Week in Review 2017 - 09/02

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Last week I spoke about a trend I see with some artists to simplify their work over time and how I find myself on the same trajectory. The thoughts I share on my blog tend to be about what captured me when I sit down to write and once on the page they are done and I am on to next idea. So, it was quite a surprise to check out what I had written and realize the thought had lingered when I started working on my next project three days later.

Equilateral Experiment
The left two columns are pieced.
Everything else is laid out ready
to piece next week.

My entry point to the piece was hexagons. I have been enamored with hexagons since my junior high days. I recall doodling linked hexagons in the margin of my notebooks. At some point I thought they could be used to build a modular playground. Of course at age 13 that thought went no further. I believe two of the bathrooms we remodeled in our last home included small hexagon shots between larger square tiles with their corners nipped off. I've done some English Paper Piecing, and although I enjoy the process, it is rarely suited to my design. I admit, I love, LOVE, precision piecing. It is when I am in my element. Unfortunately, hexagons and precision piecing are at opposite ends of the comfortable piecing spectrum. If you break the hexagon into equilateral triangles you have an easy to do compromise. 

My current work in progress uses equilateral triangles exclusively. The color scheme is monochromatic. The lines and shape are clear and dramatic. An excellent first step at working towards a simpler aesthetic.

I'm really appreciating my efforts to simplify my art and my life. I feel like a cat dozing in a ray of sunshine, only cracking open an eye wide enough to note a marauding chipmunk scurry across the lawn. My goal is to continue this way by limiting my plans to the following: 

1) Work on Equilateral Experiment

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.

Week in Review 2017 - 03/03

Guns: Loaded Conversations is the
most recent SAQA call for entry.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Many of my posts subtly or not so subtly suggest a primary reason for my not putting in as much studio time as I hoped for each week is due to my responsibilities as Chair of SAQA's Exhibition Committee. Why do I put so much time and effort into this volunteer job which clearly pulls me away from spending unfettered hours in my studio? When the going is tough and demanding, this is a question I ask myself. Is it worth it? The answer is a resounding yes. 

One of the reasons it is worth it is because of the call for entry uploaded to SAQA's website this week. It is for an exhibition titled Guns: Loaded Conversations. The premise of this exhibition is to use art as catalyst to conversation. It will not be an exhibit with a single perspective on guns. Instead work accepted into the exhibit will be selected because it starts or responds to one of multiple conversations on the topic of guns. Those conversations could be about guns as a right of passage, used for hunting, their place in history, as part of a prized collection, for protection, and yes, used in acts of violence. 

Look who was looking in at me as I
worked in my studio this week.

Guns: Loaded Conversations will premiere at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles in April 2018. The museum is large enough that we are able to include work which meets SAQA's definition of an art quilt be it 2D, 3D, on stretcher bars, framed, installations, wearable and even video.  

An exhibit of this nature takes the time and talents of many people to pull together. Kudos will go to the artists whose work make up the exhibit and to the museums which showcase it. They should also go to the unsung people behind the scenes who flesh out the theme, handle the computer side of things, design the logo, write and proof the prospective and so much more. I stay as Chair of the SAQA Exhibition Committee because it is an honor and delight to work with such a dedicated and talented group of SAQA volunteers and staff with the courage to tackle difficult topics through art.

Look at all
those half hexagons
I managed to piece.

Despite the final work required to get the Guns: Loaded Conversations prospectus to the point where it could be uploaded to SAQA's site, I was able to spend a couple days in my studio this week. First I cut just over 400 half hexagons and then beginning the process sewing them together. Thank you to LeeAnna Paylor, who reminded me there is a way to sew hexagons without the Y seam.  I treated myself to the Fons and Porter Hexagon Ruler. What I love about it is it gives you the strip width to cut for a range of hexagons and half hexagons. Also, the way the ruler aligns with the strip the alignment notch is automatically cut. In other words there is no need to mark the seam allowance or pin adjoining pieces together or as I have done in the past, make my best guess, but only be accurate about 75% of the time.

