One of my blocks for the QuiltCon challenge made on to today’s blog post: http://themodernquiltguild.com/2012/09/06/quiltcon-block-challenge-graphic-squares-rectangles-boxes/
I wrote about my blocks a few weeks ago and how sad I felt that mine seemed boring compared to some of the others entered by BAMQGers. It makes me happy that one of my blocks was featured. I am also happy that this blog was linked. Perhaps people will stop by and stay awhile!
I knew and meant to tell you earlier, but was really busy. Thanks to Adrianne of Little Bluebell for the reminder!
The fabric in these quilts cemented my friendship with TFQ, though we were well on our way already. 😉
The idea of the series is to play with ratios of color in such a way that subtle shifts in color or fabric changes the feeling of a quilt, though the designs are essentially the same for all the quilts in the series. These quilts started my experimentation with color, which I continue working at today. These quilts are the precursors, in a way to the Fabric of the Year quilts.
These quilts made me into an art quilt maker.
I bought the first batch of fabrics at a shop in Seattle called In the Beginning, which has since closed. At the time, I was in Seattle for a conference. I had been there briefly the month before on vacation, but didn’t get to do much quilty stuff. The day I purchased the fabric was a gorgeous, bright, sunny day and the sun was spilling into the shop lighting up these fabrics, which were arranged in rainbow order. I wanted them all. I was slightly horrified, but also excited at this visceral reaction, the strong desire to possess all of these fabrics. I think I even saw the series in my mind almost fully formed as I looked at the fabrics.
Pointillist Palette #2: Ice
I bought some of each. I cut thousands of squares (WAY before Accuquilt cutting systems) and began sewing them into blocks. Though, I didn’t know it at the time, I did some chunking on these pieces.
I also paid attention to the use of color, which I had never done before. ‘Sun’ is much warmer feeling than ‘Ice’. I think ‘Ice’ is whiter and has a feeling of ice crystals or snow …. or something.
I had sense enough to concentrate the larger patches on the outside of the quilts to give a sense of borders. Definitely a happy accident, though I could have planned it. I just don’t remember.
The fabrics, by Debra Lunn and Michael Mrowka, have multiple colors on each piece of yardage – the colors gradate from dark to light or medium to dark or medium to light. There are many more tones and values that can be used than is obvious when you see some of the fabric. I didn’t realize this until I had the fabric out of the store.
Pointillist Palette #3: Flower
In Pointillist Palette #3: Flower, I started to introduce other fabrics. The idea was that the last quilt (#6) would have barely any PP fabric in it.
The fabric I added was a group of larger scale reproduction flower fabrics. I think they were reproduced from a museum collection. I cut them up, sometimes fussy cutting, and included them with my Pointillist Palette fabrics.
I also started collecting other fabrics I thought I would use as the series went on.
Pointillist Palette #4: Night (WIP)
Pointillist Palette #4: Night is still in progress and has been for a long time. I took that back of #1 apart to get the black aboriginal looking fabric out of it, so I could use it for the top of #4. People, who shall remain nameless, thought I had lost my mind. I needed a certain fabric and when I made the back of #1, I didn’t know I would need the fabric for #4. I had to make the right decision for the design of the quilt.
I pieced a few squares together recently and feel much more interested in working on this piece. I wonder if I can continue what I started so long ago?
I don’t really remember my ideas for #5 or #6. I may have notes and drawings somewhere. If not, perhaps this 6 piece series will turn into a 4 piece series?
All of the pieces are machine pieced, machine quilted (I did it myself!) and made using commercial fabrics.
I first got interested in Jo Morton when I saw her do the Triangle Technique on Love of Quilting. As you may remember, I contacted her and asked if she had a technique sheet that gave directions for different sizes of half square triangles. She said no, that she was focusing on projects, which is what the market wants and my Triangle Technique post was born.
