Week in Review 2017 - 11/03

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

A recent sample of the knitted knockers made
by our volunteers.

I finished my last post by saying I would be taking a week off. Not even close. That week turned into a month. What whirlwind of a month it was. 

Forest Flora

October is breast cancer awareness month. As co-founder of Knitted Knockers of the Fox Cities, being present to promote and participate in what was happening locally took precedence. I spent Thursdays knitting with other volunteers at the Fox Valley Hematology and Oncology Center in Appleton, WI. Many people dropped by to ask what we were doing, share their stories, and ask how they could help. We loved hearing stories of what a difference getting their first pair of knockers has meant to the women who received them. We had an information table at Making Strides against Breast Cancer. The primary purpose of the walk is fund raising for breast cancer research. The secondary purpose and why we were there is to let those who are being treated for or are survivors of breast cancer, know what services are there for them. Over 2,000 people joined the walk. We were featured in two local magazines, as well. The result is we have added more cancer treatment centers and oncologists to our list of knocker providers in the Fox Cities. 

Detail shot of Forest Flora

When I wasn't busy promoting Knitted Knockers, I turned my attention to Habit for Humanity. I donated 40 of my quilts from one of my first to one made just last year. The staff was welcoming and appreciative of my gift. I received a tour of the facility and an education on the process a family must go through before they can qualify for the program and hopefully, be selected as one of the next home owners. Our local Habit helped 16 families become homeowners in 2017, and I believe they have a similar number selected for 2018. I had the pleasure of attending two of the home dedications and presenting one of my quilts to each of the families. What a privilege to be part of such a special moment in the new homeowners's lives!

Detail showing off the quilting, best
seen from the back side of Forest Flora

It is November and things have settled down a bit. It felt, so, so good to spend time in my studio again working on Forest Flora. Free motion quilting is the perfect antidote for busy times. Hopefully, next week I can get back to moving multiple projects forward in the studio. This is the plan:

1) Work on Forest Flora

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1 and #3, #4

3) Pot(s) made this week

4) Free motion quilting practice

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 2017 - 07/28

My cat knitted knocker still needs a bit
more work to bring it to life. Must be why
Lola is more interested in playing with the
knitting needle.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques

The most common question I get asked when someone first learns I am an artist, whose medium is quilting, is "How long does it take you to make a quilt?" I've answered that in a previous post. Today, I would like to focus on a typical comment when the topic of my quilting comes up, it is "I've always wanted to make a quilt, but I don't have the time/patience to make one." Does this imply, since I have made several 100 quilts, that I have more time or patience than the person making the comment? Maybe. It certainly has me question whether I have more patience than others. I know I don't have more time. We are all gifted with the same 24 hours a day. The difference is how we choose to use that time. I believe I make the time for two reasons. The first is because I need a creative outlet and have discovered quilting is a natural, essential fit for me. The second is attitude. I am a firm believer in the Tao maxim, "A Journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step." I find if I focus on the first step, and each step to follow as it arrives, I don't get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task before me. 

Picking Up the Pieces #4
The quilting is officially done.

My attitude of taking one step at time has resulted in several milestones being reached this week as you can see:

1) Work on Picking Up the Pieces #4 - Done!

The first milestone was finishing quilting Picking Up the Pieces #4. 

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1 and #3 - Not yet, but...

Milestone number 2 is I finally started sewing the facing for Picking Up the Pieces #1.

3) Pot(s) made this week - Done!

Iris Fine Yarns, our local yarn shop in Appleton, Wisconsin, which has partnered with Knitted Knockers of the Fox Cities, is sponsoring a competition for art knockers. These knitted knockers will be put on display throughout the shop as a way to market the project. I'm intimidated by the very idea of making sculpture. I consider myself little more than a beginning knitter. However, I have made enough knitted knockers (pots) by now to have the pattern memorized and understand how the increases, decreases, and iCord come together to create a knocker. All those knockers made gave me the confidence to try my hand at an art knocker. Of course, the artist in me couldn't resist altering the pattern. By judiciously adding extra increase, decrease and iCord rows, I was able to create a neck, body and tail to form a cat knitted knocker. This is milestone number 3, my first self-altered knitting pattern and sculptural piece. 

Picking Up the Pieces #4 detail

4) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

I completed my own thousand mile journey. As of this morning I have biked 1,004 miles in the 2017 National Bike Challenge. 

