Week in Review 2016 - 10/28

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I spent time in the studio whenever life didn't have other plans for me last week. It wasn't the balance of studio/other life ratio I would have chosen. The reality is I made choices in the past which impact what life throws at me in the present. Would I make different choices if I could rewind the clock? Probably not. Even during the toughest, most exasperating, overwhelmed moments I am able to see the positive points of my choices. I have also learned that self care is not selfish, it is essential. 

Here is a list of some of the self care habits I have adopted over the years:

1) I apply scented body cream generously after each shower. Scents sooth me and the rich body cream keeps my skin from feeling itchy.

Hand stitching is could be added
to my list of things I do for self care.
The ring of Hungarian Braided Chain
Stitch is complete.

2) I begin each day with a combination gratitude journal and morning pages. This reminds me just how fortunate I am and frequently reveals solutions to complex problems.

3) I exercise regularly. What I do varies by the day and the season. Most weeks I spend 45 minutes or more doing some sort of exercise every single day.

4) I indulge my love of computer games. The focus they require quiets my churning brain. 

5) I dress comfortably, but with care. 

6) I end my day with a book. There is always one on my nightstand - although now it resides on my iPad. 

I practice other self care habits, as well. I am especially aware of them and vigilant about maintaining them during the difficult times. They are lifeboat. They give me the strength, courage and energy to make it through trying times.

When I could, and even some times when I felt I couldn't, I headed to the studio to attend to the following:

1)  Continue quilting Siren's Song - Done!

I have moved on to creating locks of hair with
Stem Stitch. 

This is where I spent most of my time. I made significant progress, but there is still another week or so of quilting to do.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

3) Do some surface design work - Done!

I finished the Hungarian Braided Chain Stitch circle on my sampler. Now I am trying my hand at Stem Stitch. I thought this would be easy since it was a staple of my teen years, when I did needlepoint and embroidery. Seems I forgot it. Fortunately, this stitch is straightforward so it didn't take long to have it feel natural again.



4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open. - Done!

My daughter gave me a coupon for the Escape Room as a birthday gift months ago. I convinced friends to accompany me and my husband. It was very tempting to let the coupon elapse or give it away. There is something about being locked in a room and having to solve clues to get out that both intrigued me and unsettled me. I stayed open and gave it a try. You won't get an endorsement from me, or the others in the room. We did OK - nothing stellar and didn't make it through all the clues. You are only given an hour. What I hadn't known and probably best that I didn't, was that 80% of the people who had done "our" room were also unsuccessful. I had assumed that the ratio would be the reverse - that the majority could succeed and it was more a question of how long it took you to get out.

I approach each new week with the same positive attitude. Just because I had less studio time than I anticipated this week, doesn't mean I won't be back to my more typical three full days in the studio next week. No matter how much time I have, my focus is the same. I will plan on doing the following:

1)  Continue quilting Siren's Song

2) Free motion quilting practice

3) Do some surface design work

4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open.

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

Week in Review 2016 - 10/21

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Do you find yourself tongue-tied when asked questions about what you do? I know I do. Why? Perhaps it is because there are so many different ways to answer the same question and how to choose the right response for the one inquiring can be tricky. 

Siren's Song is coming along
nicely. I've quilted most of the
light and blue background sections.
Now I am finishing up the mid value
greens. Such a large quilt,
72" H x 56" W, intensely quilted
does take many hours and multiple
spools of thread.

One question that has me stumped no matter what answer I give is, "How long does it take you to make a quilt?" Here are some possible answers:

1) The snarky response: As long as it takes.

2) The precise answer: 295 hours 33 minutes and 26 seconds. OK, that might be  snarky, too, but it is fairly close to how long it will take me to make Siren's Song. It will be my primary project for close to 20 weeks. I do wonder if anyone asking the question really wants to know the exact time it takes.

3) The honest answer, which can also sound a bit rude: A lifetime. Each quilt made teaches me something that I can choose to bring forward into the next one. 

4) What has just occurred to me that I might try out the next time: However, long it takes, it is worth it to me. Every minute, even when I am struggling, is a joy.

This week I got to spend many solid blocks of hours free motion quilting Siren's Song. Yes, it was a joyful week:

1)  Continue quilting Siren's Song - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

This is a detail from this week's progress.
Reminder, if you right click on the image a new
window should open and you will see an
enlarged version of the image. Much
easier to see the quilting that way. :)

3) Do some surface design work - Done!

I continue to do a little hand stitching most days. My Hungarian Braided Chain stitch is finally becoming second nature.
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open. - Done!

My old hiking shoes were perfect. They provided just the right amount of support. There was plenty of room for my toes to feel comfortable. My heels stayed firmly in place. No riding up and down resulting in dreaded blisters. However, I had literally worn them into the ground. The tread was nearly non existent, and with a rubber sole they can't be resoled. Still I wore them. Looking for replacements, but never finding the right ones. Several weeks ago I bought replacement hiking shoes. Did I wear them? No, I shut down, fearful of actually walking in them. What if they didn't work out? Today, I took the plunge. I did my usual 5K tour of the neighborhood. No blisters. 

I'm looking forward to continuing the joy with more of the same next week:

1)  Continue quilting Siren's Song

2) Free motion quilting practice

3) Do some surface design work

4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open.

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

Week in Review 2016 - 10/14

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I've had a Tale of Two Cities kind of week. In other words "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." There was even a moment when I had to dig deep and be my best self by fessing up to a mistake. I was unaware I made it more than a year back. It has produced  some very uncomfortable results. So, the conclusion, of the book, "It is a far, far better thing I do" is ringing true, too. One would think with all this drama that I would have had very little studio time. That was not the case.

