Ah, the earth is tilting and we now have ten hours of daylight. I love reaching milestones like this one. The waxing crescent moon has been lovely in the evening sky and the temperatures have been warmer than usual for the end of January. I've walked outside several times this week and noticed tiny buds starting to form on the trees. It is too early but I enjoy seeing them and feeling the sun on my face.
I took a few hours away from working the to-do list and dug out the first quilt top I made using a pattern. I have always liked the spring feel to this top, but never finished it. One of the local Guilds is sponsoring a project to provide quilts for each bed in the local women's and children's shelter. Some other groups have painted the walls and done some other things to brighten this transitional shelter. I wanted to participate but felt I could not meet the spring deadline in the midst of my show preparations. Then I remembered this sweet top and found it quickly. It wasn't quite twin bed size but I had matching fabric packed with it. I added two more borders that brought it to a good bed size. It feels good to participate in this project. A guild member will long-arm all the quilts and hopefully someone will be able to bind this.
Karen
In one month, the show will be over. This has been busy and too consuming. Of course, I've let it consume me. I'm getting down to nitty gritty things to do ... make labels for quilts, make hanging devices, send out postcards and emails, buy lights and little things. Enough already! Years ago, I had a recurring dream that my to-do list had legs and was chasing me down a long road. That dream has not returned, but I feel the nagging list on the counter yelling at times. That's when I have to remind myself that this is a really good thing to do and I am on schedule.
But I want to play more. I want to go see the Stephanie Plum movie when it comes out this week. I want to do a jigsaw puzzle. I want to figure out what to do with all my twinchies. Soon.
Today I finished another bag and the Winter Trees. I am pleased with the Trees
As I finished the quilting, I saw that the outer border did not lay quite as flat as I wanted. So, I stuck it in hot water for a few minutes and laid it flat to dry. Not only did it flatten out, it also got more textured. The trees look more real and want to be touched. Here's a bit of detail that shows the quilting.
Tomorrow I will work on a new method for hanging one quilt and see what else I can do on the list. It's going to rain so I'll probably stay inside all day and maybe play a bit.
Karen
Winter came last night and dumped a bit of snow and too much ice. I'm happy to be inside and warm, even though I probably won't get to the SAQA meeting today. It took one of my neighbors over half an hour to chip away the ice and get up the hill out of our driveway. I think I'll wait for warming.
Last night I went to an opening of two exhibits at the Carroll Arts Council here in Westminster. My friend Donna Yarish had several of her abstract paintings in one exhibit - they were bold and colorful and exciting. You would not know that she is fairly new to painting - she has found her niche.
One of the other artists was a man who had moved to the US from Colombia a year ago. Fernando Alvarez does these vibrant, sensuous paintings, mostly still life and landscape, that brought a smile to my heart. All his paintings are full of life and joy, even when the subject is a tomato. I want to go back and maybe take some photos to share (he doesn't have a blog or website).
I came home with a full heart and a smile on my face. Balances out this ice mess. Now I need to finish quilting my trees.
Karen
I've been out a lot in the past few days and I am happy to be home for a couple days.
I have to pay attention to some business stuff tomorrow, but then I can play again. I pulled out a bag of scraps from a quilt I made two years ago and found some strata in big chunks just waiting to become something new. Once again, I plugged in a DVD and started stitching them together, making new fabric. I now have a stack of pieces.
Again, I have that urge to cut them into 2" squares to see what I can do with them. Who is this person cutting small squares in my studio? She seems to be having fun.
Last week, I did make some progress on the TO-DO list for the show. I got info on merchant card services - I'll make a decision this week on which company to use. I also did some remaking of the covers for my booth panels. They are okay. I don't want to make all new covers for the panels because I don't know if I will be doing more shows. That's a decision for after this show and some pondering over directions I could go in.
For now, I think I'll put on my jammies and curl up with a book and get back to all these things tomorrow. Scarlet had a good idea for some days.
Karen
I've been playing. I needed to take a break from the show to-do list. I did research some merchant card services this week and that seemed like enough for a couple days. So, I found those geese I made last week and cut some more strips and put together some wonky stars and threw them all up on the design wall. Something may come of these.
