Weekly Report 2014 - 03/28

Detail near the center of Tumbling Blocks

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

This week I have been suffering from a severe case of monkey mind. If you aren't a yoga practitioner or don't spend time meditating daily, monkey mind is probably a new term for you. Basically, it means your thoughts are zipping from one idea to the next. The thoughts can be wishful, full of anxiety and cycle through a continuous non productive loop, much the way monkeys swing from branch to branch. When I can't settle my mind, I find it difficult to settle into my work. Fortunately my monkey mind did slow down periodically, so that by the end of the week I had made some progress. Here is how this week went:

Tumbling Blocks at week's end.

 1) Finish piecing Tumbling Blocks I (Due April 30) 

I almost finished piecing Tumbling Blocks, but not quite as you can see from its picture  on my design wall. I got hung up on design decisions. I knew I wanted color fabric between two strips of black for the border. The sticking point came with how intensely to piece the colored fabric and how wide each of the border strips should be. I settled on a progressive 1" of black, 2" of colored and 3" of black. Rather than miter the corners I thought I would replicate the three stacking blocks from the inner panel for the four corners. I began laying that theory out on my design wall - DISASTER! The three blocks stack to 4" and the 1" black strip plus 2" color strip cut the stacked blocks in half. Instead, as you can see from the picture, I went with a 1" black strip, then 4" color strip, followed by a 1" black strip. "But wait," you ask, "why is that outer black strip clearly wider than 1"?" That is because for once I remembered to make the outer border several inches wider than needed for ease of machine quilting. 

Appliquéd corner motif

2) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson. - 

There was no free motion quilting motif to practice on this week. However, appliquéing the stacking blocks was done in a method I learned from Leah. Remember all that English paper piecing of hexagons that I did several months ago? I did a mix of machine piecing the blocks  and then basting the resulting motif over the perimeter of a paper form cut from hexagon graph paper  I gave it a heavy dose of spray starch and pressing before removing the paper. Don't those edges, inside corners and points look nice and crisp? 

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - Done!

Life Book 2014 project

This week's lesson was taught by Lesley Riley. Her focus is on transferring images to fabric and paper. She has had a product developed that she refers to as TAP, Transfer Artist Paper. I didn't have any, but I do keep EQ Printables: Premium Cotton Satin 283 count fabric sheets on hand. So, that is what I used to print the picture of my granddaughter, Mikayla, for this week's project.  I feel I am getting the mixed media bug, because I actually felt let down that the assignment required such a simple background. I just used a stencil to apply gesso roses and then painted with diluted spray ink.

4) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) - a commissioned quilt - On hold until quilts with earlier deadlines are completed. 

Start piecing the quilt.

5) Tickling the Ivories - make and attach the label. - Not yet, but there is no rush.



Will I have monkey mind again next week? There is a good chance. What set it off is that one of my two half sisters (the back story can be found here if you missed it ) got in contact with me. We have a date to chat by phone on Sunday. What should I ask? What shouldn't I ask? What will she ask? What should I answer? It is a bit like working out the border of a quilt. In truth, many options work, it is just so tempting to go for the best and always believe that there is something even better out there that remains elusive. The big decision for next week is how to quilt Tumbling Blocks. I am currently leaning towards stippling, perhaps with Xs and Os scattered through out, since the quilt is for my grandchild.

1)  Tumbling Blocks I (Due April 30) 

a) Finishing piecing the top
b) Piece the backing
c) Baste the quilt for quilting
d) begin quilting

2) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments.

4) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) - a commissioned quilt - On hold until quilts with earlier deadlines are completed. 

Start piecing the quilt.

5) Tickling the Ivories - make and attach the label.


I am now linking up to two blogs on Friday's. The first is Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project and the second is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays.