Sketching #191

Creative Prompt #191: Flashing
Creative Prompt #191: Flashing

Have you seen the original prompt? I have been responding to the prompts, but not posting them. Since I have not been sewing much, I have been scraping the bottom of the barrel for posts and voila! You get a prompt response.

I made a mistake on this one overlapping some of the background with the foreground, so the flashing light is not highlighted.

Live and learn.

Enjoy the process.

I am trying to make those my mantras.

Creative Prompt #213: Boat

sailboat

Brooklyn comedy sketch group

canoe

Poem: A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky by Lewis Carroll

A BOAT beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July —
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear —
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.
Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream —
Lingering in the golden gleam —
Life, what is it but a dream?

boat ramp

kayak

USCG Office of Boating Safety

gondola

Don’t rock the boat

motorboat

Fishing boats

Banana boat song

speedboat

wooden boat restoration

Row, row, row your boat

raft

Let’s go boating!

 

punt

toy boat (say it 3x really fast! toy boat toy boat toy boat)

yacht

longboat

crew

watercraft

logboat

boat builders

Definition:  “A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland (lakes) or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a vessel small enough to be carried aboard another vessel (a ship). Another less restrictive definition is a vessel that can be lifted out of the water.”

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.

We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

26 Projects – June Update

I know. I didn’t post an update in May. My last update was in April. I don’t think I finished anything (as in NOTHING) in May. Sad, really. I blame it on all the travel. Yes, the travel.

Finished 2013 Projects:

  1. Corner Store: Finished on 1/1/2013 YAY!
  2. The Garden. Finished on 1/5/2013 YAY!
  3. Stepping Stones: Finished on 2/14/2013 YAY!
  4. Fabric of the Year 2011: Finished on 2/27/2013 YAY
  5. Calm: Finished on 3/14/2013 YAY!
  6. A-B-C Challenge: Finished on 3/31/2013 YAY!
  7. Petrillo Bag*: Finished on May 5, 2013 YAY!
  8. Super Secret Project #1: Finished on June 13, 2013

Other non-quilt Projects finished

-5 donation Pillowcases

Still WIPs

  1. Aqua-Red SamplerFrances  is working diligently, though I know she feels frustrated with the foundation pieced block. I think part of that is because she is left handed and I am right handed. I finished the foundation piecing tutorial, along with my block for this part of the class. I am not giving up on her.
  2. The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though I did think about working on it. I hope that counts for something. I really do need to get back to the quilting. I am still a little mad at myself for making such good progress and then getting sidetracked. I thought quilting the Whole Cloth quilt would get me back in the swing of quilting, but apparently not.
  3. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Mrs. K. gave me more PP fabric and I won some from a giveaway. I still think it is a sign that I need to work on this. Leaders and enders.
  4. See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing. I really have the feeling I came so close to working on this project this month.
  5. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric.
  6. Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
  7. Flower Sugar Hexagon: I thought about sewing more hexagons together. Although not difficult, sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile. I could, perhaps, use leaders and enders to get this piece moving?
  8. Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am still in the process of applying fusible.  He reminded me again this week that I need to finish that quilt, so I pulled some of the t-shirts with fusible backing off the pile and put them on the design wall for inspiration. I also fused the interfacing to a few more t-shirts and think this project may not be so bad. I may have gotten some mojo back for it. Some of the t-shirts from when he was much smaller are so little and adorable.

Ready for Quilting

  1. Original Bullseye: At the quilter
  2. New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs basting, quilting and binding. Not on original list
  3. Infinity blocks: blocks sewn together into a quilt top, borders on. Back and binding made; ready to be quilted.
  4. New:* Sparkle Pink – At the quilter.  (not on original list)
  5. New:* Swoon – At the quilter.
  6. Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. This is at the quilter.
  7. New:* FOTY 2012: top, finished, though I can’t decide if I need a quilting border. Back and binding are complete; I am waiting to take it to the quilter.
  8. New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished. Ready to go to the quilter (not on original list)
  9. New:*Fresh Fruit: Top finished, back and binding finished. Ready to go to the quilter (not on original list)

Please note that even if you combine the two lists above, I do not have 26 projects on this list anymore. I have made progress!!!

