Week in Review 2014 - 06/27

Little Lake Butte des 
Morts in Fall
gets perspective when
the trees are added.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

My life is currently weighted heavily towards the National Bike Challenge. Technically the challenge isn't competitive. It simply encourages participants to get outside and ride regularly. However, if you are naturally competitive (who me?) then it is tempting to ride every day and expand the distance you ride. There is something rewarding about watching those miles add up. It is as addictive as watching a quilt evolve and then observing the quilts stack up over the years. I have no idea how many quilts I have made over 25+ years of quilting, but I am sure it is over two hundred by now. If I had set out with a goal to make two hundred quilts I probably would have quit before I reached ten quilts. The thought would have been too daunting. That is why I focus on just one or two quilts ahead. It is the same with my biking. I cope with one ride at a time. If it is long one then I break it down to just making it to the next ten mile marker. It is not so different from quilting one block at a time or with my art quilts completing one next step. It is only upon looking back that I can see just how far I have come.

This week felt like biking up hill into a head wind. The week is done. I'm tired. I don't have much distance to show for it. Still I did make progress as you can see:

Close up of Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Create and attach two tree appliqués - Almost

That certainly sounded easy enough to do, but it wasn't. I had the ingenious idea that I would back the tree versus turn under the seam allowance. How tough could the pillow case turn method be? It turns out very tough when the trees are only one to one and half inches wide. It does give a clean line and a wonderful 3D look though.  

b) Start adding the details such as the cattails, branches and leaves. - Not yet.

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Mat and frame the work. - Not Yet

3) Leah Day  and other free motion quilting projects.

The Wave with an addition of sea foam

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson or find another FMQ motif to try. - Done!

This week I chose The Wave as my FMQ motif to test and tweak. This is strictly a play/practice piece. If I were to use it on a quilt I would need to practice more off quilt until I could create more consistent echoes of the wave and keep to similar sizes according to the guidelines. On the plus side I did the whole practice piece without a thread break and think my tweak of adding sea foam between the waves is rather effective.

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

LifeBook 2014
Week 26's assignment

This week's lesson on contour face drawing is what I need and because I need it I had a fair amount of fear about executing it. My two weakest links, in my opinion, are drawing faces and creating depth by understanding where to place highlights and shadows. I still have a long way to go with my drawing skills, but this piece already achieves two things I haven't managed before. First, it accurately portrays the age of the image I used for reference (I usually add decades when I start adding shadows) and there is a bit of a 3D feel with the girl in front of the halo, the crease below her nose dipping in, her nose protruding from her face and her chin jutting out from her neck. 

Usually the reward for making it to the top of the hill is that you it is followed by a little to no effort coast down the hill. Will this be my reward next week? I sure hope so. Here is what I might be breezing past:

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Finish attaching the two tree appliqués
b) Start adding the details such as the cattails, branches and leaves. 

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Mat and frame the work.

3) Leah Day  and other free motion quilting projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson or find another FMQ motif to try.

4) 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.

Week in Review 2014 - 06/20

Detail of the cattails from Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall.
Note the blue marker pen provided general guidelines of
where I intended to use different color threads. It will
disappear when I wash and block the quilt. Most computer
systems will allow you to see an enlarged image by right
clicking on the picture.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Little Lake Butte
des Morts in Fall

I am fortunate that I rarely suffer from artist's block, that bane of artists when they are devoid of inspiration and creativity. There always seems to be some new project I am eager to tackle or technique that I would like to have a go at. Where I get temporarily hung up is how to choose the best free motion quilting motif for each section of a quilt. When I am stuck, as I often am with how to quilt a sky I will look back at what I have done in the past. If that doesn't suggest anything I will turn to the computer and do some research. In this case I googled the phrase "how to quilt a sky" and came up with a fabulous example by Laura Wasilowski. Here is where all that practice of various Leah Day quilting motifs comes in. I can look at Laura's motif, work out the basic elements, test it with pen and paper and then go right to the machine and quilt my own version. When I got stuck on how to quilt the marsh/cattail section of my commission quilt I went to my computer again. This time I used google images and hunted for cattails in the fall. I used one of the images that turned up to get a sense of what color threads to use, how to capture the wind and how to block out the color.

Some weeks I focus in and work on one piece almost to the exclusion of everything else. Not so, this week. I found myself jumping from one project to another. Here is an accounting of the projects that I did or did not work on:

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Finish the quilting - Done!
b) Create two tree appliqués - Not yet

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Create several more small works for the exhibition - Done!