I bought Timeless in Minnesota after the email exchange, because I thought I would get an idea of her directions. The book was on the clearance table at Glad Creations, one of the shops I visited. This is a self published book, thus no ISBN and rather expensive ($16.00 for a 32 page pamphlet/booklet before clearance price). There are 3 projects, a section called ‘General Directions,’ a section on handpiecing, another on single thickness binding, some bio information and a pattern and book listing. There are lots of color photos as well.
The projects are quite classic. Jo does her projects in Civil War era reproduction colors and fabrics, but I think the projects would be stunning in more vibrant colors and more contemporary fabrics.
The heart method of making Flying Geese is well illustrated n in the Pickens Lane project. The directions are only for one size of Flying Geese. Deb Tucker’s Flying Geese Ruler comes with a chart of different sizes, which is one thing I was looking for from Jo Morton.
The Indigo Moment project gives specific instructions on cutting out patches for handpiecing, so the directions might be useful, if you have a car trip coming up and need a hand project. The other projects include directions saying how much to cut, but don’t say which method to use to cut. The directions are vague enough so one could rotary cut.
The Fabric Requirements have specific SKUs rather than saying 1 yard blues. This is definitely geared to people who are using her fabrics, which is difficult if you want to use different fabrics. I also think that tactic limits her market. I am not going to buy her fabric just because the directions include a SKU.
The feathers quilted on the Chestnut Hill project are very ….casual–, big and loopy, and I like their look very much.
She has general directions for making quilts including her “Clipping Trick” clearly shown and described in this book. This book is small enough to carry around without adding significant weight or bulk to your bag.
Day 3 came and went and I am back to the drudgery of work.
Postage Stamp Star
While in sewing heaven, though, I design a block in EQ7 to use to make some Lovey blocks I promised. I saw the idea in a UK magazine called Fabrications. You can make this block as well as I am including the Postage Stamp Star Directions for your sewing pleasure! I was thinking of using these directions to set the donation blocks, but they might end up too big. I’ll see. I should probably plan the whole quilt using this setting from the start.
I made two of these for two different Lovey quilts.
4 Donation Blocks
I also finished all of the donation blocks. The blocks are ok looking, definitely cheerful, but I think, if I were to do this color scheme again, I would pay more attention to the tone of the color of the green.
Still I think these are interesting and cheerful and that some NICU baby will like the quilt.
1 Pink & Green donation block
I also started to sash these blocks. I decided to sash the blocks, but with 2″ unfinished strips rather than the 2.5″ strips I used last time. It means more cutting, but I think it will add interest to the quilt.
The Sew-in was fun. It was nice to sew at home and have others sew along at the same time.
To find out how to participate in the Labor Day Sew-in, read the previous post.
I don’t feel like I got as much done on Day 2 as I did on Day 1, but I am still pretty pleased with the amount of work I got done.
4 Pink & Green Donation blocks
I worked on the donation blocks and think I have 9 more to go before I can start chunking.
I feel like I should have gotten all of these done, but I made a couple of journal covers, which required more than straight mindless sewing. Still 4 is good, right? Immerhin, right?
Journal Cover closed
Next up: Journal covers. Did I say somewhere that I started a new journal this past week and needed a journal cover? If not, I started a new journal this past week and need a journal cover. I didn’t believe my own directions, so that meant that I made one and it was just a tad too small. I was able to cut the covers of an old journal and use it, but I still needed a cover for my new journal. I followed my own directions this time and came up with one I could use. It is a tad too large, but works.
Journal Cover open (back cover)
I am not sure why I like using journal covers, but I do. I like seeing cheerful fabric. I liked the softness and a journal cover gives the impression of more privacy. Real privacy? I don’t know, but the impression is ok with me. My journal doesn’t often leave my sight.
I adjusted the sizes slightly and might try another cover tomorrow (LDSI3). I always need covers for new journals, so making another one would mean I get a bit ahead. I would like to go back and cover all of my journals, but I just don’t see that happening right now. Someday, perhaps.
