Takeout for Two

is my piece for February's Interpret This! challenge.  I managed to complete it yesterday, thanks to Dayquil and hot tea.  I am still feeling lousy, so I'm spending the day at home not doing much of anything.

I had fun with this, and overall I'm pleased with the result.  I do think I will move the chopstiks so they are resting on the plates, not perched on the very edge.  I was definitely in rush mode by the time I sewed those on.

 

I'm especially pleased with how the quilting designs contribute to the overall design of the piece.  The background and border designs have a definite Oriental feel.  The border is hard to see, but it's overlapping fans that alternate directions.  That took me the better part of a day to complete!  The quilting in the plates is more Western- by the time I got to them, I just wanted something simple and unobtrusive.  Maybe with more time I'd have come up with a more Asian design.

Critiques and comments on this quilt welcomed, I love to know what you think.  And do go over to the 'Interpret This!'  blog to see how the others interpreted the photo.  There is some wonderful work!!

I'm supposed to have 'Blue' quilted by tomorrow for the 12 by 12 Project- don't know if I will make that deadline.  And Monday, our new photo will be posted for 'Interpret This!'  I sure hope this cold comes and goes quickly, so I can get back to work.  In the meantime, the Olympics is a nice way to spend a lazy, I don't feel good afternoon.  Hockey!

Back Home

After a week on the road, I am glad to be home.  I drove the stretch of  I-15 between Cedar City and Beaver everyday this week except Wednesday, and I've seen enough of it.

However, there is one really good reason for any quilter to go to St. George.  This place!!

 

Nice building, it blends into the rocky cliffs and bluffs around St. George.  But inside is a veritable candy store of thread and other goodies!  This is the international headquarters for Superior Thread, and they let you come in and shop in their warehouse!!  So of course I had to hit that before I headed back north.  I came home with--

 

 

I got metallic thread, So Fine (to try it for piecing), Brytes, and Highlights.  I also got a new rotary cutter, a bobbin holder, titanium needles, Transdoodle-- it was hard to choose!

I should be downstairs putting the finishing touches on my Interpret This! piece.  I actually did a bit of work on it in St. George, but it has a tiny bit of quilting left to do.  I am not a night person, and I'm tired after driving 250 miles home.  And, I'm beginning to think I am coming down with something.  So, I am going to go to bed with my Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine, take some Nyquil, and pray I can function well enough tomorrow morning to get it done. Nothing like cutting it close!

In the meantime, head over to the Interpret This! blog and enjoy the quilts that have been posted so far.  They are all wonderful!!

Snow Dyeing 

I got four containers with half yard pieces of fabric done this weekend- it batched while I spent the better part of yesterday quilting the borders on my 'Interpret This!' February piece.  My setup was improvised and hurriedly done- the fabric on top of two small containers which were then set in a larger container. Everything I've read said that the results are better if you don't let the fabric sit in the dye.  The snow we got was the dry Utah powder, not a lot of moisture in it.  After dumping the dyes on top of the snow, I set the container out in the garage to spend the night.  Cold, but warm enough that the snow would melt overnight.

 

From front to back, I used grape and cerulean blue, golden yellow and charcoal gray, fire red and lemon yellow, and cerulean blue with lemon yellow.  I wanted to make sure and use a couple of mixed dyes to see what would happen with them.

I brought the fabric in Saturday morning, and let it sit under my heat lamps until late afternoon.  Then I washed them out.  Here's what I got--

 

Not as dramatic as some of the results I've seen on other blogs, but I will definitely use them.  This fabric is not mercerized and the dyes have all been sitting in my little frig since last fall- so I wasn't surprised by the paler colors.  I do like the veining I got in a couple of them, and the red/yellow one has some nice dramatic areas that could either be used for sunset skies, or flower petals.  All in all, an experiement well worth the time.

It's snowing again today, and I'm packing to leave for southern Utah for the week.  Don't know if there will be any snow left when I return on Friday.  There's a winter storm warning out for all of southwestern Utah, so the driving will be slower than normal.

I'm taking my challenge piece with me, too- there's handwork I can do.  When I get back, the only thing left is a bit of quilting in the very center.  But it will give me something to do in the hotel room besides watch TV.