Here is how the week went:

1) Work on the design for Picking Up the Pieces #2 and/or #3 - Done!

Actually this is basically all I did this week. Cutting out 400 half hexagons and sewing together more than 200 of them takes time.

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1 - Not this week.

3) Pot(s) made this week - You bet

I'm half way through piecing the hexagons
for Picking Up the Pieces #3. Don't the
seams align nicely?

There is nothing like cutting and piecing all those half hexagons to fine tune one's ability to work with hexagons.

4) Free motion quilting practice - Just couldn't squeeze it in.

I am looking forward to finishing up the hexagon background so I can move on to the next phase of this quilt. The current plan is appliqué the foreground to honeycomb background next. Hopefully, I will have time to work on a few other items on my list, too.

1) Work on the design for Picking Up the Pieces #2 and/or #3

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1

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.

Weekly Report 2014 - 03/28

Detail near the center of Tumbling Blocks

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

This week I have been suffering from a severe case of monkey mind. If you aren't a yoga practitioner or don't spend time meditating daily, monkey mind is probably a new term for you. Basically, it means your thoughts are zipping from one idea to the next. The thoughts can be wishful, full of anxiety and cycle through a continuous non productive loop, much the way monkeys swing from branch to branch. When I can't settle my mind, I find it difficult to settle into my work. Fortunately my monkey mind did slow down periodically, so that by the end of the week I had made some progress. Here is how this week went:

Tumbling Blocks at week's end.

 1) Finish piecing Tumbling Blocks I (Due April 30) 

I almost finished piecing Tumbling Blocks, but not quite as you can see from its picture  on my design wall. I got hung up on design decisions. I knew I wanted color fabric between two strips of black for the border. The sticking point came with how intensely to piece the colored fabric and how wide each of the border strips should be. I settled on a progressive 1" of black, 2" of colored and 3" of black. Rather than miter the corners I thought I would replicate the three stacking blocks from the inner panel for the four corners. I began laying that theory out on my design wall - DISASTER! The three blocks stack to 4" and the 1" black strip plus 2" color strip cut the stacked blocks in half. Instead, as you can see from the picture, I went with a 1" black strip, then 4" color strip, followed by a 1" black strip. "But wait," you ask, "why is that outer black strip clearly wider than 1"?" That is because for once I remembered to make the outer border several inches wider than needed for ease of machine quilting. 

Appliquéd corner motif

2) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson. - 

There was no free motion quilting motif to practice on this week. However, appliquéing the stacking blocks was done in a method I learned from Leah. Remember all that English paper piecing of hexagons that I did several months ago? I did a mix of machine piecing the blocks  and then basting the resulting motif over the perimeter of a paper form cut from hexagon graph paper  I gave it a heavy dose of spray starch and pressing before removing the paper. Don't those edges, inside corners and points look nice and crisp? 

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - Done!

Life Book 2014 project

This week's lesson was taught by Lesley Riley. Her focus is on transferring images to fabric and paper. She has had a product developed that she refers to as TAP, Transfer Artist Paper. I didn't have any, but I do keep EQ Printables: Premium Cotton Satin 283 count fabric sheets on hand. So, that is what I used to print the picture of my granddaughter, Mikayla, for this week's project.  I feel I am getting the mixed media bug, because I actually felt let down that the assignment required such a simple background. I just used a stencil to apply gesso roses and then painted with diluted spray ink.

4) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) - a commissioned quilt - On hold until quilts with earlier deadlines are completed. 

Start piecing the quilt.

5) Tickling the Ivories - make and attach the label. - Not yet, but there is no rush.



Will I have monkey mind again next week? There is a good chance. What set it off is that one of my two half sisters (the back story can be found here if you missed it ) got in contact with me. We have a date to chat by phone on Sunday. What should I ask? What shouldn't I ask? What will she ask? What should I answer? It is a bit like working out the border of a quilt. In truth, many options work, it is just so tempting to go for the best and always believe that there is something even better out there that remains elusive. The big decision for next week is how to quilt Tumbling Blocks. I am currently leaning towards stippling, perhaps with Xs and Os scattered through out, since the quilt is for my grandchild.