I was left with a pile of pieces of many sizes and shapes and didn't want to toss them in the trash. I knew better than to put them in a drawer - they'd be there forever and get ignored. So, I put a DVD in the player and started stitching them together - just to see what might happen. I got many pieced pieces - small but nice. I cut them into 2" squares - lots of them. They look nice laid out together. Can't call them inchies - maybe twinchies.
Next step was to stitch them together with yellow squares in between and throw them up on that design wall.
That's enough for today. I guess I should look at the show to-do list tomorrow, but these things were fun and could become something all together.
Are you taking a break and having some fun?
Karen
When I first posted this finished quilt, I did not have a name and I forgot to post some close-up shots. I've named this Color Play - later it may become Color Play 1. Not very original, but it fits. While I was working on it, I referred to it as "Rayna #1" since it was the first piece I made using Rayna Gillman's book "Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts". Great book.
I had fun with FMQ, putting slightly different designs in the body and overlapping leaves in the border.
A couple years ago, I started using the same thread in the bobbin as I was using for FMQing on top. I like seeing a separate design on the back of a quilt. Some viewers of my quilts like that surprise on the back. Here's the back of Color Play.
Here's a close-up of the back quilting. I like it.
Time to get back to work. I have two pieces I am working on and hope to have one ready to share later today.
Karen
I am making progress. I have to keep telling myself that so that I do not panic. Today I designed and ordered postcards to mail out and to hand out. Of course, it took longer than I planned. And that was with help from a friend. Last spring, the Baltimore Heritage Quilt Guild had its biennial show and exhibitors had the opportunity to get some postcards with their own image on the front. Cathy Kleeman took the photos and handled the processing for us. I am very grateful that she still had the jpeg file used for my postcard and was willing to share it with me.
So, one more thing is done. Since the sun is shining and it's over 45 degrees, I need to get outside and walk. Then, I'll get back to the next right thing.
Don't you just love to check off things on your to-do list?
Karen
Here's one more quilt for a wall that is almost finished. I just need to sew the binding and sleeve down. It is bright and in a class by itself - different from my other pieces lately. Do you have any ideas for a title? What do you think of it?
Karen
Yesterday I was speaking with a painter friend of mine about getting ready for shows where we exhibit our work. She's leaving for Florida next week to do some shows there and is busy painting the small originals that usually sell. I've been in a similar mode, trying to make things that might sell at the ACC show in 49 days. After I got off the phone with her, I realized that this mode is making me tired and not very productive. This seems to be a lesson I have to learn every so often - to make things and create from my heart and soul, not for the sole purpose of selling. Many years ago when I was primarily a calligrapher and painter, I decided to make a piece about boats for an upcoming show in Annapolis, MD - a boat town. I came up with a product, had 20 copies made (I sold a lot of prints at that time) and got ready to sell out. Well, I did not sell any at that show and it took over ten years to sell those 20 copies, some at rock bottom sale prices. Here I am learning that lesson again. I have been so focused on having enough stuff to sell and trying to make what I think people will be drawn to that I feel dry. This realization was good to ponder and got me thinking differently about what I do next.
First I made some wonky geese using Mary Lou Weidman's spontaneous technique. They are fun and quick and make me smile. I don't know how I'll use them, but they look good on the design wall.
Then I pulled out two blocks I had made years ago for a quilt for myself that did not get made (the Hummingbird and Sunflower of past posts were part of that group) to see what they were saying to me now. The first one, this spiral, is too dark - dark image on a dark background. I'm thinking I may brighten it with paint of the background. These fabrics may be good borders. I like spirals - they indicate change and growth in many cultures.
Next I spent some time with my trees. I love trees in all seasons. These are definitely winter trees, naked yet standing in community. I took these trees from a painting I did in 1995. That painting was in many shows and exhibits, yet did not sell (several people wanted me to make prints of it). I am so happy that it did not sell so that I can look at it every day and remember the trip that inspired me to paint it.
I have a couple ideas to try with this block. I'll get to those tomorrow. First, I wanted to share just the basic block. One thing I know for sure is that any quilting will be minimal, not my often used OCD FMQ.
I feel much different at the end of today than I did after my phone call yesterday. I am back to creating from my heart rather than trying to fill a booth just for the purpose of having stuff there. Lesson learned -- again. Isn't that part of the fun of this growing stuff?
What lesson do you seem to need to learn again and again and again? All we have to do is listen to our hearts and be true to who we really are.
Karen