In the Finishing Process

  1. New:* Super Secret Project #2: Back from the quilter. Sewing on binding.

Abandoned

Nothing so far for 2013

Hunting and Gathering

  • Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
  • Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering.
  • Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.

Last update for the 26 Projects List. Read it. There’s some interesting stuff there.

I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I plan to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about. I wonder when that will be?

*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list

Donation Pillowcases etc.

Donation Pillowcases
Donation Pillowcases

Not enough doing good this year, so I am working on changing that. I have been out of town so much that I am also slacking on cat beds, though I may be able to remedy that this week.

These are the pillowcase fabrics and parts that I found lurking in the [never ending] stack of fabrics I have been ironing. As you can see that pink/plaid flamingo fabric I discussed on Twitter has a starring role.

I pulled out a black with a grey background and cut it up for another 16 patch block donation quilt. I am using orange as the alternate squares. I may punch it up by adding blue squares as well. We’ll see how much of the right blues I have. I hope to make that into a top, and make the back by the next BAMQG meeting.

Vintage Tuesday #5

I am tempted to tag these posts ‘Old Junk.’ I haven’t done it yet, but I am thinking about it.

Starry Starry Night
Starry Starry Night

I must be on some kind of roll with my old quilts. This is Starry, Starry Night. Again, it is a 1990s project and I believe it was a round robin by mail project. Who can remember?

Aside from my Mariner’s Compass center, I really like the border that looks like it is half in the black and half in the grey.

I am almost sure this is one of the last, if not the last group project that I worked on.

I thought of it after I decided to play along with the BAMQG Round Robin.

 

What I wrote on my website “This border exchange quilt is owned and was completed by Jaye A. H. Lapachet. The quilt was started in 1994 through the Q-XCHG Listserv. It was completed in 1999. Participants in the exchange were: Debbie Atkins, Leslie Burnette, Rosalie Freudenberger, Jaye Lapachet, Dianne Morelock, and Amy Lobsiger. Machine quilted by Laura Lee Fritz.”

Fresh Fruit

Fresh Fruit
Fresh Fruit

I subscribe to Easy Quilts, because I am a member of the Quilters Club of America. I never make patterns from Easy Quilts, because often the patterns are too easy and too boring. I can’t say that anymore, now that I have made this quilt.

This one pattern appealed to me because of the fabric. The fabric used is Textured Basics by Patti Young, which I found I liked better in the magazine than in person. The neutral that goes with the colors is too beige for my tastes. The teal and the red, however, are especially vibrant and fun. The oranges, pink and chartreuse would have looked better against a white contrast. As a whole, the line works very well for this quilt.

I cut the pieces while working on my general cutting, which, it turns out, made me not think about the patches very much. I sewed almost the entire quilt together using the leaders and enders technique while working on the Star Sampler. As a result, I finished the top before I really realized I was working on another quilt project.

There is really no way to change this pattern. The pieces are so large and not in block form. That, coupled with the fact that I barely realized I was making the quilt, meant that I didn’t make any changes to the pattern, which I normally would do in order to make it my own. This pattern could be used effectively for other large scale prints (I am thinking Philip Jacobs fabrics) assuming the additional fabrics were selected carefully to retain the strong, but subtle horizontal motifs.

I have the binding done and am working on the back. I am using the orange, chartreuse and pink leftover yardage as I don’t think I will use those. Also, I am using the herringbone print from all the colors since I don’t think I will be using that print any time soon.