A-B-C Challenge Blocks – more sashing
I also worked on the A-B-C Challenge Blocks. I used the last bit of the half yard that TFQ returned from the Super Secret project. I was able to sash a lot of blocks with that half yard. I am fortunate I was able to find more of the grey, so I started pressing and cutting into that.
I expected to get more done, but am happy with how much I got done.
There is a Labor Day Sew-in happening on Twitter. If you are on Twitter, you can add the #LDSI hashtag to your sewing tweets and join the fun. If you do not have a Twitter account (or you want to follow ALL the tweets) you can still follow along via Tweetchat at this link: http://tweetchat.com/room/ldsi . I tweet as @Artquiltmaker. Are you surprised? Hope to see you there!
This phenomenon started sometime last year with the quilty podcasters. I think Sandy from Quilting for the Rest of Us was the first, but the others quickly joined in. There was a Black Friday Sew-in (for those who don’t shop, or get their shopping done early), Boxing Day Sew-in, New Year’s Day Sew-in that I can recall. It is a fun way to have some contact with other quiltmakers and still sew in your pajamas.
I stayed home while much of the family went to see Cal play in their new stadium. I want to see the new stadium, but when given a choice between sewing and watching football with 70,000 other people, the choice is clear.
I had the Young Man, of course, and one of the nephews home with me. They are close in age and hang well together. I worked on the laundry and tidying the house. Feeding those boys turned out to be a major undertaking that I didn’t expect, as well. I went through: 2 bowls of potato salad, 5 pieces of cobbler, 2 pot pies, a bowl of goldfish, a bagel, frozen yogurt and smoothies. WHEW!
As mentioned, I am sewing more slowly than usual, but I did make some progress on various projects.
K-man Pillowcase
First, I finished a pillowcase that the nephew (above nephew) started sewing awhile ago when he was home alone with me. I didn’t think he was going to finish it anytime soon and I kind of wanted it out of my workroom and on his bed.I talked to him and he was fine with me finishing it.
What a pain this thing was to finish! It was much too narrow. I don’t know what I was thinking when I cut it. I had to add pieces to make it marginally wide enough. My nephew is an easygoing child/Young Man, so I think it will be fine.
A-B-C Challenge Blocks – LDSI Day 1 Progress
I started to sash the A-B-C Challenge blocks. They are looking good, IMO. I am really liking the grey.
One of the bonuses that I didn’t expect was that after I sashed a number of the blocks, I was able to see how much better the grey sashing looks as opposed to using white. I may not have considered white, but the design wall is white and having the un-sashed blocks next to the sashed blocks shows a big difference. I also think that the grey is really setting off the vibrant colors of the blocks well. Glad I chose that grey.
Pink & Green Donation Block #1
Yes, the new color scheme is Pink and Green! I like the black on white, but needed a bit of a change. I don’t use green much and after trying out the yellow, I thought green might be a good challenge. someone said that it looked like 1980s Papagallo. I have a vague memory of that store (??) or shoes (??). Not sure, but the comment made me smile.
What do you think? Is using a color as a ‘neutral’/background successful? You can reserve judgement until the quilt top is done, if you like. I do think it looks cheerful.
Pink & Green Donation Block #2
All of this means that I finished sewing together all the groups of 2 2.5″ patches I need for the next donation quilt, so I pressed and resorted them into groups of 8 and started making blocks. I made a total of 3 blocks yesterday and may be able to finish the rest of the blocks today. I don’t know. We will see.
Mrs. K can see some of the pink fabrics she sent me in these blocks. There are also a lot of pinks and greens from my fabric closet as well. It was kind of fun to pick greens, though looking at these blocks I wish I had stayed with one slice of the color wheel rather than going more scrappy. This is one reason I like these donation quilts. I can try out different combinations, not only of color, but tones of color to see how they work together. I might have another one of this color scheme in me. We will see. I still have a lot of pink squares cut.
