Week in Review 2016 - 07/08

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I did a little more work on First Light this week.

What is going on? Honestly, I can't seem to settle on a design for my next piece. Could this be a case of artist block? I don't think so. I have lots of ideas, theories and experiments. It is just that nothing is coming together. It has me feeling very unsettled and jumpy. Fortunately, I do have  my game plan to follow, much of it involving hand stitching. This helps calm the jitters.

If I only shared my plans and how they went, it would appear that I have everything under control as you can see:

Detail from First Light

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

a) Attach the sleeve - Done!
b) Make and attach the label - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

Who knew that stitching rows of thread
to be gathered across a 20" x 20" piece of
fabric would take so long?

I worked some more on First Light. It is coming along nicely. I will be placing an order for more thread today. Turns out that despite having what I suspect is in excess of 100 spools of thread I don't have the right shade of greens for the sky (and I have more greens than any other color) or the deep red/orange at the base of the quilt. Just doing my part to keep the economy going. :)

3) Do some surface design work - Done!

Or that gathering the thread, thread that I had tested
for its tensile strength, would prove that the real test
is in the project itself. Even the gathering is taking
a fair bit of time. 

I've started work on two different surface design projects. The first requires sewing lines of thread on fabric that are then pulled to gather the fabric. The gathering acts as a form of resist when dyed, since the dye will permeate the fabric on the surface more easily than that which is hidden inside.

I am also testing out blue glue gel as a resist. I've drawn patterns on the fabric with the glue. It needs to dry thoroughly before painting/dyeing can begin. I'm actually thinking that a fun way to go might be with ink and shaving cream. The key is for the glue not to "wash out" before the paint/dye/ink has dried. 
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open - Done!

Blue glue gel used as a resist

I am currently listening to The Mathematician's Shiva. Great title isn't it? It is one of those books that is slow to get going and dips regularly into involved explanations that can feel like too much information. Boy, does it nail what it is like to grow up in an academic family, though. This is why I am grateful that I didn't give up. When it is good, it is excellent.

Next week I hope to be able to share the plans for my next artwork. If don't come up with any, at least I have surface design experiments and free motion quilting practice to fill in my studio time, as you can see:


1) Create the blueprint for the next artwork

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 - 07/01

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Add caption

"Don't you have anything constructive to do?" This was a question I was asked frequently enough by my mother when I was growing up that it is branded in my brain. Even when I am doing what I have chosen to do, I find myself asking "is this constructive?" "Am I making the best use of my time." Maybe my child self had it right. She was a questioner and a rebel. As a child I asked (ok I never asked this question out loud, just in my head) "Why do I always need to do something constructive?" 

Practicing yoga for more than five years has taught me how to just be. There are many poses that do this yoga. When I first started I often found the rest poses more difficult than the more physically challenging ones, like Eagle. Yes, I can actually do Eagle pose and hold it for a minute or so. This week, I was the only student who showed up for my Thursday yoga class. The teacher asked what I would like to do. I certainly didn't say "something  constructive." :) What I asked for was a contemplative class focusing on rest poses, explaining that learning how to rest was an attribute I was working on and felt that this ability had been strengthening over the years thanks to yoga. So that is what we did.

Later that day I spent the afternoon free motion quilting the clouds in First Light. For me, free motion quilting is the rest pose between the more strenuous physical poses. No surprise, quilting, like yoga and like life seems to be most fulfilling for me when there is a balance between restful, contemplative times and the more active, creative problem solving times.

First Light
Click on this or any image for an enlarged view.

This was primarily a rest week, at least in the studio as you will see:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

a) Attach the sleeve - Done!
b) Make and attach the label - Partially done.

I printed out the label, but have yet to attach it to the quilt.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

This is a detail of the free motion quilted clouds
form First Light.

Just a few more "tricky" bits left on First Light around the trees. I'm looking forward to moving on to the more wide open areas of the sky.

3) Do some surface design work - Done!

This week I decided to have a go at removing an object from its background using Power Point. Once removed the object can pasted onto another background. I'm not convinced this method has any advantage over doing the same thing with Photoshop Elements. 
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open - Done!

