Do You Know this Man?

Who does he remind you of?

Look at all of his parts...you'll be amazed by what you find.

Buckminster Fuller Dymaxion Car

A few weeks ago I finished another of my Invention Series hand embroidered pieces. I have admired the creative genius of Buckminster Fuller since I was in high school and learned of him in science class. This vehicle has piqued my interest since that time and I thought it would be the perfect invention to create in embroidery.

Above I told you that I made this a few weeks ago, well this is not the original. I was going to write a post about it but it sold before I could do so. I could have posted anyway, but I really wanted to have one available before I posted it in my Etsy shop.

Well here it is.

B. Fuller only made three of these vehicles and there is only one in existence and I think it is in a restoration process. This amazing car only had three wheels and was shaped like a tear drop to cut down on wind resistance. It could go 120 miles per hour and got about 30 miles to the gallon. Who would think that this 20 foot long, 6 feet tall, 1600 pound whale could do better with gas mileage then some of our more "efficient" cars? It was more like a bus then a car and I'm sure some moms would appreciate that it could carry 10 people easily. It would be a challenge to park!

Featured on Poppytalk Invention Series

Thanks so much for featuring one of my invention series designs. Lovely surprise and much appreciated!

Invention Series Umbrella Man

I love inventions and especially those from long ago. This is such a simplistic design and one that apparently didn't quite make it to the mass market. But I like the idea and it would certainly come in handy today as we talk on our cell phones and send text messages. However, if a gusty wind blew in one might be sailing away, rather then walking!


Umbrella Man comes adorned with a bowler hat and gray eyes. I can imagine him walking down the boulevard during a light rain shower, tipping his hat at a passerby.

All of the garments and umbrella were hand embroidered/woven. The umbrella alone took six hours to create. The spines are created with thin copper wire which allows the umbrella to be shaped and provides the 3D affect.

After carefully cutting each garment away from the "frame" arranging the pieces in the layout.

Detail of the woven garments.

A shot after everything was stitched and embroidered. Umbrella Man is 4.5 inches tall and fits on a 9 x 12 canvas. His face is a mere 3/4 inches! Is contoured and includes hand embroidered features.

My wonderful hubs created this beautiful frame after I merely stated that I wanted copper to over lap the canvas in the front. He did his magic with the distressing, aging, making the L brackets and finding just the right screws. Then he put it all together and came up with this lovely frame. Now I can't wait to create the next in this series, just so he can create his magic!

Umbrella man can be found in my Etsy shop. Along with the creation, I am making a small booklet that shows in greater detail how I created this piece as well as a couple of funny stories that happened during the creation.

Steam Engine Man A New Embroidery Series

Do you love mechanical inventions?

Do you love the 1800s?

Do you love embroidery?

I can say yes to all three of these questions. That's why I did some research to come up with a new embroidery series to entertain me and you. This is Steam Engine Man...a patent submitted to the USPTO in the late 1800s. Can you imagine seeing this trotting down the boulevard? He kind of reminds me of the tin man from the Wizard of Oz, but with steam and a pipe!

Wait until you see the next one....more fun and experimenting ensues!