Week in Review 2016 - 06/10

We spent a week on a cruise through
the Norwegian fjords. This time we had
a cabin in the stern. This is one of many
pictures I took with my iPad leaning out
over the railing of our balcony.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I'm in life is short, eat dessert first mode. I believe this is caused by having my first vacation in years when I had zero access to the internet for seven days. Usually when I am away, even on holiday, the responsible person in me feels obligated to check my email and handle whatever business I can. I also hope that by doing so there will be less to get caught up with when I return. I struggle with the transition from home to travel and back. This time I did something slightly different. I made a conscientious decision to spend time in my studio, knowing that I had mountain of accumulated paperwork to handle. Nirvana! Honestly, I was surprised how just a few hours working on my current project helped to maintain the relaxed state from my vacation AND gave me the energy to face the business side of things. 

Sunrise Abstraction after one vertical
facing has been hand stitched in place.
Don't forget to click on the image if
you want to see it enlarged.

Apparently I was so  relaxed that I completely forgot my goal of doing some free motion quilting weekly. Perhaps that will be my dessert next week. Here is what I did achieve:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

Before we left for vacation I washed and blocked Sunrise Abstraction. This gave it plenty of time to dry. Early in the week I squared up/trimmed the quilt with my husband. Next I added the facing strips. Now I have begun stitching them in place. I use Kathy Loomis's method of the vertical strips being 2" shorter than the vertical side and the horizontal strips being 2" longer than the horizontal sides. Usually I crop my images so that distracting items, such as the unfinished facing strips don't show. However, I thought it might be helpful to include everything this time around. For example, you can see how I match, in a close enough way, my facing to the front of the work. Also, Instead of turning all the facing to the back at once, I thought I would try turning just the strip I was currently working on. I plan on stitching down the two vertical strips first. Then going back and tackling the horizontal strips. 

After sending one of the water pictures through
a series of art apps on my iPad, I came up with
this design. 

2) Free motion quilting practice - Oops, I forgot to do this.
3) Do some surface design work - Done!

I couldn't resist taking and sharing this photo of my
studio helper, Lola, sitting on my lap as I stitched
down the facing. 

One of the reasons I took Art on the iPad was to be able to do art on vacation. Yes, I was able to do some art. No, working on an iPad cooped up on a trans Atlantic flight didn't work for me. However, I found the iPad the perfect tool to have in the hotel and on the cruise for those free 15 minutes or more of transitional time. 
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open - Done!

We were comped vouchers to go to one of the specialty restaurants on the cruise. This is my third cruise, and being the frugal person that I am, I couldn't see the point of going to a restaurant on board that cost additional money, when excellent food is included 24 hours a day in multiple restaurants. I wasn't even keen on going to one of the restaurants even having my meal comped. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. We went. It was the best meal, worth it even if we had to pay.

Next week will be more of the same, but I hope with some free motion quilting. Here is the plan.

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

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 - 05/20

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

The quilting on Sunrise Abstraction
is done. If you click on the image
it should enlarge to a point where the
quilting is more obvious.

Technically there is one more lesson to go in the online course I'm taking called Art on the iPad, taught by Susie Monday. However, the experiment, play and assignment type classes are done. Several people have asked about the apps I have been using in class. This seems like a good time to share the ones that I return to and/or enjoy the most.

Sketches II Pro is the one I like to use for drawing, especially since it allows for layers. This means I can start with my own photograph on one layer, and draw an outline on another layer, and perhaps create a watercolor wash on a still another. It also has quite a few different adjustable drawing tools from calligraphy pens to paintbrushes. The colors are limitless, although you start with a basic palette of approximately 20 colors. The one downside, is that it is less intuitive simply because there are so many options AND some of the key adjustment/navigation tools are hidden.

Pixlr is one of those apps where you can run an image through a series of algorithms that change the image, perhaps giving it a totally new palette, reducing the image to pixels or abstracting it. There are two different ways to create collages. Pixlr allows the image to be saved as .png (versus .jpg). Why is this important? It is important because .pngs save images in a vector format and that way when an image is enlarged or reduced it doesn't get distorted. It also requires more .ppi (pixels per inch on a screen) which is similar to .dpi (dots per inch when printed).

This is Pansy Abstraction with the quilting done
and the facing turned to back in preparation for
hand stitching. 

This week the lesson turned to printing what we created. In the US, Spoonflower is the service that comes up with the most frequency as where to go to have your design printed on fabric. You can also sell your fabrics to others through Spoonflower. Since I had already purchased some of Leah Day's fabric through Spoonflower with success, I felt comfortable using them to print my fabric. Even better they are connected with PicMonkey, yet another software program to run my image through. Which is precisely what I did this week.

