Tying Myself Up in Knots

That about describes how I've been feeling- and I'm fully aware that I'm doing it to myself.  

On a positive note, I finished the tee quilt for Shannon.  She is very happy with it, despite the technical flaws that jump out at me.  (You won't see them in the picture, most of them are on the back!)

Art, quilting and design have been on my mind a lot lately.  I am more and more intrigued and enamoured of the modern quilt.  I have spent time trying to figure out exactly those aspects that appeal to me, and musing on how I can include those in my own work, without losing my unique voice.  (At least I hope it is unique!)  I signed up for a modern quilt design class on Craftsy, and bought a book.  The class was well worth it, and the book has some wonderful eye candy and design information.

I think I've narrowed down the elements that appeal to me.  I love the large expanses of negative space.  I like the simple, clean lines.  I really like how the quilting enhances the piecing, rather than taking over the entire quilt.  I find the use of color interesting- proof that limiting the palette can be more interesting than throwing the entire rainbow on it.

I'm really struggling with how to use my hand dyes to best effect with this design esthetic.  I really don't want to go back to using commercial fabrics.  Designing with solids is no problem- I can create my own no problem.  It's what to do with those hand dyes that have as much texture as a commercial print.  Like this one that was part of a parfait--

No lack of texture or color there.  I don't want to cut it into small pieces, but I don't want to just use it as is either.  I only have a fat quarter (from a 55" wide piece of Pimatex), so I don't have any to waste.  Right now I'm leaning towards a square in a square design, or a log cabin derivative, on a large expanse of solid.  I want this to pop, so I'll audition some medium gray fabric- but I can see white in the design too.  I still have lots of playing to do on paper before I actually cut the fabric- any other ideas welcomed!

I'm also playing with designs for the next Tangled Textiles piece, due the end of the month.  It will fit right in with my forest series.  And then there's the winter forest quilt that has been rolling around in the back of my mind, using the arashi shibori fabric I dyed earlier this summer.

Too many ideas, not enough time, a bit of an artist crisis.  Sounds like a prescription for therapy sewing to me.

Waiting for the Muse

It has been a dry month creatively- no surprise, given the events that have impacted our family over the past two months.  Until last weekend, I hadn't spent any time in the studio, except to clean.

I know, having been down this road before, that just the act of sewing can help get my creative juices flowing again.  So I have been working on a tee shirt quilt for my daughter, a gift to help her heal from the loss of her fiance.

I cut and backed the parts of the shirts that I'm using, and played with layouts on graph paper and on my design wall.  I learned again the wisdom of the adage "Measure twice and cut once!"  But it is all pieced, we have gone from this. . . 

 

to this. . .

Now I just have to add a border around the outside.  I'm doing simple straight line quilting, probably on a diagonal.

I hand dyed the fabric that I used for the sashings.  I wanted a medium gray- there was already enough darks in the tee shirt blocks.  That was another lesson on the many variations of gray!  I think this has a green undertone- which, fortunately, works.

I'm already planning for some time off work that I'll spend dyeing fabric.  I want to have a selection of fabric to use in the discharge workshop I'm taking from Carol Soderlund in September, and I have another tree piece that I want to start- probably using shibori fabrics.  Just the thought of spending several days in the dyepots makes me happy!

It has been a slow month creatively- aside from the show now on display, it's been almost non-existant.  It's hard to be creative when you are feeling both emotionally and physically drained.

I'm trying to get back into it with a simple project that will nonetheless be very appreciated by the recipients.  I spent some  time over the weekend cutting up tees, hoping to get a couple of lap-size quilts.  I have twenty-five good size blocks, and plenty of plain fabric to fill in where needed.  Here's the first set up on the design wall--

First step is to get the blocks squared, then play with design options on graph paper.  Then I'll know what I have to cut out to fill in.  Add some medium gray sashing between the blocks, some simple straight line quilting- I'm hoping to get this done quickly (for me!), and hoping that this will get the creative juices flowing again.