This may be splitting hairs as to whether I stayed open or not. I've been taking an online class called Woman Unleashed Retreat. There have been a couple of strong sessions, but many of the sessions just don't speak to me. Sometimes I feel I already have learned what is being taught. Other times, it isn't something I am even interested in doing. I've worked hard at staying open, but occasionally the topic is something I can't see ever having value for me. So, rather than torture myself by listening to the full session on useless topic, I am staying open to walking out on that session. 

The result of my surface design project for the week.
I removed the cruise ship from one photograph
and added it to the water background fabric I shared
in the prior week's blog. 

Next week is an abbreviated work week, since Monday is a holiday. I will be both restful and active if I work my way through the following studio to do list.

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

a) Attach the sleeve
b) Make and attach the label

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 - 06/24

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

One summer a local artist, Eddie Cascieri,
who lived in my neighborhood, organized
a two week summer art camp for teenagers.
My mother signed me up. I loved it. The
class was all about play and experimentation.
That brief interlude, and Eddie's nurturing
encouragement sustain me in my studio
nearly 45 years later. Eddie is on the right.
Her husband, Archangelo Cascieri,
whom she called Angel, was a sculptor,
whose work can be seen in downtown Boston.

I'm on retreat. The best part of this retreat is that I can participate from home.  It was the title, Woman Unleashed Retreat and the fact that it was free that got me to take the impulsive leap to join. Each day for two weeks I receive an email with two video sessions that focus on linking self care with creativity. The videos are made by a variety of motivational women, painters and mixed media artists. What has surprised me is that on several occasions the hosts confess to being to do list makers and being overwhelmed by their lists. 

It is one thing to make to do lists, it is quite another to take those lists and prioritize them. The key for getting things accomplished and feeling less harried, in my opinion, is developing the habit of a prioritized to do list that you maintain on your computer. On my iMac, I use Mac's program, Reminders for this. However, any computer generated to do list that you can access from your various devices, that allows you to assign items to calendar dates, prioritize items and print out your list by date(s) will work. 


Here is my mini tutorial on creating prioritized to do lists:

Step 1: Write out your to do list. 

Step 2: Now analyze it. Which items are date sensitive? Which items are essential? What items must be done in sequence? Are there logical ways to group some of the items? 

Step 3: Assign either an A, B, or C to each of the items. An A is an immediate must. A B should be assigned to anything that is important but not immediate. Finally a C is neither immediate or very important, at least in the short term.

Work has begun on First Light.

Step 4: Look at only the items marked A on the list. Give each one a number from 1 to the number of items on the list. Number 1 is the most important to get to done. The highest number is the least important. 

Step 5: I usually don't bother prioritizing my B and C lists until I complete doing my A list for the day.

Step 6: Start your day by doing A1, if you have time to do A2, A3, etc. - do them. If you do this consistently every day by the end of the year you will have accomplished approximately a 1,000 or more of the most important things in your life. 

So why do I keep everything on the computer? Because that way I don't waste time rewriting and rewriting my lists. It is easy move what doesn't get done, to the next logical date.

One of the pieces I made using dishwashing liquid as a resist.

Studio time is on my A list on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday every week. That is why I can share what I accomplished this week. 

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction- Started

a) Make and attach the sleeve - I have made the sleeve and started to attach it
b) Make and attach the label - Not yet.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

I've started quilting First Light, the whole piece quilt I designed in Art on the iPad. The first part is slow going since I am starting and stopping after very few stitches in order to not quilt over the trees. 

3) Do some surface design work - Done!

Another dishwashing liquid resist experiment. This time
I began by drawing leaf shapes with the soap.

I was inspired to try using dish soap as a resist after reading Julie B. Booth's article in the June/July 2016  issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. The appeal to me is that I didn't have to deal with hot wax. The disappointment is that the resist didn't resist as much as I might have liked.
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open - Done!

I am slogging my way through the retreat. It would be so much easier to give up. Much of the material covers self care, good habits and being mindful of how the past influences the present. It is geared to women who have little "me" time because they are raising children. I'm beyond that. I have "me" time. It is easy to miss the lessons that I can learn, and there are lessons to learn, because I tend to tune out during messages that are old news. I had my first aha moment yesterday. I'm so glad I stayed open to continuing.

