Week in Review - 12/11

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

One thing I've learned to do from
my year focused on mixed media
is start the next piece with the
leftovers at the end of the day.

Judy Warner, my fellow Tsukineko ink experimenter, asked me (and I paraphrase here) "why are your experiments producing such positive results?" I had to think about this for a while. Now, as I compose this blog, I realize the answer is very similar to the one that I give when I am asked "how long does it take you to make a quilt?" The questioner wants the facts. Judy wants to know all the details of tools, set-up, ratio of ink to shaving cream, etc. Those asking the time question want to have the work encapsulated in something easy for them to interpret, such as 100 hours. However, for me the answer is the same for both questions. It isn't the set-up for a particular experiment or the time spent from start to finish on a quilt that produces the results I get. What is key is how I have spent my time leading up to this experiment or that quilt. All those hours making other quilts, taking a year to study mixed media, teaching classes on color, and taking classes on technique all influence the intuitive way I work with something new. Are all my experiments successful? Of course, not. However, and this is key, even the unsuccessful experiments are successful, because it is through failure that we learn.

Not every piece is successful. I tried
adding a single drop of yellow to
blue drops. The yellow is too
dominate and distracting for
my personal taste. This cloth was wet
when I worked on it. I was hoping
for more natural migration of the ink.

I tried printing versus stenciling
on this piece. Then couldn't resist
adding some dot collections with
a stencil.

Remember Night Vision? It was rejected from three exhibitions in a row. What experience has taught me is not to give up. I continued to enter it and this past week it was accepted into the 21st Arts in Harmony exhibit that opens in February in Elk River, MN. Light, Space and Time's online "Animals" exhibit includes Night Vision, too. Both exhibitions are art exhibits as opposed to fiber exclusive exhibitions. Details for both exhibitions may be found on my website.

Here is what I experimented with this week:

I'm in love, LOVE with how this turned out. It was created
by painting multiple layers of ink/shaving cream mixtures.
Each layer was heat set before the next one was added.
My goal with the experiments is to create work that reads
like water. That is why I love this so much. 

 1)   Deconstructed Sunrise #3 - Add sleeves and label - Not yet

The top split sleeve is attached. I have pinned the bottom sleeve to the quilt, but haven't sewn it in place yet.

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 103.5/126

4) Experiment with Tsukineko ink - Done!

5) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

I'm also hoping to capture sea foam. This is my pressing
cloth from all the work I have done. Sometimes
the "accidental" art is the best. :)

The plan was to give myself the month of December to play. That commitment lasted a few days. Then I had one of those eureka moments where I just knew what I absolutely, positively needed to make for my next quilt. It will be a departure into uncharted territory. I'm super excited. This is the absolute best time for me as an artist, when everything seems possible. You've heard of runner's high? I have artist's high. I'll need to reign myself in, though, so that I can focus on the plans for next week which are:

1)   Deconstructed Sunrise #3 - Add sleeves and label

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

3) Free motion quilting practice.

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

While my ink experiments were drying I took some
time try out another Whirls and Swirls motif. Not sure
what Tracy calls it, but I have named it
Jacobean Flourish.

5) Experiment with Tsukineko ink

6) 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 - 2/20

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Adoration - submitted, but rejected from
Legacy, an upcoming art exhibit at the
Neville Museum in Green Bay, WI

The question I am asking myself as I sit down to write this week's post is how best to frame the past week? It would be easy to put myself forward in the best light and share my week's successes. It may be cathartic for me and enlightening to you to share the more difficult issues I faced. Dickens said it best when he opened A Tale of Two Cities with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." In truth, my week was neither of these extremes, but it certainly hasn't been inconsequential times either. I received the slim envelope twice this week. First from the Neville Museum in Green Bay, WI that requested artwork for their upcoming exhibition titled, Legacy. What could better suit the theme than Adoration? Well apparently after reviewing all the entries the juror came up with an exhibition that was land based. Adoration certainly didn't fit into that slant on legacy. Next to be rejected was Night Vision. I was in very good company with this one. 80% of the works entered were rejected. How do I dust myself off? I fill out yet another call for entry this time to an art exhibit in Missouri titled Wild Thing, that is looking for art based on wild animals and even mentions creatures of the rain forest in the prospectus. So the waiting game begins again.