Hope your week is a creative one!

Snow at Last!!!

It's not much, and it probably won't hang around long- but it's enough for me to try dyeing some half yard pieces tonight.  I've got them soaking in soda ash and my dyes are out of the frig warming up.  (Although I have to wonder why, since I'm going to dump them on top of snow anyway!)

I was up in Salt Lake today for my WAQ group.  It was good to see everyone, since we haven't met since November.  Kathleen had a gorgeous piece made with fabric and felted wool.  We also got to look at some books from Sidney's voluminous library- always nice to see if you want to buy one yourself!  Robyn and Suzanne are preparing to go to Asilomar next week.  All in all, a good meeting.

I will be quilting the rest of my 'Interpret This' piece tomorrow, while the fabric batches.  I need to get it washed out no later than Sunday morning.  Sunday afternoon I leave for Cedar City, and I'll be down south all week for work.  There is a payoff- I'm in St. George til Friday, and I plan on hitting Superior Threads!!

More Progress (that I can't share!!)

I got February's challenge piece sandwiched, thread and design chosen, and got to work yesterday.  Right now I am taking a break, waiting for some banana bread to finish baking.  But I am more than halfway done with the largest part of the quilt!  It took some work to get the tension right on the metallic thread, but it is working well and looking great.  Next I just have to decide how to quilt the borders, and I'm good.  So I should have this ready to do the blog post ahead of time, easy.

It has been dreary and drizzly today.  Less than two weeks, then March.  If I can survive that, we should start seeing little bits of green sometime in April.  Although if I have to deal with winter, at least I have the Olympics to watch while I sew.  I love watching the figure skating!

I hope your long weekend was a good one.  Just three days of work to survive, then more marathon quilting next weekend.  I leave for Cedar City Sunday afternoon, so gotta have it all ready to go by then.  Later!

Finally- a Day in the Studio!

I have been hard at work all day, piecing my quilt for February's 'Interpret This' challenge.  I made my final decisions on fabrics yesterday, and drafted freezer paper templates this morning.  The sewing went together quickly, and the last really fiddly bits are finally done.  All that's left is to square it up, decide if I'm going to border it, and quilt it.  I think I've already got a quilting design, at least for a large part of the quilt.  And I can't show you any of this!

We had a little snow this morning, and I was hoping it would keep up so I could try some snow dyeing with dyes I've had in the frig for a few months.  It quit before lunch, however, and by afternoon it was sunny and the snow gone. I see the midwest and east coast buried, and we haven't had any big storms since Christmas.  Our front yard faces south, and the snow's been gone from there for a couple of weeks.

I've also got 'Blue' done and ready to be quilted.  A good thing, since I only have this weekend and next to finish both.  I'll be in southern Utah on a business trip the entire week of the 22nd, and my reveal date for the 'Interpret This' challenge is the 25th.  So I'll have to create the post before I leave, and figure a way to get it posted on the reveal date.

Beyond that, not much here.  I plan to thoroughly enjoy the long weekend- hope yours is a good one also.

I'm Stitching- 

but no pictures to show, since both of them are for challenges and won't be revealed until the end of the month.

I have a working design for the February Interpret This! piece, and I don't think that will change in any substantial way.  But I am struggling with one part of it.  I thought I had a solution that would work- then I started wondering, am I taking the easy way out?  Am I avoiding trying something because I'm afraid of how it might turn out?  With that little voice niggling in the back of my head, I did some drawings, and got them to scale.  We shall see.


I got more work done on the Blue challenge yesterday and today.  Part of it was using printer transfers with CitraSolv- I had problems with smearing, something that I don't remember from the first time I did this.  So far, I'm happy with how this is developing.  It may be ready for quilting by the end of the weekend.


Shannon is making dinner while I type this.  She used her birthday present, a pasta machine, for the first time today.  So we are having chicken, asparagus, and a GOOD alfredo sauce over homemade fetuccine.  Yum!  I'll leave you with a photo of dinner before I dug in!!

Next Challenge

We got our photo for February- and I'm the first to post in the reveals.  Check this out- how perfect is it for a confirmed foodie???