Next week will be busy. I'm grateful I have developed the habit of a prioritized to do list. It gives me the confidence to know that I will have studio time next week and when I do here is what I will be doing:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

a) Attach the sleeve
b) Make and attach the label

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 - 06/17

Sunrise Abstraction is up on my

website now that the facing has

been stitched down.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I recently finished watching, Cooked, a Netflix Documentary. I rarely rate something 5 stars, but that is what I gave Cooked. What struck me is how food is transformed by how we prepare it. Michael Pollan chose to look at food through the lens of fire, water, earth and air. Each element plays a part in how food is transformed. It is also transformed by how we combine ingredients and choose to season it. 

I was struck by the similarities between cooking and quilting. A quilt is the transformation of fabric that is chosen to work together and then quilted to bring out texture. Some quilters, like me recently, even choose to start with white fabric, that we dye, paint or use other surface design techniques, to get just the color and pattern we need. This is why I spent a couple days dying fabric so that I could have my pick of greens to blues in a variety of values for the quilt that is a glimmer of an idea.

The view from my kitchen window during the height of the

storm. It is extremely rare to have roof run off. This

felt like my own person waterfall.

Nature has a way of transforming the world around us. If you don't like the weather in New England,  just wait a minute, has been erroneously attributed to Samuel Clemens. What he actually said is, "There is a sumptuous variety about the New England weather that compels the stranger's admiration -- and regret. " New England can be replaced by any location on the globe. All you have to do is google the quote, "if you don't like the weather..." and you find it attributed to various places.  

We certainly saw some weather this past Wednesday evening when the skies opened up for 20 minutes of one of the heaviest rains I can recall. Appleton, WI, where I live is relatively flat and the streets flood easily and drain easily. Fortunately, this storm caused no major damage. Instead it provided some light hearted moments. I heard people were kayaking in the streets, but didn't believe it until I found this photo online!

 I was feeling rather light hearted myself this week. It seems I am back in the groove as you can see: 

This isn't the only picture I found of people 

kayaking in the street on Wednesday. Nor is it the 

best. However, I like to choose photos were the 

photographer can receive credit.

I used a combination of dilutive and additive 

methods to create this graduation from a yellow green

to an ice blue with multiple value reductions during

the process. The top fabric that only has the tiniest

corner showing, is a stunning nearly white, pale blue. I 

achieved this by diluting the original blue 8 times.

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

I finished stitching down the facing just in time to have my husband take the formal picture of Sunrise Abstraction for me to use on my website and for calls for entry. Kudos to him for getting even light across the quilt and capturing the texture created by stitching. Not an easy task to do as an amateur photographer with very basic equipment.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

I don't have proof, but I started quilting the whole cloth piece I had Spoonflower.com print for me. There really wasn't enough done to share. I am loving what I've done so far. 
3) Do some surface design work - Done!

Not only did I hand-dye fabric, I also tried my hand at using dishwashing liquid as a resist. I have a tendency to collect articles on surface design techniques, much the way others collect recipes. I intend to try them one day, it is just that that one day never seems to come. This is precisely why I am devoting this year to playing with surface design.
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open - Done!

See 3 - It was so tempting to count my hand-dying session as my surface design project for the week. However, my goal with this item on my to do list is to learn many surface design techniques, not just fall back on ones I have become relatively comfortable with. I wanted to stay open to learning something new and had to fight the urge not to do anything and everything that I am far more comfortable with and therefore risk running out of time to do the uncomfortable experimenting.
One thing in the plans for next week is to finish the resist project. It requires a series of paint/dry/paint cycles. I am also looking forward to some solid free motion quilting sessions. And then there is a the finish work on Sunrise Abstraction to complete. In other words, if I don't like or tire from one project I can always change to another one, just like the weather. Here is the game plan:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

a) Make and attach the sleeve
b) Make and attach the label

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 - 06/10

We spent a week on a cruise through
the Norwegian fjords. This time we had
a cabin in the stern. This is one of many
pictures I took with my iPad leaning out
over the railing of our balcony.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I'm in life is short, eat dessert first mode. I believe this is caused by having my first vacation in years when I had zero access to the internet for seven days. Usually when I am away, even on holiday, the responsible person in me feels obligated to check my email and handle whatever business I can. I also hope that by doing so there will be less to get caught up with when I return. I struggle with the transition from home to travel and back. This time I did something slightly different. I made a conscientious decision to spend time in my studio, knowing that I had mountain of accumulated paperwork to handle. Nirvana! Honestly, I was surprised how just a few hours working on my current project helped to maintain the relaxed state from my vacation AND gave me the energy to face the business side of things. 