Pink & Green Donation Block #3
As previously mentioned, I make these donation quilts as a leaders and enders project. My main project at the moment is sashing the A-B-C Challenge blocks. This means that I don’t know how long the donation quilt will take. I have a vague goal in my head of finishing the top and bringing it to the BAMQG meeting next week, but I already have the Pink Donation top to bring, so I don’t feel obligated. Still, it would be nice.
EPP Star
My final accomplishment of the evening was to unsew and then re-sew a half hexagon star while I watched football with the family. More info, generally, can be found in the previous post about this project.
The footballers (first game in the new Cal stadium) called on their way home from the game and asked me to bring the boys over to SIL and BIL’s house to watch the Michigan game. We are new fans as a niece attends that school. I agreed to pick up Chinese food on the way. I packed up the boys and my hand work project and headed over at the appointed time. The lighting wasn’t that good, thus the poor photo. I’ll get a better one when I take a photo of a group of stars.
None of these projects are really new or exciting for you, perhaps, but I am fond of them.
I have to refresh my work wardrobe. I am at the point where the collars and cuffs of my clothes are fraying, etc, because they are so old. The problem is I dislike shopping for clothes. I have been doing a bit on my days off, but I need to spend more time than I have. I need to replace everything, so this is an opportunity to revamp my entire wardrobe, get a new look and feel better about the clothes I wear.
One of my ideas is to start wearing more skirts. I haven’t been able to find the kind I have in mind. I do have a Study Hall Skirt from Anna Maria Horner, but haven’t done anything with the pattern….yet. I was at Joann buying an Accuquilt Go! mat and decided to look at skirt patterns. I was inspired by reading a Threads magazine that was in my stack from a few years ago.
I found these two patterns. I know they are similar. I don’t know if this style will look good on me, but we will see.
I brought them home without buying any of the notions, because I want to read the pattern and consider before going back and getting zippers, etc. I have enough of some dot fabric (who is surprised? Raise your hand) to make a knee length skirt, so I may only need a zipper. I may make a test skirt out of muslin or something.
I’d really like to find a pattern I can be friends with and make over and over (kind of like the Multi-tasker tote by Anna Maria Horner). I don’t know if these will be it, but we will see.
Definition: The press, overhead press or shoulder press is a weight training exercise in which a weight is pressed straight upwards from the shoulders until it is locked out overhead. The lift is performed standing.
World Press
Pressroom
operate a press
Pew Research Center for People and the Press
Press Democrat (newspaper)
The Press (news media)
brake press
Meet the Press
digital press
National Press Club
offset press
University of California Press
pressman
printing press
press operator
Make your response simple. It doesn’t need to be a masterpiece. Take 5 minutes. Just respond and create a creative habit.
Please 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, and how your work relates to the other responses.
The Creative Prompt Project has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs or websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted.
I noodled around enough so I didn’t have time to write a book review, so here is an update the cutting for the Fabric of the Year 2012 quilt. It has been nearly a month since the last update.
For those of you have forgotten or were never in the loop, the rectangles are new fabrics – lots of these are from Quiltology – and the squares are fabrics that were in my stash that I have just recently used.
I am having fun cutting into fabrics that have been around for awhile. That is another good aspect of the donation tops – fabrics get their day in the sun and I get some space in my fabric bins.
I’ll get my act together over the weekend and get you some meaty posts to sink your teeth into. Stay tuned.
I resisted. Really I did, but the creative urge took over. It caught me at weak point and I gave in.
I also was inspired by the art exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and a design popped into my head. It was a good time to give in a engage in the entire process of quiltmaking- from design to binding.
Whole Cloth Quilt Design
Everything with this project has gone very smoothly. Knock wood! The fabric arrived, I had enough tracing paper and the right tools to draw the design. I found Saral Transfer paper and was able to transfer the design with little to no drama.
I am using Aurifil 28wt thread and it is working well and playing nicely with my machine.