Pattern from Easy Quilts magazine, Summer 2013, pg.31-34

San Mateo County Fair 2013

I love attending county fairs. I make it a point to attend my local county fair every year*. I also work hard to enter something. It’s not like I have a shortage of *ahem* quilts to enter. Also, if you have ever entered a quilt show, entering the county fair is a breeze. It is also really, really cheap, unless you are entering your quilts in the art section.

This year was no exception, though it was a very close call for me. The fair was changed from August to June a few years ago and is usually held the week of one of the major Library conferences I like to attend. As a result, I almost didn’t get to attend AND I almost bailed at the last minute. I was enjoying hanging around the house in my pajamas.

I like the Fair, and most all county fairs, because it shows what is going on in the community. It is a place for regular people to show off what they are making or growing or tending in the privacy of their own home. It shows off what the local organizations are doing. And there are the bizarre vendors (and not so bizarre, too).

I am sad, because my local Fair gets smaller and smaller and more and more expensive to attend. Here is a breakdown of costs:

$10 parking
+$22×3 entrance fee
+$36 for lunch
+55 carnival wristbands
__________________________
$167

That is a lot of fabric! I didn’t pay that much however, because the Young Man and I both entered exhibits we each got two free entrance tickets. We also got two parking passes, but I only used one since I can only drive one car at a time. My nephew paid for all but $5 of his carnival wristband. Our cost for the day was $71. I did take two teenaged boys and had to feed them. Still a lot for a day at the fair and out of the reach of many families with a few kids. It is definitely worth the money to enter exhibits. Even if I don’t win, I get $54 worth of entrance and parking right off the bat.

2013 Fair Ribbons
2013 Fair Ribbons

Last year I won a ribbon and was pretty excited about that, but this year I won 4 ribbons! Yes, 4!!!! I couldn’t believe it. I was thrilled when I saw the first one on the A-B-C Challenge quilt I did with BAMQG. I was ecstatic when I saw another ribbon on the Petrillo bag and practically jumping out of my skin when I saw the big, fancy ribbon on Cheerful Baskets. Then I saw the last ribbon on FOTY 2011. I forgot I entered that quilt and couldn’t believe it got a ribbon. Thrilled doesn’t even begin to explain how I am feeling right now. Thisis not a feeling I could ever imagine dealing with nor did I ever imagine I would win a ribbon. I have won two ribbons in the past, an Honorable Mention and a Judge’s choice, but not in the same year, at the same show.

Silly boys with Cheerful Baskets
Silly boys with Cheerful Baskets

I know some of you are thinking “Sheesh, it isn’t Houston, what is she getting worked up about?” I know this is a little show with a few hundred quilts and not Houston. I am still excited.

FOTY 2011 with 3rd Place Ribbon
FOTY 2011 with 3rd Place Ribbon

After looking at my quilts, I went back and started looking at all the quilts in a very orderly and calm manner. A couple of the local guilds use the county fair as their guild shows. This saves money and enhances the quilt exhibit at the county fair. There are separate designations and categories of winners for those guilds only. I believe the judging is separate as well.

A-B-C Challenge with 1st Place Ribbon
A-B-C Challenge with 1st Place Ribbon

There were a lot of nice quilts at the show. I enjoy seeing all the different quilts of all different levels. I took my own advice and looked for something in each quilt that I liked. It wasn’t hard as the quilts were so good. There really was some interesting about almost every quilt I saw there.

Julie Mcauliffe
Julie Mcauliffe

The above quilt is by a local longarmer. She also has a hand in organizing the Fair’s quilt show. I liked this one for a few reasons. First, it is very similar to the EPP piece on which I am working. Second, it looks like the Spin Wheel project for which I am hunting and gathering.

Julie Mcauliffe detail
Julie Mcauliffe detail

It also has great vintage fabric. The quilt was huge, thus the weird picture.

