A Connecting Thread ------ Embroidery

I thought I would repost this as it is some of my favorite artwork. Maybe this is how Warhol started?

If memory serves me correctly the following occurred because two things came about to me at roughly the same time. I used the new embroidery design Sue of The Needlework Factory had just completed - the Jeepers Creepers skull embroidery - with my new found talents with cutting, copying, pasting and layering images. Several of these I used for my Facebook profile photo, but I like them all because they are iconic yet elevated beyond what the originals are.

Any favorites?

Recent Projects

I've been constructing away at projects I need for a demo I'll be doing at the end of June at the Airport Sewing Center. That's where the Hula Doll embroidery originates from, in essence, and the embroidery is the focus of the art, and here it is shown with designs from the Hula Dolls collection.

Hula Doll Embroidery with Mylar Fiber Skirt shown as a Wall Hanging. The pattern can also be modified to make a 16" Pillow.

 In the side garden

Studio shot: Shown with embroidered flip-flop (bottom right) and Seed Bead Starfish pins

Standard-Size Pillowcases, Hula Dolls collection

 Origami Fabric Hawaiian Shirts

Fabric scraps torn into strips and knit

Standard-Size Pillow case using the Bottles and Hocus Pocus (glow-in-the-dark) prints from APOTHESCARY and a trim of Glow-in-the-Dark Fairy Frost

Shave Ice Bucket Hats reverses to corduroy with reverse seams

APOTHESCARY Glow-in-the-Dark Halloween Collection

An ongoing challenge that has been presented to me is to fill a void in the market for boy themed prints. Naturally it came to me that most boys somehow end up with a chemistry set or other such present as a gift. So when considering a new halloween group - a category that I could design all year long - I thought it would be fun to do a Mad Scientist-based group for all of the aspiring doctors, nurses, medical technologies and pharmacist boys and girls (and men and women) in your life.

As you will notice when reviewing the prints, I have purposely designed the group 1). to appeal to both a younger and older audience (the latter being a definite asset since most halloween prints currently in the market are geared to juveniles and this group definitely has an adult appeal), 2). for both boys and girls of all ages and 3). most of the prints transcend a strictly halloween genre. For example, the Apothescary print is a year round laboratory print, as is the Spooky Spots. The Lightning Stripe and Hocus Pocus can be blended into a wizard or dungeons and dragons group. I see it that it is my job to provide you with the most versatile designs possible, allow you to be creatively inspired and let your imagination run wild....!

;) P.S. The design numbers designated DG and Glow, Glow-In-The-Dark! How cool is that?

APOTHESCARY
Halloween Collection by Mark Hordyszynski for Michael Miller Fabrics

Apothescary (DC5277-Black)

The Dr. Is In (DC5251-Green)

Spotted Spooks (DG5245-Glow)

Boo! (DG5256-Glow) Boo! (DC5256-Pumpkin)

Bottles (DC5253-Black)

Lightning Stripe (DC5252-Pumpkin)

Spooky Spots (DC5252-Dalmation) Spooky Spots (DC5252-Kiwi)

Spooky Spots (DC5252-Kryptonite) Spooky Spots (DC5252-Kiwi)

Spooky Spots (DC5252-Pumpkin) Spooky Spots (DC5252-White)

Hocus Pocus (DG5257-Glow)

My aspirations for this group are quite high... at the 2011 Fall International Quilt Market in Houston this past October, the Michael Miller sales reps were writing orders on this group almost one year to date in advance as the last day of the show was Halloween. I hope you're as excited about these designs as I am!

In addition to the designs on fabric as seen above, I have a license for Machine Embroidery Collections with THE NEEDLEWORK FACTORY and the Apothescary bottles are available as a Full Collection on a disc, or as Individual Bottle Design Kits. Please refer to the right sidebar for a direct link to the page.

The main outline of the bottle is stitched out on the background fabric. Then the contents of the bottle are placed within the stitched lines, followed by a piece of clear plastic overlaid on top of the embellishments. Lastly, the satin stitch outlines of the bottle sew over the first stitched outline, embroidering the plastic to the background fabric. The buttons, provided by Just Another Button Company, are glued down. The glitter and confetti is loose and moves around the stationery buttons when turned, shaken or rattled. They are very clever, very unique!

Here the Apothescary embroideries are stitched out on a white lab coat as shown for the 2011 Fall International Quilt Market in Houston.

First Sunday in February

Aloha all!


As I mentioned before, the reason for posting every Sunday is to recap my week... but gosh darn it! I can't remember Monday specifically. I chatted with Kathy and Karen regarding my new collections, and that's about all I can remember. In and of itself, that is enough because it's amazing how much can get done in a very concentrated and focused 20 minute conference call! I got approval to start a new teen/'tween group, new direction on my Halloween group, reviewed the s/offs for the re-issuing of Mirror Ball Dot, and all in all it was a very productive week.


I didn't take very many pictures, but a few of the sunset and moon rise on Monday follow, and mainly I am focusing on Spring cleaning and getting ready for my sister's arrival this Thursday.


My friend Dina is moving back to Maui, and she's a very crafty / creative person so I hope she and I will produce many things that I can blog about.


The original fruit on the Buddha's hand tree fell off but new fruits are appearing so, there will hopefully be progress to report on that front.


Other than that, I hope all is well with you! Lots of Aloha from the Valley Isle!


Mark