I also chose some fabric and ironed fusible on it, hoping to play with some postcards.  Can you tell I'm craving some bright summer colors?

Another simple, quick project.

I had some learning moments while getting my pieces ready for hanging- but I'll need time and energy to collect my thoughts in a coherent manner.  So I'll leave you with this, and hoping for positive thougts that my muse and energy start visiting me again!

Adios, 2011!!

Not that I have any particularly bad memories of the year, it's been ok.  I think it will go down in my memory as the Year I Learned to Control the Dyes, thanks to a week with Carol Soderlund.  Worth all the other fabric related classes I've taken, and then some.  I'll be taking Part Two with her in July.

I've work short hours since Christmas, and have been BUSY!  Shannon and I made scrubs to give as gifts:

Pumpkin spice brown sugar scrub (smells yummy!)

Sweet orange salt scrub- another heavenly smell.

All nicely packaged and ready to gift- Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub, Sweet Orange Salt Scrub, Lavender Salt Scrub.

We made kolache, a scrumptious, highly caloric cookie I only make at Christmas.  Butter, cream cheese, flour, and apricot filling- that's it.  But they are to die for.

I decided it was time to get the mis-dyed color swatches done for my Dye Bible.  These are the last of the dozen or so I did, ready for the washout.

 

And I decided it was time to clean up the studio, I have a Tangled Textile piece I need to get started on this week.  And, what better way to usher in the new creative year?  Wow, I can see the floor of my fabric closet!  I managed to get rid of one plastic storage bin that was taking up valuable storage space, and get other stuff better organized.  And yes, I threw out stuff too!!

Woohoo, Utah just pulled off a win in overtime against Georgia Tech!!  (Sorry, Judy!!)  What a game- BYU won their bowl game yesterday, which meant I really wanted Utah to win theirs.  College football and New Year's- what better combination!

I'm wishing everyone a happy and prosperous New Year, with blessings and creativity.  That's my prayer for the year!

Ahead of the Game. . .

I had a lovely week working in sunny southern Utah- as far as I'm concerned, summer can hang on as long as it likes. I actually have some things from the studio to share!!

I bought one of those light rayon circular scarces from Dharma, and just got around to dyeing it.  I have some colors in the frig, but not the gray I wanted to go with the red I already had.  So I mixed up a .5% solution (so, so easy!!), and here is what I have marinating-

It's wet, so I should have some white left on it- fine by me.  Love that gray color.

I also got a gift quilt done and ready to mail.  My SIL bought these blocks on a trip to Oregon years ago, and asked if I would put them together.  I got it quilted before I left for St. George, thanks to a friend with a longarm who showed me how to use a wave ruler to get the quilting I wanted.

I hope she is happy with it!  I wanted a simple design that referenced the nautical or ocean feel of the quilt, and think that this succeeds.

 

She's also getting a pillow ready for a pillow form with another lighthouse block on it.  

And as for the title of this post, my next Tangled Textiles challenge piece is almost done, three weeks ahead of schedule.  I have mixed feelings about it.  I tried some processes totally new to me, and had fun doing them.  But I am just not sure if the quilt is 'me.' I do like, however, the way I chose to interpret the theme of 'tools.'

I can't post the entire piece until after the reveal on Oct. 18- but here is a corner preview--

I have one last thing to do to it, using this.  Something else I have never done in a like manner!!

 

I agonized over what color to use, after deciding that my first idea wouldn't work or give the look I wanted.  That idea involved metal, not fabric, and I still think it's an idea I could use in the future.  As for the color- I wouldn't have believed it until I auditioned it. 

With the challenge piece out of the way, I'm moving on to another hand dye I did that I want to use as a wholecloth.  I love the effects possible just with thread  But that is for later.  Off to ready for another work weeks, hope your week is a creative one!

Done!!!

