Week in Review 2017 - 09/15

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Scraps from creating
Experiment in Equilaterals
are used to build a sample
block to test quilting motifs
and determine how a one
of the likely thread choices
will read on the fabric.

One of the most difficult aspects of creating new work, for me, is overcoming fear. How scary can making fiber art really be? It isn't like dealing with a debilitating illness, a natural disaster, or living in a war torn country. Still, it can feel paralyzing to take that next which may be pure genius, but could also be a complete, possibly irreparable disaster. It feels like choosing to dive off a cliff into a lagoon many feet below. What if I don't leap out far enough? What if the lagoon is too shallow or there are hidden rocks below? Is that momentary thrill of sailing through the air to the water below really worth it? The wise person will use due diligence. Have other people made the dive safely? How far is the actually distance? She will check out the lagoon first for hidden hazards. There comes a time when everything which can be checked has been checked, but fear remains. There are several choices. One is to chicken out and not go through with the dive even if it appears safe. Another is to have faith in yourself and make the plunge.

This week I have been standing on the edge of the cliff. I looked over to the lagoon below. I have taken measurements. I have checked for hazards hidden in the water. After days of circling, hemming and hawing, I have taken the plunge. I started quilting Experiment in Equilaterals. 

Here is what a week of peering over the cliff looks like:

1) Work on Experiment in Equilaterals - Done!

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1 and #3, #4 - Not yet

3) Pot(s) made this week - Done!

I took the scraps from cutting the triangles for Experiment in Equilaterals and created a mini block to test out some quilting motifs I had in mind. The first potting session was creating equilateral triangles from the half triangles left over and seaming them together. Next up was drawing multiple pages of potential free motion quilting possibilities. Then trying my favorites on the scrap block. I'm still not sure how to do the filler around the fiddlehead ferns, but I do like my artistic rendering of fiddleheads. I liked it enough to begin the process of quilting Experiment in Equilaterals.

I used Golden Threads Quilting Paper to
line up the best location for mushrooms
and fiddlehead ferns to be quilted.
Once these have been stitched, the paper will
be torn away, and I will fill in around them.

4) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

Fortunately, pushing through my fear to start quilting Experiment in Equilaterals means I know precisely where I will begin working next week. I might do other things as well. Here is what is on the docket:

1) Work on Experiment in Equilaterals

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1 and #3, #4

3) Pot(s) made this week

4) Free motion quilting practice

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.