Although, I will be taking a two week blog vacation, the journeys won't stop. There will be more quilting, knitting and biking in the weeks to come. Here are a few of the journeys I plan on continuing:

1) Work on Picking Up the Pieces #4

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1 and #3

3) Pot(s) made this week

4) Free motion quilting practice

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 2017 - 07/07

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Picking Up the Pieces #4

When I was in mid 20's, married, a working mother, and completing my degree at nights, I motivated myself through the grueling, no time for myself period with thoughts of the life I would be living now, 40 years later.  What I imagined was lots, and lots, and lots of free time to use as I chose. In some ways that is precisely what I have. The rub comes with how I choose to use that time. Somehow in my imaginings what I did would feel less jammed packed and more relaxing than how things felt in my 20s. The reality is life is short and there are so many wonderful ways to spend it. Seems I can never resist getting involved in just one more thing. This year it is Knitted Knockers. 

I'm pleased to say Knitted Knockers of the Fox Cities has officially launched. I have been working with several other women to get a branch of Knitted Knockers going in our area. This has required setting up a Facebook/web page, working with the Volunteer Center of E. Central Wisconsin and their group of knitters for charity, and partnering with Iris Fine Yarns to be an official drop off point for knockers, donations and carrier of the approved yarns. Last Friday, I delivered 26 pairs of knockers to the Fox Valley Hematology and Oncology Center. Manuela Lornson brought the marketing material. We were filmed by NBCTV 26 for one of their community caring features. The program aired during three different news slots. You can see the three minute feature here. In less than 24 hours from the original airing we have received several requests for knockers which have already been filled.

This week I focused on the yellow squares,
filling them with a motif I am calling Rain Clouds.

One thing that hasn't changed over the past 40 years is my ability to find ways to get my art fix no matter how busy I am. In my 20's I subscribed to several magazines. I would look longly at the various projects thinking about the time when I could actually try one. American Quilter and Quilter's Newsletter were two I subscribed to once a became a stay at home mother. Oh the joy of finding one of those in my mailbox! Now I get my art fix from www.artdaily.com. It is a great way to start my morning. 

I still manage to head to the studio for a few hours work several days a week. Here is what I accomplished this week:

1) Work on Picking Up the Pieces #4 - Done!

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1 and #3 - Not yet.

3) Pot(s) made this week - Done!

I use a refillable pencil to mark
some of the trickier quilting motifs. 

I just finished a size F knocker in breast cancer pink. I've lost track of how many knockers I have made, but I'm sure I'm in the double digits by this time. What I am noticing is I no longer need to check the pattern, and the joins between the double pointed needles are getting tighter. I love how doing something repetitively, it becomes second nature and the overall quality improves.

4) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

I had fun trying out a new free motion quilting motif on Picking Up the Pieces #4. It is in the yellow squares. It reminds of rain clouds in the distance.

When I am not checking out ArtDaily or attending meetings next week, I will turn my attention to:

1) Work on Picking Up the Pieces #4

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1 and #3

3) Pot(s) made this week

4) Free motion quilting practice

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 2017 - 03/17

It was warmth on Thursday to step outside
and take a photo of the view to the south.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

It's been another scattered week. Where has my focus gone? I feel as though I am leap frogging from one false start to another. The end result of my studio time appears more together than the emotions surrounding the work. Why? I think it is because although I am making progress I have a creative problem without a viable solution. Until I have a solution, that problem clouds my ability to sense the progress. I know I need to push through, to try, to test, and eventually something will come to me. One motivator is to sit down, as I am doing now, and record my week's work. It is a reminder of challenges I have overcome.

This week I:

Detail from Picking up the Pieces #3

1) Worked on the design for Picking Up the Pieces #3

I added a few more bees to Picking Up the Pieces #3. The bees are getting easier to stitch down as I develop a rhythm and standard stitching path.

2) Didn't finish Picking Up the Pieces #1

3) Made pot(s) 

The bees are a perfect example of making pots. The more I make, the more I learn about whether it is best to cut out pieces in a clockwise or counter clockwise direction. The answer is counter clockwise, because  it gives me a better view of where I am cutting. I've been honing my "stinger" stitching skills. I've discovered I like to free motion stitch down the circumference of each bee first, then swap feet and finish with a satin stitch. 

My eighth knitted knocker

I have continued to make knitted knockers. This week I finished my eighth one. The beginning rounds, absolutely diabolically difficult for the first five or so knockers, are now stitching out much more easily. I no longer need to check the pattern to see what to do when. Most exciting of all, I have stuffed a knocker for the first time and HURRAH, the stitches are tight enough that the stuffing doesn't beard.

4) And even managed some free motion quilting practice

The challenge I referred to in the beginning is how to best introduce twenty-two names into Picking Up the Pieces #3. Should I free motion quilt them? Write them with a fine point pen? Should they be subtle, stitched in clear monofilament? Should I create them off quilt on a scroll, which I later attach to the quilt? Would they make more sense to appear in the background, on each bee, or on the hive? I tested one idea and learned what NOT to do. 

