My first Intarsia

[Rolf]

Been scrolling for a little over 2.5 years now and thought it was time to try some simple intarsia.
Most of our club members have never done it so we all decided to try this simple design. This is my interpretation. It is approx. 8 x 8 inches
Used Poplar, mahogany and Black walnut. Finished it with Bartleys gel varnish. The photo looks glossier than it really is.

[bronco]

Very nice job Rolf,how long did it take from start to finish?
Bill

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Sweet looking piece Rolf,

Nice work.

Regards,
Marcel

[ChuckD]

Very nice job. I have done the same flower about 5 or 6 times Folks don't realize how hard it is to cut two stright sides and have them fit together, so this one is good practice. Here is my verison. All Western red cedar.

[Neal Moore]

Real nice work Rolf and Chuck. This intarsia art has really got me interested also!!!!

[Rolf]

Chuck,
I have to get some of that Western Red Cedar the grain and warmth of the wood really enhance a project.

It was a great project to get me started.

Now I have to challenge myself with some of the great stuff that you all keep showing us.

[workin for wood]

Your flower looks great, especially for being your first intarsia. When I made my first intarsia, I knew nothing about it...hadn't really seen many pictures and didn't have any forums to guide me. Compared to yours, or what I do now, mine looks like crap. It's completely flat, no shaping, half inch thick, no round edges, and the pieces don't fit together as tight as I'd like. I haven't seen anyone with this pattern but it was from wildwood designs I think.
The cabinet I built that it is attached to is awesome though, so that sure helps the picture. This is my wife's cross-stitch cabinet that I made, very similar to a roll around tool chest. Complete with side handles, wheels, flip up lid, full extension drawers. The drawers are all slotted to hold the thread thingy's. This cabinet has to be the envy of all cross-stitch people.

[pete00]

nice , i like it , great interpe, ah interrpetation, ah inter......heck great job!!

pete

[Gill]

Having seen how successful Neal, Chuck and Rolf's first forays in to intarsia have been, I'm feeling inspired to give it a bash too.

There's just a couple more of these darned compound cut Christmas decorations to knock out* first. Just joking - I love them really and they'll look good on the tree.

* Sandy - I do take notice of what you tell me .

Gill

[Rolf]

Jeff,

Great cabinet is that your own design.? I like the way you have the spools organized. My mom does embroidery, she has a couple of digital machines.
(she is an 87 year young computer geek) She would love a cabinet like that for all of her threads.

[earlinjax]

Several years ago I bought an intarsia kit (wood and pattern). It sits in a drawer. I take it out occasionaly and say I don't know how to do this. All this talk has got me inspired. The next time I take it out -- it stays out.

EarlinJax

[workin for wood]

yea, it's a great cabinet. I designed it myself based on the same idea as a tool chest, but for sewing instead. The flip top contains the needles, scissors, and whatever other tools you need on the fly. The three drawers are all the same slotted thread holders. Inside the door is a drawer with dowels to put spools of thread on, and under that drawer is a shelf with a portable sewing kit and cross-stich patterns as well. It's one of a kind as far as I know, but you're welcome to steal the idea.
The handle on the flip top and the handles on the sides to pull it around are hand made, cut with the scroll saw. The intarsia is a perfect pattern, I just wish the quality was better, but hey, it was my first one.

[workin for wood]

Oh, and your flower doesn't look glossy, it's the perfect sheen. Thinking a bit outside the box..that flower would look good on a window box...like the ones people put over a window to hide the top of the curtains. You could make two and have one on each end. Use carbon paper to reverse your pattern. Simply place the carbon paper under your pattern with the carbon facing upwards. Trace the pattern, and it will transfer to the backside of the pattern in reverse. Then you'd have a flower facing both ways. I don't know..but I was thinking of doing something like that in my kitchen to the window over the sink...athough I was thinking of grapes. But now that I am making 4 clusters of 50 grapes out of purple heart, that flower may be the better route to travel for me too.

[PeteB]

Has everyone seen MY first intarsia?



Just kidding, of course!

Rolf, that looks great, and you'll have to do some more! How the heck do you shape the concave parts on the petals?

Another idea for using that design would be on kitchen cabinet doors for a retro effect. A very high-end one.

Jeff, that's quite a sewing chest. No one could ever say that the flowers look bad, but your work has sure become much more sophisticated since then. I'd never consider updating them, because of their value as a memento.

Pete

[ChuckD]

Great Job, Pete, Where did you find that pattern??, Just kidding , of course.