1)  Tumbling Blocks I (Due April 30) 

a) Finishing piecing the top
b) Piece the backing
c) Baste the quilt for quilting
d) begin quilting

2) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments.

4) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) - a commissioned quilt - On hold until quilts with earlier deadlines are completed. 

Start piecing the quilt.

5) Tickling the Ivories - make and attach the label.


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

Weekly Report 2014 - 01/10

Warding off the inner critic

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

If you follow my blog, then you know I signed up to do Life Book 2014, a series of mixed media lessons taught by a slate of talented practitioners of this art form. The classes cover more than mixed media, they are designed to silence the inner critic, to let go of perfectionism and to let one play. Since I have zero formal art training and have only taken one mini drawing class several decades back I am truly a neophyte. I find it both humbling and freeing to be a beginner. I expect a learning curve. I don't expect to create a museum worthy master piece. So, why am I so hard on myself when it comes to making art quilts? Why does every piece have to exceed the previous one? I really don't have an answer. Just an unreasonable belief that if I have done it (doesn't matter what the it is) before than I ought to be able to do it again or even exceed my bench mark the next time round.

1) Take Three - Decide whether the piece is finished or if it needs something else to bring it to life. - I am still deliberating about this piece. My latest thought is I might be able to crop out a portion that I like and scrap the rest.

2) Express Your Love II - A Leah Day project.

a) Start piecing the arms from hexagons. - Done!
b) Baste the face and body to the quilt. - I am waiting to finish the arms before attaching the three assembled hexagon pieces to the quilt.

3) Life Book 2014 - Do this week's assignment. - Done!

This was a fascinating process. It began with a guided meditation via video to find our inner guardian, color and word for the year. I was pretty skeptical, with a caviler what is the worst that can happen attitude, figured I would give it a try. I kept my eyes closed for the full 15 minutes and let Tamara Laporte's words wash over me. I was surprised to find myself staring at single cat's eye in a misty, pulsating wash of rich honey colored atmosphere. My word wasn't quite as clear. However, the ebb and flow and pulsating nature of the atmosphere lead me to the word - undulate. This is the pace of my life, a steady rhythm of energy and relaxation. 

The second part of the lesson was to watch Tam create her personal inner guardian, a charming, sweet girl with long locks and butterfly wings. My inner guardian, by comparison, is more fierce and all knowing. I think of it like the Greek version of the evil eye, where you wear an evil eye to ward off the evil eye. Frankly, I was shocked to see that 99% of the people who posted their mixed media inner guardian angels did some version of Tam's. There were one or two animals, but mine was the biggest departure. 

My inner guardian angel whose job it is
to protect me from dismissing, belittling
or in away disparaging my work.

We had a second mini lesson this week. This focused on creating a mixed media piece with the guide "What I want most of in 2014 is… I realized I wanted understanding. I want to understand others, I want to understand myself and I want to get a better understanding of all these new supplies and materials I am working with doing mixed media journaling. 






4) Tumbling Blocks I - Cut out more of the blocks. - Done!

When I wasn't messing around with smearing and layering paint, I was cutting out my tumbling blocks. I did sew a few together just to prove that I am cutting them correctly. I still have another 33% or so to cut of the tumbling blocks. I have been playing with different layout ideas on my design wall. It is impossible to light the design wall well for photography, but the pictures should give you some idea of the work involved.

The gradations between the three
tumbling blocks are very, very subtle.
However, in good light they are visible
from six feet away. Once I have the black
and white blocks laid out to my satisfaction,
I will add a few red blocks.

This image shows the three variations of black
and white tumbling blocks.

Next week is a short week for me due to other commitments. This is where I hope to focus my attention over the next two weeks.

1) Take Three - Decide whether the piece is finished, if it needs something else to bring it to life or whether I should scrap it and start over.

2) Express Your Love II - A Leah Day project.

a) Continue piecing the arms from hexagons.
b) Baste the face, torso and arms to the quilt.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments.

