Week in Review 2016 - 12/09

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques: 

The view from our condo at 6:40 a.m.

When I came downstairs from the bedroom level, to the main floor level of our condo, I was startled to see the scene out on the lake. We have started to go into, what I refer to as, deep freeze season, here in Appleton, Wisconsin. This is when the temperatures stay permanently below 0º C/ 32º F. This means our lake starts freezing over. Eventually, the river at the opposite side of the lake will freeze as well. 

Every morning, as dawn is breaking, the geese who have overnighted just west of us on the lake, start to gather in front of our condo. With more and more ice and less and less water the amount of open water to gather diminishes. What may be difficult to see (try right clicking on the images for an enlarged view) is just how many hundreds of geese have come together this morning.

Similar view from the condo taken one
hour later. Odd, the geese are still here.

What is the life of a goose like? I tend to think of it as simple. What do I really know? Still from what I observe, they sleep, gather, fly off to local fields for food, fly back and sleep. There is bound to be more, but this seems to be the basics.

I realize I am drawn to cyclical things. One of my earliest memories of enjoyment from a simple cycle was the song, There's a Hole In the Bucket. In my last post I mentioned my current work in progress is inspired by Where Have All the Flowers Gone? The same cyclical format is used, but in a much more serious way.

How can I convey the cyclical message in the song in a single image caught on a quilt? I'm not someone who maintains an art journal with inspiration, sketches and swatches, while I work. Mostly I just stay tuned to my thoughts, researching what I need, saving links and images from internet. One way I plan to bring cohesiveness to the piece is to focus on the '60s, a time of OpArt and flower children. This is why I have started with an OpArt background of my own design.


There is was little time between travel and holiday prep to attend to things in the studio. I did manage some progress on my current piece, but not much else, as you can see.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
The "window" in the middle will be
covered with a tombstone. 

1)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song - Not yet

2) Free motion quilting practice - No time

3) Do some surface design work - No time

4) Continue piecing Where Have All the Flowers Gone? - Done!

Not only did I finish piecing the background, it has been fused to batting and backing. I want to do some stitch in the ditch quilting before adding all the appliqué I have in mind. It should go faster this way.

I am testing SpunFab as my fusible for this piece. It is similar in appearance to MistyFuse, but costs about 30% less. It is the go to fusible for museums restoring textiles. Betty Busby, whose textile work is amazing, recommended it. 

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

One of my friends, who lives back east, shared that she has been making knitted knockers.  How could I have missed this fact? This a the type of project I gravitate to in my spare time. I am not a confident knitter. The pattern for the knockers (breast prosthetics) has several stitches not in my repertoire, but I refused to be deterred. I have found a local yarn shop and  plan to visit them to tomorrow. I will pick up the necessary supplies and I hope some pointers about how to do those stitches I have never done before. 

Next I must continue to work on Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, but I also intend to start my first knocker. 😉 If there is any more time there are a few other items on my list to focus on.

1)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song

2) Free motion quilting practice

3) Do some surface design work

4) Continue piecing Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

5) 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.