Night Vision - submitted, but rejected from
Wild Fabrications. Now waiting to hear if it
got into Wild Things.

Another way I cope with rejection is to focus on what has gone well. It took a little more than two weeks, but I am finally able to attend to my work as Interim Chair of SAQA's Exhibition Committee and still spend three solid days working in the studio and another day handling the business end of things. How did I spend my studio time? Beading, of course.

1) Mondrian Tackles Fibonacci - (Due May 1, 2015)

a) Continue beading - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Oops. I meant to do this yesterday, but I was so caught up in my beading that I just plum forgot.

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 19.5/126

Two rows of beading complete in each of the four
quadrants of the 16" square white block in
Mondrian Tackles Fibonacci 

4) Perform a random act of kindness - I was kind many times last week, but I didn't manage to perform a random act of kindness.

5) Night Vision - 

a) Add the label - On hold until I need a second label

What will next week bring? Will it be the best of times? Will there be more challenges? At least I have a plan to help smooth out the emotional upheavals. It is as follows:

I opted to try my hand at moss stitch beading
for the 4" square block. 

1) Mondrian Tackles Fibonacci - (Due May 1, 2015)

a) Continue beading

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

5) Night Vision - 

a) Add the label - On hold until I need a second label

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 - 1/02

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Happy New Year!

Lola, my studio supervisor demanded that she make
yet another blog appearance. She is also in the video.

To celebrate the new year I have added a new feature to my blog, a video. I've been wanting to add a monthly video for some time, but was intimidated by having to learn yet more technology in order to do so. When I started facing Night Vision yesterday, I knew it was time to bite the bullet and make a video. I can't be the only person who tries  no fail facing methods only to be disappointed time after time. Between the video and the pictures accompany this blog I have assembled what for me our the trickiest parts of adding facing and the best method for sailing through these parts. The first hurdle is making sure that the facing is only visible from the backside. The solution to that is stay stitching the facing strips 1/8 of an inch inside the seam allowance. Getting crisp AND lump free corners is achieved by trimming the backing and batting away from each corner at a 45 degree angle. Do NOT trim the quilt or the facing. (See Kathleen Loomis's blog for an in depth how to on her technique. Finally, hand sew like a pro, by burying your knots and hiding your stitches. I demonstrate this on my video.

The facing and quilt are folded back to reveal the batting
and backing. The blue triangle delineates the area that
the visible quilt top will cover. When trimming the corner
you want to cut just slightly inside the quilt. This greatly
reduces the bulk and allows for a crisp, lump free corner.

It was a quiet, but industrious week with lots of hand sewing as I started the finish work on two different pieces. I really relish the finish work. I find it one of the most relaxing aspects of making a quilt. That is why I choose to focus my video on how to tie an appliqué knot and the best stitch for hand sewing facings or bindings.

1) Night Vision - (Due January 31, 2015)

The facing was first seamed to the quilt right sides to
right sides. Next the facing is opened to the outside of
the quilt and pressed. Finally, the facing is stay stitched
in place using an 1/8 inch seam allowance. This
keeps the facing from rolling to the front of the quilt.

a) Face the quilt - Started

b) Add the split sleeve - Not yet
c) Take the formal call for entry photos - Not yet
d) Add the label - Not yet
e) Submit the call - Not yet

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

Another FMQ motif from Lori Kennedy of Inbox Jaunt.
Not my best effort. I find midsize and large size free motion
quilting much more difficult than small size. This
is approximately 3" high.

3) Sunrise over Little Lake Butte des Morts (due December 31, 2014)

Sunrise Over Little Lake Butte des Morts

Detail from Sunrise Over Little Lake Butte des Morts

a) Finish the quilting - Done
c) Do the finish work - Just needs the label
d) Submit it for consideration - Not yet

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done

We are head towards are coldest week so far this winter. Sunday night will be -13F or -25C . Perfect weather to hunker down and do some quilting. Here are my plans:


1) Night Vision - (Due January 31, 2015)

a) Finish Facing the quilt
b) Add the split sleeve
c) Take the formal call for entry photos
d) Add the label
e) Submit the call

2) Free motion quilting practice.

