Week in Review 2016 - 05/06

Seasonal Palette, an all SAQA Exhibition at Taiwan International Quilt Expo.
Photo by Betty Busby

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Deconstructed Sunrise is included
in My Corner of the World. This
all SAQA exhibition opens at the
Stratford Perth Museum in Stratford,
Ontario on May 21, 2016.

I have heard from several of my art quilt peers who have work in the Taiwan International Quilt Exhibition. Some are even fortunate enough to attend. This morning Betty Busby sent SAQA's Exhibition Committee a photo she took of SAQA's exhibition Seasonal Palette. This exhibit opened at IQF in 2012 and still has one more contracted venue after Taiwan at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. No, I don't have work in this exhibition. I did enter, just wasn't juried in, sigh. However, I am fortunate enough to be in two of SAQA's exhibitions that open in 2016. The first is My Corner of the World, that along with its companion exhibition My Corner of the World - Canada opens at the Stratford Perth Museum in Stratford, Ontario on May 21, 2016. Both exhibitions have the same theme. The first was open to all SAQA members (over 3,400 from around the world) and the latter was open only to Canadian members. I also had a piece selected for SAQA's exhibition Tranquility, that will open at IQF - Houston in October 2016. 

I am one of SAQA's many, many volunteers that make the organization the powerhouse that it is. In February of 2015 I took on the role of SAQA Exhibition Committee Chair. This has me managing a committee of 17 incredible volunteers, staff and Board members who are the backbone of SAQA exhibitions. A question we get asked is why should I enter a SAQA exhibition if it means that if I am accepted my work will be unavailable to me for 2, 3 even 4 years? My response, "For a $40 entry fee your work could tour the world and you don't have to handle any of the travel arrangements or paperwork. What a bargain! What a CV builder." 

Adoration is one of 26 art quilts selected for SAQA's
exhibition, Tranquility. It opens at IQF - Houston
in October 2016.

Why do I take on this responsibility, which frankly is a major time drain, time that I could be spending in my studio? It is because I feel so grateful to everyone that has come before me and will come after me that have done the hard work while I reap the benefits. This is my way of paying it forward.

This week the Exhibition Committee required more of my time than some other weeks. I did a bit of this and a bit of that, just not as much as I might have wished to do. I made progress, as you can see:

1)  Finish Reflection #2  - Attach the label - Done!

2) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

I continued to free motion quilt the water section of the piece. I had hoped to finish the quilting phase this week. It just wasn't meant to be.

3) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

There is nothing like having a large quilt requiring quilting to keep my free motion quilting muscle memory trained.

4) Do some surface design work - Done!

If you follow my blog than you know, Lola, my studio
cat. This is an example of what happens when I start
with a photo and run it through multiple iPad apps, that
simplify, morph, change the palette and allow for text.

Technically this was a break week during my Art on the iPad class. However, we were encourage to develop a comfort level with the two apps introduced last week, by spending an hour a day playing. I didn't manage to work on the iPad daily, but I did have fun metamorphosizing doodles and photos to a point where they became a brand new image.

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

Sometimes my opinion is solicited about a new direction or project that SAQA Exhibitions might want to explore. It is so easy to see why these ideas may not work (finances, sell to the membership and more). I have to remind myself to stay open and not close down an idea just because the pitfalls are obvious. Instead I have learned to stay open to the possibilities and work collaboratively to overcome the hurdles. Such was the case this week. A new concept has been raised. I agreed to consider it. I didn't reject it outright, tempting as it was. What will happen? Who knows? At least I remained open.

I am ready to put the pedal to metal on my George and finish up the free motion quilting on Sunrise Abstraction. I am eager to get to the finishing stage, when the quilt is blocked and trimmed and faced. This is when the piece comes alive for me. Hopefully, my impatience will drive me into the studio so that I can attend to the following next week:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

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.

Week in Review 2016 - 1/01

Still playing with Tsukineko inks

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

It came to me this morning. I know just the word to choose as my word for the year. It is OPEN. I plan on this word subtly guiding me throughout the year, especially with staying open to new ideas and what life throws at me.

I printed a public use line drawing found on Bing.com
to see if I could "paint" with Tsukineko inks.
The answer was a resounding NO. I attempted
to "fix" the mess with Jacquard Lumiere  paints.
Better, but still a disaster. The ink, even a single
drop on a tiny, dry brush rapidly leeched through
the cotton fabric. The paint covers that up, but you
can see what happens with the ink outside
the rim of the circle.

Last year I recall how energized I felt at committing to just showing up in the studio for 126 days. It felt like a very reasonable goal, considering I had managed 120 days in 2013. I was so excited to have a year devoted to just doing the work. I knew I could do it because I had already developed the habit of being in the studio three days a week. Then, only four weeks into 2015 I was asked to act as interim Chair of SAQA's Exhibition Committee. I agreed and ultimately made the decision to become The Chair vs. interim chair. It is an amazing experience. I am fortunate to have the support of sixteen committee members (volunteers, SAQA staff and SAQA Board members) on the committee as well as the assistance of others throughout the SAQA organization. For those of you reading this blog who are unfamiliar with SAQA and/or the scope of SAQA's exhibition this should put it prospective. In 2016 SAQA will have 16 active exhibitions touring the United States and beyond, showing at 34 separate venues, with approximately 35 different artworks in each exhibit. The reality of keeping on top of all that comes across my desk (computer - it is a virtual job, with the occasional phone call) means I spend time, at least a full studio day worth of time, each week with my Chair hat on. 

What would have happened last year if I hadn't committed to working 126 days in my studio? My guess, and I can only conjecture here, is that I wouldn't have worked as hard at finding time to both be in the studio and fulfill my obligation as Chair. 

Deconstructed Sunrise #3 was
accepted into My Corner of the World (Int'l.)!!

The experience of such an abrupt change in my life, was a good reminder that life is unpredictable. Just as art, can be unpredictable. I find this especially true when working in my wet studio on surface design projects. So, this is why staying OPEN just feels right as I begin the new year.

This past week was both humbling and extremely gratifying. It was humbling, because one of my Tsukineko ink experiments was a disaster. It was gratifying because Deconstructed Sunrise #3 was accepted into My Corner of the Word (Int'l.) a SAQA touring exhibit. This is my first SAQA acceptance in nine years and I have applied to multiple SAQA exhibits over the years, always getting the slim envelope. Before you ask, I have zero advantage as Chair, all of our exhibitions are juried blind, in other words the juror bases her selection solely on the work and her vision for the exhibition, not on who made it.

When I managed to scrape myself off the ceiling from being accepted and focus in on the work at hand, this is where I turned my attention.

1)   Deconstructed Sunrise #3 - Add sleeves and label - At least this week I can report that the sleeves are done. I should be able to add the label now that I know what must be included on it.

2)  Work on Sea Fever - (Due March 15) - Done!

Much of what I am doing on Sea Fever is experimental or involves techniques that I have used rarely and when I did it was many years ago. I have lots to brush up on.

Creating sea foam for Sea Fever has meant relearning
how to do a pillow case facing.

3) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

I've been working on different motifs for Sea Fever. 

4) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 111/126

I fell 15 days short of my goal. This wasn't what I expected as a year end result back in January 2015, but it is much better than I expected when I took stock halfway through 2015. 

5) Experiment with Tsukineko ink - Done!

Not all the Tsukineko ink experiments ended in disaster.
I'm rather partial to this piece.

My attempt to paint directly (no shaving cream) with Tsukineko ink was a nightmare. Boy, does it bleed. I may try again, but saturate shaving cream with color and paint with that in order to eliminate or reduce bleeding. If that doesn't work, then it is time to investigate other media for detail painting. This is a disappointment, because what I love, love, love about the inks are that they can be blended to make new colors. I've tried Inktense pencils and don't like the feel of them - I want something that glides along the cloth when I paint/draw. 

6) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

What will I need to be open to next week? Who knows? What I do know is that I have a plan which is:

1)   Deconstructed Sunrise #3 - Add  label

2)  Work on Sea Fever - (Due March 15)

3) Free motion quilting practice.

4) Do some surface design work

5) 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.

Week in Review 2015 - 12/04

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Deconstructed Sunrise #3
Details can be found on my website.

Ta da!

You may recall from my last post that Deconstructed Sunrise #3 was nearly destroyed when I gave it its post construction soak in preparation for blocking. Here is the proof that I was able to salvage it from the nightmare of running dye. Didn't the facing come out perfectly? What you are seeing is the actual quilt and not a cropped photo.  I can't believe how nicely it squared up. Thank you to  Kathleen Loomis for your excellent tutorial on facing.