If you follow my posts you know I did more than my iPad lesson. Here is how the week went:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

The free motion quilting is done! Next up will be the finish work.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

This sky was painted using Sketches Pro 2 with
just my finger on the iPad.

Between finishing Sunrise Abstraction and Pansy Abstraction (detecting a theme?) I got plenty of free motion quilting practice in.

3) Do some surface design work - Done!


I used Sketches II Pro to create a watercolor sunrise sky wash. I enlarged the .dpi through Photoshop Elements so that it would be large enough for printing. Then I used PicMonkey to modify the color and add the trees and branches. Now I just have to be patient while Spoonflower prints the results. The plan is to create a whole cloth quilt and perhaps embellish it with some thread painting or hand embroidery.

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

It is easy for me to shut down when faced with mechanical repairs, even simple ones. So, when I was biking solo and the chain popped off while I was downshifting, my first thought was, "looks like I am walking home". I was 4 miles from our home. It would be so, so much easier to bike than walk the distance. I took a few deep calming breathes, examining the gears and other related parts and getting over just how disgustingly greasy and dirty the chain was, but I did it. Took only a few minutes and I was back biking!

This is the same sky after I used PicMonkey
to alter the palette and added some trees
and cherry blossom boughs. I have ordered this
printed on cotton from Spoonflower.

It will be a few weeks before I will post again. When I return the plan is to continue as I have been by doing the following:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

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 - May 13

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

This is a workflow collage of the steps
I took from an original photo of pansies
to the graphic image I transferred to
fabric in order to quilt it.

I've been on a tear this week. You might even say obsessed. That is the way it is sometimes when I am creating something that I need (said in a teenage, long drawn out vowel as in neeeeeeed) to see the finished product. It also helps that the piece I was working on has no clear exhibition path at the moment. In other words, I am making it for the shear joy of creating. Of course this obsession has a good chance of getting me in trouble down the road. Why? Because I set aside my plans, plans made with deadlines and purpose and instead focused 100% of my attention elsewhere.

Fortunately, several of the items on my list were accomplished as part of the obsessive momentum, as you can see:

Here is the metamorphosised pansy image before it is quilted.

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Not so much as a nano second

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done! 

Stitching adds texture and detail. Click on the image
in order to get an enlarged view.

Definitely click on this image, the backside, in order
to see just how obsessed I was with the FMQ.

This week's Art on the iPad assignment focused on creating a series of images and artwork that built on the prior image and/or artwork. Adapting images through various apps on the iPad is relatively fast. I am even getting good at bring images from one app into another and sending images to my various devices. In other words lack of technological know how is no longer  the issue it was when I started this journey five weeks ago. Phew! However, translating an image to fabric and that fabric image to art - well that takes time. My choice was to enhance the image with stitch. The piece measures 11" H x 16". You would think it wouldn't take that long to free motion quilt. However, since I am using many different threads and multiple patterns, it is turning out to take far more time than anticipated. All those thread ends need to be buried. I spent 1 1/2 hours doing that yesterday. I still have a few more sections to quilt. I do plan on leaving some areas open (not quilted) because I love the bas relief effect.
3) Do some surface design work - Done!

This week I experimented with three more apps that were introduced in Art on the iPad. These apps focus on creating patterns, such as kaleidoscope effects. If anyone knows of a good app for creating tessellations, particularly one that could be used in fabric as a repeat, please share them with me.
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open. - Done!

The National Bike Challenge started up again on May 1st. This is my fourth year as a participant. Last year I went all out, by riding 3,000 miles between May 1st and September 30th. The reality of the challenge is that the advantage goes to the riders who ride frequently versus are weekend warriors who ride one or two days per week, but go great distances. It is so, so easy to look at the weather and the demands on my life and want to skip a day. This week has been particularly challenging with rain on and off most days and winds. The winds where I live can be a steady 8 - 10 mph most days and then have gusts in the 20's and 30's. It is tempting to stay inside. So, far I have ridden every single day of the challenge. I will be heading out again shortly after I publish this post.

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 - 05/06

Seasonal Palette, an all SAQA Exhibition at Taiwan International Quilt Expo.
Photo by Betty Busby

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Deconstructed Sunrise is included
in My Corner of the World. This
all SAQA exhibition opens at the
Stratford Perth Museum in Stratford,
Ontario on May 21, 2016.