3) Sunrise over Little Lake Butte des Morts (due January 8, 2015)

a) Add the label
b) Submit it for consideration

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 - 11/28

Closeup of the quilting in Bargello Blessings, the
quilt I made for my sister.

Closeup of the quilting in Bargello Blessings, the
quilt I made for my sister.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the States. Since moving to Wisconsin, 1,200 miles from the majority of our family, we have traditionally celebrated the feast with another couple in a similar position. I miss those Thanksgivings we used to host with 12 to 20 family members around the table. Now that there are only four of us, we trim way back on the side dishes. Somehow I still managed to achieve turkey stupor and I didn't even go back for seconds. Another tradition on Thanksgiving are the phone calls from  family members. My brother who moved to Oxford, England, like other expats, treated himself to a few slices of turkey and peas. He had two pressing questions. First, he just wanted to hear about what we were serving so he could be transported back to the feasts of our youth. Second, he wanted to know if I had finished my sister's quilt in time to send it to her before her first chemotherapy treatment. There was an addendum to that second question. Would I be sharing a picture of the quilt in this posting. The answer is yes.

I spent fewer hours in the studio this week due to the holidays. Despite the shortened hours here is what I managed to accomplish:

Closeup of the quilting in Bargello Blessings, the
quilt I made for my sister. I chose a pale pink and
lavender variegated thread for the the quilting. Sometimes
it blends with the top, sometimes it doesn't. I rather enjoy
the peek-a-boo nature that this gives.

1) Night Vision - (Due January 31, 2015)

a) Finish the quilting - I moved the quilting much closer to the finish line. The more I do the more the veins of the leaves stand out. It is becoming a very textured piece with a dimensional feel. Yeah!


b) Blind stitch the frog in place - not yet
c) Square up the quilt - not yet

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Between my sister's quilt and Night Vision I got sufficient free motion quilting practice.

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

It amazes me that after 48 weeks of LifeBook lessons there can be any more mixed media techniques to learn, but there are. The background to this piece was done by using petroleum jelly as a resist. Wherever the petroleum jelly was applied and then painted, the paint could be rubbed off. When this done with five layers of paint a wonderful antiqued, weathered look is achieved.

4) Surprise for my sister (Due November 24) - Done!

I finished in time to ship the quilt on November 22nd. My sister was delighted, especially with the purple palette, her favorite color scheme.

a) Finish binding the quilt - Done!
b) Add the label - Done!
c) Ship the quilt - Done!

One of the reasons I am have been so determined to keep the momentum going on Night Vision is that I know the reality of the holiday season means less studio time. With any day I can steal for studio time next week I plan on doing the following:

1) Night Vision - (Due January 31, 2015)

a) Finish the quilting
b) Blind stitch the frog in place
c) Square up the quilt

2) Free motion quilting practice.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. 

4) Design the piece to follow Night Vision.


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 - 11/14

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

The second LifeBook 2014 lesson I completed this week.
It works like an Advent calendar. The feathers
lift up to reveal positive messages below. What looks like
doilies is actually my newest stencil.

I have been practicing free motion quilting designs that
might work for my sister's quilt. I stumbled upon
this on a YouTube video that appeared on the sidebar while
I was looking at something else. It is going to require
a lot more practice for me to achieve the "backwards"
feathers and transitions from one heart to the next.

Like many artists who work with fabric I started my journey as someone who enjoyed handwork for relaxation. I had done needlepoint, crewel, knitting, crocheting and sewn some clothes for myself and my daughter. I tried quilting in 1974 when the only book I found was on English paper piecing. I bought Laura Ashley remnants to make the quilt with. I worked on that "quilt" on and off for a couple of years and don't think it ever grew to even a 12" square. There is a reason you don't paper piece thin wale corduroy. :) I gave up on that quilt, but not on the idea of making a quilt some day. 

Then Eleanor Burns came on the scene with her Quilt in A Day series. I took an evening class at the local high school. It was an 8 week course to make a quilt in a day. Thank goodness that quilt was auctioned off for charity. Ugly is too kind of a word. What that class and that quilt did give me was the courage to make another and then another. At first I followed patterns, considering myself quite adventurous when I changed the colors. Then I started modifying patterns. Now  all my work is my original design. What I called myself has changed with time, too. I have been a quilter, quilt artist, textile artist, fiber artist and now, although I still gulp when I say it, I call myself an artist. 