I finished my IT! piece last night, while I enjoyed my Mother's Day present- the complete set of 'Upstairs Downstairs' on DVD.  Let's see, 24 discs, 80- some epidodes.  I think it will take me awhile!

Saturday we have a huge community wide garage sale, so I will be getting ready for that Friday.  What a relief to not have to worry about getting it done on time.

Teaser

 

The sneezing has lessened, which is a good thing.  I still feel drained from all this- don't think I've ever had allergies affect me so strongly.  Whatever I'm allergic to, I hope it goes away soon.

In between lazing on the couch, I did audition fabric for April's IT piece.  If I'm feeling any better tomorrow, maybe I can start some sewing.  I'm taking a page out of Nellie's book, we'll see how successful I am.  I have pieces of tulle in lots of different colors, and it was interesting seeing how the different colors affected the fabric underneath.

I also printed on a onesie I dyed for Michelle.  I won't show the whole thing until her parents get it- but here's a detail.  

I'll also be trying to develop more designs for my QU class with Elizabeth Barton this week- so I have plenty to keep me busy.  Hope your week is a good one!

A Gift in the Mail

Last week I was able to check my personal emails at the hotels after we were done for the day.  Imagine my surprise to read on one blog I follow regularly that I'd won something!  Constance Rose does wonderful fabric collage with her hand dyed and shibori fabrics, and she gave away a small piece as a prize for the 50,000 visitor to her blog.  Wow!

This is what I found in m mailbox on Saturday--

 

There's a bit of a story that makes it even more special, beyond me being happy to have an addition to my fiber art collection.  Constance lives in Fortuna, in Humboldt County, California.  It's on the coast, almost up to the Oregon border.  I'm familiar with the area, because I lived there while completing the last two years of my bachelor's degree at Humboldt State.

I grew up in southern California, but after doing two years of college close to home, and then spending a year traveling in Europe and northern Africa, I knew  I wanted to finish my college education away from home.  Far, far, away from home!  So I picked Humboldt, because it was as far away from home as I could get, and still stay in California for our then-ridiculously cheap college tuition.

I never regretted the decision.  Humboldt county is out of the way, with gorgeous mountains and beaches.  It had a bit of a counter-culture flavor in the early seventies-big enough to have fun, small enough so you didn't feel lost in the crowd.  It was my first exposure to the environmental movement, with logging being a major industry in the area, and fights about the spotted owl.  When we weren't studying, we'd hit the beaches- long, deserted beaches with plenty of room to explore.  The beaches were a someplace to celebrate the return of warm weather, and the end of the long, dreary, gray winter- we didn't call it the Humboldt blues for nothing!  I especially remember Patrick's Point, a state beach north of Arcata, with wonderful rocky beaches and cliffs. 

I've only been back once since I graduated in 1973, and that was with my kids in 1990.  The freeway was expanded, but that bit of counterculture still lingered.  Logging and fishing were no longer the big industries they had been, and the economy wasn't all that hot.  It was fun showing my children a bit of my past, and seeing how the area had changed.

So how does all this relate to this little piece of fiber art?  The digital picture on fabric is from another beach in the area, framed by some of Constance's gorgeous shibori.  So now I have a lovely reminder of a past era of my life hanging in my studio.  It just feels like this was fated to come home to me!

A Gift in the Mail

I am feeling better today- and something in the mailbox was a real boost! Nellie sent me an 8 X 10 piece made from the leftovers of her wonderful Prairie Performance that was installed in a hospital in Illinois last week. It is wonderful!



Nellie does amazing art with fabric and bits of thread, ribbon, you name it. She calls it ortwork- and it's done with snips and bits that most of us would throw out. I love it, and I am thrilled to have a piece of her work in my home. Thank you, thank you, Nellie!

More Baby Goodies!!

I found out the onesies take the dye great- so we went out and bought another package. Here's the results for the smaller size we bought-



I did manage to get a couple of pastels, which is what Marly prefers. I thought the hot pink and turquoise would be more pastel- but hey, we got bright and vibrant.