I've got my sketchbook in my briefcase, hopefully I can snatch odd moments at work to do some preliminary drawings of possibilities.  Thank goodness I get a long weekend this month!!

Pieces of Me

If you want to know how I got from a green leprechaun to this,

 

you'll have to head over to the Interpret This! blog.  I'm pleased with how this came out, and think it really does reflect me.  Now I have a day to rest before the photo for February's challenge is posted!

I'm trying to complete the next 12 by 12 challenge, which is also due the end of February.  I decided to take a decidely un-Utah spin on this, so I hope the rest of the group has a sense of humor.  I got pieces cut out today, and hopefully will get the major components fused down tomorrow.

Shannon, Bentlee and I took the dogs- all three, we were gifted with a Chihuahua by a friend who decided she wasn't the right home for the dog yesterday.  At first we thought we'd walk up behind the windmills close to our home, but the wind was so bitingly cold we gave up that idea quickly.  So we drove up Diamond Fork Canyon, the same place Shannon and I went last weekend.  Except today we drove as far as the road was open, about a mile before the Red Ledges where I went rapelling last summer.  It was easy to walk, the snow was packed on the road surface.  We did take one detour over a bridge where the snow was deeper-

 

but when it got to the point that I couldn't take a step without going knee-deep in snow, we turned back.

We kept going on the road, probably walking a mile or so before turning around.  I could see the Red Ledges ahead of us-

  

 I love the clean look of the white snow against the red rocks!

Pita, the chihuahua, got tired and cold, and begged to be picked up.  Shannon wrapped her up in her jacket- the weather here was gorgeous, sunny, and no wind!

 

By this time, Sadie was even getting tired and taking rests in the snow.

 

The view looking south was gorgeous.

 

All in all, and nice break in the day.  We came home, warmed up, ate lunch, and I got to work on 'Blue.'

And I learned- when it is sunny and there is lots of snow around, USE THE NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTER!!

 

Today's the Reveal!!

My first piece for 'Interpret This!' will be posted this afternoon.  This has been an interesting journey, with more than one start before I got to the final design.  At first I wanted to do a thread sketch, so I made a couple of small sample pieces. Here's one, along with some sampling with my stamp and playing with Tsukineko inks for shading on the face.

 

OK, I thought the thread painting had potential.  So I chose my final image, the pastel portrait, and started thread painting.

 

 

Ooooh, not so sure about this!  Shannon said I looked like a green leprechaun- I'd add mean to that description.  So this got added to the crap quota.

You'll have to come back to see how this story ends!!!

The Reveals Begin!

Libby and Rian have posted the first of January's self-portrait challenge for our Interpret This! group.  Head on over here and have a look- the reveals continue with two per day through Saturday.  There is already some fabulous artwork there, I can't wait to see what the rest have done!

Mid-weekend Musings

I have my 'Interpret This!' January piece almost done- just a bit more free motion quilting, the binding, and we're good. I think I'll be doing sleeves and labels all at once, I've got two other small pieces that need both. I can't post anything of the quilt itself, but here's my cutting table when I was done with the piecing--

The reveals start next week, mine is on Saturday afternoon. Come take a look!

Shannon and I took the dogs up the canyon for a run today. It was a bit of a challenge to find a place, since we had some snow last night and it got heavier the further we went. We finally found a place to park off the road, and started up the hill. I wanted to experiment with a neutral density filter I got for my camera- or, to put it in layman's terms- sunglasses for the camera. Here's the same picture, the first without the filter, and the second with.





Not the most interesting pictures, but it did make a difference. Without the filter, the sky is just blown out light; with it, there are some subtle differences in shading. And, the bush branches are definitely darker and more defined with the filter.

Looking back, it seems another storm may be blowing in--



Sadie and Shiloh had fun running in the snow- and it was deep enough, it wore them out quickly. Sadie may have the long coat, but Shiloh was the one who collected a coat of snowballs!



Tonight, the rest of the quilting. Maybe I can get another 12 by 12 piece done this week before we get the next photo for February's 'Interpret This!'

Cough, cough, hack, hack (with the occasional sneezing fit and nose blowing)

about describes what I have been doing since the middle of last week. Enough to make me feel cruddy, not enough to keep me in bed. I'm sure our worst in the nation air hasn't helped it any, either. I haven't seen smog like this since I was a kid in southern California. When you live next to the mountains and you can't see the mountains, you know it is bad.