I was getting so frustrated doodling and redoodling the
feathered heart motif that I played with a simpler pivoting
heart motif that is echoed.

This week I have started to call myself, Gwyned Trefethen, Private Eye. Clearly I listen to far too many mysteries while I work. Why the new title? I lost some ground this week when my thread started breaking while I was free motion quilting. It takes perseverance to follow each lead in order to resolve the dreaded thread breaking problem. I tried all the usual tricks without an improvement. Then I added a bead of Sewer's Aid to the spool. I've done this before for metallic thread, but I was using my favorite Superior King Tut cotton thread. I'd never needed Sewer's Aid for that before. Sewer's Aid is a liquid silicone that allows the thread to glide smoothly through the eye of the needle, but also through all those other eyes and the tension discs. I could tell the hang up was in my tension discs, but loosening the tension didn't help and I feared if I loosened it too much the tension needed for even stitching would be thrown off. It was the combination of dogged checking the usual suspects and the eureka moment when the problem was diagnosed and resolved that allowed me to close yet another case of (said in a deep resonant voice) the dread thread break.

Another section of Night Vision is quilted!

I didn't spend all my week as a Private Eye. You can see by what got accomplished that I was mostly in artist mode.

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

I continued to free motion quilt the leaves of Night Vision. I have about 1/3 of the quilt to go. I am setting myself a goal of finishing one bobbin's worth of free motion quilting every studio day. Since I use Bottom Line thread those bobbins last for hours.

a) Finish the quilting 

It takes courage to make the most
of a bad situation. 

b) Blind stitch the frog in place
c) Square up the quilt

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - Done

I completed the assignment from the week before and this week's as well. Yeah! I am caught up again. I am rather fond of the self portrait. It doesn't look much like me. However, I made another leap forward with capturing light and shadow. Even more impressive I very creatively got myself out of a jam when the left eye was ruined when my pen gushed just as I was adding the pupil. My solution was a very creative, contemporary, runway worthy hairdo. :)

4) Surprise for my sister (Due November 24)

a) Finish piecing the cut strata. - Done!
b) Sandwich the quilt - Done!
c) Start the quilting - Not yet.

A teaser from my sister's quilt. This is the one that will
be quilted with a heart motif.


Which persona will dominate next week? Personally I am rooting for the artist, since there are many things I am eager to tackle. 

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

a) Finish the quilting
b) Blind stitch the frog in place
c) Square up the quilt

2) Free motion quilting practice.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. 



4) Surprise for my sister (Due November 24)

a) Start the quilting
b) Square up the quilt
c) Bind the quilt
d) Add the label


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.

Weekly Report 2014 - 11/07

All that practice of free motion quilting in odd shapes
pays off when you challenged with quilting around frogs
webbed fingers and between leaf veins.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Close up of the free motion quilting on Night Vision.

I have included some form of cardiovascular exercise as part of my weekly routine for over 20 years. For the past several years cycling has become my sport of choice. It has two drawbacks for me. First, it is weather dependent, so the season is limited. Second, developing my "seat" after seven months off the bike is frankly excruciating.  This year I am attempting to circumvent those problems. I bought myself a trainer. This allows me to turn my outdoor bike into an indoor bike for the winter. I can keep all my biking muscles in shape, including my "seat" and not suffer biking in frigid or downright dangerous conditions. There is a draw back. It can be boring even with my iPod running through favorite tunes. I am willing to put in the time just for the hope that next spring, when I can ride outside again, I will have lost little ground from the season before. This is precisely why I make it a point to practice free motion quilting weekly when I don't have a quilt ready to be quilted. It helps maintain my eye, hand and foot synchronization. Now that it is time to quilt Night Vision, all that maintenance work is paying off.

If you click on the image you should be able
to see what has and hasn't been quilted
on Night Vision. 

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

a) Continue quilting - Done!
b) Blind stitch the frog in place - Not yet.

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Yes 

The basic design comes from Steven
Speight. I tweaked it some.

This week I pushed full speed ahead on Night Vision. I figure that is practice enough.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - Half done.

A hint of the
surprise to come.