Sarah Martin Chocolate Challenge
Sarah Martin Chocolate Challenge

 

Sarah Martin Chocolate Challenge
Sarah Martin Chocolate Challenge

 

 

 

 

 

The above quilt is part of a SFQG challenge called “Chocolate”. I like this one a lot. There were a number of different renditions of the imagery of chocolate. I didn’t see any raspberries. I think that there is a lot of opportunity for creativity in a challenge about chocolate.

 

Kevin Martin
Kevin Martin

The above quilt is such a fantastic layout. One of the reasons I like it is the way the nine patches go out into the border. I also like it because the crosses are not cut off; they are complete.

Kevin Martin-detail
Kevin Martin-detail

It is easy to see from this layout how part of the nine patches really are a border. The parts of the nine patch and the blue create the illusion of the nine patches going into the border.

Tin foil dinosaur
Tin foil dinosaur

One of my favorite parts of the fair is the building that houses the kid exhibits. Entering that building is an explosion of colors, movement and exuberance. Everything is a little wonky, but all of the art has such life. If you have no quiltmaking mojo left, the Kids Building is where you need to go. Where else can you see a tin foil dinosaur?

*2012 visit is chronicled as is 2009. I didn’t go back farther, but you can search in the search box, if you want.

Various & Sundry 2013 #8

Reading

I know I haven’t been good about telling you what I am reading. I have just finished Midnight Riot by Ben Aronovitch. Carolyn of BBQ suggested the series. I am listening to the second in the series, Moon Over Soho, on audio. I am also reading A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick. I read Marie’s new book and wanted to revisit the characters.

Projects

Camping Merit Badges
Camping Merit Badges

As I work on finishing the Star Sampler, I am beginning to think of my next project. I have a zillion projects on my list, a number of UFOs begging for my attention and The Young Man reminding me that his t-shirt quilt has an open spot on his bed. What I really want to make is another Petrillo bag. Reading glowing missives about Sara‘s fabulous-ness is not dissuading me even with the screams of those UFOs echoing in my ears.

I cut some 2.5″ background squares to make another donation quilt, but haven’t done anything about the foreground yet.

I also sewed on one of the Young Man’s newest merit badges, Camping. It is Eagle required.

Other Artists

If you haven’t seen Julie’s relatively new quilt, take a look at Contained Observation. There is a lot to look at and fun surprises. She also did some fabulous ATCs, which I missed out on for some reason. 🙁

Mom hasn’t been writing much, but take a look at her blog. She has written some good, heartfelt posts recently.

I was wandering around Blogland a few few Fridays ago when i was just too exhausted to even move to the couch. I stopped by the Fresh Lemons blog only to see this great mini-hex project. I know they are half hexies, but I am ignoring that. The layout reminds me of my Eye Spy quilt, but I love the idea of doing a scrappy version in the diamond layout. HOWEVER! I am not allowed to do any hexie projects until I finish, or make serious progress on the Flower Sugar Hexagon quilt. I really should work on it. It would be so great in my country manor…

Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr will be doing a West Coast Road Trip. Check out the locations and dates on their blog. I will be in the San Mateo class (I have already signed up!). They are really good lecturers, so the experience is worth the price of admission.

Media

Sandi at Piecemeal Quilts wrote a great post recently about blogging platforms. If you don’t know the difference between WordPress and Blogger or aren’t sure what a No Reply Blogger is, go over and check out her post. And remember: she does the great Skillbuilder Series.

Gretchen did a short review of Judy Martin’s The Creative Pattern Book.

The image that Danny Gregory posted on his blog is partial, but what is there is fabulous. It reminds me so much of how I want to take to take notes and illustrate my life. It reminds me to stop and look. If you don’t read Danny Gregory’s blog, it is full of inspiration. Yes, he draws. That is his thing, but he is a creative person and we can gain inspiration and tips from other creatives.

Check out this colorful article on Kaffe Fassett. It is so beautifully illustrated.

Techniques and Tutorials

Here is a tutorial for the Ribbon Star. I wish I had seen this before I made mine!