Cascade

3) Leah Day  and other free motion quilting projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson or find another FMQ motif to try.

Pretty Posies

I selected Lori Kennedy's Pretty Posies quilting motif to practice this week. This does require a few guideline markings to achieve the triangular spacing and the ratio of posy to stem. Since there is a natural break in thread between quilting the posies and the filler I couldn't resist changing thread colors. When my husband first saw the design on Lori's site he was happy to see that I would be quilting ice cream cones. It wouldn't take much tweaking to change those leaves to diagonal gridlines and get a waffle cone image. :)

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

Art is Alluring

It was a wild, Effy Wild that is, ride on LifeBook 2014 this week. The point that Effy hammered home is that even if you have only 15 minutes a day to create art you can produce something fabulous each week. Personally, I find it more difficult to do art daily in short bursts than to earmark specific days each week devoted to art. However, when I was a stay at home mother whose schedule was dictated by her children's schedule, I learned to work between carpools and how to bring portable work to sporting events. The best tip I received from Effy's class was to use unexpected colors from my palette to create the shadows and highlights on the face. 


Where will my focus be next week? Who knows. However, to avoid artist's block I have a plan and here it is:


1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Create and attach two tree appliqués
b) Start adding the details such as the cattails, branches and leaves. 

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Mat and frame the work.

3) Leah Day  and other free motion quilting projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson or find another FMQ motif to try.

4) 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.

Weekly Review 2014 - 06/13

Little Lake Butte des Morts
in Fall, a commissioned
work in progress. Most of
the curves were cut free hand
using a rotary cutter
and mat.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Am I a Luddite? The answer is yes and no. I like to think of myself as someone who adapts when adapting is to my benefit. For example, when making a quilt from geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles and triangles you aren't going to find me using templates and marking each shape on my fabric. You can bet I'll grab my rotary cutter, ruler and mat. Have I invested in an AccuQuilt Go? The answer is no and I probably won't. I just don't make quilts based on geometric shapes as much as I used to. Also, I prefer to "oversize" my cut fabric when working with triangles and then trim the pieced units to size. Just because there is a new quilting tool that does something better doesn't mean I have to invest in it. However, when a tool comes along that seems to be the answer to a problem you can bet I will be right in line to buy it.  

Now that I am spending at least one day a week making mixed media the new to me tools that I am purchasing lean heavily to mixed media. I just purchased a set of water soluble crayons by Caron D'Ache.  My first set of inexpensive store brand water soluble crayons weren't water soluble. This new set is! I didn't get to play with them this week, but I did get to use my new permanent ink glitter pens. That isn't all I was up to. Here is a review of how my past week went:

In order to see the quilting of the lake water
more clearly click or right click on the image.

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Finish piecing the background - Done!
b) Start the quilting - Done!

The piecing is done and so is the quilting of the water section. I spent some time doodling various water quilting lines off quilt first using the lake view from my window for reference.

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15) - Not done :(

a) Create several more small works for the exhibition

3) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed. 

Flower Power stitched out in a subtle pink variegated thread.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson or find another FMQ motif to try. - Done!

It was recommended to me that I check out Hilary Florence's cameos and Lori Kennedy's free motion quilt tutorials to find designs to practice my free motion quilting. Great suggestion. This week I tested out Lori's Flower Power motif.

My intuition lead me to a peacock palette with a
heavy dose of shimmer.

4) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments.

This week's LifeBook assignment, taught by Jane Davenport, was how to intuitively start a new piece when you have no idea what you want to make. Two of her recommendations were to look over unfinished work with fresh eyes and to look at your supplies to see what is calling to you. All that shimmers was calling to me. I pulled out my pearlescent paints and sparkling markers and let them guide me.

Will it be my supplies that guide me or something else next week? Whatever I turn my hands to I'll be back next week to tell you about it. Meanwhile I always have my next steps list to remind me of my commitments.

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Finish the quilting
b) Create two tree appliqués 

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Create several more small works for the exhibition

3) Leah Day  and other free motion quilting projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson or find another FMQ motif to try.

4) 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.