I have been trying to work on my piece for the first Interpret This! challenge. I thought on idea was moving along fine until this morning- then decided it wasn't so hot after all. The direction change isn't a huge one, but it is different.

Part of the problem for me is that portraiture is so far out of my comfort zone. Terry Grant has blogged about faces, and how she abstracts them. I love her work, it is so distinctive. Me, however? I feel comfortable abstracting just about anything BUT faces. And, there is that ever-present voice in the back of the mind, questioning whether my work will measure up with the others.

Tomorrow I will try to ignore the naysaying voices, and continue working on the piece. I'll be doing a little surface design with some of my hand dyes. I'll audition some piecing designs, and maybe even start some sewing.

And while I'm doing that, I'll remember that my problems are really miniscule in the whole scheme of things. I'll remember how fortunate I am to have a roof over my head, food and water on my table, family and good health. I'll say a prayer for all those in Haiti, and for the many who are giving of their time and talents to help a stricken nation.

Kind of puts things in a different perspective, doesn't it? And if you've been reading, thanks for being part of my 'therapy' today!

Working on the Self Portrait

I've been working on the first piece for my Interpret This! online group. This first one is a self-portrait, and it has been on my mind for several weeks- basically, ever since I knew what we'd be doing!

I've gone through my stacks of photos, played in PSE- and never came up with anything that excited me. Since I don't do representational art, I was also stressing over how I was going to get this done in a tight time frame.

Remember this post? I ended up using the portrait Candee did that evening. I took a picture of it, did a little playing in PSE, and started working. I actually made a couple of samples, just so I could be sure the process I'm doing will work and give me the effect I'm after. So far, so good.

I will have a teaser detail shot next weekend, but my reveal isn't until the end of the month. And I will need all that time to get it done!

Interpret This!

I've got a new logo on my sidebar--



I've been invited to join ten other fiber artists from around the country in completing a piece of art every month, based on photos submitted by the group. Click here to go to the challenge blog. Right now there are intros to all the participants, and in a couple of weeks you can see teasers of our first pieces! The reveals are done over a couple of days the end of each month.

I'm looking forward to getting to know the other members of the group, stretching myself, and moving ahead in my quest to develop my artistic voice. I remember how much the Journal Quilt project helped me improve my work; I'm hoping this challenge will do the same. And, I'm hoping for honest feedback on my work, that's how we learn!

I hope you'll visit the challenge blog for the 'teasers' midmonth, and the reveals at the end of the month. It is going to be an interesting ride for the next year!

Frog and Chaos

I came in late to a 12 by 12 group- I got December's word done, then started working on one of the past words. Hopefully I will get them all done before May, when the entire group's work will be exhibited at the Home Machine Quilting Show in Salt Lake.

December's word was Chaos. I went beyond the dictionary meaning, and did something that feels chaotic to me- freeways.



I used discharged and overdyed fabric I had in my stash. I really had fun with this one, and think I will play with the idea again in a larger size.

The past word I decided to make was Frog. As a confirmed foodie (although I leave most of it to Shannon anymore), what else could I do but Frog Legs?



All I could think about with that word was Doc Hopper's Fried Frog Legs from the Muppet Movie. Here's a detail of the threadwork I did, and the background quilting.



Next on the list is working on the first challenge for Interpret This! I've got a couple of samples to do to see what happens with discharge and solvent transfer before I work on the piece itself.

What have you been up to lately?

A New Decade. . .

It's also the last year I will be able to say I am in my fifties. Turning fifty felt ok, I celebrated that one- but sixty? That just sounds OLD!! Ah well, I have a year to get used to the idea.

Well, if I'd had my act together, I'd have some thoughtful, well- written insights and musings about the last year. Obviously, I don't have my act together. The last two weeks of December always feels like a sprint to me, a chaotic one at that- by the time we get to New Year's, my brain is pretty much toast.

I did see one idea I really like on Terry Grant's blog. She did a cool slideshow of pictures from the past year, everything from her work to family. I thought about doing one, then decided it would take me all night- especially if I tried to link it with music like she did. So, that didn't happen. I hope I remember it for next year, but given my memory lapses of late- who knows!