Now I am quilting. I can only quilt for about 6 hours at a time and even that is pushing the friendship. I would do better to quilt a couple of hours a day, but the set up and clean up is daunting. I did a whole flower and finished the vase last weekend. I am making progress.
You might be wondering why I am writing about my A-B-C Challenge blocks when the BAMQG meeting was definitely not yesterday.
First, I am sewing pretty slowly lately and I am short on things to write about. Yes, you will see some more book reviews. 😉
More importantly, Rhonda finished all of her blocks. Yes, all of them, through Z. She sent a message to us saying she was done and I thought that I had better get busy. I had been thinking about finishing them all anyway. Finishing all of the blocks will buy me time later. Who knows how long figuring out the &^%$ sashing will take?
Yes, all of my blocks are done.
Yes, there are more than 26, because I made some bonus blocks. What the heck?
A-B-C Challenge: X Quartet
The first block I sewed over the weekend was the Ninja Throwing Star, according to Sandy of Quilting for the Rest of Us, Darla of Scientific Quilter, and Gretchen (@mafiretones) of 120 Blocks. It is actually my X block and the official name, according to Around the Block is X Quartet. It does look like a Ninja Throwing Star and once I caught up with their Twitter hijinks, I thought their jokes about wrapping myself in black Jelly Rolls and wandering around throwing the X Quartet were pretty funny.
X Quartet was a pretty straightforward block to put together and I like the way the color combination came out. And, I have to admit, it does kind of look like a Ninja Throwing Star.
A-B-C Challenge: Japanese X
I really wanted to make the Japanese X block that Kathleen combined to make into a pillow for the Pillow Swap challenge at BAMQG for X. I was nervous that the other participants would call me out since the block doesn’t technically start with X, so I decided to make it as a bonus block. I really like the design and want to explore it a little more in the future.
I have been trying to use more of the Zoe Pearns dots to create some continuity in the blocks. I don’t know if it is working, but the blocks, in general, are looking quite cheerful.
Zipper by Judy Martin
I skipped Y at first and went straight to Z. Y and Z are difficult blocks, mostly because not a lot blocks have names that start with Y or Z. I didn’t see any that I liked that started with Z. I thought about Zanzibar, the block from Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr that I resized and used for the FOTY 2009 quilt.
Been there done that, so I looked around to see if there were any other options. I found a printout from the Judy Martin site of a quilt made from a block called Zipper. It has a little different look than the other blocks I have made, namely because of the lack of HSTs, but I made it anyway. I like the way it came out.
Then I got to Y.
Y was a problem.
The first problem was finding a block I wanted to do. The next problem was making it. There are a lot of Yankee something or other quilt blocks. None of them really spoke to me. I had books opened to sections on Y blocks all over my workroom. Finally, I decided on Young Man’s Fancy. It has a nice propeller look in the center and I am not scared by long, thin, pointy triangles.
Young Man’s Fancy: Fail
I should have been, because I had no idea what I was doing with this block. No matter what I did, this block would not go together. Remember: I am making 6″ blocks, so I am sure the size had something to do with my problems.
Finally, I gave up.
The thing I did like about this block is the outside row of squares. The colors are grouped so that two pinks are in two corners and two greens are in the two other corners. I like the way that looks and will keep it in mind for future blocks. The suggested coloration had the border squares of this block colored in that way.
Yankee Puzzle
So, I was back to the Yankees. I just picked one, which turned out to be Yankee Puzzle, made it and moved on.
I have to say that my favorite color combination in all of the blocks is the color combination in Yankee Puzzle. That fun pink (may be called Lipstick) coupled with the dark, but cheerful greenish blue are awesome. You can see, from the photo at the top, that I have used this color combination a lot.
After Yankee Puzzle I had one open spot left in a 5 block x 6 block layout. As an aside, I am not sure why I picked that layout. I put all the blocks up on the design wall and I thought it looked good, so I went with that layout.