4) Tumbling Blocks I - 

a) Finish cutting out the blocks.
b) Work out the final layout of the blocks.
c) Cut out the background pieces.


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

Week in Review - 2014 - 01/03

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I have a confession to make. It has been years, perhaps even decades, since I made a New Year's resolution. Why? Because more often than not the goals attempted in a New Year's resolution aren't achieved and it becomes just one more thing to beat myself up about. Instead I prefer to focus on much smaller more attainable goals that over time surprise me with just how far I have come. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why I so love taking classes that peak my curiosity or promise to teach me something I long to be better at. I particularly enjoy that my classes aren't affiliated with a degree or even a grade removing the pressure to master everything so that I can regurgitate it at the end of the term. I am free to play! 

Here are the classes I have taken over the past few years that I highly recommend to others:

1. Leah Day provides lessons on free motion quilting. She just started up a new course that is sure to be a winner for anyone wanting to become confident in free motion quilting. 

2. Craftsy.com has lessons on all things craftsy whether you want to decorate a wedding cake, sew your own custom fitted garment or like me want to know how to paint on fabric to create highlights and shadow.

3. If you write a blog, run an Etsy shop or maintain your own website, then you know how important it is to have good pictures to support your prose. I turned to Ed2Go for a class on Photoshop Elements.

4. This year I will be taking a mixed media class hosted by Tamara Laporte titled Life Book 2014. What really sparked my interest about this class is that the course is taught by over 20 different mixed media artists. Each of the artists take a turn teaching one or two or more of the classes each week.

1) Jazz Trio - Add the figures to the stage. - Done!

Take Three

2) Leah Day's weekly assignments:

a) Foundation Piecing - 

i) Baste the face and body to the quilt. - I am waiting to do this until I have the arms pieced.
ii) Start piecing the arms from hexagons. - I am still basting the hexagons. I should start piecing the arms next week.

b) Free Motion Quilting - Leah Day is starting a new class. I won't be taking it since she is getting back to basics and I don't need a refresher course. I am going to miss the excuse to try a new Free Motion Quilting motif each week.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do this week's assignment. - I have done the first assignment and begun this week's second assignment.

Life Book 2014 Week 1 Assignment

The gist of the assignment was to start the page by writing out all the negative thoughts and fears I have about making art. It was done in pencil. You can see the writing under the paint. Then using layer upon layer of technique including water-soluble colored pencils, gesso, splatter paint, stamping and dragging painting with a hard edge the negativity is covered up. Finally two hearts are added one being my vulnerable self the other being my supportive voice. The words in ink are being spoken from the supportive voice to my more timid vulnerable self.

The second assignment is to create a mixed media piece portraying my Inner Guardian Angel, or the supportive voice. 

4) Tumbling Blocks I - Cut out more of the blocks. - Done! I have 25% of the quilt cut out, including cutting off the corner tips for ease of precision piecing. I figured out that I will need more than 1,500 pieces to make this quilt. 

One thing is for sure, I am not going to run out of things to do in my studio next week. Here are some of things I will be working on.

1) Take Three - Decide whether the piece is finished or if it needs something else to bring it to life.

2) Express Your Love II - A Leah Day project.

a) Start piecing the arms from hexagons.
b) Baste the face and body to the quilt.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do this week's assignment.

4) Tumbling Blocks I - Cut out more of the blocks.


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

Weekly Report 2013 - 12/20

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

My attempt to capture light and shadow fails.

Did you ever have one of those days when everything goes wrong? Today was one of those days for me. One of the disasters was an experiment gone sadly awry on my latest quilt. I was very tempted not to share this boondoggle, but then I thought it might be edifying to learn that I do make mistakes, sometimes some real bloopers. It isn't the mistake that marks one, but how one copes after the mistake is made. First I do some ranting and whining. Next I might procrastinate, indulging in a computer game or two or twenty until I have calmed down. Finally, I assess the damage and brainstorm ways on how to fix it.  I believe I have a solution that may just hide this nightmare. It is definitely going to be time consuming. Fortunately, I have the time. 

