Friday, June 15, 2018

Week in Review 2018 - 06/15


Block #7 is partial pieced in units. It is
on a piece of space shuttle felt I can carry
from my sewing table to my ironing station
back. 
Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:
Organization is the key. At least that is what I find works best for me when I am creating, especially when I am making yet another piece in my shifting value series. All the fabrics I might use are selected and divided by value. I have 7 value levels with my current piece, from barely a whisper of blue through to that inky blue seen just as the sky is switching from night to day. The stacks of fabric are laid out on my work table, in order, and labeled 1 - 7. Before I had a work table I would store them in file folders. I use EQ 8 to create the blue print, or piecing diagram. Note, I do not take advantage of EQ 8's ability to color the quilt. Why? That takes all the fun out of doing the work. Years of working in this way gives me the reassurance I need to know there is no need to pre-color. 
One distraction is our screened
porch. This is Lola's favorite
hanging out to keep tabs on the
local wildlife.
I'm just as organized when it comes to piecing the individual blocks. I layout the individual pieces on a 16" x 20" piece of space shuttle felt. (Yes, you read that right. My husband's company invented the felt for the space shuttle and my piece is scrap he brought home.) The advantage is that the felt is stiff AND the fibers keep the fabric from sliding off easily, as cotton clings, but does not adhere to it. If I wanted to I could iron right on it at the hottest setting. 

 Moving into a new home, means a new studio layout, and learning about a new area of the country. I'm still not back to a point where I work in the studio for hours at a time, several days a week. However, by being, some would say, obsessively organized, I know just what I need to do next and can zip in for 30 minutes or several hours, a few days a week. Progress is being made. This week I finished piecing several more blocks. Six done, twenty-nine more to go. 

 I am linking up with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays. 


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4 comments:

  1. JulieJune 15, 2018 at 4:10 AM

    I'm in total agreement. Organization is key, but I frequently fall hard from the wagon. When I'm in the midst of a wildly creative streak, the state of my work table would scare most folk. Having a group come into my studio once a month means it has to all be cleaned, sorted and reshelved. That is the saving grace for me.

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    1. Gwyned TrefethenJune 16, 2018 at 1:44 AM

      I probably should have said organization is the key for me. I require it to function. However, I am well aware I am in the minority. Also, I miss out on some of those serendipitous moments when creativity is sparked by spotting items laying next to each other you might never have thought to put together. What I appreciate about my way of working is the calm flow of my time in the studio.

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  2. quiltedfabricartJune 15, 2018 at 4:47 AM

    I wish I were more organized. Creative clutter is my life as much as I try to keep it at bay. At this point I just accept it and deal with it. The worse part is my fabric stash. Right now I have purchased 3 wonderful IKEA drawer sets so I have 27 drawers for fabric and I’m slowly sorting all my batiks into color solids and color prints. It’s overwhelming so I’m doing it slow.

    The space felt sounds perfect for keeping all the pieces of fabric at bay while waiting to be sewn. The fact you can iron on it is even better.

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    1. Gwyned TrefethenJune 16, 2018 at 1:49 AM

      I try to re-shelve fabric between projects. I make discoveries of fabric and supplies I had "forgotten" about. I might order the fabric differently, creating new palettes or runs. This particularly true of the greens in my collection which can be group on the amount of yellow, blue, or even how toned or tinted they are. Like you, I have limit to how much time I can sort though. That's when a good audio is essential.

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