Here is another quilt block library. Some of the blocks in the library are ones that I have been seeing around the web lately. The Ribbon Star is in this group as well. Odd since it seems like it is an old block. It is, at least, similar to an old block. I looked it up in Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns and found three blocks (pg.139) that are similar, Capital T (Louisville Farm Journal, 1883), Tea for Four (Nancy Page, 1937), and Rippling Star (new design, which first appeared in Jinny Beyer’s previous book, The Quilter’s Album of Blocks and Borders book in 1980).

Gen X Quilters has a tutorial on Contrary Wife.  It is part of the Sisters’ Ten Modern BOM. I have no idea what that means. I just like these types of blocks – the ones with that strong diagonal line.

Robin has a tip on seam ripping.

New Pieces has some info about thread.

Below is my Quilt Bear June Thread offerings.

June Quilt Bear Thread
June Quilt Bear Thread

Creative Prompt #212: Ribbon

This prompt is a bit of self indulgence. I won 4 ribbons at the County Fair, which is held this past week in our county. I was amazed and awed that I had won the first one I saw, then my eyes must have been bugging out of my head as I visited each of the pieces I had entered and saw ribbons on all. So, ribbon is the word for the week. I can’t wait to see your responses.

American Ribbon Manufacturer

raffia ribbon

Bluetooth Streamer

gift wrap, ribbon & bows

font

grosgrain

spool of ribbon

hair ribbons

First place ribbon

Definition (computing) – “In computing, a ribbon is a set of toolbars placed on several tabs. For example, Microsoft and Autodesk software released since 2007 have popularized a form of modular ribbon as their main interface, where large tabbed toolbars, filled with graphical buttons and other controls, are grouped by functionality. Such ribbons use tabs to expose different sets of controls, eliminating the need for many parallel toolbars. Contextual tabs are tabs that appear only when the user needs them. For instance, in a word processor, an image-related tab may appear when the user selects an image in a document, allowing the user to interact with that image.

The usage of the term ribbon dates from the 1980s and was originally used as a synonym for what is now more commonly known as a (non-tabbed) toolbar. However, in 2007, Microsoft Office 2007 used the term to refer its own implementation of tabbed toolbars bearing heterogeneous controls, known as “The Fluent UI”. Thus, Microsoft popularized the term with a new meaning, although similar tabbed layouts of controls had existed in previous software from other vendors. The considerable redesign of the Office user interface caused a backlash and a rejection from some users of previous versions of Microsoft products, as well as from developers because of concerns about copyright and patents.”

toolbar

Pabst Blue Ribbon beer

There are a variety of campaigns to help raise money for research of various diseases, conditions and cancers using ribbons

Colored cloth placed on a uniform to signify rank or status

Ribbon Seal

Personalized timemap

Ribbon Music

Definition – “a: a flat or tubular narrow closely woven fabric (as of silk or rayon) used for trimmings or knitting. b : a narrow fabric used for tying packages.”

typewriter ribbon

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.

We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

My Next Big Idea

I spent a happy hour last week in my workroom after dinner trying to get a handle on the un-ironed fabric that is causing havoc in my workroom. I feel like I have been ironing fabric forever. I know that is why many of you don’t pre-wash your fabric. Trust me, if it weren’t for the smell of burning chemicals when I press, I’d be right there with you. Still, I found a couple of pillowcase bodies that I had cut who knows when. I cut a couple of pieces of Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets dark green for the cuffs and pinned together a couple of pieces of fabric that will be pillowcases soon.

Pearl Bracelets
Pearl Bracelets

Yes, I am using up some precious Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets. Frankly, I have enough fabric and my fabric is currently overwhelming me, so it is a good use. Also, that green went really well with the taco and burrito fabric I had previously cut for the body of the pillowcase.