I finally finished the assignment from Week 44. This lesson was chock full of teeny tiny details and multiple parts. It reminded me of making a sampler block quilt. Each block teaches you not just a different pattern, but a different way to assemble and stitch the pieces. I still have Week 45 to do and it looks quite intense as well. At least I have started watching the instructional video and know what the first couple of steps will be.

4) Surprise for my sister (Due November 24)

a) Finish piecing the 40 strata strips. - Done!
b) Cut the strata - Done!
c) Start piecing the cut strata. - Done!

Two more weeks to go before I plan on shipping this quilt. It is going to be a squeaker. I'm loving the treat to just let the design unfold with no decisions to make. It is a nice break from my more constant creative problem solving art pieces.

Next week will be more of the same. Sometimes all I can focus on is pedaling on down the road. This is what I expect to see along the route:

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

a) Finish the quilting
b) Blind stitch the frog in place
c) Square up the quilt

2) Free motion quilting practice.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. 

4) Surprise for my sister (Due November 24)

a) Finish piecing the cut strata.
b) Sandwich the quilt
c) Start the quilting


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.

Weekly Report 2014 - 10/31

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

The poison dart frog after it had been painted with pink.

What a difference a little white paint can make!
I resisted the temptation to give it a french manicure. :)

BOO!! Today is Halloween in the US. It is time for children to dress up as witches, ghosts, zombies and other characters of their imagination, head out when the sun goes down and go door to door asking "Trick or treat?" I still recall how terrifying it was at young age to head out into my neighborhood with my friends on Halloween. It was a very safe neighborhood, but walking through it in the dark amongst zombies and witches was just plain spooky. What is it about "safe" fear that we crave? Is this why I create art? 
In order to create Night Vision I have had to face and overcome my fear on numerous occasions. I know how to work with cotton fabric, but working with vinyl is another story. Then there is committing to a free motion quilting pattern. I test ideas off quilt, but eventually if I am to make progress I must paint that frog, secure it in one place and start the quilting. Will the result be a trick or a treat?

The poison dart frog takes center stage
on his tropical leaf dominion.
If you click on the image you can see
an enlarged image that should allow you to
see the quilting above and to the right
of the frog.

This week has been a mixture of both tricks and treats. Most things have gone as planned and resulted in delightful treats. I conquered my fear and started quilting Night Vision. Stepping up to my machine and pressing the pedal sure felt like a strong potential for a trick.

My take on Lori Kennedy's Squared Flowers 

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

a) Finish painting the poison dart frog - Done!
b) Appliqué the frog to the quilt top - Done! Actually I fused it using Heat 'n Bond.
c) Prepare the quilt sandwich - Done!
d) Start quilting - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

It was very tempting to skip this and count the free motion quilting on Night Vision as my practice. I didn't. The reason is simple. I find free motion quilting practice so liberating and joyful. The quilting on Night Vision hasn't reached that level of comfort. Free motion quilting is my excuse to just let go and breath. 

There were several challenges involved in this lesson.
First, was to work small. My whimsical wizard is just shy of
5" h x 4" w. The second was to create a face that read
male vs. female.

I modified Lori Kennedy's design, Squared Flowers. My quilts rarely have square spaces for quilting, so when I practice free motion quilting I like to practice it in an irregular, curvilinear shape.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - Started

This week's LifeBook lesson was by Steven Speight. Do check out his site. He has a bold, detailed style that he uses to create characters that would be perfect for an adult Halloween party. His lesson was just as involved and creative. I devoted a full day plus and only finished 1/3 of the class. I would have kept going and I will definitely return to it on Monday, my mixed media day, but I had to be true to my priorities with hard deadlines.

4) Surprise for my sister (Due November 24) - Started

Step one - seam the 40 strips into two duplicate 20 strip pieces.

The first half sister I met about 14 years ago, my birthfather's daughter, was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. She begins chemotherapy on December 1. Shhh! She doesn't know it, but I plan to surprise her with a throw quilt in her favorite color, purple with a stripe of colon cancer blue. I have started piecing together the strata.

I can't wait for next week. I am eager to get to work on every project I have in the line-up that follows:

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

a) Continue quilting
b) Blind stitch the frog in place

2) Free motion quilting practice.

3) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. 

4) Surprise for my sister (Due November 24)

a) Finish piecing the 40 strata strips.
b) Cut the strata
c) Start piecing the the cut strata.


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.