I’ve got another in the Casino Series for you all today, and with it another playing card inspired object. These are fun for me because they are so different from my usual garment sewing flow… just playing around and seeing what I can come up with in an afternoon. And I will try not to say this about every movie in this series (seriously, why do I have such an affinity for the casino motif?!), but Atlantic City is a favorite!
Atlantic City is in disrepair, and the fixtures of this story inhabit an apartment complex that is slated for demolition soon. Sally (Susan Sarandon) is new to town and works at an oyster bar, but has ambitions to be a card dealer, and is serious about moving up in the world. Lou (Burt Lancaster) is a small time numbers runner and knows everyone, he has a dignified charm, that whether earned or not lends him credibility in the ways of the world. These two form an unlikely alliance as Sally finds herself in the midst of a crime scheme, and Lou is eager to put some substance behind his mobster bravado.
I have this little gold frame, that recently, fell on the ground to the demise of it’s glass, and I though putting a little piece of textile art in it would put it to good use sans glass. It’s quite small, almost playing card sized, which I thought would be perfect for this reference.
I loved looking into antique and unique decks of playing cards to take some cues from their design, as well as looking to the characters for some movie-inspired details.
I also loved looking at the work of artist Cathy Cullis, who posts daily drawings, sometimes in thread using free hand machine embroidery. Her loops and details, and the way the contrast fills the space is so nice!
My sewing machine is an industrial “straight stitch”, which means I can really only sew in one direction— forward! As much as I admire the looping beauty of Cathy’s art, I knew my machine could not emulate that. I can sew curved lines and details, by lifting my presser foot and moving my fabric in the direction of my design, and shortening the stitch length can also help give me a little more control over the curves, but circles are still a little beyond it’s capabilities so my design is more line oriented. I sandwiched some quilt batting with two pieces of plain-weave cotton and got to “drawing” with thread. The quilting gives it some dimension, which I thought would be nice in a no-glass frame. This was a totally new way to use my sewing machine, that could use some practice (it looks best from afar ;)!), but was pretty fun!
Now it’s jazzing up a little corner of my house, accompanying a light switch. We’ve got the topless Sally at her window (Susan my queen!) and the suave suit clad Lou below her… or for the uninitiated just a little playing card drawing!
How clever!