A-B-C Challenge: Rambler
The last block I decided to do was the Rambler. The X of Flying Geese stuck in my mind as I looked through block dictionaries. I also liked the way the Flying Geese were sort of backwards.
The layout of the patches reminds me of something (a gift?), but I can’t think what. I especially like the way the first Flying Goose highlights the square-in-a-square in the middle.
This block has a lot of scope for imagination, as Anne Shirley would say, I think. I may make more of the for another project, but larger next time.
I have a vague recollection of a car called Rambler, but I don’t think my parents ever owned one.
A-B-C Challenge: Frosted Star Sashed
I thought I would get a lot farther, but the Young Man’s Fancy and the Rambler took me a long time. I wanted to make some progress on the sashing, but only was able to sash one block.
The grey looks dark in the photos, but it doesn’t look dark in real life. It looks perfect. I am considering buying a whole bolt of that fabric.
You might think the sashing is wide, but I purposefully made it wider than the ratio calls for so I could trim all the blocks to the same size. Most are about 6 1/4″, but there are a couple that are nearing 7″. I think it has to do with me trying to figure out the math for quick piecing HSTs. I am thinking I will trim them all to 8″ and then put one of the red dots from the sashing post in between the grey of the sashed blocks.
I like all the blocks, but some of the fabric choices could be better. There are a couple of blocks that I may remake. I’ll think about it and see.
I recently decided to try my hand at a whole cloth quilt project. Yes, I know it means diverging from my single-minded attempt to complete or make progress on many of the projects on the 26 Projects list. In order not to completely lose my mind and have fun, I diverged on to this project, because it requires me to engage in the entire process of quiltmaking from idea through design to stitching and finishing.
One of the challenges I came upon very soon after starting was transferring my design on to the fabric. This is always a problem for me as I am pretty lazy when it comes to quilting and I have never found a completely satisfactory way to transfer original quilting designs. I didn’t have a quilting stencil, because this was my own design. I didn’t want to do a free hand drawing on the fabric and I have never been comfortable with the wash away pens, so I was at a loss.
Saral Transfer Paper
Quickly, though, a vague memory of Saral Transfer Paper leaped into my head. I think I learned about in the dark ages of my quilting career.
Saral Transfer Paper is described on the company products page as: “Saral® Transfer Paper is wax free transfer paper (also known as graphite paper or tracing paper) made for general and specialized use, which allows you to transfer your design from a sketch, pattern, template or free hand to any surface. It makes clean, crisp tracings that can be erased and painted over. It’s great for tole painting, fabric painting, fine arts and watercolor painting, quilting, dress making, commercial and graphic arts, architecture, wood working, ceramics, stained glass, metal working and it’s acid-free for scrapbooking.”
The website goes on to describe the advantages and different uses: “ Saral Transfer Paper is wax free so it gives the advantage of erasing like pencil with no smear or smudge. It can be inked or painted over with no skipping or bleeding. The transfer lines can be sponged, washed out or brushed off of fabric, and a hot iron will not set them as will other tracing or transfer papers made for fabrics. Saral is economical and can be used again and again.
Saral Comes In 5 Colors
Graphite: The all-purpose tracing medium. Excellent for illustration board and all drawing papers, wood, fabrics, canvas and metal.
Red: Excellent for ceramics and china painting. The lines will fire out. Shows up equally well on light or dark surfaces and mixtures of the two, such as photographs and photostats. May be used on acetate overlays, plastics and enamel.
Blue: Non-photographic. It’s not necessary to clean off Saral blue when work goes before the platemaking camera. Ideal for key lines, mechanicals, paste-ups. For Tole Painters, it leaves a bright, easy to see transfer line.
Yellow and White: For tracings on dark surfaces. Excellent on dark fabrics, dark wood, metal, as well as dark painting surfaces. Tole painters find white especially useful. Yellow is best for work on clear or stained glass.
Saral is Certified Non-Toxic All Saral transfer papers conform to ASTMD-4236 and are certified by The Art & Creative Materials Institute as non-toxic, so they are suitable for use by children, as well as adults.”
