Weekly Report 2014 - 10/31

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

The poison dart frog after it had been painted with pink.

What a difference a little white paint can make!
I resisted the temptation to give it a french manicure. :)

BOO!! Today is Halloween in the US. It is time for children to dress up as witches, ghosts, zombies and other characters of their imagination, head out when the sun goes down and go door to door asking "Trick or treat?" I still recall how terrifying it was at young age to head out into my neighborhood with my friends on Halloween. It was a very safe neighborhood, but walking through it in the dark amongst zombies and witches was just plain spooky. What is it about "safe" fear that we crave? Is this why I create art? 
In order to create Night Vision I have had to face and overcome my fear on numerous occasions. I know how to work with cotton fabric, but working with vinyl is another story. Then there is committing to a free motion quilting pattern. I test ideas off quilt, but eventually if I am to make progress I must paint that frog, secure it in one place and start the quilting. Will the result be a trick or a treat?

The poison dart frog takes center stage
on his tropical leaf dominion.
If you click on the image you can see
an enlarged image that should allow you to
see the quilting above and to the right
of the frog.

This week has been a mixture of both tricks and treats. Most things have gone as planned and resulted in delightful treats. I conquered my fear and started quilting Night Vision. Stepping up to my machine and pressing the pedal sure felt like a strong potential for a trick.

My take on Lori Kennedy's Squared Flowers 

1) Night Vision - (Due January 1, 2015)

a) Finish painting the poison dart frog - Done!
b) Appliqué the frog to the quilt top - Done! Actually I fused it using Heat 'n Bond.
c) Prepare the quilt sandwich - Done!
d) Start quilting - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

It was very tempting to skip this and count the free motion quilting on Night Vision as my practice. I didn't. The reason is simple. I find free motion quilting practice so liberating and joyful. The quilting on Night Vision hasn't reached that level of comfort. Free motion quilting is my excuse to just let go and breath. 

There were several challenges involved in this lesson.
First, was to work small. My whimsical wizard is just shy of
5" h x 4" w. The second was to create a face that read
male vs. female.

I modified Lori Kennedy's design, Squared Flowers. My quilts rarely have square spaces for quilting, so when I practice free motion quilting I like to practice it in an irregular, curvilinear shape.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - Started

This week's LifeBook lesson was by Steven Speight. Do check out his site. He has a bold, detailed style that he uses to create characters that would be perfect for an adult Halloween party. His lesson was just as involved and creative. I devoted a full day plus and only finished 1/3 of the class. I would have kept going and I will definitely return to it on Monday, my mixed media day, but I had to be true to my priorities with hard deadlines.

4) Surprise for my sister (Due November 24) - Started

Step one - seam the 40 strips into two duplicate 20 strip pieces.

The first half sister I met about 14 years ago, my birthfather's daughter, was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. She begins chemotherapy on December 1. Shhh! She doesn't know it, but I plan to surprise her with a throw quilt in her favorite color, purple with a stripe of colon cancer blue. I have started piecing together the strata.

I can't wait for next week. I am eager to get to work on every project I have in the line-up that follows:

1) Night Vision - (Due January 1, 2015)

a) Continue quilting
b) Blind stitch the frog in place

2) Free motion quilting practice.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. 

4) Surprise for my sister (Due November 24)

a) Finish piecing the 40 strata strips.
b) Cut the strata
c) Start piecing the the cut strata.


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.