Week in Review 2014 - 06/06

Detail from
"Who's There?,"
the result of a
LifeBook 2014
assignment.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

I am back for real this week. Last week I was easing my way back from vacation by catching up with my mixed media assignments from LifeBook 2014. These act as no pressure play for me since I have no desire to switch from fiber to mixed media as my primary art medium. I don't compete in mixed media, sell mixed media work, lecture about mixed media, teach mixed media classes or get mixed media commissions. I do all these things with my fiber art and because I do I feel the pressure to make strong work, get my work accepted in exhibitions and meet deadlines, even self imposed deadlines. I relish the challenge of commissions, yet the operative word could be challenge. I am at my most vulnerable when working on a commission. Let's face it, my work constantly surprises me in that I never know when I start what the final piece will look like. I begin with a concept and work from there. Even when I am commissioned I refuse to be pigeonholed to reproduce a specific image. Still, I want my client to be pleased. It certainly helps if I meet the promised deadline for the commissioned piece. That wouldn't happen unless I actually worked on the piece. First, I needed confidence. My instinct was that I needed to loosen up through mixed media. Maybe I did or maybe I didn't. What I do know is that my success with this week's mixed media piece gave me the confidence to start working on my commissioned piece again.

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

The commission is a view of Little Lake Butte des Morts during the autumn. The commissioner is a neighbor. We share the same view of the lake that includes cattails in the foreground and gentle slope of trees topped with sky in the background. I have the advantage that this is the very view I see from my studio. It is fascinating to look up and check the lake, it is never the same from minute to minute.

a) Finish piecing the background - Started. I still need to add the sky.

b) Start the quilting

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Create several more small works for the exhibition - not yet

3) Leah Day projects.

The quilting motif is called Escargot Flambé 

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson. - Done, sort of. Leah Day is no longer providing weekly quilting motifs to try, so I went in search of another source. I really like to doodle on the machine as a warm up exercise much the way musicians start with scales as they settle in to practice. This motif was from Melody Johnson. She is a member of the Chicago School of Fusing. Other CSoF members use and teach this motif, too.

"Who's There?," my take on this week's
LifeBook 2014 lesson.

4) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - Done

I am completely caught up with LifeBook 2014. YEAH! This Monday's lesson was SO much fun. For once I am thrilled with the results. Tamara LaPorte was our teacher. It definitely helped that she broke down how draw a stag. I can't help but wonder whether the focus on repetition and a pattern was so intuitive for me because of my background making fiber art.

Now, if I can only build on this momentum. Here is where I plan on focusing next week.

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Finish piecing the background
b) Start the quilting

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Create several more small works for the exhibition

3) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson or find another FMQ motif to try.

4) 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.

Week in Review 2014 - 05/30

Tips, Techniques and Thoughts:

Free motion quilting sampler using Leah Day's
Spoonflower.com goddess fabric.

 My husband and I returned midweek from 19 days away, first visiting our family back east and then hiking the Kerry Way in Ireland. It is the longest we have been away from home, work and our comfortable routine in years. We may have returned, but I don't feel back yet. Instead I find myself needing to ease back versus my typical modus operandi of instant catch up. I'm easing back not just with my household duties, but with my studio commitments. Typically I order my to do list by priority and do the items with the most importance first. This week I have focused instead on gingerly moving forward by working on what is easy as a way to prove to myself I can still handle mixed media and free motion quilting. So far so good. I am getting braver and more energetic with each day back. Even with this attitude I managed to accomplish a little on my one studio day. Here is how it went.

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3)  - I chose not to tackle this project until I felt up to speed again.

a) Finish piecing the background
b) Start the quilting

Close up of the free motion quilting motif,
Zany Hearts.

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)  - I chose not to tackle this project until I felt up to speed again.

a) Create several more small works for the exhibition

3) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

My take on Serena Bridgeman's lesson:
Honoring Your Inner World.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson. - Done.

I can't say enough about how much I enjoy trying out each new quilting motif that Leah Day comes up with. They are such a great/safe way to keep my free motion quilting skills up to snuff. Zany Hearts is perfect for practicing echo quilting and travel stitching.

4) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - One assignment from the three I missed is done. 

Serena Bridgeman focused the lesson on shadows and highlights. This is something I need to practice and play with again and again. The image is based on Serena's piece versus my own design. Still I am thrilled with the lotus flower. I really feel that I nailed light and shadow.

My rationale for easing back into the studio is jet lag. Hopefully, this will pass soon and I can get back to my pre vacation pace. Whatever my pace here is the work that awaits me:

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Finish piecing the background
b) Start the quilting

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Create several more small works for the exhibition

3) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson.

4) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments.


I am now linking up to two blogs on Friday's. The first is Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project and the second is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays.

