Friday, August 23, 2013

Week in Review 2013 - 08/26


1) Companion Oysters (Deadline 9/01/2013)

Detail from the backside of Companion Oysters
Whatever was I thinking? Although the deadline is not officially here, I am officially opting to let it slip by without finishing Companion Oysters. I could obsessively work every waking hour and some sleeping hours to finish, but where is the joy in that? Instead I have learned (not for the first, second or perhaps tenth or twentieth time) that intense, detailed free motion quilting takes far more time than I ever book for it, but it is worth it. Companion Oysters is coming alive with the attention to detail that the quilting is giving it.

a) Finish quilting Companion Oysters. - Started.

Detail from the front side of Companion Oysters
The more intense quilting surrounding the seaweed
helps create a sense of depth when seen in person.
I opted to quilt a horizontal pattern to enhance the
feeling that the shells are on a beach.

b) Square up the quilt in preparation of facing it. - Not possible.

Another detail from further away of Companion Oysters.
2) Leah Day's weekly assignments


Express Your Love II covered with a plastic orientation
sheet that helps with positioning where various pieces that
will eventually be appliquéd to the background will go.
It can be tempting when I am running behind on my exhibition pieces to skip the assignments that Leah doles out weekly. So, why don't I? The answer is simple. I find that her assignments sharpen my skills and give me new techniques to add to my tool box. I can honestly say that it is making my way through these assignments that has given me the confidence to make quilting as much a part of the design as the image when creating my work.



Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next. 

There were two assignments this week. The first was a new foundation style based on triangles and rods. I used it for the tress on the left in Express Your Love II.  I am really curious to see how Leah will recommend that we attached the seven pieced tresses to the quilt.

Detail from Express Your Love II. This week the "tress"
on the left was added. Note how triangles alternate with
rods versus the tress on the right which is primarily
skinny "wobbly" slivers.

The second assignment was a new free motion quilting motif Leah dubbed, Missing Pieces. This didn't grab me when I saw the demonstration video. However, I found it both very easy to stitch and I rather liked the pattern as part of the sampler of free motion quilting patterns I have been testing out recently. I even found it was not that difficult to fit around other motifs.

Practice sample of Missing Pieces.


3) Pictorial Painting - Face "Canyon." - Some day.

I suspect I won't finish quilting Companion Oysters next week. However I am willing to give it another shot. 


1) Companion Oysters 
a) Finish quilting Companion Oysters.
b) Square up the quilt in preparation of facing it.

2) Leah Day's weekly assignments

Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next. 

3) Pictorial Painting - Face "Canyon."


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.

20 comments:

  1. Good decision to go for the joy. Art should be fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Precisely. There will be other opportunities to give Companion Oysters an airing.

      Delete
  2. I agree. I hate it when my passion turns into drudgery. Art should, as Regina says, be fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seems we are all in agreement. I feel very fortunate that art can be my avocation versus my vocation.

      Delete
  3. I keep saying that I should do Leah's Daily quilting, especially when I see yours and such fabulous results.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't say enough superlatives about doing Leah's assignments. I would liken it to playing scales daily if you are pianist. The more you do, the more comfortable you become. The more comfortable you are the more adventurous you can be.

      Delete
  4. More power to your line of thinking! Who said its a race? Your right there is no fun in stressing ang rushing to get done. The whole idea is to enjoy the process..
    Still your work is wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How many times are we quilt artists told, "I would love to do what you do, but I just don't have the patience." I can't say that I am always patient. Still I enjoy the zen of the repetition and slow, steady progress. That is where my joy comes from. So, that is where I choose to focus.

      Delete
  5. Ditto! And it will exhibit somewhere special when the time is right!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love your confidence, Margaret. From your lips to the curator's/judge's ear.

      Delete
  6. I like the green fabrics you used for the seaweed. The "ferris wheel" at the bottom of the missing pieces practice peace is really fun. I like the contrast of the curvy shape with all those squares.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A member of a critique group I belong to suggested that I use more than one fabric for the seaweed. I am so grateful she did. I agree that those tinted green batiks are an asset to the piece.

      When I first started hammering out Leah's motifs I set up a new quilt sandwich for each motif. Then a few weeks ago I set up a sandwich to test out some motifs of my own and just decided to do Leah's on the same practice piece. I am loving the way tangental patterns play off of one and another.

      Delete
  7. I love to see your oysters finished. What is have seen so far is so beautiful!
    I admire your discipline to follow Leah's samplers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm curious about how Companion Oysters will look when it is finished, too.

      I am not sure it is discipline as much as I like the excuse to break away from my own work, which invariably requires problem solving and just relax by testing driving one of Leah's designs.

      Delete
  8. If you force yourself though, it won't be the piece you wanted. Very wise move!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm also trying to go for the joy. Why bother doing this stuff if you don't enjoy it?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I admire your steady a nd precise work. thanks for sharing. claudia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure, Claudia. Thanks for taking the time to check out my posts.

      Delete