Week in Review 2016 - 07/01

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Add caption

"Don't you have anything constructive to do?" This was a question I was asked frequently enough by my mother when I was growing up that it is branded in my brain. Even when I am doing what I have chosen to do, I find myself asking "is this constructive?" "Am I making the best use of my time." Maybe my child self had it right. She was a questioner and a rebel. As a child I asked (ok I never asked this question out loud, just in my head) "Why do I always need to do something constructive?" 

Practicing yoga for more than five years has taught me how to just be. There are many poses that do this yoga. When I first started I often found the rest poses more difficult than the more physically challenging ones, like Eagle. Yes, I can actually do Eagle pose and hold it for a minute or so. This week, I was the only student who showed up for my Thursday yoga class. The teacher asked what I would like to do. I certainly didn't say "something  constructive." :) What I asked for was a contemplative class focusing on rest poses, explaining that learning how to rest was an attribute I was working on and felt that this ability had been strengthening over the years thanks to yoga. So that is what we did.

Later that day I spent the afternoon free motion quilting the clouds in First Light. For me, free motion quilting is the rest pose between the more strenuous physical poses. No surprise, quilting, like yoga and like life seems to be most fulfilling for me when there is a balance between restful, contemplative times and the more active, creative problem solving times.

First Light
Click on this or any image for an enlarged view.

This was primarily a rest week, at least in the studio as you will see:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

a) Attach the sleeve - Done!
b) Make and attach the label - Partially done.

I printed out the label, but have yet to attach it to the quilt.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

This is a detail of the free motion quilted clouds
form First Light.

Just a few more "tricky" bits left on First Light around the trees. I'm looking forward to moving on to the more wide open areas of the sky.

3) Do some surface design work - Done!

This week I decided to have a go at removing an object from its background using Power Point. Once removed the object can pasted onto another background. I'm not convinced this method has any advantage over doing the same thing with Photoshop Elements. 
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open - Done!

This may be splitting hairs as to whether I stayed open or not. I've been taking an online class called Woman Unleashed Retreat. There have been a couple of strong sessions, but many of the sessions just don't speak to me. Sometimes I feel I already have learned what is being taught. Other times, it isn't something I am even interested in doing. I've worked hard at staying open, but occasionally the topic is something I can't see ever having value for me. So, rather than torture myself by listening to the full session on useless topic, I am staying open to walking out on that session. 

The result of my surface design project for the week.
I removed the cruise ship from one photograph
and added it to the water background fabric I shared
in the prior week's blog. 

Next week is an abbreviated work week, since Monday is a holiday. I will be both restful and active if I work my way through the following studio to do list.

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

a) Attach the sleeve
b) Make and attach the label

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.