Week in Review 2014 - 05/09

Feeling Groovy
4" H x 6" W

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

The week before I was playing with a new technique. This week I am gently easing myself back to working on items that I am committed to. I have returned to what I refer to as the Zen of quilting. I use the word Zen very loosely here. When I am repeating the same free motion quilting pattern to a point where my mind is both focused on the task and free to wander it is a form of meditation for me. I find myself in a relaxed state of contentment. It seemed that every project I worked on this week brought me to contentment. Ironic how playing with something new can be more stressful than working on pieces with deadlines, but using tried and true techniques.

 Here is what I achieved as I relaxed this week.

Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall
begins to take shape

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Create the blue print for this quilt - Done
b) Start the piecing - Done

This is a huge accomplishment for me since this piece is a commission. The terror of beginning was stifling. Now that I have a formal blue print and feel confident in my fabric palette it is like putting down a 40 pound backpack after a full day's hike.

Watermelon
4" H x 6" W

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Create several small works for the exhibition - Done

I cut up Raspberry Lime Rickey from last week to make several 4" H x 6" W pieces. I will be mounting each piece on an 8" H x 10" W white mat board and framing them in a shadow box frame of the same size. 

3) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson. - Done

I recently treated myself to a panel of Leah Day's cheater cloth. I thought it would be a fun way to practice the various free motion quilting motifs she demos on her videos. Growing Sprouts was the perfect motif to use in the hair.


4) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - Done

Even the mixed media assignment of the week felt like the Zen of mixed media. Our instructor, Danielle Daniel had us start with a meditation. The goal of the assignment was to create a piece that illustrated the process of taking a moment out of a busy schedule to refresh oneself.

I will be taking several weeks off from working in my studio and writing my blog. When I return this is what I plan to return to:

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Finish piecing the background
b) Start the quilting

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Create several more small works for the exhibition

3) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson.

4) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments.


I am now linking up to two blogs on Friday's. The first is Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project and the second is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays.

Week in Review 2014 - 05/02

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Many, many, many years ago I read an article in a quilting magazine by Katie Pasquini Masopust on how she periodically takes a break from her demanding schedule of lecturing, writing and creating art, by doing a simple no brains required scrap quilt. I believe the method she used to make these quilts is called Mile a Minute, but I may be confusing two articles. What struck me was not the method used to create the quilt, but the need to break out and play periodically. That is precisely what I did this week.

Detail from Raspberry Lime Rickey

I have an opportunity to hang a few small pieces at a local gallery as part of the Wisconsin Visual Artists. The work must be 12" x 12" or smaller. I prefer not to work in this size, so have no pieces available to offer. However, I have been longing to play with Carol Ann Waugh's method of creating quilts with the preprogrammed embroidery stitches on sewing machines. What I love about Carol's method is that it lends itself to creating a piece that can be cut into several smaller pieces. These pieces can be hung separately or hung to form a contemporary style grouping.

Carol gives several great tips in her video on how to do this method effectively. One, is to use a 90/14 needle since often the thread of choice will be thicker than that normally used for piecing and quilting. Two, watch the video to see how she guides the fabric. This helps avoid puckers and bunching that can come from the typical hand position of parentheses around the needle. I would like to add third. When working with metallic threads run several beads of Sewers Aid  down the spool of thread and let it sit a few moments before threading your machine. 

A full view of Raspberry Lime Rickey.
Currently it is 16" H x 18" W.

This week is proof positive that I can stray from my plans. Here is how I strayed:

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Create the blue print for this quilt - Not yet.
b) Start the piecing  - Not yet.

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Determine if any of my free motion quilting samplers could be repurposed to suit - Nope

I decided to use Carol Ann Waugh's method to create a couple of pieces for the Wild Apple.

b) Create several 12" x 12" or smaller works for the exhibition - Started

3) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson. - Done

The motif this week was Fish Tails.
Must say I love motifs that pivot and echo,
both to work up and visually.

4) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments. - Done

The only assignment was to watch an interview by Tamara Laporte with Carla Sonheim. 

5) Tickling the Ivories - make and attach the label. - Done


Next week is my last week to work in the studio in May. It is also a week filled with non studio commitments. When I do make it into the studio here is where I plan on focusing my attention:

1) Little Lake Butte des Morts in Fall (Due August 3) 

a) Create the blue print for this quilt
b) Start the piecing 

2) Wild Apple 12" x 12" Opportunity - (Due August 15)

a) Create several small works for the exhibition

3) Leah Day projects.

a) Baste the face, torso and arms to Express Your Love II. - On hold until the quilts with deadlines are completed.

b) Do Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting lesson.

4) LifeBook 2014 - Do the assignments.


I am now linking up to two blogs on Friday's. The first is Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project and the second is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays.