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 2014 - 09/12

 Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Free motion quilting practice piece.
The cheater panel is a Leah Day design.

John Lennon, in his song, Beautiful Boy wrote "Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans." My research into where this quote came from  speaks to the quote. Once again, one thought leads to the next and then the next and I have the itch to know just a bit more. In fact I can get so far afield that I nearly forget what started the research in the first place. In this case it was because I planned to use the Lennon quote as my opening sentence. Confession, I do not think about what I am going to write about in my weekly blog much more than a couple of hours before I sit down to write. Even then I just let my mind drift over the week hoping that it will snag on a subject. Invariably whatever I plan to write changes fairly dramatically from that first glimmer of an idea. What I did think about is that those of you who have taken time to share your thoughts about my blog have often wished that you could be as organized and focused as I am. Yes, I am organized and focused. However, every week and every day "Life is what happens to me when I am busy making other plans."

Three leaves of Night Vision have been pieced.
Just three more to go plus the poison dart frog.

Despite a week of constant interruptions, commitments and demands I did make progress on all three of my chosen focus projects. Here is how that went:

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

a) Continue the piecing - Done

I would have liked to have pieced more. In fact I thought I could finish piecing two leaves, not just one this week. But then life happened… Sigh!




2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

I created a filler design that I tested in the circle that
surrounds the goddess. On paper it looks like seed pods.
It definitely needs more open space to shine.

I was sorely tempted to skip time practicing my free motion quilting, but I rallied. I do believe that practice helps to keep the mind, hand, foot connection in synch if you at least do an hour or two of free motion quilting weekly. That way when a major quilt is ready to be quilted the fear factor is greatly diminished and the quilting flows as naturally as piecing a four patch.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - Done!

There were two life book assignments this week. I did them both!! 

Lola is my model for Home is Where the Cat is.
This photo could be titled The Cat is Very much at Home. :)

The first was on developing or determining your voice. In 2005 - 2008 my voice was clear. However, in 2008 I learned we would be moving and it took until 2011 to be out of moving/settling mode and back in the studio again. That voice no longer spoke to me. I have been pushing new boundaries. Did I have a voice? I believe I do. It just isn't as obvious as it was in the past. If you are interested, please drop by my website look over the work and then return to the blog and tell me what ties my work together. 

My take on the Artsy Abode lesson inspired
by my cat and wonderful picture of a
contemporary home designed to include many
places for cats to run, perch and hide.
Click on the image for enlarged view.

After determining what I believed was my voice in fiber arts, I couldn't help but look for how this was influencing me in my mixed media voice, especially as the lessons have become less how to draw or what layer to put on top of what layer and are instead giving the student much more input. The piece I made for the topic, Artsy Abode, titled Home is Where the Cat is, does in fact share much in common with my more recent fiber art work.

Life is happening next week in an even bigger way, so I will be taking a week off from making and writing about art. It is good to take a break on occasion. At least that is what I reassure myself with. When I return here these are the projects I will direct myself to.



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

a) Continue the piecing

2) Free motion quilting practice.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments.


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.