Here's the next batch-



Isn't that shibori awesome!! The one on the far left was at the bottom of the color parfait, and came out a little muddier than I would have liked. But, it is pastel! The other two from the parfait got another dyebath in pale blue, which turned them a nice shade of green. Then Shannon added some discharge- nice,no??



I got the bumpers done, and a nice cuddly blanket only has the binding to be hand-sewn. Here's a bunch of the goodies that will be boxed up and shipped to Florida this week. I love the headbands they have now, they are so soft and stretchy!



So today is mundane housework and stuff, hopefully I'll also squeeze in getting the binding done. I also want to play with my thermofax screens for the quilt for September's show.

Dyeing and Sketchbooking

I had so many dye concentrates left over from last weekend, I was not about to let them go to waste. So I got up this morning, grabbed a bunch of pfd, and had at it. I did some monoprinting, and several pots of color parfaits as Ann Johnston has in her book Color by Accident. I used lots of turquoise, so I'm letting them batch overnight with the heat lamps on them.

I also did my last three silk scarves from Dharma, all long skinny ones. Here they are drying, after setting the dyes in the microwave.



I'm going to used black paint with a thermofax on the red one- it's writing, my great-grandmother's graduation essay. I think I will use Shiva paintstiks on the middle on, both metallic red and charcoal. I don't know if I will do anything to the one on the left, haven't decided yet.

Bentlee is here this weekend, so I took the book I got at DI a week ago that I had already glued pages together. We started gessoing the pages so we could paint and print on them- here's Bentlee drying pages. You can see the dyed stuff on the back of the table.



First I let Bentlee draw and paint on one page. She used the underlying image of the bird to help her develop her drawing, then painted it.



Then we did monoprinting with a transparency. I learned that you have no open time with cheap acrylic paints, they dry FAST. So, we worked fast. For me, these were more color studies than anything else- I've got a lot of fabric in the blues and turquoises, and want to start developing a quilt using them. I think this could be fun!



I didn't think it would be possible to use my watercolors on the gesso, but my brother told me about a painting he saw at an exhibit that was exactly that, and he said it was spectacular. He showed me the catalog- it was detailed and crisp, and looked beautifully done. So I will be trying my watercolors, just not with monoprinting. The colors of the acrylics I bought aren't as clear as I like, and I know I'll get better color with the watercolors.

I also got a present in the mail today! Miles told me he like my rust print, so I sent him that and some other fabric goodies, in exchange for a piece of his work. And this is what I got--



I love the colors,and the sensuous lines. I will have to look at it awhile, and probably consult with a friend, before I put this to the needle. The white especially, there's no screwing up there. But I think this will be lovely finished. I also got another goodie from Miles, but I won't reveal that one until Halloween!

More tomorrow, I'll post the results of the dyeing, and hopefully the scarves too. Hope your weekend is a good one!

Surprise!! (And, 200 posts--)

I had a lovely surprise when I went to the mailbox today- a box from Nellie Durand. Inside was this--



Isn't she great!! Nellie posted about making these birds earlier this summer. This one happens to be made from some of my hand-dyed fabric that I sent to Nellie along with threadies and other fiber stuff that I used to throw out. I just love her!! I'm already trying to decide where to display her to best effect.

I've also been stitching, on one of the sunflower batik panels. I want to have it at least partially done before the Surface Design meeting in Salt Lake next Wednesday. I'm well on the way, all I have left is the background.



It took awhile, but I heavily quilted the center area. I love the texture this stitching gives it.



Later, I'll add beads. I'm also debating adding some paint, like the Kemshall's do. A nice sparkly metallic, to give it some pop.

This is my 200th post since I started this blog in March of 2006. I didn't know if it would last, since I was never one to maintain a diary or journal. But for some reason, this works for me- I love doing it, and love the connections I've made around the world through blogging. To all those who visit, read about my art and life, and maybe even leave a comment- thank you!