Sunrise Abstraction after one vertical
facing has been hand stitched in place.
Don't forget to click on the image if
you want to see it enlarged.

Apparently I was so  relaxed that I completely forgot my goal of doing some free motion quilting weekly. Perhaps that will be my dessert next week. Here is what I did achieve:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

Before we left for vacation I washed and blocked Sunrise Abstraction. This gave it plenty of time to dry. Early in the week I squared up/trimmed the quilt with my husband. Next I added the facing strips. Now I have begun stitching them in place. I use Kathy Loomis's method of the vertical strips being 2" shorter than the vertical side and the horizontal strips being 2" longer than the horizontal sides. Usually I crop my images so that distracting items, such as the unfinished facing strips don't show. However, I thought it might be helpful to include everything this time around. For example, you can see how I match, in a close enough way, my facing to the front of the work. Also, Instead of turning all the facing to the back at once, I thought I would try turning just the strip I was currently working on. I plan on stitching down the two vertical strips first. Then going back and tackling the horizontal strips. 

After sending one of the water pictures through
a series of art apps on my iPad, I came up with
this design. 

2) Free motion quilting practice - Oops, I forgot to do this.
3) Do some surface design work - Done!

I couldn't resist taking and sharing this photo of my
studio helper, Lola, sitting on my lap as I stitched
down the facing. 

One of the reasons I took Art on the iPad was to be able to do art on vacation. Yes, I was able to do some art. No, working on an iPad cooped up on a trans Atlantic flight didn't work for me. However, I found the iPad the perfect tool to have in the hotel and on the cruise for those free 15 minutes or more of transitional time. 
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open - Done!

We were comped vouchers to go to one of the specialty restaurants on the cruise. This is my third cruise, and being the frugal person that I am, I couldn't see the point of going to a restaurant on board that cost additional money, when excellent food is included 24 hours a day in multiple restaurants. I wasn't even keen on going to one of the restaurants even having my meal comped. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. We went. It was the best meal, worth it even if we had to pay.

Next week will be more of the same, but I hope with some free motion quilting. Here is the plan.

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 - 05/20

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

The quilting on Sunrise Abstraction
is done. If you click on the image
it should enlarge to a point where the
quilting is more obvious.

Technically there is one more lesson to go in the online course I'm taking called Art on the iPad, taught by Susie Monday. However, the experiment, play and assignment type classes are done. Several people have asked about the apps I have been using in class. This seems like a good time to share the ones that I return to and/or enjoy the most.

Sketches II Pro is the one I like to use for drawing, especially since it allows for layers. This means I can start with my own photograph on one layer, and draw an outline on another layer, and perhaps create a watercolor wash on a still another. It also has quite a few different adjustable drawing tools from calligraphy pens to paintbrushes. The colors are limitless, although you start with a basic palette of approximately 20 colors. The one downside, is that it is less intuitive simply because there are so many options AND some of the key adjustment/navigation tools are hidden.

Pixlr is one of those apps where you can run an image through a series of algorithms that change the image, perhaps giving it a totally new palette, reducing the image to pixels or abstracting it. There are two different ways to create collages. Pixlr allows the image to be saved as .png (versus .jpg). Why is this important? It is important because .pngs save images in a vector format and that way when an image is enlarged or reduced it doesn't get distorted. It also requires more .ppi (pixels per inch on a screen) which is similar to .dpi (dots per inch when printed).

This is Pansy Abstraction with the quilting done
and the facing turned to back in preparation for
hand stitching. 

This week the lesson turned to printing what we created. In the US, Spoonflower is the service that comes up with the most frequency as where to go to have your design printed on fabric. You can also sell your fabrics to others through Spoonflower. Since I had already purchased some of Leah Day's fabric through Spoonflower with success, I felt comfortable using them to print my fabric. Even better they are connected with PicMonkey, yet another software program to run my image through. Which is precisely what I did this week.

