Week in Review 2016 - 10/14

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I've had a Tale of Two Cities kind of week. In other words "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." There was even a moment when I had to dig deep and be my best self by fessing up to a mistake. I was unaware I made it more than a year back. It has produced  some very uncomfortable results. So, the conclusion, of the book, "It is a far, far better thing I do" is ringing true, too. One would think with all this drama that I would have had very little studio time. That was not the case.

In hind sight, I should have quilted this
before sewing it into the quilt. Sigh. 

1)  Continue quilting Siren's Song - Done!

I'm not sure how many hours I logged quilting Siren's Song, yesterday was pure joy. I finished quilting the water portion of the sunset picture. The bronze metallic thread was the perfect choice to capture the sunset reflection in the water. Even better it only broke once. Metallic thread is known for being very, make that VERY fussy. My tricks, a big eye needle and Sewer's Aid applied to the spool. It is also when FMQ practice pays dividends. The quilting motion must be fluid in order not to apply any torque to the thread.

Once I finished quilting the image I could return to quilting the background. I quilted for hours. The repetitive rhythm of doodling circles was just the relaxation I needed.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

Once again Siren's Song fulfilled this obligation. :)

3) Do some surface design work - Done!

The Hungarian Braided Chain Stitch is
running along the top border. The other
stitch is the Palestrina Stitch done on the
right with 2 strands of floss and on the left
with #8 pearl cotton. Clearly, a thicker thread
is essential for thread work to show.

I'm not getting nearly the amount of hand stitching done that I would like to. Thanks to one of my blog followers, who brought the Hungarian Braided Chain Stitch to my attention, I gave that a whirl. Mary Corbet has posted many short video's each demonstrating a different embroidery stitch. I stumbled upon one last week when I wanted a link for my blog. This had several people writing me on how after viewing the link, they checked out her goldmine of videos. Do watch Mary's videos if you want to add hand stitching to your lexicon.

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

My mistake was very upsetting to me. I hold myself to such high standards, especially when what I do impacts others, that I just wanted to escape by shutting down, or wishing the problem away. Instead I faced it head on and admitted that I was human. I didn't try to cover it up or point the finger at someone else. Instead I apologized. Was it cathartic? No. Did it solve the problem? No. Have I moved on, maybe just a little. What I can do is look myself in the mirror and know that I did the right thing.

One way I work through emotional upset is through my art. There is something about the creative process that is very healing. Fortunately, I am at the perfect point in my work where the decisions have been made and the work left to do stress relieving versus stress provoking. 

The plan for next week is the same as this week. I'm looking forward to indulging in more rejuvenating studio time, focused on the following.

1)  Continue quilting Siren's Song

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.