My husband and I traveled back east for Thanksgiving with our extended family. We returned home this past weekend to the usual catch up work. Plus it is December. This means Christmas is around the corner and life has a way of adding chaos and crisis just when you find yourself in a time crunch. What "C" is missing? Calm. This is why I make it a point to allow and/or schedule calm moments into every day.

I titled this free motion quilting motif
Loosing My Marbles

The mad pace to finish Deconstructed Sunrise #3 in order to submit it to a call for entry has left me desperate for another "C" - casual studio time. This is precisely what I have opted to focus on until I feel balanced again.

My plan before our travels waste attend to the following:

1)   Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015) - Done!!!

Snowflakes and Leaves
Tsukineko ink experiment

a) Stitch down the facing - Done!
b) Prepare the Call for Entry photographs - Done!
c) Submit my entry - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 100.5/126

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

5) Tsukineko Ink Experiments - Done!

Fellow quilt artist, blogger and friend Judy Warner and I each bought a set of Tsukineko Inks this year. The appeal is that they are water based, blend with each other to make new colors, are permanent after being heat set, and do not alter the feel of the fabric. Rather than have yet another enticing supply languish in the closet we knew we needed to experiment in order to work them into our repertoire. To motivate ourselves, we have decided to share our experiments with our readers and since we follow each other's blogs, with each other. 

Butterflies in the Grass
Tsukineko ink experiment
Note that I used a thermofax screen as my butterfly stencil.
The ink/shaving cream blend was gone
from the stencil immediately after I
immersed the screen in tepid water.

In this series of experiments I blended ink with shaving cream (helps thicken the ink so that it is less likely to bleed into the fabric.) I built up a background "wash" by adding alternating drops of red and blue ink. In between adding the drops I would paint the fabric with the current concoction. This way the color got gradually deeper in value and went from violet hues to a more reddish purple. Once the background was heat set I added a layer of stenciled prints. Heat set the first stencil prints and then added the final layer.

Tsukineko ink experiment
The background fabric is one of
my hand dyed fabrics. You might be able
to distinguish the glowing yellow butterflies
if you click on the image.

In the snowflake/leaf fabric the two different valued leaves were achieved just like the background. First I printed the paler leaves, then I added more blue to the "left over" ink and shaving cream mix and printed the darker leaves. I had minimal bleeding problems until the final stencil (blades of grass.) I'm not sure if it was the weight of the stencil (very light) or the fact that I was using up the final tablespoon of ink and shaving cream mix which naturally had more ink to shaving cream than the original ratio.

My plan for this coming week and possibly the rest of December is to take a break from designing and making a new quilt and instead find time for play and calm by focusing on the following:
 

1)   Deconstructed Sunrise #3 - Add sleeves and label

2) Free motion quilting practice.

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

4) Experiment with Tsukineko ink

5) Perform a random act of kindness

 
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.

Week in Review 2015 - 11/13

View from the top floor of our condo just before 7:00 a.m.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:


What a week! Everything was humming along until Wednesday and it has been a roller coaster ride ever since. I finished free motion quilting Deconstructed Sunrise #3 on Wednesday morning. The next step was to give it a soak in the tub to remove the glue basting and water soluble thread. Imagine my horror when deep indigo blue dye started to stream off the quilt instantaneously. I knew all the fabric had been pre-washed and the few hand-dye/surface design fabrics that I created had not only been washed but heat set. Apparently NOT! It was one of my hand-dyes that had been in the closet for several years that was leeching dye in a big way. I changed the water multiple times until it ran clear. Next I set it on an old white mattress pad to dry. There was no evidence of dye on the pad that night. Everything looked fine until Thursday morning. OMG the dye had migrated into the palest of the suns. What did I have to loose? I folded Deconstructed Sunrise #3 to fit in a laundry bag and ran it through the washing machine (gentle cycle with the spin cycle cancelled) with some gentle detergent and a Shout sheet. This did the trick. Hurrah!! Early this morning my husband and I squared it up so that I could start the facing. I can breath again. 

Fortunately the "incident didn't happen until late in the week, so I was able to attend to the following:

View from the basement level an hour or so later.
Deconstructed Sunrise #3 in position on my sewing
cabinet in preparation for having the facings attached.
Isn't the backing fabric great?

1)  Continue quilting Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015) - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 95.5/126


4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but there is still a week to go. I am determined to power my way through the following, before the holidays side track me:

1)   Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015)

a) Stitch down the facing
b) Prepare the Call for Entry photographs
c) Submit my entry

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 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.

Week in Review 2015 - 11/06

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Last week I mentioned that comments on my blog postings frequently refer to my free motion quilting practice. Perhaps the second most frequently commented on topic is about my habits. If you have been following my blog for a while, then you have probably picked up that I am up by 3 a.m., an avid exerciser, write a combination of morning pages and gratitude journal, and have specific days assigned to specific areas of my life. The fact that I adhere to these habits is described as disciplined by others. The advantage for me is not having to worry about what to do first (journal, of course) or what to do with my day (if it is Monday, I am in my studio.) It leaves my brain free for creative thought and problem solving. 

Deconstructed Sunrise #3
60" H x 40" W
All three suns are quilted and I have
started to quilt the sky.

Another habit that I have is to listen to audio books as I work in the studio or whenever I am doing things such as laundry, getting dressed, getting ready for bed, housework, etc. that allows me to listen and do the mindless activity. My local library provides audio books that I can download on my iPod, making the books free, portable as I go about my business and with my earbuds in, I can hear the book over the "roar" of my sewing machine. 

This week's audio book was "Better Than Before," by Gretchen Rubin. The topic - habits. :) Rubin looks at how they come to be, how difficult it is to develop new, good habits or break old, bad habits. What Rubin doesn't do is tell you what habits to have or even specifics about how to develop habits. However, she does strongly suggest that it helps to pair habits you want to keep and unlink those you want to drop. For example, if you hate to exercise but love spending time with friends, set up a time to walk with a friend. 

Detail from Deconstructed Sunrise #3
The thin white lines are water soluble thread. They will
disappear when I wash the quilt. On most systems if
you click on an image in my blog you will see
an enlargement of that image.  This is a good way to
see the free motion quilting in the sky.

Do you need to rigidly adhere to your good habits to maintain them? Yes, no, maybe so. I have made it a rule to work in my studio all day Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. This week I had three midday hour long conference calls scheduled for Tuesday. What should I do? I swapped Wednesday (attend to business) for Tuesday. It worked as you can see by the progress I made this week.

1)  Continue quilting Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015) - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done! I am counting the work I did on Deconstructed Sunrise #3 as my FMQ.  

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 92.5/126

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

How will next week go? One thing I can count on is being in the studio on Monday morning to work on the following:

1)  Continue quilting Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015)

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 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.

Week in Review 2015 - 10/30

This tom turkey visits me daily. He is
entranced by his image in the picture
windows of my studio. 

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

My posts nearly always include an image of a current free motion practice piece since I make it a point to do some free motion quilting every week. No surprise, many of the comments I receive concern my free motion quilting.

In this post I want to address two questions I have received about my free motion quilting practice. The first is why do I do it. The second is what do I practice on.

The primary reason why I do some free motion quilting weekly is in order to maintain my skill between quilts. However, there are other benefits as well. Not only do I maintain my skill, but it improves, not as dramatically as when I was first starting out, but I do notice that my ability to navigate out of and into awkward spaces is nearly second nature now. When I am practicing, I choose new motifs to test drive. Try 30 new free motioning quilting motifs in a year and do that for five years and I have not only mastered the basics, but I have 150 motifs to reference when selecting how to quilt that next quilt. Even better, because I am constantly trying new motifs I have no qualms of trying something new on an actual quilt.

A detail from Deconstructed Sunrise #3 showing the quilting.

I don't practice on an "important" quilt. For the most part I practice on solid color fabric and that is most likely to be white muslin or black. I do this because the stitches don't blend into the fabric, making it easy to see where I have already stitched. I will often piece together scraps of muslin or black fabric in order to make use of the scraps, but also because this is more like an actual quilt with seams. Occasionally, I even piece my batting. Do NOT seam batting scraps together. Instead align two straight sides of batting together and using either a zig zag stitch or another stitch that goes from side to side (not satin stitch) to attach one scrap to another. I like to use a quilt sandwich that is approximately the size of a fat quarter or 18" x 22". I start by stitching a grid of squares or rectangles that are at least 4" on each side. I only fill in one unit per session. A 5" x 6" rectangle is large enough for me to develop the muscle memory for the motif and work out any tricky areas. One fat quarter sandwich lasts me for two months, so I am not constantly having to put together quilt sandwiches to work on.