I have used it before, so I went in hunt for it and was fortunate to find a flat pack of 5 8.5″x11″ sheets at Joann. I also ordered a roll, as is shown in the image, from Amazon. It is an old fashioned feeling product, but it works amazingly well.
My pattern is about 2.5″x3″ feet, so I stood at my cutting table and drew over my pattern through the Saral Yellow onto my fabric. I can easily sew over the lines and they brush off when I don’t need them any more. I use a Sewline pencil to darken any lines that may have gotten too light. I am really pleased with how this product works, because I was able to trace right over the original lines of my pattern.
Also, I only used one 8.5″x11″ sheet to transfer the entire pattern., so the website’s claims of economy seem to hold up to scrutiny.
This is another gorgeous ‘500’ title from Lark Books. More eye candy and inspiration for all kinds of creative people.
This book starts off with an introduction by author Ray Hemachandra. The introduction is interesting, because Ray mentions that beading is one of the oldest forms of creative expression and then moves on to mention changes to the art form’s professionalism in the last 20 years, among them social media, Etsy, copyright considerations and online connections. While this is not the first time I have read something about online communities and social media in a print publication I notice that the conversation is becoming more prominent.
Mr. Hemachandra gives an excellent description of the book, which I could not write more eloquently. He says “The book includes so many beaders with wonderful personal stories to share and that I’d like to share…but this isn’t that book. That’s another book to come soon, I hope. This book instead tells its stories through its photographs of jewelry….”. This book, as I said, is a feast for the eyes and will provide so much inspiration you will go to bed at night with your head spinning. You will have to make up your own stories about the artists and artworks, however.
The majority of the photos depict necklaces and bracelets. And in this department extreme beading is not an overstatement. I thought Kissy Fish was pretty extreme beading, and, perhaps, it is on a quilt, but I scattered a few beads across the surface in comparison to some of the amazing works in this book.
Neutrals such as bronze, grey, black, gold, pearl and silver dominate the colors, as jewelry tends to be made predominantly with those colors. There are a few glimmers of color on each page. Susan Blessinger’s Impending Bloom necklace looks very neutral in color in the full photo, but the detail shot shows dragonfly-esque pearlescent colors that are not visible in the full photo. Jamie Cloud Eakin’s Bling, pg.76, sparkles with prisms and crytals reflecting magenta and purples, evne on the book page. Of course, the pieces with pure beads and no metallic parts have more color.
There is a pretty, but serious necklace (You & Eye by Rachel Nelson-Smith, pg.116) with very realistic looking eyes. The necklace is more of a collar done in pure white with the eyes embedded in the surface beading. I am not a big fan of fake eyes, because they often look freaky, but the eyes in this piece look very real. I kept looking at the photo and waiting for one to blink.
One piece I noticed that was not a necklace or bracelet was a kind of long sleeved shrug (for those of you who knit), pg.118. It is called Dragon Lady and is a garment. I never thought of using beads to make a wearable accessory.
One of my favorite pieces is Jennifer Cameron’s Carnival (pg.75), because of the lovely combination of blues, greens and purples.
Look at the shapes, materials and colors and be inspired.
Thanks to Lark Books for sending this book to me to review!
I said, last time, that I am sick of this list, that it felt a bit tyrannical to me. I decided that I would ignore the list for awhile and see what happened.
What has happened so far is I am designing a whole cloth quilt. I have a rotator cuff injury that may have been exacerbated by my manic quilting marathon. I started the actual quilting, am am excited about the design, but have to take frequent breaks.
I also woke up one morning thinking it was time to work on the spiderweb again. I was pleased to find that I had already designed the border blocks, which means I am farther ahead than I thought. I haven’t actually done it, but am still thinking about it, especially thinking about getting some Carol Doak paper.
The other thing that happened is that TFQ got into Big Sister Bossy Mode (BSBM) and gave me a talking to about this list. She really thinks I need to get rid of the class projects. I will think about that.