The most successful part of this experiment
is how using metallic thread was problem free.
I swapped out my standard #70 needle
for a #90, thus providing a large eye for the
thread to pass through.

Clearly, more testing is needed next week. When I am not testing ways to add the names I will give myself a respite from the struggle by working on the following:

1) Work on the design for Picking Up the Pieces #2 and/or #3

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1

3) Pot(s) made this week

4) Free motion quilting practice

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 2017 - 01/20

This week's studio view
is a study in neutrals. It is
a typical Appleton winter day,
absence of sun, frozen lake
and yes, that is ice on the
brick patio.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Tempted as I am to open my blog with a black arm band, mourning wreath or a treatise on the history of mourning jewelry, I will refrain. Just as I plan to refrain from tuning into any coverage of the inauguration of our 45th President. There are times, for self preservation, when I prefer the ostrich's approach, to hide my head in the sand. Of course, rather than sand, I hide in the studio and listen to audio books while I work. 

I was speaking with the other grandmother of my granddaughters yesterday. She mentioned her New Year's resolution was to watch more TV. No, that is not a typo. She, her daughter, my daughter-in-law and I have all had to make conscious decisions on how to take time to relax. There are times when working in the studio is relaxing. Certainly I crave creative time. However, for all the joy I get from my work, relaxation isn't the first thing which springs to mind.

I will be adding flowers to
the vines next week. Then
this piece will be done.

Relaxation is the order of the today.  The good news is I have the binding to hand stitch on Where Have All the Flowers Gone? When I tire of that there is a special dance class at the Y. I can't recall the last time I allowed myself to take off midday not to run an errand or do something art related, but just to have fun. 

I am grateful this week, although not one I would categorize as fun, was productive enough as you can see:

1) Continue working on Where Have All the Flowers Gone? - Done!

a) Stitched down the yo-yo flowers;

b) Squared up the quilt to the required size;

c) Made the bias binding; and 

d) Attached it the front of the quilt and pinned it to the back.

2) Pot(s) made this week - Done!

I am finishing up my 4th knitted knocker. Each one is going faster than the last. I barely have to glance at the instructions to recall how to knit each of the phases. Best of all the glaring learning gaffs are nearly nonexistent!

It has been a while since I practiced my
FMQ skills. I thought I would start with
something simple. Leah Day's Trapped Ripples
was just what I needed.

3) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

I was determined to do some simple FMQ practice this week. There is something very soothing about the rhythmic flow of FMQ, especially a pattern like this where it is nearly impossible to quilt yourself into a corner.

4)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song - Not yet.

I also started bailing out the studio after two very intense back to back deadlines. Next week I hope to finish picking up. The bare surfaces will be short lived, though. I have a hankering to pull out my scraps and just play. Before I do that I will turn my attention to:

1) Finishing Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

2) Pot(s) made this week

3) Free motion quilting practice

4)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song

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 - 12/16

Perseverance pays off as I begin
the progress of adding the
foreground over the background
to Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

It has occurred to me that there is a strong connection between perseverance and staying open. These are both traits I admire and work on developing. It can be so tempting to quit, to throw in the towel, to just give up and move on to something easier. This is especially true when trying something new. How I hate being inept. I rant. I weep. I am a jumble of prickly nerves. Why put myself through such torture? The answer, often allusive in the heat of the moment, is really quite simple. It is because of the euphoria of accomplishment. Just because figuring out the instructions for a knitted knocker or developing a graffiti font to use on Where Have All the Flowers Gone? is inconsequential compared to climbing Mt. Everest or making a scientific breakthrough worthy of receiving a Nobel Prize, doesn't mean it is any less thrilling for me. 

My week required patience, perseverance and practice. It was so, so tempting to give up. I didn't, as you can see:

1)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song - Not done

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done, sort of

Several styles of 3D flowers border
the gravestone. They make me smile. I opted
to use Clover's YoYo makers for expediency's
sake. They are a very quick to work up yo-yos.

I did quilt. Instead of free motion quilting, I opted to stitch in the ditch. I find this more difficult than free motion quilting. FMQ is far more forgiving. When I used to press my seams to the dark side the height differential between the triple layer of fabric (two seam allowances and the "piece") and the single layer of fabric (just the piece) made staying in the ditch and "hiding" the ditch stitching easier. I prefer a flatter overall appearance, so always press my seams open. This means that when stitching in the ditch stitch accuracy is imperative. My precision piecing falls into the category of close enough. I don't obsess over it. However, this means that if you were to hang a plumb line along one of my vertical seams, you would quickly see sections on one side or the other of plumb. Therefore, when quilting along such a meandering line, patience, coupled with letting go of the occasional deviation is vital. 