The piecing on Deconstructed
Sunrise #3 is complete. All the circular
sunrise photos have been quilted as has
the top sun. 

If learning how to manipulate something larger than a fat quarter is something you need to practice, then I highly recommend making quilts for charity, especially charities that require crib (cot if your live in the UK) quilts.

It has been an awesome week when it comes to spending time in my studio. I actually managed to head down there for three full days this week. Here is what I achieved:

1)  Continue quilting Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015) - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done! 

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 90/126

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

Puffy Clouds is a free motion quilting motif of my own,
influenced by Muv, of Free Motion Mavericks. I'm
thinking of using it in the sky portion of Deconstructed
Sunrise #3.

I will be a free motion quilting fiend next week, too. Here is the game plan: 

1)  Continue quilting Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015)

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 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.

Week in Review 2015 - 10/16

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Some of you reading this post may
recall a past post where I was
debating between several design
schemes for Deconstructed Sunrise #3.
This is the one I selected.

The plan was (wouldn't those three words work well at the start of a mystery?) to update my iMac to El Capitan this weekend. That would give me "free" days to deal with the inevitable fall out. So imagine my surprise when emerging from my studio to find my husband "generously" starting the updating before leaving for work on Thursday morning. The upgrade went very well for the most part. It is that niggling 1% that is the time vampire and precisely why I didn't want to get drawn into it during the business week. I'm like Alice down the rabbit hole trying to figure out how to reset iMail to run under my preferred address and automatically add my preferred signature. Then there is the fact that I am now forced to have my to do list under Reminders vs. part of iCal. I am addicted to printing out my daily to do list in order to stay on top of things. What I really loved about those items being on iCal, was that my scheduled appointments appeared at the top of the page and the to do items followed. Best of all any notes associated with the to do's were printed out, too. Guess I have officially been proven to be part of the senior generation, because I just can't seem to get a picture of my day by peering at a screen. Besides, there is something so rewarding about drawing a line through a to do item, much more satisfying than hitting the delete button on a computer.

Ta da! The big reveal. Well, close.
I've added the clouds to the sky after
this picture was taken. The fabrics used
are predominately commercial, with
just a few of my own hand dyed, hand
painted and stamped or stenciled fabric
thrown in.
Deconstructed Sunrise #3
60" H x 40" W

Why all the preamble about computers? Because it struck me as I made extra work for myself on Deconstructed Sunrise #3 how very similar the constant call/need to venture into something new and just add one more twist to an artwork, is very much like the upgrades we must do to keep our devices speaking nicely to each other. I could have kept things simple. There was no need to play with multiple layers of batting, nor were cloud streaks absolutely necessary (more on that next week.) Could exploration, be it scaling high peaks, pushing the limits of technology or trying out new design ideas be an innate trait of humans?

It was a very brief week in the studio. I had to attend to lots of business, do some traveling and of course cope with a computer upgrade. That's the bad news. The good news, I can finally share an image of what Deconstructed Sunrise #3 looks like after the freezer paper templates were removed. Here is what did get accomplished:

1)  Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015)

a) Finish piecing Deconstructed Sunrise #3 - Done!
b) Prepare quilt for quilting - Not yet. Just couldn't resist adding in another step - the clouds.

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

This is another Whirls 'n Swirls pattern. Tracy
calls this one Feathers on the Half Shell. Feathers
and spirals - what fun!

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 84/126

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

My calendar for next week is looking relatively empty. I am optimistic that I will be able to leap forward on Deconstructed Sunrise #3. At least that is the plan, as you can see below:

1)  Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015)

a) Stay stitch clouds in place
b) Prepare quilt for quilting
c) Start quilting

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 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.

Week in Review - Mostly in Pictures 2015 - 10/10

It's been a busy week full of conference calls, studio time and travel. My photographer, a.k.a. my husband was unavailable to take pictures as he was away on business. So, I am making due with pictures taken on my iPod. The good news is that Deconstructed Sunrise #3 is fully pieced. It looks great. The bad news is that I can't share a picture yet, because it can't be captured on an iPod. Nevertheless here are a few related pictures as a tease:

Every afternoon the turkey comes by for
easy pickings below our bird feed. This
is my view from the studio. You can tell fall
is coming by the red vine.