Original Bullseye: needs border, backing, quilting and binding, which are all hard to do if you can’t find the project. It is lost. I know it is in there somewhere. As I mentioned, I did a test and found that my original idea didn’t work. I think a plain border will set off the blocks fine IF I ever find the top. Bleah!
A-B-C (A-Z) BAMQG Challenge – I am actually not sure if this should be considered a WIP (Please say no!), because I just barely have enough blocks with which to make something. I am making good progress. W and X blocks are done and Y and Z blocks are next on the list- due in October. I tried about a bunch of different options for the sashing, because the blocks need to be a uniform size.
Aqua-Red Sampler – steady progress has stopped and the class more than the quilt is really weighing on my mind. As far as I know Frances has finished her Dresden Plate, so perhaps we will start up again soon. The next class was going to be fusible machine applique’, but I haven’t gotten past cutting out the templates. Perhaps I should skip to machine piecing curves? TFQ also does not think this is a project. She considers this to be a teaching sample.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April 2011. I need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked. I have been quilting another quilt and that is getting me back in the swing of quilting. I thought that now that my machine is happier it might a good time to take this piece out again, but then I got sidetracked with the whole cloth piece again. I would like to finish it.
Garden: I started this piece in a class with Pamela Allen in 2006. As mentioned, I used this piece for my beading demo for the 2012 EBHQ Voices in Cloth show (March 17), which means that I added some beads. I finished machine quilting this piece, removed some of the beads and have started to put beads back on to it. YAY! Handwork!
Flower Garden: I still find the ‘flowers’ too spiky. I think I need to soften them up a bit. I was thinking of putting larger petals over the spikes to soften them.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Bits of this quilt keep falling off the shelf on which I have them stored. While I was machine quilting the Garden quilt, I kept finding bits of piecing stuck to various parts of my clothing. This is a good leaders and enders project and perhaps the patches jumping off the shelf was an omen.
Spiderweb: I woke up one morning thinking I would work on this project. I found that I had already designed the border blocks! Yay! I want to sort through the blocks and make sure I have just enough to make a quilt for my bed. That means I will have extras. I could make a quilt that would cover my house with the number of blocks I have already made. Progress. Hooray!
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: sewed more hexagons together. Sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile.
Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am still in the process of applying fusible. He cleaned out his drawers and found some more t-shirts to add to the quilt. Oh Yay! <– just a bit of sarcasm
New: Super Secret Project: top, back and binding made. Ready to go to the quilter. Stayed tuned.
Moon and Stars: Abandoned. This quilt was barely a quilt and was not interesting. I realized I didn’t want to devote time to it. So, I finally just decided to give up and get it off the list. Perhaps Pam can use it as a cat mat?
Hunting and Gathering
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. Cutting fabrics as I go. TFQ does not consider this a UFO, which is why I have moved it to the Hunting and Gathering section. She says, and I have to agree, that quilts are not ‘projects’ until the sewing starts. OK. I’ll go with that.
variety of restaurants, design companies and cafes
perch awhile
Definition: Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greekperke meaning spotted, and the Latinforma meaning shape. Many species of freshwater gamefish more or less resemble perch, but belong to a different genera. In fact, the exclusively salt water dwelling red drum is often referred to as a red perch, even though by definition perch are freshwater fish. Though many fish are referred to as perch as a common name, to be considered a true perch the fish must be of the family Percidae.
Perch (surname), a surname (and list of people with that name)
Perch (unit), antique unit of measure of length, area or volume, depending on context, used in medieval France and the British Isles. As a unit of length, replaced by the rod
Perch, the main shaft connecting the front and rear axles of a coach or other vehicle
Perch SSSI a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, England
Make your response simple. It doesn’t need to be a masterpiece. Take 5 minutes. Just respond and create a creative habit.
Please 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, and how your work relates to the other responses.
The Creative Prompt Project has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs or websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted.
