Week in Review 2016 - 07/22

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Figure (1)

"Value does the work, and color gets all the credit," is how painter David Lobenberg begins one of his blogs. I don't believe he is the first and he is certainly not the only artist to espouse this axiom. Exploring value is one of my favorite ways to work. It is how I am selecting my fabric for Siren's Song. I am limiting myself to eight values from the palest blue to a mid value green as I interpret an image taken of water  from the balcony of my cabin on a recent cruise. Normally I share the current results of my work. Today, I thought I would share a bit about how I work.

Figure (2)

Figure (1) shows how I lay my fabric out. Note that there are are 8 stacks of fabric, arranged in value order. Above each stack are pieces cut from the fabric to the size needed for piecing. I tend to cut a strip or two at a time. Then cut as many pieces as I can from the strip. Cutting all 2,862 pieces that I will need in advance is, frankly, too boring and tedious. Instead I cut as I need more. It is hard to tell from the picture but each sized piece has its own row. This makes it very easy to grab the fabric I need for my current block(s). 

I won't share my method of how I determine which value to place where. That would make this post far too long. It won't come as surprise, I do have a system.

Figure (2) Once I have laid out the fabric pieces that will form the next block in the quilt, I start to sew. I find it easy to layout my blocks on trays so that I can carry a block with me from work station to work station. I used to only make one block at a time. However, to speed up the process, I gave three blocks a try this week. See those skinny strips on the cookie trays? Those tell me where the block fits in the quilt. One of them is a C1/R3. This translates to column 1 row 3. I have a guide for each block to make sure the units are where they should be and rotated in the correct direction. I double check that I have it right before sewing the units together.

Figure (3)

Figure (3) Once a block is finished I place it where it belongs with the other finished blocks on my design wall. Now I get to see how it is all coming together. The three fabrics hanging with the completed blocks are ones I am living with before I commit to one. There is a section of the quilt where this fabric is used to create the rim around a porthole. 

No surprise my work was very narrowly focused this week as you can see:

1) Create 11 Siren's Song blocks. - Attempted

I knew trying to finish 11 blocks in 7 days would be a stretch. I managed 7 blocks. Plus I am approximately half way through the 3 on the trays. I will get a shade faster over the next couple of weeks. The first attempts always have "learning opportunities" to overcome.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Not this week.

3) Do some surface design work - Not this week.

4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open - Oblivious

OK, that might be hyperbole. However, I can't think of a single instance when I wasn't open to questioning, trying something new or processing input from others. 

I'm looking forward to next week. I've signed up for Carla Sonheim's Kid's Art Week. It is a free online class with daily lessons from Carla for kids of any age. There is still time to sign up.  I will be doing it (from a distance) with my four year old granddaughter. There is a private group for sharing. In between drawing/painting assignments I will be swatting away on my own art as follows:

1) Create 11 Siren's Song blocks.

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.