Going out like a lion--
I was going to attribute my burst of energy, creative and otherwise, to spring- but you'd never know if today. I was floored to find 3-4 inches of snow when I got up this morning, and it is still falling. This was the view from our front door looking towards the common area in the back of our home.
At least I know it will melt fast!!
I got one set of sequenced overdyes done, and a second set will have its final washout tonight. The first set is red to yellow, using Dharma's Light Red and Bright Yellow Procion MX dyes. The cotton sateen took the color beautifully, and I got the effect I wanted- subtle patterning, not the crisp effects you get with soda soaking and low water dyeing. I did this just like solid color dyeing- I just did not stir, other than a couple of spins when the fabric first hit the pot. And I even had a helper, Shannon ironed most of them for me.
And here's the glorious finished fabric--
I also make progress on the books covers, which I've decided will be the March TIF project. After all, books like these do contain the details of our lives,don't they? While Shannon ironed, I added some seed stitch embroidery. The embroidery floss is a gorgeous hand dye from Ferrett- the colors just blended perfectly.
And up close-
I glued these to the covers last night, today I plan to finish them, and do the final washout of the second group of sequenced overdyes- this one, red to blue. What better way to spend a snowy, early spring day?
I'm playing--
maybe Ms. Muse will pay me a visit?
First, I decided to stop stressing over the March TIF challenge. If the project I'm working on now doesn't fit, then so be it. I just drew a blank with the concept, and hanged if I'm going to work in winter colors when spring is starting to make herself felt around here.
Last weekend I decided to take a couple pieces of my tissue-painted fabric and use my Shiva paintstiks over a rubbing plate to see what happened. I liked one better than the other, so that is the one I started with this morning. I've had success in the past just arranging shapes to see what evolves, and that is what I did with three colors of my hand dyed silk organza. I'm going to use these to cover another of the books I have. And this time I decided to be a little more planful in how I cover them, so I've actually cut these to size, with 2" extra on each edge. Here's how they look before I quilt them--
The colors are close, although the green is more obvious than it looks in this picture. I am playing with the settings on my camera, trying to get better at true color and value. It is frustrating at times, because mechanical stuff can drive me crazy. I just want it to work, don't confuse me with details about how it works!
I also have had the itch to dye, so I gave in this morning. I have dyed all Katy Widger's overdye formulas that use all three primaries, which results in some very interesting neutrals. Today I'm using one color in each dye bath, so I will get some beautiful gradations between yellow and red. What's not to like about "all the colors of a sunset, from pale orange creams, blushes, and golds, to deep fiery reds, brilliant corals, and intense magentas"?? (Katy's description, I love it!!)
But that means I will have to deal with the dreaded red dye pops. I have a new tool in my arsenal for eliminating them:
Katy lists a 'stiff pastry brush' as one option for mixing dyes. I have a collection of stencil brushes I got on sale at JoAnn's- so I decided to give it a try. It seems to work better than anything else I've done yet. I did have to mix, and mix and mix- but I think I ended up with a totally dissolved dye concentrate. Then I filter it through the gold coffee filter (the thing the brush is sitting in), to make sure. I'll know later tonight, since I'm only going to batch these until then. Five values of light red Procion MX, with cotton sateen fabric--
I am becoming partial to less obvious, softer patterning in my hand dyes. So I am using the formulas for solid shade dyeing, but not stirring. Kitty litter boxes make great dye buckets! I've also thrown in some #5 perle cotton thread in each bucket.
And, I'm going to try to paint the edges of my autumn mountains tree this weekend. The light colored batting showing just isn't working for me. I got some Dye-na-Flow at Michael's last weekend, we'll see how it works. I've never used it before, but it seemed the simplest thing to just do edges.
Thanks to everyone who left suggestions about ways to get the inspiration flowing again. Some I'd thought of, others never occurred to me. I just keep reminding myself that this happens to everyone, and it too will pass. But nice to have tools to hopefully help it pass faster!!
Uninspired--
that is how I am feeling. I did play with inking the printed images yesterday. Two came out OK, one I totally botched with the inks bleeding much more than I'd intended. And, I just haven't had the oomph to do the threadwork.