If you follow my posts you know I did more than my iPad lesson. Here is how the week went:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

The free motion quilting is done! Next up will be the finish work.

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

This sky was painted using Sketches Pro 2 with
just my finger on the iPad.

Between finishing Sunrise Abstraction and Pansy Abstraction (detecting a theme?) I got plenty of free motion quilting practice in.

3) Do some surface design work - Done!


I used Sketches II Pro to create a watercolor sunrise sky wash. I enlarged the .dpi through Photoshop Elements so that it would be large enough for printing. Then I used PicMonkey to modify the color and add the trees and branches. Now I just have to be patient while Spoonflower prints the results. The plan is to create a whole cloth quilt and perhaps embellish it with some thread painting or hand embroidery.

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

It is easy for me to shut down when faced with mechanical repairs, even simple ones. So, when I was biking solo and the chain popped off while I was downshifting, my first thought was, "looks like I am walking home". I was 4 miles from our home. It would be so, so much easier to bike than walk the distance. I took a few deep calming breathes, examining the gears and other related parts and getting over just how disgustingly greasy and dirty the chain was, but I did it. Took only a few minutes and I was back biking!

This is the same sky after I used PicMonkey
to alter the palette and added some trees
and cherry blossom boughs. I have ordered this
printed on cotton from Spoonflower.

It will be a few weeks before I will post again. When I return the plan is to continue as I have been by doing the following:

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 - May 13

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

This is a workflow collage of the steps
I took from an original photo of pansies
to the graphic image I transferred to
fabric in order to quilt it.

I've been on a tear this week. You might even say obsessed. That is the way it is sometimes when I am creating something that I need (said in a teenage, long drawn out vowel as in neeeeeeed) to see the finished product. It also helps that the piece I was working on has no clear exhibition path at the moment. In other words, I am making it for the shear joy of creating. Of course this obsession has a good chance of getting me in trouble down the road. Why? Because I set aside my plans, plans made with deadlines and purpose and instead focused 100% of my attention elsewhere.

Fortunately, several of the items on my list were accomplished as part of the obsessive momentum, as you can see:

Here is the metamorphosised pansy image before it is quilted.

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Not so much as a nano second

2) Free motion quilting practice - Done! 

Stitching adds texture and detail. Click on the image
in order to get an enlarged view.

Definitely click on this image, the backside, in order
to see just how obsessed I was with the FMQ.

This week's Art on the iPad assignment focused on creating a series of images and artwork that built on the prior image and/or artwork. Adapting images through various apps on the iPad is relatively fast. I am even getting good at bring images from one app into another and sending images to my various devices. In other words lack of technological know how is no longer  the issue it was when I started this journey five weeks ago. Phew! However, translating an image to fabric and that fabric image to art - well that takes time. My choice was to enhance the image with stitch. The piece measures 11" H x 16". You would think it wouldn't take that long to free motion quilt. However, since I am using many different threads and multiple patterns, it is turning out to take far more time than anticipated. All those thread ends need to be buried. I spent 1 1/2 hours doing that yesterday. I still have a few more sections to quilt. I do plan on leaving some areas open (not quilted) because I love the bas relief effect.
3) Do some surface design work - Done!

This week I experimented with three more apps that were introduced in Art on the iPad. These apps focus on creating patterns, such as kaleidoscope effects. If anyone knows of a good app for creating tessellations, particularly one that could be used in fabric as a repeat, please share them with me.
4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open. - Done!

The National Bike Challenge started up again on May 1st. This is my fourth year as a participant. Last year I went all out, by riding 3,000 miles between May 1st and September 30th. The reality of the challenge is that the advantage goes to the riders who ride frequently versus are weekend warriors who ride one or two days per week, but go great distances. It is so, so easy to look at the weather and the demands on my life and want to skip a day. This week has been particularly challenging with rain on and off most days and winds. The winds where I live can be a steady 8 - 10 mph most days and then have gusts in the 20's and 30's. It is tempting to stay inside. So, far I have ridden every single day of the challenge. I will be heading out again shortly after I publish this post.

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.