The week wasn't a total washout even if the paint couldn't be washed out. Here is what I accomplished - the good, the disastrous and everything in between:

1) Jazz Trio - finish quilting the background - I finished the floor and backdrop. Then I thought the curtains would look better if I painted them first. WRONG! I did test this theory off quilt first and the test looked good. However, a line of paint to determine that I had mixed the right color was insufficient to get a sense of the overall effect that would be created. Not good at all. 

Jazz Trio with the floor boards and backdrop
successfully quilted and the curtains painted
less than successfully.

This morning I had the brilliant idea to wash the quilt since I hadn't heat set the paint. True a little bit of paint washed out, but not enough to change the appearance one iota. 

2) Leah Day's weekly assignments:

a) Foundation Piecing - 

i) Baste the face to the quilt. - Not yet.

ii) Start piecing the goddess's body "fabric" with the basted hexagons. - Done! I have pieced a little more than 50% of the body "fabric." It is coming along nicely. There is nothing like repetitive hand stitching to sooth one.

b) Free Motion Quilting - I tried two new motifs this week.

The Garden Maze motif reminds me of primitive artwork.

After my painting debacle I was determined to lighten
my mood with something uplifting and easy. The
Open Feather motif done in a fanciful variegated
thread was just the ticket. 

3) Visioning Project - Do the next two assignments from my Photoshop Elements class. - Done! Each lessons includes a couple of projects requiring using some of the tools and settings in Photoshop Elements. This was a fun one.

The original photo provided by the teacher.

The same photo after I had manipulated it by "adding"
four more apples.

Will next week be another nightmare or a Christmas miracle? The answer remains to be seen. One of the advantages of a game plan is that when the going gets tough there are choices, perhaps a slight detour for a scenic view or just gritted teeth and determination to push past obstacles and continue the journey up hill with the promise of a 360 degree vista at the top. My plans for next week include:

1) Jazz Trio - Resolve the curtain debacle.

2) Leah Day's weekly assignments:

a) Foundation Piecing - 

i) Baste the face to the quilt.
ii) Finish  piecing the goddess's body "fabric" with the basted hexagons.

b) Free Motion Quilting

3) Visioning Project - Do the final assignment from my Photoshop Elements class and take the final exam.

4) Enjoy a traditional roast beef dinner on Christmas.


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

Weekly Report 2013 - 12/05

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I used my instruction sheet to create
this sample label. You may recall my
first grandchild, Andrew, from my
quilt, Adoration. He turned six
this past July.

Call me old fashion, but I still snail mail my holiday cards and relish every single one I receive. I take advantage of mail merge to send a "personalized" holiday letter with each card. This way I can an include a sentence or two directed at the recipient while only having to "write" the basic letter once. Recently I started creating my own return address labels with a holiday image using Microsoft Word. I use the same technique to brand my business return address labels. In my branded labels I use an image of one of my quilts. It seems every time I create a new label I have to go through the learning curve all over again. So, this time I wrote out the instructions for myself and then polished them up for you, should you be interested. 

Instructions for adding an image or logo to return address labels in Microsoft Word.

Despite being extra busy as I prepare for the holidays, I managed to accomplish even more than I thought I would this week. Here is how the week went.

1)  ZenBlossoms

• add to my FaceBook fan page - Done! You can now follow the evolution of ZenBlossoms from start to finish on my FaceBook fan page.

2) Leah Day's weekly assignments:

 

a) Foundation Piecing - Piece the 43 hexagons required for the goddess's face. - Nearly done. I have six more hexagons to go. After whining for several weeks about this project, I am beginning to look forward to my "breaks" piecing the hexagons. Who knows, hexagons may pop up in future quilts. They certainly have peaked my imagination.

Hexagon layout needed
to create the fabric necessary
to make the goddess's face for
Express Your Love II

The hexagons nearly all pieced
according to the layout.

b) Free Motion Quilting - Done!