I've looked at what I've done the past couple of months, and it feels like I have flitted from project to project. The first two TIF challenges were fun and stretched me to some degree, this months' just hasn't been the same. I go down to the studio and look, piddle, maybe clean a little of the mess, but nothing major gets accomplished. I think I've wasted more time than I can justify on the computer, and I've certainly become a political junkie with CNN. The news this past week certainly didn't help me feel better, with the possible exception of the rally in Oregon on Friday.
I have the BLAHS, ideas aren't coming, and I've not been able to summon the emotional and physical energy to push beyond it yet. I know this is part of the creative cycle- but that doesn't help me in the moment for some reason. I look at the snowy mountain piece, and like Nellie's idea of turning the "bones" into an ortwork- but it's not gone beyond the thinking stage. And I really need to get moving again on my tree!
How do you move beyond the slumps and blahs? We all get them. As much as I'd like to, I know I can't blame it on the fact I have a full time job that also saps my energy. HELP!! What can I do to get moving again?
Full Circle
That would be where I am with respect to the March TIF challenge. This has been the hardest concept for me thus far, a surprise. And, there is no way I can use that winter palette with spring peeking around the corner here. So I am back to my original idea of macro shots of flowers, one of my favorite things to do with my camera. I'm feeling the time crunch, and not particularly inspired otherwise.
I am combining it with things learned at our Wasatch Art Quilters meeting last week. We worked at enhancing photos printed on fabric with Tsukineko inks. I'll do that, then add thread work. Here's the two fabric printouts, before I do anything to them--
I think I will make a small piece with all three yellow flowers, joined with pieced borders and sashes. The leaf picture is one I took in Florida last summer. I played with the colors in the filter gallery.
Right now Shannon and I are making breakfast burritos for the coming week. Our evening schedule has gotten crazier, with her starting night classes. So we need to have food that anyone can grab and go, since that seems to be how we are eating lately. Then I will head to the studio and start the inking.
I also got some Dye-na-Flow in brown and black, to color the edges of my batting tree. Those two projects should keep me busy the rest of the day!
It was a good day
to stay inside and play. After getting rid of the mountains of snow that have surrounded our house all winter, we woke up this morning to a new blanket of the white stuff. So it was a good day to stay inside, stay warm, and do a bit of playing.
I finished the book covers which I will give to a friend this week. I changed my process for doing this, in an effort to make the underside neater. I also used two layers of fabric, my painted fabric and a layer of thin flannel. This made it a bit thicker, and more of a challenge to handle.
I did not glue the fabric to the cover- and learned that I probably should, at least around the edges. I'd also fuse the fabric and flannel together. But, those are lessons I'll put to use in future books, I am still pleased with how this one came out.
Here's the front--
And the back, where I machine quilted a vining leaf design in variegated King Tut thread.
I painted the crochet thread I used to bind the book. next time, I will try to plan ahead and dye it. Paint made the thread harder to pull through the holes, especially at the end when each hole has 6 strands going through it.
I have several more pieces of this tissue painted fabric I did last summer- I'd origially thought I would use them in small whole cloth quilts, but think I'm changing my mind. I like how they look cut up. So I am thinking there are more of these books coming, I think they have a multitude of uses!
Two Great Days. . .
full of quilting stuff, and about which I cannot post a single picture!
Our Wasatch Art Quilters group met on Friday. Suzanne went to Asilomar earlier this month, and took a class from Kerby Smith and Lura Swartz Smith. We learned some cool hints for Photoshop Elements, and dabbled with using the Tsukineko inks over photos printed on fabric. I've never been happy with the inks when I've tried to use them, so learned some valuable tips. However, I still think paints, dyes, paintstiks, and wax pastels will remain my favored way of adding color to fabric. I just feel like I have more control with them- and with the dyes, the serendipity factor is one of the things I love about dyeing!
Then today, a small group of quilters was treated to a class by Charlotte Warr Anderson of Salt Lake. It was all about geometric quilting designs,, and there were some awesome ones. This is the area I feel I still have the most to learn, so I soaked it all up. Getting to see the quilt that won Best of Show at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, 'Star Crossed', was great. The quilt looks awesome in the photo on her website, but it is even more impressive in person. I now have lots of practicing to do, and figuring out how to put this new information to good use.
I have not posted a thing about the March TIF challenge. I have thought about some ideas, and ended up rejecting all of them. The palette Sharon picked is just too wintry for me, and not enough contrast.