The above two paragraphs are a precursor to my post-Star Sampler idea. I don’t know if it will work, but I am going to try to work through some small projects and patterns for bags, etc. Of course, there are quilts on the 26 Projects list that I want/need to finish, so I will work on those. Also, I have bought a number of pieces of fabric for specific small craft items such as pillowcases. I want to get those sewn and out the door. I also have patterns and some fabric for other projects such as bags. I want to make another Petrillo bag. I need more journal covers. I am thinking that I am going to take some time and work on these types of projects. I am going to try, at least.

I may sneak some leaders and enders for charity quilts in, but that is my idea.

Vintage Tuesday #4

Pink Spider Looking at the Stars
Pink Spider Looking at the Stars

Pink Spider Looking at the Stars is the first quilt I ever finished.* Note the word “finished.” I started my Sampler quilt and got to the quilting point and then stopped. Hand quilting was the order of the day and hand quilting takes a long time.  I was a UFO girl from day one.

Pink Spider Looking at the Stars was the result of a challenge in the small quilt group I belonged to at the time. We were given pieces of all (or most, maybe) of the fabrics and had to make something. These quilts were displayed at an EBHQ show in the early 1990s, or, perhaps 1989. Again, I don’t remember.

Pink Spider Looking at the Stars - detail
Pink Spider Looking at the Stars – detail

I don’t have any good photos of the quilt, but the quilt is around here somewhere, so I could take some if I were motivated to do so.

One thing you might notice is that the design is insane. I made this piece with templates. I didn’t have a rotary kit at the time, though I think I may have bought one shortly thereafter.

You might also notice all of those mitered corners on the binding. The binding was a pain, I have to admit. Most of the time now I keep my quilts square so as to avoid mitered corners. I subscribe to the notion that if you don’t know you can’t do something, then you can do it. Nota bene: hanging out in space without a space suit is the exception.

From an early quilt age, I could do Y-seams, which is why I know you can do them. Although these are 6 rather than 8-pointed stars, there are a lot of Y-seams. I had done an 8-pointed star in my sampler class and figured 6 would be similar or easier.

Seeing this quilt might give you a clue as to why my hackles raise a bit when I see Half Square Triangles classified as “intermediate”. HA!

 

 

 

 

*Vintage is a little bit of an exaggeration, but I am using it to denote old stuff in this series of posts

Modern Quilt Studio Homework #12

This is the last one. Did you do the homework? Did you do one of the homework assignments? C’mon, people, pick one and do it. You’ll like it 😉

QuiltCon Homework #12
QuiltCon Homework #12

Weeks writes “Evolve. Lastly, look at your work over time. What makes your best quilts the “best”? How have you evolved? How will you continue to evolve?”

I find it useful to do this. sometimes self reflection is valuable (though if I can’t stand what I am seeing, I know it is a time for a change).

One of the things I am doing with my Vintage Tuesday posts is to look at my old work, as well as the work of others (I am not that vintage, after all!). It is interesting to revisit the work I have done in the past.

One thing that really jumped out at me is the change in colors that I use. I have always thought of myself as using brights, but in looking back at my old pieces, such as the Spiderweb, Starry, Starry Night and the Women’s Work pieces, there is a lot of black. It makes me wonder what that was about?

Black is a relatively easy background. It goes with everything. It is easy to grab for a class or group project and two of these projects fell into those categories.

Still, I have always thought of myself as using brights. And, there are brights in these quilts, though fewer in Starry, Starry Night. I find that the brights have to be very bright to not be overshadowed by the black. OR I should have been more careful about the ratio of black to color in these pieces.

Despite the brights, the pieces mentioned above are not Sparkle Pink, which is an explosion of bright happiness. If anything, I have been working with color. The work might be subtle, but I find myself saying, mostly to myself, “what if I combine this color with this?” or “will this transition be smoother, if I move this blue next to this turquoise?”