This week's assignment was Daisy Echoes. I used one of my
favorite King Tut variegated thread by Superior. It was just
the ticket to cheer me up during several very grey days.

3) Visioning Project - Do the next two assignments from my Photoshop Elements class. - Done!

Each successive lesson seems to be getting longer and harder, but I am hanging in there. 

4) Trio - Piece the background. - Done! I even went on to baste the pieced background and start the quilting!!

The appliqués that will be placed on the background have
some fussy tiny parts. Therefore, I have opted to quilt the
background before I add the appliqué. 

Where will next week take me? Here is the game plan:
1) Trio - finish quilting the background

2) Leah Day's weekly assignments:

a) Foundation Piecing - 

i) Finish piecing the 43 hexagons required for the goddess's face.

ii) Remove the paper foundations from the hexagons.

iii) Mold the hexagons to the face foundation.

iv) Place and baste the face to the quilt.

b) Free Motion Quilting

3) Visioning Project - Do the next two assignments from my Photoshop Elements class.


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

Weekly Report 2013 - 11/29

Detail from experiment with textured appliqué.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

It has been a short work week here in the states as we celebrated Thanksgiving and for some the start of Hanukkah on Thursday. It was a good week to play versus problem solve. Leah Day's assignment on Textured Appliqué was the perfect play thing. This got me thinking about texture and textiles, both words deriving from the Latin word from woven. Textiles are created by weaving fibers and of course woven fibers and woven strips of fabric create delightful texture.



Despite the short week I made some progress with my work. Here is how the week went:

1)  ZenBlossoms

• make and attach label - Done!
• add to my website - Done!
• add to my FaceBook fan page - Oops, forgot to do this.

2) Leah Day's weekly assignments


Do whatever assignments Leah comes up with next. 

a) Foundation Piecing - plan out the number of hexagons I will need and start piecing. - Partially done. I did manage to plan out the number of hexagons I would need for the goddess's face and begin the basting process.

Hexagons I basted the this week. Some are facing
right side up while others are facing wrong side. Of
course they will all be right side up when I stitch them
together. I just wanted to show both sides off here.

Before I could determine the number of hexagons I would need I first had to determine the scale that was best suited for this project. I found half inch hexagons too small. However, three quarter inch hexagons were too large. I settled on five eighths. Thank goodness the site for hexagonal graph paper allows for any size and so does my husband's calculator for what size to cut the strips.

b) Free Motion Quilting - Done!

This project was neither foundation piecing nor free motion piecing, but a method for creating Textured Appliqué. No surprise I deviated from Leah's method. She had you take a single raw edged strip and stitch it down as you bunched and twisted it. I am not a fan of raw edge unless I want loose threads. Instead I sewed multiple long narrow strips together along the length of the fabric. Next I seamed the long edges right sides together to form a tube. After that I turned the tube so that the right side was outside. Only then did I twist and bunch the fabric. 

Sampler with Textured  Appliquéd  segment added.

I think Textured Appliqué has many possible applications. My first thought was as vegetation. I think it would be great for tree trunks and rock formations, too.

3) Visioning Project - Do the next two assignments from my Photoshop Elements class. - Done!

4) Trio

a) Blow up my sketch for Trio. - Done!

b) Select the fabric I will use. - Done!

c) Try creating a painting of a city at night as the backdrop for the dancers. - Surprise, surprise, I changed my mind. I have decided to use a commercial fabric I found in my stash for the backdrop. It has nothing to do with city lights.

d) Bonus - I started cutting out the fabric I need to piece the background.

Hopefully, my turkey stupor will have worn off by next week and I will be back eager to cracking in my studio again. Here is what I have planned to motivate me:

1)  ZenBlossoms

• add to my FaceBook fan page

2) Leah Day's weekly assignments


Do whatever assignments Leah comes up with next. 

a) Foundation Piecing - Piece the 43 hexagons required for the goddess's face.

b) Free Motion Quilting

3) Visioning Project - Do the next two assignments from my Photoshop Elements class.

4) Trio - Piece the background.


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