But I did come up with an idea that is a little different take on my first idea. I might even be able to use the colors, or at least some of them. Time for the sketchpad, and this one would also involve a thermofax screen or printed fabric. We shall see, I will have to work quickly on this one.
Hope your weekend was a fun as mine!
A little something quilty-- and more
It was a busy week at work, some late nights- so I never got anywhere near the studio. Then a lot of this weekend was spent cleaning, budget planning for the month and menu planning for the week- so I only got a little time to play today. And most of that was de-stress time from a scare this morning.
I'd planned to stop and drop off my HOA payment on the way home from church. After church, I realized I'd forgotten to bring an envelope. No big deal, I'm running low, so I'll just stop at Shopko on the way and grab a box. Got up to the checkout, it came to a whole $1.48. I ran my debit card, and to my amazement it came up denied. I tried again, and still no luck- so I left the store without my envelopes. Then I figured I'd go to a nearby branch of my credit union, get some cash at the ATM, and get the envelopes. The same thing happened there. Now I am scared- I KNOW I have plenty to cover either of the withdrawals, I was just checking my accounts online on Saturday!! All I could think of was identity theft, or someone hacking their way into my account. By the time I got home, I was just a step this side of panic. I got online- to find out that my accounts were intact, just where they should be. So what the heck happened?? I will be visiting the credit union tomorrow morning to find out. My son Sean called to let me know that he also had trouble with his debit card, it would only work as a credit card- so maybe it was something nationwide. I just know I was scared.
So I went into the studio to de-stress. I'd been thinking about making a covered book for a friend who just got through some very difficult times with her family. Shannon decided she wanted to make one for herself,so we pulled out my hand dyes and painted fabrics, and anything else I had in terms of embellishments. And here is what we got done today, we are letting the glue set until tomorrow to finish.
Mine--
And Shannon's--
We both used Angelina fibers and hand-dyed silk organza. I added some hand-dyed cheesecloth and some beading. They are glued onto the front covers, tomorrow hopefully we'll finish them. Unless we actually make it to the free yoga class at our Hari Krishna temple, then maybe on Tuesday!
I set the snowy mountain piece aside all week. I looked at it again, and I'm torn. I still like the idea of trying to capture this image in my head, but I've been thinking a lot about Nellie's suggestion to cut it up. Maybe I won't cut this one up, but maybe I'll try doing something like her ortwork technique. She has done such a wonderful job of capturing the many moods of Lake Michigan (or is it Superior, I can't remember!) with lots of small pieces of fabric. I have a sizeable stash of bitty pieces, so that would be very doable. I've got that idea in the back of my head. In the meantime, I'm posting a picture of the piece as it looks today, after lots of machine embroidery and some hand stitching.
I know I need to add some shadows in the snow area, it is just flat. I'd probably use a fabric pen, that would be the easiest to control. But I would love to know what you think of the piece so far. It is so frustrating when you can see something in your mind, and the efforts to bring it to life just aren't working. Ah well- it will either be successfully brought to completion, or I will have one more to add to my crap quota!!
I don't know if I will be able to stand another eight months of electioneering. I am amazed at the narrow minded stupidity that permeates some layers of our country. I am both pulled in and repulsed!!
Thanks!!
I appreciate the comments on what you do with pieces that don't seem to be going where you want. Interestingly, two artists talked about adding more layers or cutting it up. I am absolutely not opposed to cutting up unsuccessful work- I just wonder if more abstract pieces would work better at that. Or, I could end up with a very abstract landscape! I may play around with my inks, see if some pale gray shadows could add some dimension. And I like the idea of just letting it sit for awhile, maybe later it will speak to me and tell me what it needs. Probably in mid-July when it is 90 degrees outside!!
So now I am reconsidering what to do for my PIF piece. I have a few ideas incubating- I just know I want it to be quality work. And the landscape I think will spend some time in the closet, until I'm ready to give it another chance at completion.
After spending the better part of Sunday afternoon stitching---
I have decided that my idea for the snow-covered landscape is not going to fly,and I'm not willing to invest any more time in it. I got all the machine embroidery done, and it just looks flat and not so interesting.
The challenge concept for March is much more up my alley, the microscopic view rather than the 'big picture'. I spent some time looking through my photo galleries, and had quite a few I could run with- lots of flower closeups, but other choices too.
