Week in Review - 05/08

Module #1 of Deconstructed Sunrise is assembled
and ready for quilting. I used Ann Holmes's
No Sewing Until You Quilt It  to turn under the
applique pieces. The pieces are then adhered
to French fuse. 

Note the upper left rectangle. This is Module #1
 of Deconstructed Sunrise that I
pieced this week.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

You may have noticed that periodically I give credit to my husband, Dana B. Eagles, as my photographer. All the photos of my work featured in my blog are taken by him. However, the photos don't go directly from the camera to the blog. First, I select what I think are the best ones. He usually gives me at least four of each image to choose from. Once I have chosen this week's images I edit them through Photoshop Elements. I use three tools from Photoshop Elements on almost every photo. The first tool is the Straighten Tool. This tool is used to run a line across the horizon of the photo as you would like it to be. Once the line is set the photo automatically adjusts, shifting a few degrees right or left so that the horizon is correct. This fixes any issue with the work being hung slightly askew while it is being photographed. Next I remove any extraneous edges, generously cropping the work. This allows the work to shine versus the distracting, uneven edges that will ultimately get cropped on the actual work. Finally, because the image will be shared on the internet I Save for Web, selecting a resolution, usually high, that will load relatively quickly on computers, but still be clear especially should you choose to click on the image and see an enlarged version.

The idea for Deconstructed Sunrise is to piece it with
whole cloth sections, pieced sections and photo transfers.
Can you find the section I cut from the lower left corner
here in Module #1 up above?

This was a very busy week. May 1st was the kickoff of the National Bike Challenge. Dana and I are participating for the third year in a row. The weather has been so perfect that we couldn't resist taking advantage of it. We logged 123 miles over the past six days!! For the most part our cycling took place before or after work, but as you can see it did not keep me away from the studio. Here is what I accomplished between rides:

1) Deconstructed Sunrise (Due November 30, 2015) - Continue piecing - Done!

 2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 39.5/126

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

I will be interspersing sections of color with sections of
purple in Module #2 along with another photo transfer
from the original sunrise photo. 

5) Do some surface design experiments - Skipped

I will be taking some time away from writing Gwyned Trefethen's Musings. I will be back in June. When I return here is where I plan to focus my attention:

1) Deconstructed Sunrise (Due November 30, 2015) - Continue piecing

 2) Free motion quilting practice.

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015

4) Perform a random act of kindness

I took a few moments off piecing Deconstructed Sunrise
to work on my free motion quilting. This week I added
the highlights to the stalk and began work on the lower leaf.

5) Do some surface design experiments

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.