In one of those strokes of genius or insanity,
I decided to layer batting behind the three suns
in Deconstructed Sunrise #3. My hope is that this
will result in a rounded, orb effect. Lola, was
just happy to have scraps of batting to perch on
has she watched me work.

Guess watching me work wasn't that stimulating
because she soon passed out.

This is a detail from the backside of Deconstructed
Sunrise #3. If you look closely you can detect the layers
from the lowest, the quilt, through two layers
of batting.

Whenever I work where subtle value shifting is key
I arrange my fabric by hue and then from dark to light.

Next week I promise to share the full front side of Deconstructed Sunrise #3.

Week in Review 2015 - 10/02

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Sunrise over Lake Winnebago at Kimberly Point
in Neenah, WI. Photo by Dana B. Eagles

What's on my mind? What isn't on my mind? I'm having a major case of monkey mind this week. No, I am not thinking about monkeys. Monkey mind is a term coined by Buddha to describe a mind that flits from one subject to the next, often in a fretful, obsessing over problems sort of way. Buddha recommends regular meditation to quiet the monkey thoughts. This is something I can do at the end of my twice weekly yoga classes. Love Shavasana! I'm not so successful at home when interruptions happen, such as robocalls and the ping that announces a new post has arrived in my e-mail inbox. Thanks to caller ID, I know not to pick up the phone unless I know who is calling. I'm also semi firm about not checking my e-mail except at certain predetermined times of the day. Why? Because if I do check my e-mail, I'm likely to get sucked down the rabbit hole of distraction or action. Yesterday was loaded with robocalls and e-mails. I ignored the calls but snuck a peak at the e-mails and that was it - monkey mind off and running. 

A hint of where I am headed with
Deconstructed Sunrise #3.

I did manage to make progress in the studio, but fell just shy of completing Deconstructed Sunrise #3 to a point where I could share the big reveal. This resulted in even more self destructive monkey mind behavior. Progress, any progress is still  progress, right? Here is what I did manage to get done:

1) Continue piecing Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015) - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 80/126

This week's FMQ practice piece inspired by
one of Tracy's at Whirls 'n Swirls. 

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

I fear another case of monkey mind next week, as I have quite a few conference calls scheduled in my role as SAQA's Exhibition Committee Chair. Each call requires some prep work and definitely ends up with actions to be done after the call. It is a world that fascinates and engages me. The reality, though, is that it takes time and that is time that might have been spent in the studio, one of the few places outside of yoga class where my mind quiets down. When I regroup, here is what I plan to focus on:

1)  Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015)

a) Finish piecing Deconstructed Sunrise #3
b) Prepare quilt for quilting

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 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.

Week in Review 2015 - 09/25

The subtle sunrise viewed from our
balcony, this morning.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Not all sunrises are dramatic, just as not all days in the studio produce dramatic progress. Perhaps that is what makes the dramatic ones so special. There is also something to say for the soothing tranquility of simple, unhurried and casual days.

Margaret "Muv" Porwal has been following my progress this year as I work on my Deconstructed Sunrise series. So, when she was treated to a stunning sunset at her home, she snapped a picture and sent it my way. I asked, and received permission from, Muv to use her photograph in my series. If you have pictures taken of sunrises and sunsets that you are willing to share and allow me to use, please, please send them to me.

Margaret "Muv" Porwal captured this dramatic
sunset from her attic. 

Although I continued to make progress on Deconstructed Sunrise #3 this week, it was of the subtle variety and like last week, much of it is hidden behind freezer paper. I'm expecting the dramatic unveiling next week or the week after.

1) Continue piecing Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015) - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

Leah Day has been having fun with pumpkins, now that Halloween is just around the corner. I loved the look of the Twisted Tendril motif she came up with as a subtle backdrop for the more intensely quilted pumpkin. Naturally, I had to give it a try. This would make a fabulous design for borders and sashings.

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 77/126

I started piecing the lower 25% of the sunrise sky. Quite a
contrast from the upper section of inky blues.

Twisted Tendril, free motion quilting motif designed
by Leah Day. 

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

My calendar is relatively free next. I'm hoping that I will have the energy and focus to push forward at a faster pace. I am eager to spend my time finishing the piecing of Deconstructed Sunrise #3, or at least to see the finish line on the horizon.

1) Continue piecing Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015)

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 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.