What do you do when a piece is not meeting your expectations? Do you keep plugging away, hoping that more work will make it successful? Or are you willing to abandon a piece mid-stream? and, if you do abandon a piece, what do you do with those UFO's?
Updates. . .
I don't have pictures yet, but I have made progress on the landscape for PIF. I have the mountains fused to the sky, did machine embroidery until my bobbin ran out, and then did some hand embroidery over that so I could see if it would give me the effect I want. So far, I am happy. And, I am happy to finally have a use for my Tsukineko inks and fabric markers, they were part of the process too! So maybe later tonight I will have enough done for a picture.
Sharon B. has posted the concept and colors for the March TIF challenge. I like the concept, paying attention to the details. The color palette I'm not so sure about, it looks pretty dark to me. So the jury is out as to whether I'll use it or not. It looks like a fall palette to me, wonder if that is because Sharon is in Australia, where fall is on its way? Me, I am ready for spring greens and yellows!
As for the concept, initially my mind went right to the many closeup photos I've taken since I got my Canon digital. I love the macro feature! I like nature images, and have plenty of my own to choose from. Then I cruised around the webring, reading some other posts on the March challenge. One got me thinking in another direction. Details, when I worked as a mental health therapist, it was all about the details. The unspoken information, eye contact (or lack thereof), body language- all that played into how I viewed the client and our work. How I would translate that into a visual image, I have no idea at this point- but it is something to ponder while I'm stitching on the PIF piece.
And, Karey Bresenhan announced on the Quiltart list that there will be a journal quilt exhibit this year. It will have a theme (Elements- Fire, Air, Water, Earth), and will be juried so they can control the size of the exhibit. So I googled elements, and came up with some interesting sites and information. I also found several quizzes to help you determine which element you are. Mostly, I come up as Earth. Interestingly, I also learned that Jung's personality theories are based on the early philosophers' ideas about the elements, which in turn influenced other theories of personality- like the Meyers-Briggs. I have plenty of time for this one, but it would be fun to come up an image that integrated both my love of nature, and something related to my 'other' profession.
Off to church, and then to stitch!
Painted Skies and PIF
I wanted to work on my Pay It Forward piece this weekend, before I'm preoccupied with other projects. I've had an idea percolating, even did a quick colored pencil sketch--
I want to capture a somewhat abstracted image of snow covered mountains against a gray or stormy sky, and use both machine and hand embroidery in the process. I'm not crazy about cold weather, but I love the look of snowy mountains with the evergreen trees. At the base of the mountains we have brown gray beigy sage and weeds, but there is another plant that turns bright red and orange in the cold weather- I think maybe it is called barmbrack, but I'm not absolutely positive. Anyway, for someone who feels color starved in the winter, they are a welcome relief from gray and brown.
So after getting the laundry started, I went down and tried painting a stormy, gray sky, maybe at either first or last light of the day. I've never felt as good about my results with fabric paint as with dyes, even trying to follow the suggestions in Mickey Lawler's book Skydyes.
Here's what I got, not completely dry yet. It may work for what I have in mind, I may try painting another one. The white blobs on it are rock salt, and I made folds in the fabric as it tried to try to create movement.
Hopefully, I'll get more done this weekend. We have the grandson Saturday afternoon to Sunday night, so that remains to be seen!!
More on stretching fiber / quilted art---
I did succeed in getting my Rock Art piece on the stretchers bars- properly sealed wood, of course! Here it is, hanging in our dining room--
And here's the back--
I learned that Warm and Natural batting, which is what I use on most of my wall art, is bulkier than the low loft poly I used on Shannon's fabric panels. So I need to cut more out of the corners. And a reader, Ann, suggested installing a brace or corner braces on larger sets of bars- a good idea which I will use on future pieces. But overall, I am happy with how this came out. Last night I took this and the Watchers piece to a small gallery in Spanish Fork (that also happens to be part of a tatoo parlor), and the guys loved them. So they are hanging there, we will see if I have any takers.
I also got the preliminary stitching done on my tree for the Autum Mountains quilt. Now I can see what the tree looks like on the background. Sorry the tree photographs so lousy, but nothing I do in Elements seems to help.
I'll leave this on the design wall for me to look at before I take the next steps.