I have heard from several of my art quilt peers who have work in the Taiwan International Quilt Exhibition. Some are even fortunate enough to attend. This morning Betty Busby sent SAQA's Exhibition Committee a photo she took of SAQA's exhibition Seasonal Palette. This exhibit opened at IQF in 2012 and still has one more contracted venue after Taiwan at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. No, I don't have work in this exhibition. I did enter, just wasn't juried in, sigh. However, I am fortunate enough to be in two of SAQA's exhibitions that open in 2016. The first is My Corner of the World, that along with its companion exhibition My Corner of the World - Canada opens at the Stratford Perth Museum in Stratford, Ontario on May 21, 2016. Both exhibitions have the same theme. The first was open to all SAQA members (over 3,400 from around the world) and the latter was open only to Canadian members. I also had a piece selected for SAQA's exhibition Tranquility, that will open at IQF - Houston in October 2016. 

I am one of SAQA's many, many volunteers that make the organization the powerhouse that it is. In February of 2015 I took on the role of SAQA Exhibition Committee Chair. This has me managing a committee of 17 incredible volunteers, staff and Board members who are the backbone of SAQA exhibitions. A question we get asked is why should I enter a SAQA exhibition if it means that if I am accepted my work will be unavailable to me for 2, 3 even 4 years? My response, "For a $40 entry fee your work could tour the world and you don't have to handle any of the travel arrangements or paperwork. What a bargain! What a CV builder." 

Adoration is one of 26 art quilts selected for SAQA's
exhibition, Tranquility. It opens at IQF - Houston
in October 2016.

Why do I take on this responsibility, which frankly is a major time drain, time that I could be spending in my studio? It is because I feel so grateful to everyone that has come before me and will come after me that have done the hard work while I reap the benefits. This is my way of paying it forward.

This week the Exhibition Committee required more of my time than some other weeks. I did a bit of this and a bit of that, just not as much as I might have wished to do. I made progress, as you can see:

1)  Finish Reflection #2  - Attach the label - Done!

2) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

I continued to free motion quilt the water section of the piece. I had hoped to finish the quilting phase this week. It just wasn't meant to be.

3) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

There is nothing like having a large quilt requiring quilting to keep my free motion quilting muscle memory trained.

4) Do some surface design work - Done!

If you follow my blog than you know, Lola, my studio
cat. This is an example of what happens when I start
with a photo and run it through multiple iPad apps, that
simplify, morph, change the palette and allow for text.

Technically this was a break week during my Art on the iPad class. However, we were encourage to develop a comfort level with the two apps introduced last week, by spending an hour a day playing. I didn't manage to work on the iPad daily, but I did have fun metamorphosizing doodles and photos to a point where they became a brand new image.

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

Sometimes my opinion is solicited about a new direction or project that SAQA Exhibitions might want to explore. It is so easy to see why these ideas may not work (finances, sell to the membership and more). I have to remind myself to stay open and not close down an idea just because the pitfalls are obvious. Instead I have learned to stay open to the possibilities and work collaboratively to overcome the hurdles. Such was the case this week. A new concept has been raised. I agreed to consider it. I didn't reject it outright, tempting as it was. What will happen? Who knows? At least I remained open.

I am ready to put the pedal to metal on my George and finish up the free motion quilting on Sunrise Abstraction. I am eager to get to the finishing stage, when the quilt is blocked and trimmed and faced. This is when the piece comes alive for me. Hopefully, my impatience will drive me into the studio so that I can attend to the following next week:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

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 - 04/29

Isn't this fun? I discovered
a collection of apps that
create all kinds of surreal
effects. 

I just have the bottom
6" and top 3" of Sunrise
Abstraction left to quilt.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Serene - that is precisely how I felt yesterday while quilting Sunrise Abstraction. How I wish I could wave a magic wand and tap into serenity at will. It is so easy to get caught up in the demands of daily life. The to do list is invariably longer than the done list. It feels like such a luxury to sit down and spend hours free motion quilting. What made yesterday different? It may have been because the motif is second nature for me to quilt. It certainly helped that I had zero thread issues. It didn't hurt that this was the second week of no traveling. It always takes me a while to get back in the groove. When I do - serenity...

I wasn't so mellow that I got nothing accomplished. Here is how the week went:

Close-up of the free motion quilting done this week
on Sunrise Abstraction. This is what had me
feeling so serene.

1)  Finish Reflection #2  - Create and attach the label either when needed or when I have a second label to print at the same time. - I printed the label, finally!

2) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

I managed to quilt around 60% of the quilt in just two studio days. I have approximately one more studio day to go and the quilting will be done.

3) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

Remember last week's
daffodil images. Here
is the same photo, but this
time manipulated through
Drawing Pad.

My work on Sunrise Abstraction is doing double duty here.

4) Do some surface design work - Done!


Lesson 3 of Art on the iPad had me exploring several more apps. This week the apps focused on drawing. 