The letters aren't popping quite the way
I thought they would. I will be problem
solving how to make them more obvious.
My first thought is to run a solid line of
satin stitch around them. The question is
what color? Red, black, or rainbow
variegated? Clearly, some of my next
week will be spent experimenting.

3) Do some surface design work - Done

I have spent the past month dipping into Pinterest boards, pinning tutorials which grabbed my eye. I found myself drawn to yo-yos and other ways to make three-dimensional flowers. These scream '60s flower power adapted for quilts, to me.
4) Continue working on Where Have All the Flowers Gone? - Done

The front side of this knocker is nearly done.
Not bad for an amateur knitter. 

Why, oh why do my easy projects always take such diabolical turns? Once again, I found myself in learning mode as I tried my hand at yo-yos and the most difficult of all, designing a graffiti font of my very own. 

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

I spent several days on several projects struggling close to the breaking point. The first was "starting" my knitted knockers. There were several new stitches to add to my lexicon. Then there was the font. After an obscene number of hours trolling the internet, trying out ideas free hand, moving to design attempts on EQ7, back to more internet trolling and finally back to guided (on tracing paper over graph paper) free hand, I finally was satisfied with my lettering.

I am hoping to enjoy the fruits of my perseverance next week on the following projects:

1)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song

2) Free motion quilting practice

3) Do some surface design work

4) Continue working on Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

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 2016 - 12/09

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques: 

The view from our condo at 6:40 a.m.

When I came downstairs from the bedroom level, to the main floor level of our condo, I was startled to see the scene out on the lake. We have started to go into, what I refer to as, deep freeze season, here in Appleton, Wisconsin. This is when the temperatures stay permanently below 0º C/ 32º F. This means our lake starts freezing over. Eventually, the river at the opposite side of the lake will freeze as well. 

Every morning, as dawn is breaking, the geese who have overnighted just west of us on the lake, start to gather in front of our condo. With more and more ice and less and less water the amount of open water to gather diminishes. What may be difficult to see (try right clicking on the images for an enlarged view) is just how many hundreds of geese have come together this morning.

Similar view from the condo taken one
hour later. Odd, the geese are still here.

What is the life of a goose like? I tend to think of it as simple. What do I really know? Still from what I observe, they sleep, gather, fly off to local fields for food, fly back and sleep. There is bound to be more, but this seems to be the basics.

I realize I am drawn to cyclical things. One of my earliest memories of enjoyment from a simple cycle was the song, There's a Hole In the Bucket. In my last post I mentioned my current work in progress is inspired by Where Have All the Flowers Gone? The same cyclical format is used, but in a much more serious way.

How can I convey the cyclical message in the song in a single image caught on a quilt? I'm not someone who maintains an art journal with inspiration, sketches and swatches, while I work. Mostly I just stay tuned to my thoughts, researching what I need, saving links and images from internet. One way I plan to bring cohesiveness to the piece is to focus on the '60s, a time of OpArt and flower children. This is why I have started with an OpArt background of my own design.


There is was little time between travel and holiday prep to attend to things in the studio. I did manage some progress on my current piece, but not much else, as you can see.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
The "window" in the middle will be
covered with a tombstone. 

1)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song - Not yet

2) Free motion quilting practice - No time

3) Do some surface design work - No time

4) Continue piecing Where Have All the Flowers Gone? - Done!

Not only did I finish piecing the background, it has been fused to batting and backing. I want to do some stitch in the ditch quilting before adding all the appliqué I have in mind. It should go faster this way.

I am testing SpunFab as my fusible for this piece. It is similar in appearance to MistyFuse, but costs about 30% less. It is the go to fusible for museums restoring textiles. Betty Busby, whose textile work is amazing, recommended it. 

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

One of my friends, who lives back east, shared that she has been making knitted knockers.  How could I have missed this fact? This a the type of project I gravitate to in my spare time. I am not a confident knitter. The pattern for the knockers (breast prosthetics) has several stitches not in my repertoire, but I refused to be deterred. I have found a local yarn shop and  plan to visit them to tomorrow. I will pick up the necessary supplies and I hope some pointers about how to do those stitches I have never done before. 

Next I must continue to work on Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, but I also intend to start my first knocker. 😉 If there is any more time there are a few other items on my list to focus on.

1)  Attach a sleeve to Siren's Song

2) Free motion quilting practice

3) Do some surface design work

4) Continue piecing Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

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.