We went to First Night in Provo for the New Year's celebration. We didn't make it to midnight, but did enjoy some good music and dancing. These Latin ladies and gentlemen could really move!





My favorites, however, were the bagpipe band.



They played Scottish tunes, then changed some instruments and treated us to Irish music- which we couldn't hear nearly as well as the bagpipes.



I had my new (to me) telephoto lens on my camera, and learned that this lens is probably best used outside. And, you can tell that the lighting in the mall was not all that hot for photography.

Today, I've been down in the studio most of the day, with football on in the next room. It must go back to my childhood, but the one thing I associate New Year's Day with is college football. So, now I'm watching the Rose Bowl and rooting for Oregon to TROMP Ohio State. Woody Hayes made me a diehard anti-Ohio State a long time ago.

Anyway, back to the studio. I have a second piece for my Twelve by Twelve group about done. If all goes well, I'll finish the background quilting tonight after we go out to dinner.

And, navigate over to the Twelve by Twelve Project blog to see the latest theme. The word for this theme was 'Chaos'- I managed to get mine done early enough that I was the first poster. I came onboard midway of this group, and will try to do a piece for the themes that have already been completed. They are all supposed to be displayed as a group at this year's Home Machine Quilting show in Salt Lake.

Here's hoping that 2010 is a good year for you and yours!

Back from the Holidays

I haven't been hiding, but I got a lovely surprise Christmas Eve- my brother flew in from Reno to spend Christmas with us. He left today, and I wanted to spend every possible minute with him. We went to a camera shop in my ongoing photography education, visited an art exhibit in Orem, and just had fun catching up.

I do have some pictures to post, and I have actually gotten some work done- some quilting, some Christmas goodies I will be sending off to my two sons. But that will have to wait until this weekend. I hope your holidays were full of family, fun, and good cheer, and that the New Year brings good to all- including lots of good creativity!

Shannon's Busy in the Studio???!!!!

I spent most of yesterday and part of Friday night helping Shannon make some simple tree ornaments for her co-workers. She saw some she liked in the new issue of Quilting Arts Gifts, we changed them a bit, and off she went. Bentlee also got into the action, making a bird to go on her dad's Yankee tree.

Shannon picked fabric from my stash,



cut out the pieces with the templates she made from poster board,



fused the fabric to Timtex, and finished the edges with satin stitch.



Bentlee also learned how to satin stitch--



After decorating the trees and giving the birds button eyes, she put on hanging loops with pearl cotton.



And here are some finished ornaments!!



If it looks like I've gone a bit overboard with documenting this- getting Shannon interested in what I do in my studio has been a bit of an uphill battle. Here's evidence that there may yet be hope!

Sunday evening--

I'm waiting for the pork roast to finish cooking, it's been in since 8 am and smelling wonderful. Here's hoping I can duplicate what Sean did for his birthday while I was in Florida. He's the best cook with meat I know.

I think I have made every screwup you can make while sewing this weekend. It took me a day and a half to finally get the facing on my 12 by 12 piece. I sewed it on the wrong side once, almost did it a second time; I found out that corner triangles have to be cut on the bias so the straight of grain is diagonal across the square- otherwise, it just stretches out of shape, quickly!! I can't remember the last time I did so much un-sewing.

But I got a lot of stuff organized. Instead of this. . .



I now have this!



That simple unit from Ikea more than doubled my storage space. I got stuff off the floor, using those cool fabric containers that cost all of $5. I cleaned out a lot of magazines to Freecycle. I've figured out about the only ones worth hanging on to are Quilting Arts and Machine Quilting Unlimited. I can't believe the difference that made. I also got stuff off the floor in my fabric closet just with a couple of hooks on the wall.

I found out my 12 by 12 piece isn't due until New Year's Eve, so I'm going back to some of the words I missed. Frog jumped out at me- here's what I have so far.



Doesn't look very froggy, does it? It will when I'm done, I've got to wait a couple of days for the Shiva paintstik to cure.

One more week, then two short weeks of work. I may even take some time off. Hope your week is a good one.