My Journey As A Scroll Saw Pattern Designer #104: Today I Get To Scroll Saw

It has been a quiet week so far, but it has also been productive. It seems as if things go through cycles like that. I am not really used to quiet so it is rather odd to be able to work at such a good pace without many interruptions. Yesterday I finished my drawings and I got to the point of cutting the new sets of stars. I found a nice and light piece of maple to cut them from and the patterns are attached and I even drilled everything out.

I often wish that they had blowers attached to the drill press like they do with the scroll saw. I am sure that I can fashion my own and probably will do so when I finally have a real shop. It just seems to me that it would be quite helpful when accurate drilling is needed.

When the pattern was just about finished, I received an email from the assistant editor from the magazine. She told me that they are going to start doing many of the appropriate patterns with a grayscale fill and asked our opinion on that. I had always thought that it would be helpful to have a light gray fill in the areas to be cut out – especially on the intricate patterns. It would just clarify things a bit more and be a bit easier on the eyes when cutting.

She explained that it would be used only on the patterns which it seemed appropriate, as it wouldn’t make sense with others. I found that to be true and was happy that they were deciding on a pattern by pattern basis. It showed they were thinking. The pattern I was working on is for the magazine, so after reading the email, I went back and changed it so it was filled. It took a bit more time, but I did think it looked more professional and a bit better. I had wanted to do that originally with my patterns several years ago, but at that time the editors didn’t feel that it was a good thing so I didn’t bother, as it did require extra time. Apparently things do change. I flirted with the idea of going back and changing all of my appropriate patterns, but that would take quite a bit of time as I have over 400 of them and I really don’t think it is necessary. So we will go from here.

By the time I finished the drilling and prep, it was late afternoon and I didn’t really want to start at the saw. I changed gears and made a nice dinner and spent the night painting my next Ice Skating Pond figure. He is a young boy I will call Stephen:

From SLDP103 Skating Pond Figures

It is good to have many directions to work in, as I do sometimes have the luxury of picking and choosing what I wanted to work on. I really felt good painting last evening and it was fun and relaxing. The highlight of my evening was seeing Jordan’s carved war shirt which he just finished and posted. His patience and skill just amazes me, as I am sure it does all of you. It was wonderful also to see all the praises and support he got from his fellow LJ’s here. Again, this is a great place for inspiration.

So today I will spend most of the day at the saw. I am excited because it is one of my favorite parts of designing. Although these stars are similar to the previous batch, I will be finishing them with a bit of color so I am anxious to see how they will turn out. I have at least another hour before I can begin cutting, but I have enough to do around here to keep me busy until then. I am looking forward to a great day doing what I love the most.

I hope you all have a good day too.

-- Contributing Editor, Creative Woodworks and Crafts, Sheila Landry Designs http://www.sheilalandrydesigns.com "Knowledge is Power"