Week in Review 2015 - 03/06

Mondrian Tackles Fibonacci
with a little less than 50%
of the beading done.
Click on the image for a closer view.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Elizabeth Barton is a name I have been familiar with for some time as one of the luminaries of the art quilt world. Last year I followed several blogs of students taking her Master Class and I am doing the same this year. Lessons, critique and work coming out of these classes is so inspiring that it is tempting to put myself on the waiting list for the next available Master Class. This class is everything I look for in a class - valuable critique, a focus on design principles and it is taught on line so that I can do the lessons when it fits my schedule. So why haven't I signed up? It is easy to blame the work load. You are expected to create a new piece monthly. The size is up to you, but even 12" square pieces going from design to final stitch take 3 - 5 studio days for me to complete. If I dig deeper I realize that the work load isn't what is stopping me. It is Elizabeth's approach to designing quilts that I find abrasive to my own style. With Elizabeth, at least from what I have gleaned, much of the design is settled on before you start assembling the quilt. My method is to have a general idea of where I am headed, but to stay very open to the inevitable detours along the way. The piece I finish with is often quite different than what I was anticipating. This is what keeps me entranced about making art - the not knowing, coupled with problem solving. One thing I have learned is my biggest growth comes from doing what I shy away from versus doing only things in my comfort zone. Perhaps a Master Class with Elizabeth is in my future. :) For now I am committed to my beading and will be for several more weeks to come.

A closer look at the organic beadwork in the yellow section.

Here is how the week went:

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

a) Continue beading - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

I turned to Lori Kennedy for inspiration this week. I played around with her Doodle Heart motif. I am a sucker for patterns with different densities of quilting. Just can't get enough of that sculptural relief.

This practice Doodle Heart motif was done on
left over scraps pieced together from an earlier
project. It makes an interesting study to learn how
pattern fabric and thread color can make a pattern
standout like a neon sign or be more subtle.

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 25.5/126

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

5) Night Vision - 

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

I'm taking a brief blog vacation. When I return it will be more of the same, as you can see from the plans below:

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.

Quilting Along with Leah Day - Week 45

Front Side of Week 44 & 45 Practice Piece

December 21, 2012 has come and gone and the world did not to come to end. Not that I was worried. However, I have been struggling with the idea that Week 45 of Quilt Along with Leah Day would be the last assignment. I have truly enjoyed the process of tackling each new assignment. What would I do next to keep the momentum going? It seems that Leah has a whole new series of assignments she has been working on for 2013. Guess what I will be doing?

Back Side of Week 44 & 45 Practice Piece

When I am not blogging about my experience of creating under Leah's tutelage, I plan to share my personal work as well as Tricks and Tips of the Trade. Here is my first tip - there is no right way to do what needs doing in quilting. What is important is to try various ways and understanding what they are and are not good for. Which way to press a seam is a perfect example. When I started quilting, back in the Jurassic era, the hard and fast rule was to press the seam towards the darker fabric. Why? There were three reasons. One, the dark fabric, if pressed towards the light fabric might shadow through. Two, batting tended beard and therefore by covering the seam by pressing fabric over it, batting threads wouldn't sneak out through the seam to the front of the quilt. Three, most quilts were hand quilted. The quilting motif could be designed so that it never had to go through more than three layers (top, batting and backing) versus four layers (top, seam allowance, batting and backing.) My preference today is to press my seams open. Why? The seam allowance doesn't shadow through. The quilt is flatter. I choose a batting that doesn't beard. Finally, I no longer hand quilt. My machine can handle going over seam allowances.

Detail showing a tweaked "Heart Confetti"
quilting pattern. 

What that tip is really saying is that you are in charge of your design and your technique. There is so much praise I could heap on Leah, but I will share one thing here that I appreciate about her. Leah encourages experimentation. She does not insist that things be done her way. Of course her way has come from experimenting and learning what works best for her. In this week's assignment, "Heart Confetti" I diverged from Leah, once again. What I liked about the design was the hearts, the echoing and the pivoting. I'm still not sold on overlapping designs. I did overlap a few hearts in the beginning, but quickly swapped out the overlaps for tripling and even quadrupling my echoes instead. I actually find it less confusing to pivot and echo a design than to overlap. Of course my goal wasn't to cover a big area quickly with an overall pattern. I just want to quilt hearts in the star section of my quilt.

A back side detail of my version of "Heart Confetti."

Once I completed "Heart Confetti", or perhaps I should rename it "Throbbing Hearts", I tried out my own pattern, "Starry Night" in the border. It is done by creating a short curvy line, then a five pointed star, followed by another short curvy line which precedes to spiral first in and then back out again (much easier than travel stitching) then repeat.

"Starry Night" seen from the front.

"Starry Night" as it appears on the back.

I am so grateful that our journey with Leah is not coming to a halt, but will continue on into 2013. I hope you will join me in a year filled with the joy of creating.