Fabric stretched on a frame-
I blogged last fall about my two pieces for the Surface Design show at the Covey Gallery, both of which I had stretched on stretcher bars. I loved the look this gives fabric pieces, but the cost of having it done seemed high to me. Encouraged by Lyric Kinard's article in the most recent Quilting Arts magazine, and some email exchanges, I decided to do my Rock Art piece myself. Then my daughter Shannon wanted some fabric panels to brighten up her room- the perfect opportunity to practice before trying the process on my quilted art.
I even went so far as to make my own stretchers- we got 1 X 2 lumber, cut the mitered corners, and glued and nailed the frames. It really wasn't that hard, although I am grateful to have a nail gun, compressor, and chop saw that easily cuts miters. We finished those last weekend, and left them for the glue to really set.
Last night I headed to the studio. I cut backing from some drapery lining fabric I had on hand, low loft poly batting, and then the home dec fabric Shannon wanted. I laid the frame on the back side of the fabric sandwich--
Here you can see the three layers, before I started stapling to the frame--
First, I stapled the sandwich on one long side, then on the opposite side, then on the two short sides. Now it looks like this--
Then I stapled one corner, folding the corner edge down like I would if I were wrapping a package. As a reinforcement for my mitered corners, I stapled so my staples went into both sides of the frame. Then I cut out some of the excess fabric.
Then I folded each side down, and stapled to the frame. From there I continued stapling to the first staple in the middle of the two sides.
I did three fabric panels in all, and my corners got better with each one. Here's the back and a corner detail of the second one I did. After I finished stapling, I inserted screw eyes inside the frame, and wound picture wire between them.
These pieces are 14" by 28", which was not difficult to work. And here are the finished panels hung in Shannon's room, over her bed.
If you remember earlier posts about the display boards Shannon made with fabric, ribbon, and foam insulation, here they are completed and hung in her room.
So now I will prepare to stretch my Rock Art quilt. The frame is already made, slightly larger than these- 21" by 24". I will do one additional step that I did not do on these panels- I will seal the wood with a clear polyurethane. (Home dec, I'm not too worried about archival preservation.) Then I will use the same process to stetch the quilt around the bars.
I used a heavy duty stapler that can be bought at any hardware store. I got the straightest 1 X 2's I could find at Home Depot, they were only about $2 for an 8' piece of lumber. All in all, this was easier than I thought it would be, and LOTS cheaper than paying someone to do it for me.
If I'm lucky, I'll be able to post a picture of the Rock Art quilt later this weekend, ready to hang.
On the Mend- and February TIF Done!!
Two and a half days spent mostly in bed, and today I am feeling much better. Still coughing, but at least I've been able to stay vertical for more than fifteen minutes without feeling exhausted. So, I managed to get my February challenge piece quilted and faced.
And a detail--
I tried to continue the circular motif of the gears with my quilting. Overall, I am very happy with the design concept, moderately ok with the execution on the piece. I can point out a couple of places where I know I goofed. But, overall, a good learning piece.
Now that Shannon is home, we are eating well. Today she wanted to make crepes Suzette for dessert, and who was I to object? Here's the crepe making, now I'm just waiting for her to douse them in flaming sauce. I've no doubt they will be yummy!
Since I've managed to get this month's challenge done early, I need to get my Pay It Forward piece out of my head and into fabric. This one will have lots of hand embroidery. And, I've got more work to do on the tree. Here's hoping the cold really is fading away--
Feeling awful. . .
I have finally managed to catch one of the many viruses going around, a cold. Made it through work until late afternoon on Thursday, then I gave up and went home to bed. I've spent a fair amount of time there Friday and today.
In a short spurt of energy, I got the gears fused to the background. Then this morning I sent Shannon out to get a gray archival pen at our local scrapbooking shop. I did not want black for the writing, too much contrast. She succeeded, and today in another short energy burst, I got the writing done.
So here it is, with everything except quilting and edge finish done. I've noticed that many people chose one or two events that were significant to them; I went the other direction, and came up with a lengthy list of things I remember that are no longer around.
I did make a goof or two when I did the writing- it was difficult to gauge distance writing around the circles. I'm telling myself that these are design practice pieces, perfection not required.