I also think that trying new techniques and taking new classes is a great way for me to evolve. I took a lot of dyeing classes at one point and despite my best efforts, found that it wasn’t for me. I also couldn’t really get on board with the whole trumpeting of “I dyed this fabric” messages that went along with the dyeing. It is fabric, I use it in a quilt (or bag or apron or….). Mostly, it was just too messy and there was no convenient wet studio to rent. Finally, despite my painstaking detailed recipes, I ended up with more than my share of chartreuse hand dyed fabric.

My recent formal classes were hand applique‘ (also not my thing, but good to check periodically) and inset circles. I love that technique.

Craftsy really makes this easy as you don’t have to pack up the machine and travel, and you can do the work at your own pace. Oh how things have changed!

Mostly, though, I sit at home and try to make really hard blocks- or sort of hard blocks. or I try new patterns for bags that have the kind of construction that makes your brain do flips, but ends up really cool.

I want to learn new stuff; I want make quilts that are hard sometimes, quilts that have souls. I don’t want to stay where I am in my quiltmaking process. I want to move on.

See my last installment of this homework, which was posted last week.

Images courtesy of the Modern Quilt Studio.

Section 7

PICT3489sm

I know I am drawing out the ending of this a bit, but the truth is that I haven’t gotten the back done and I need to get the back done before I can show you the entire project.

I’ll get there. I am just not there yet.

No section came out perfectly. I am not talking about precise sewing, though that is true as well, but also in color placement. I tried hard to disperse the fabrics sort of evenly and among the different sections in hopes that this strategy would act as a way of moving your eye around the piece.

Section 7
Section 7

This, Section 7, was a bear of a section. I really had to sew carefully and fix little bits and bobs here and there. The fact of the matter is that the Ribbon Star isn’t on the same grid as the Sawtooth Star and that came back to haunt me a little bit when when putting this section together.

Still, I got the monster together and am pleased.

Mosaic No.19 Redux

Remember that I went on a bit about the Mosaic Number 19 and how it wasn’t quite up to par? Still, it was the first block I made for this project and I had some fondness for it.

Well, I remade it.

Mosaic No.19
Mosaic No.19

So much for fondness. It just didn’t fit and I decided that while I was remaking blocks that weren’t working for other reasons, I might as well remake this one.

One thing I wanted to do was make sure that the background was the background. In the green version, there are large triangles of green in the middle center where background should be. Essentially the Sawtooth Star shape is reversed in terms of fabric. I thought the green where the background should be would ruin the flow of the background of the quilt. Yes, this new configuration meant that the corners would be non-background fabric, but other blocks have that quality as well, so it will be ok.

I have to say that I do like the frame around the center block int he green version. It really focuses attention on that center tilted/on point square. I suppose I could have found something to fussy cut and kept that look in the new version, but I didn’t think of it.

That blue that I used is a really nice blue. I think it shows up really well in the photo.

See more about this quilt using the Star Sampler tag. I wrote a whole post about the genesis of this project, which you might want to look at.

Creative Prompt #211: Map

Google Maps

topographical map

Rand McNally

Mapquest

campus map

Yahoo Maps

Home World Map Shower Curtain

subway map

GPS Navigator

satellite map

Subdivision Map Act

time zone map

flickr.com/map

Harry Potter’s Maurauder’s Map

map tacks

bird migration maps

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)

map out your argument

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection | The Collection

Map of Life

Atlas

Internet map

The MAP Fund

Definition: “A map is a visual representation of an area – a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes.

Many maps are static two-dimensional, geometrically accurate (or approximately accurate) representations of three-dimensional space, while others are dynamic or interactive, even three-dimensional. Although most commonly used to depict geography, maps may represent any space, real or imagined, without regard to context or scale; e.g. brain mapping, DNA mapping and extraterrestrial mapping.”

Personal Geographies: explorations in mixed-media map making by Jill Berry (book)

how to find your way

Automobile club maps

map maker

cartographer

Map (Java platform)

Map Library

 

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.

We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.