinished projects neglected.

Maybe it's this close-up reference image I found of Michelangelo's vision of the face of God - with those handsomely crisp paint strokes made by such a master about such a subject! that many Sistine visitors have never even really seen in detail. It's truly amazing. I wonder how well I could successfully achieve it. That wonder is surely motivating.

I plan to work some courage into picking this up again and completing it so it may grace the wall with it's presence (as currently it does not except by me, and only sometimes). But I'd love to have the likeness of such a fine piece in my possession.

Although...

Currently the sketch is about 12x16" .. if painted, I'd like it to be larger. Plus that way my original sketch remains in-tact.

Am I being too ambitious? I think I'd like to tackle this!

Make Zigzag Buttonholes Easy Cheesy!

I just finished the cutest little blouse last night, and got pretty excited about the cool embroidery designs on it, too. Looks like my simple Singer has a few tricks up its' gears! Or I've become a tad more "skilled". Of course I'm always learning new things, which is what I'd like to share in this post... and EASY WAY TO MAKE BUTTONHOLES - yay! .... Read on >

Galabera Blouse | made to order
see more about this item here

I've always been a tad intimidated by button holes.. assuming they're too hard to sew correctly or too weird to align the holes with the buttons between two panels of fabric. However! I learned how to make Zigzag Stitch Button Holes with my Galabera Blouse project.. so here's how you make'em:

• 1 • Start by setting your machine to ZIG ZAG stitch... which on regular settings might look like this:


The knobs on your machine determine the stitch length and the stitch width (in the case of the zig zag setting). If you adjust the stitch width to 2, then your zig zag looks more like this (which will be the long edges of your button hole) :


If you set the width to 5 and the length to 0, you'll create a bar stitch. With the length at 0, it creates a back and forth stitch that stitches on top of itself, which will create perfectly secure ends for the button hole.

• 2 • Mark your fabric carefully for where you want the hole to be (use pencil or fabric chalk.. something that will wash out or steam off easily, and make sure the hole-edge markings are aligned straight with the edge of the fabric). I made my holes about 1/8" wider than the width of the button I used. They could be vertical or horizontal, but vertical is easier to button in the end.

• 3 • Stitch your button hole as shown below, following the steps and turning your fabric at each corner. Keep an eye on your markings so you make your holes the same size for each.



• 4 • Slash the fabric inside the button holes with scissors, and sew your buttons to the other side of fabric, matching up to where your buttonholes are.

Easy!

I hope this helps anyone who has had troubles with buttons!

Cute Tunic!

Indaburton Tunic | made to order
see more about this item here