I've auditioned quilting patterns, and have an idea of the direction I want to go. So, if I can get feeling better, maybe I can even get it done this long weekend. It probably would be better if I weren't operating on Nyquil or other cold remedies!
Progress on Two Fronts!!
While I haven't secluded myself in the studio this weekend, I have managed to get further on both the TIF for this month, and my Autumn Mountains tree.
First, the TIF challenge. Bentlee and I painted some fat quarters yesterday morning, mostly in gray and grayed blue tones. I had the idea of a stormy background, since I feel like I've lived through many stormy times, both in the larger world and my personal world. i ended up using a solid gray piece that I sprinkled kosher salt on while it dried. I wanted a stark contrast to the grayed background for the watch gears, so I raided my stash of hand dyes and found a lovely yellow/orange piece of pima cotton. So here's where we are thus far--
I like this arrangement, although I haven't yet decided about the orientation. Next I need to get the gears fused on. That leaves only the writing I want to do, and quilting. I might even have this one done early!
As for the tree, started doing some free motion zigzag to see if that would add to the illusion of bark I'm hoping to achieve. I've only done a little bit on the top part, but my question has been answered- it absolutely does what I'd hoped. This tree is BIG, so doing this stitching will be a time consuming process. And, I will probably want to use more that one color of thread. I've started out with a darkish brown (Isacord), which both blends with the colors already there, and adds definition and texture. I don't know what this is so hard to photograph, but hopefully you can see what I've done.
This work is somewhat mindless, I'm hoping I can get motivated enough to work on it at night. I need to get this on the quilt and the quilting started, since that is what I stress over the most!
And the knitting I started last week? I got plenty done while working the polls Tuesday, kept at it, and managed to finish the body today. Now I just need to sew the shoulder seams, and pick up and knit the borders. Love that chunky yarn that knits up quick, I could be wearing this next week!!
Progress on February TIf
It is early Saturday morning, and thus far I'm the only one up. I've had breakfast, and spent some time playing with the computer on my TIF challenge. I am loving the way the design process on this one is unfolding!
I continued to process my idea for circles of time during the week. Then a couple of days ago it hit me- not just circles, but the gears on a watch, another symbol of time! So now I have images of simple gear shapes in several sizes ready to print out on freezer paper which will make the fabric cutting easier. I've got my plan for te background colors, hopefully today I will find some archival jel pens to use for the writing.
Here's my computer drawing, ready for printing.
Hopefully I get quite a bit done this weekend. Since it is going to be the nicest weather we've had for some time, I also want to get out and walk! No snow! Temps in the 40's!!!
February TIF Challenge
Sharon B posted the new challenge, which I think will be a fun one. It's 'what are you old enough to remember?' I was a history major my first go-round in college, so this is right up my alley. This will pull in memories of discussions I've had with my children about what it was like for me growing up, the incredible pace of change I have seen during my lifetime, and conversations with my parents and grandmother about the same thing.
I got out my journal book, and started writing. Things like black and white TV and all the shows I remember watching as a child, the Nixon-Kennedy debates, my first vinyl records (the Beatles, of course). I remember playing jacks with my grandmother, my father's reel to reel tape player, rotary dial phones and party lines. I wrote my term papers on a typewriter with carbon paper, and prayed that I'd calculated the space needed for the footnotes correctly. If not, you got to type the whole thing over! I remember the first manned spaceflight, and the first walk on the moon. And, of course, I remember all the political upheaval and assasinations of the 1960's.
As I looked at the list, it struck me how many of the items related to circles. And that got me thinking of other circles- like, I have lived long enough to see the hideous fashions of the 70's come around again, and heard some of my favorite songs redone by artists who weren't around for the original. In some ways, I've come full circle, from rebelling against the social mores of my parents to understanding the sense that lies behind many of them.
I don't think I will be doing anything with images from all these events and memories. I think circles will play a large role in this, and I hope to find a way to include words in the design. There are some artists whose work I love that often include words in the design, and it works- check out Rayna Gillman or Karen Stiehl Osborn's blogs.
I don't think I will be working with the color scheme Sharon proposed this time. It didn't speak to me, and I think other colors will better express my feelings about the decades I remember from my growing up years. I'm also planning to take my sketchbook and pencils with my when I work the polls on Tuesday, hopefully I'll come up with some promising doodles.
