Week in Review 2013 - 05/24

I have been infatuated with quilting “Adoration” this week. I set myself the Herculean task of quilting quite a complex pattern in the background section. I made a few mistakes that I picked out and one near an edge that I opted to leave in. I doubt even I will be able to find it. How did this infatuation effect my week? Not a single item on my to do list got checked off, BUT if I can maintain my pace for a few more days I should finish quilting, squaring up and facing “Adoration” in time to make the June 1, 2013 deadline. This week’s plan remains my plan for the week ending May 31, 2013, so I will only state it once.

1) Adoration (Shooting for a deadline of June 1, 2013)

a) Finish quilting “Adoration.”

Full view image of "Adoration" with the balance of the
Grandmother's hair and navy blue background left to quilt.
The dangling threads will be buried in the quilt.
Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

 Areas quilted this week were the medium blue background, the grandmother’s face and neck and half of her hair.

b) Bury dangling quilting threads

c) Square up the piece in preparation for facing.

d) Face

2) Express Your Love

a) Finish last week's assignment from Leah Day.

b) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.

True, the hair is part of "Adoration" but the quilting motif
is my interpretation of Leah's Connecting Ocean Currents.

I actually did try Leah’s latest lesson on a free motion quilting pattern she named Connecting Ocean Current. I used it for the tendrils in the grandmother’s hair.

3) Signature experimentation

a) Design a new signature motif.

4) Pictorial Painting

a) Watch the lesson that demos how to quilt the Canyon piece.

b) Quilt "Canyon."

5) Plan the next art piece.

Tips, Techniques and Thoughts:

A question I am asked frequently is “where do your ideas come from?” The simple answer is from my way of being. Where did that way of being come from? I expect a part of it came from a combination of nature (I am adopted) and nurture. However, the root of tapping into this being happened when I joined an on-line study group that tackled “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. It is from this book that I learned about synchronicity. Call it what you will, the more observant you become the more aware you are of connections and signs everywhere. That is what happened when I was debating how to quilt the grandmother’s hair in “Adoration.” I had several ideas, but it wasn’t until I checked into Leah’s latest assignment that I found my answer just when I needed it. I am so convinced of the power of living “The Artist’s Way” that I use it as my text for mentoring private students.