Fabric House Portrait

I recently finished a house portrait for a client. The project had taken me much longer to finish than expected, but my client was wonderfully patient and pleased with the final result!

I began with a drawing based on photos of a vacation home on a lake in Maine.
I had the original drawing enlarged, then put the enlargement on a light table and traced the different components on Wonder Under on the reverse side of the drawing. I then chose fabrics for the house, trees, etc., and ironed the Wonder Under-ed components on to the backs of these fabrics. After cutting out these components, I reassembled the "puzzle pieces" and ironed them down to create the picture.

All pieces were stitched down with a zig-zag stitch, some textile paints were used for shading, flowers were hand embroidered, and a linen border was added. It felt so good to finish this project and to know that my client was pleased!!!

I've done many house portraits over the years, and doing this one reminded me of how much I enjoy the process. The main drawback, as with any handwork, is that it is nearly impossible to charge for the many hours that go into such a piece of work! It's an artisan's dilemma!