And, as close to a political rant as you are likely to get from me. If your state is part of Super Tuesday, get out and vote! We have the opportunity to select a transformational president this year, I am praying the nation recognizes this and seizes the moment. Vote!!!
Is it spring yet???
Obviously not, as much as many of us here would like the answer to be a resounding "YES!" We have had a steady stream of storms blow through, most of them dumping snow on top of the growing snowdrifts. I'm sure the skiers are loving it, but we have had enough.
This is the view from our sliding door which leads to our small backyard patio. There are two steps from the house to the patio- that should give you an idea how deep the snow is out there.
Those pieces of wood by the gate are a safety gate, the kind you put in front of stairs to keep toddlers from going there. In our case, it's to keep Annabelle the cat from escaping under the fence- not that she would try it now!! Poor Sadie sinks in up to her belly when she goes out there. And we are getting another storm tomorrow- joy.
So it is a good time to stay home and play in the studio. The February TIF is posted, I'm in the brainstorm stage for that one. I think it will come together a bit smoother than the January challenge, and I'll post more on my thinking later. This morning I got back to my tree. I started to pin and scrunch the cheesecloth I'd dyed onto the painted batting, and decided the colors needed to be toned down- especially the green. So I not only overdyed the two pieces I already had, but I grabbed the couple of yards left on the roll and threw them in a 'parfait' dyepot together. I did a layer of mixing gray, a layer of Sabrecon brown, and a layer of Safari gray. I decided just to let it batch a couple of hours instead of my normal overnight, so it is already washed out and hanging on my nifty Ikea dryer.
I tried layering it over the painted batting, and I think I was successful with the overdyeing. Mayber later tonight I will start pinning and scrunching again, and since I now have plenty of cheesecloth, even layer that. We'll see.
I'm also knitting again. I've wanted to make myself a cream colored vest for a long time, and finally found a mostly cotton yarn I liked. Best of all, it is chunky, so it will knit up fast. I got this far last night--
I really wanted to find yarn to start on, I'm working the polls Tuesday and want to have something to do with my hands when it slows. So between that and a book, I should be fine- that will be a very long day!!
Some Thoughts on January's TIF
First, I want to thank all those who left comments about my challenge piece, both here and on the Take It Further blog. It is always rewarding to get feedback on something you've created!
And, what I loved about this feedback was its specificity- in other words, it gave me specific information about what the viewers noticed. Some noticed how I used the colors, some the variation in lines. My favorites noted the texture I got with the use of both hand and machine stitching, and how the foreground colors changed depending on whether they were on light or dark background. Why did those please me? Because those were two 'questions' I asked myself with this piece, and those comments told me I'd answered them- and answered them successfully.
As I've tried to educate myself more on visual expression, it's become increasingly important to me to understand why something does or doesn't work. Being told that a work is nice, or beautiful, or any of a host of adjectives is fine, but doesn't give any information that can help me improve my work. So, I love comments that do help me learn. And, I try to give specifics when I comment on work I see in the blogs and websites I visit.
If you haven't visited the Take It Further blog, it will give a one-stop way to see the huge variety in how we all interpreted this challenge. There is some amazing work there, and challenge #2 starts Friday!
Finito!!
I did the last bit of stitching and sewed a faced edge finish on this month's TIF challenge. Feels good to have it done early, now I can spend the rest of the weekend working on my tree. Got to get that done so I can finish that quilt by April!!
I'm happy with the way this one turned out. The stitching adds a lot of texture, and the colors play well together. And, as usual, there was learning in it all. Little skinny bits don't adhere well when you fuse them to already quilted fabric, so I needed to stitch them down.
Enough, though, here it is--
And a detail---
Comments and critiques welcomed!!
About done. . .
with the TIF challenge. I've got the hand embroidery about finished, and think I have to add a little machine quilting to keep the smaller elements secure. Overall, I am pleased. However, I've learned that handwork through fused fabric leaves one with sore fingers!
I have discovered a new blog - Myrna Giesbrecht's, Creative Conversations. She has a gift for language, and is generous in sharing her design thinking and processes. She's funny, informative, inspirational, and honest about herself and the work. It is like sitting down to coffee with a good friend. I knew of her through Quilt University, but I've never taken one of her classes. However, that will change this spring, I plan to sign up for her Self Expressions class. I hope this will provide some impetus, structure, and encouragement as I continue the journey to my own voice and style. Getting to know Myrna a bit through her blog has helped me feel confident in my decision to take her class. But even if you're not looking to take a class from her, her blog is a delight to read.