In hind sight, I should have quilted this
before sewing it into the quilt. Sigh. 

1)  Continue quilting Siren's Song - Done!

I'm not sure how many hours I logged quilting Siren's Song, yesterday was pure joy. I finished quilting the water portion of the sunset picture. The bronze metallic thread was the perfect choice to capture the sunset reflection in the water. Even better it only broke once. Metallic thread is known for being very, make that VERY fussy. My tricks, a big eye needle and Sewer's Aid applied to the spool. It is also when FMQ practice pays dividends. The quilting motion must be fluid in order not to apply any torque to the thread.

Once I finished quilting the image I could return to quilting the background. I quilted for hours. The repetitive rhythm of doodling circles was just the relaxation I needed.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

Once again Siren's Song fulfilled this obligation. :)

3) Do some surface design work - Done!

The Hungarian Braided Chain Stitch is
running along the top border. The other
stitch is the Palestrina Stitch done on the
right with 2 strands of floss and on the left
with #8 pearl cotton. Clearly, a thicker thread
is essential for thread work to show.

I'm not getting nearly the amount of hand stitching done that I would like to. Thanks to one of my blog followers, who brought the Hungarian Braided Chain Stitch to my attention, I gave that a whirl. Mary Corbet has posted many short video's each demonstrating a different embroidery stitch. I stumbled upon one last week when I wanted a link for my blog. This had several people writing me on how after viewing the link, they checked out her goldmine of videos. Do watch Mary's videos if you want to add hand stitching to your lexicon.

4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open. - Done!

My mistake was very upsetting to me. I hold myself to such high standards, especially when what I do impacts others, that I just wanted to escape by shutting down, or wishing the problem away. Instead I faced it head on and admitted that I was human. I didn't try to cover it up or point the finger at someone else. Instead I apologized. Was it cathartic? No. Did it solve the problem? No. Have I moved on, maybe just a little. What I can do is look myself in the mirror and know that I did the right thing.

One way I work through emotional upset is through my art. There is something about the creative process that is very healing. Fortunately, I am at the perfect point in my work where the decisions have been made and the work left to do stress relieving versus stress provoking. 

The plan for next week is the same as this week. I'm looking forward to indulging in more rejuvenating studio time, focused on the following.

1)  Continue quilting Siren's Song

2) Free motion quilting practice

3) Do some surface design work

4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open.

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

Week in Review 2016 - 10/07

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

The first few rays of the sunset
scene in Siren's Song are quilted.
I am using quilter's tape to guide
my stitching. I opted to use a
clear monofilament thread in the
top since each straight line crosses
over quite a range of colors. I am
using an orange, Bottomline thread
in the bobbin. This way teeny tiny
pricks of orange can be seen in the
stitch line. My theory is that it will
add to the glow of the scene.

Yesterday, as I prepped the sunset image in Siren's Song for quilting, I realized I was using a marking technique that I turn to rarely, but that was my primary technique back when I hand quilted all my work. I wonder if anyone who started quilting after the 90's is even familiar with it. I use quilter's tape to mark long straight lines. Why? Unlike marking tools, such as inks that wash out, chalk that brushes away or faint pencil lines, I can see the masking tape clearly AND it is very easy to permanently remove WHEN I am ready to remove it. The adhesive isn't so strong that residue remains behind, but it is strong enough to stay where I put it and to reuse multiple times or to reposition as needed. 

If only positioning Siren's Song inside the Bernina's harp was easier, I would have been thrilled with this method. Why use my small sewing machine when I am fortunate to have a much larger machine, the George, by APQS? The George only does one thing and it does it very well, that is free motion quilting. I want truly straight lines and those are best achieved with a walking foot, and I have one of those for the Bernina. 

The week was a mixed bag of stitching as you will see:

1)  Continue quilting Siren's Song - Done!

I did a mix of free motion quilting in the background and straight-line rays in the image. It was an abbreviated week in the studio, but some progress was made.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

See above.

3) Do some surface design work - Done!

The fabric is a Leah Day design. I like
to have something fun to practice my
stitches on. This way I have odd shaped
segments to try out various stitches
and lots of lines to see which outline
stitch like best. I keep my Embroiderer's
companion just has handy as my
thread and scissors. 

I did some hand stitching practice as part of the Stitch seminar I am taking through SAQA. I am really loving the look of the Palestrina stitch for outlines. It creates a line of continuous knots that almost form a diamond shape. I experimented with #8 pearl cotton this week. In the past I've used floss for embroidery. It tends to snag, tangle and separate, especially if you are using multiple strands for thickness. The #8 pearl cotton has the right density and I find it glides through stitch creation with less hassle than floss.
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open. - Done!

I have been terrified of quilting the sunset image in Siren's Song. It is the focal point of the piece. I don't want the stitching to detract from the image. I find that photos printed on fabric change the hand of the fabric and don't allow the threads that separate when punched with a needle or basting pin to return after the needle/pin is removed. The holes remain noticeable. So, mistakes can't be removed without leaving traces. Procrastination due to panic isn't wise, either. First, the longer I fret, the more the terror of starting builds up. Second, it is not wise to quilt around a section, turning it into a island in the middle of quilting. This is because the layers surrounding the "island" have nowhere to shift and expand, leading to puckers in the quilting. Strong as my desire not to face quilting the photo was, I knew I had to push through and begin. 

I'm looking forward to next week, when I hope to finish quilting that traumatizing photo and move on to less nail biting work. My plan is to:

1)  Continue quilting Siren's Song

2) Free motion quilting practice

3) Do some surface design work

4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open.

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