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

I never did learn how to do cartwheels or headstands as a child. I'm not sure why these were so difficult for me. I do hate the blood rush when I am upside down. This past Tuesday there was only me and one other student in Yoga. She is 36 to my one week from turning 63. She wanted to work on headstands using the wall for support. I just wanted to cry or least do my own thing when the teacher went with this suggestion. Instead I tried. I didn't manage a full headstand but I did, very briefly, get two feet on the wall above my waist with my head resting between my forearms on my mat. 

Another drawing app experiment. This was super
easy and fun to do.

I'm looking forward to next week. I love all aspects of quilting. Still there is something exciting about squaring up a quilt. This is when the piece truly comes alive for me. I should be at that point with Sunrise Abstraction next week. So, that is one thing I'll be working on. Here is the rest of the plan:


1)  Finish Reflection #2  - Attach the label 

2) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

3) Free motion quilting practice

4) Do some surface design work


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.

Week in Review 2016 - 04/15

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Get comfortable! Those two words could be my mantra. I was definitely thinking comfort as I selected my outfit this morning. Having achieved so many of the right of passage milestones, with Medicare just two years in my future, I have zero qualms about donning elastic waist pants, shoes that don't pinch or give me vertigo, and layers of sweaters, sweatshirts and down vests for warmth. I still make an effort to choose items that are color coordinated. I even sneak in bright colors, especially on gloomy days. However, my primary mission is comfort. When I am comfortable, I can face the day's challenges.

If you haven't played with the Photo Booth
app on your iPhone or iPad you may want
to give it a whirl. It allows you to take
a photo (in my case a selfie) in a variety
of modes. This one is Thermal Camera. 

It is the same way I approach working on my art. There are many ways I get comfortable in my studio. It is one of the reasons I practice free motion quilting. Even before I sit down to free motion quilt, I will first doodle the design on paper. Why? Because that invariably teaches me how to navigate through the tricky transitions and direction changes so that I when I stitch the design I don't hesitate. 

My studio is set up for comfort, too. The chairs at my two sewing machines are set at just the right height. I have one of the cushy gel mats I can move around the room, so that if I am cutting, ironing or doing surface design work for a significant amount of standing time, I don't have an uncomfortable surface to stand on. 

For me, organization is key to staying comfortable. I tend to be hyper-organized. My threads are organized by type, color and value. The same goes for my paints and fabrics. I have all my Bernina's feet at the front of the cabinet drawer in line by number, so that I can easily access and exchange feet without ever getting up. 

Why get comfortable? It is simple. When I am comfortable I can focus on both the fun of creativity and inevitable problem solving. It is easier to tackle the "big" issues when the buzzing mosquito of discomfort isn't distracting me.

This is my first week back after traveling and most of it was spent catching up with everything non-studio related. I did manage to spend a little time in the studio. I also began taking Art on the iPad on Monday. A little work here and there means I have a few things to share:

1)  Finish Reflection #2  - Create and attach the label either when needed or when I have a second label to print at the same time. - Still on hold.


2) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

Feeling Groovy is an original free motion
quilting motif that I developed during a
doodling session.

I don't have pictorial proof, but I did begin machine quilting Sunrise Abstraction. I did an area that I felt couldn't be done via continuous line stitching to achieve the look I was after. This means I have approximately 40 sets of threads to bury. I actually don't mind doing this. However, work with long dangling threads distracts from the actual quilting. I'll share what I did this week, next week after the threads are buried in the quilt.

3) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

I had fun spending an hour or so doodling. Nothing I tried looked right. Then I stumbled on this particular design, which is an amalgam on several of Tracy's (Whirls 'n Swirls) patterns with a frilly addition of my own. I've named the design, Feeling Groovy. I'm not sure when I would use it, but it does fill a space nicely.

A quick scribble done with my finger
on the iPad using the app Crayon. My
goal was simply to learn how the app
functioned, including how to save an
image for future use and sharing.

4) Do some surface design work - Done!


I am counting my work in Art on the iPad as my surface design work. Step one has been learning how to make my way around the iPad and online class interface. I did download one free app called Crayon. My scribble isn't much to look at now. I understand from more advanced students, that scribbles like mine are perfect for running through multiple apps and coming up with some surprising and stunning fabrics. 

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

In fact this is what lead to my focus on comfort. It is so easy to shut down when facing having to potentially disappoint or reprimand someone. It can be so much easier to let things slide than to speak up. Sometimes it is necessary to be uncomfortable first in order to get to a point of comfort.

Now that I have nearly caught up from my travels I am looking forward to learning a few more art apps and studio work next week. One way to be sure I am comfortable with the work ahead, is to know what my plans are. Now you do too. :)

1)  Finish Reflection #2  - Create and attach the label either when needed or when I have a second label to print at the same time.


2) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

3) Free motion quilting practice

4) Do some surface design work


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.