I hope to have the TIF piece done tomorrow- I think I am going to face rather than bind the edges. Once that is done, I'll post pictures here and on the TIF blog.
Progress!!
Finally, I feel like I'm getting somewhere on the TIF challenge. I played with a different designs, and came up with these:
After due consideration,I decided the flower design was just too cutesy. It does sort of fit the challenge, since I admire anyone who can grow flowers and keep them alive- a skill I do not share!
I didn't want to quilt in between all these pieces, so I decided to quilt first and fuse the design second. For me, one of the biggest joys of fiber arts is the texture. Cloth by itself is fun, but add the texture you get with quilting, and it takes it to a whole new level. Here's the background after quilting--
That done, I fused the design elements onto the background, and started the hand embroidery I wanted to add.
I've decided I need to loosen up with this challenge, approach it more like I did the journal quilts. They are learning experiences, chances to experiment and answer the 'what if' question. Some may turn out well, maybe even inspire a larger work. And many will end up in my crap quota! That's ok, it's all part of the learning, stretching, and trying new things.
In case you didn't notice, I'm now part of a webring for TIF participants. That should make it easy to wander around the various blogs to see what others have done. Enjoy the eye candy!!
More TIF- and the Daughter SEWING!!!!
It has been a crazy week here, until today I've had no time in the studio at all. Shannon is back from Switzerland, so we have been regrouping, reorganizing, and just catching up. But I have made some progress on the January TIF challenge.
I played in my sketchbook last night, with the colored pencils Sidney gave our entire WAQ group for Christmas. Came up with a couple different designs, but decided one was too derivative of the designs in a book I recently acquired. I'd thought a lot about using a four-patch as the base for my design, and decided this morning that I would run with this. I've got the DMC floss, and used that to go through my stash for fabric. I had every color except the cream in my hand-dyes, and found a piece of commercial cream fabric that was perfect if I used the backside.
I didn't want a straight seamed four-patch, so I used my French curve to make a wonky block. First, I tried to piece it Caveman style (Ricky Tims), but that didn't work- the centers didn't meet, and I couldn't get rid of some tucks on one piece. So then I decided to fuse it, using Liquifuse as Terry Grant showed us on her blog some time ago. That worked perfectly! So here's the two blocks, with the fused one at the top of the picture. The tucks in the bottom block just don't show in the picture.
However, the bigger news in the studio was Shannon actually sewing! She is the only female in our family who hasn't had a needle in hand since childhood, just hasn't had a lot of interest. But she wanted some pillows and a message board for her room, so we found most of the makings in my studio, and got some home dec fabric she liked at JoAnn's, half off. She wrapped and glued batting and fabric around two pieces of styrofoam I'd saved--
then glued ribbon around the board so she can use it to display her postcards and photos from Europe. That done, she then made a pillow for her bed, the first of several. They look good!!
We are having a welcome home / birthday big family dinner today. Maybe later tonight I can play in the studio and make some real progress on the TIF challenge!
More TIF
I've slept on it, and come to a decision. i am abandoning my not very far along idea for the TIF challenge, and going with a design based solely on the color scheme Sharon provided as an alternative. And I've learned some things about my design process in all this.
First, moving from words to visual image is very difficult for me. It sometimes feels like my brain is bifurcated (split, if you don't speak legalese!) when it comes to words and images. And that is especially true when it comes to concept words rather than descriptive words.
I've also learned that the computer is not the best place for me to start to develop a design. I need the tactile experience of the fabric and thread. if I run into a roadblock with those, then using the computer to hash out options is fine. But don't start there.
So, we are halfway through the month, and I am back to square one. Originally, the colors did not appeal to me- no zinger, no hot accent color! But they have started to grow on me, and I think I can develop an abstract design using them. I got the DMC colors from another participant's blog, so I'll track those down this week and use them to go through my stash for fabric.
I do so envy those who manage to develop designs in a very linear, straightforward way. i often feel like I'm going in circles looking for the way out! But, as Jane Steinberg says, that's just one for the crap quota we all have!
