Happy Trails

I'm back to freewheeling, and there are no pears in sight.

It did occur to me that my pear pieces may NOT actually constitute a series, despite the fact that they share a common theme. I've been looking at series and they seem to share more; color palette, mood, etc. That means that "creating a series" gets added back to the to-do list, but it's now at the bottom and has to work its way up just like everything else :-)

In the meantime, I wanted to do something with all the batik scraps that have been building up, so I followed the suggestion in Art Quilt Workbook to create a "wonky" piecing. This is a modified log cabin block that I love doing because perfect measurements and seamlines aren't required.

I made the block and then sliced it into 4 triangles, then added the center piece. I wanted something calm and serene to play off all the energy of the fabrics, so I added the hibiscus applique in the center. I think it will be nice when I'm finished; I just haven't decided whether to add an additional border around the outside.

Season's Last Fruit

I've finished my 3rd mini-art quilt in the pear series. I'm pretty sure this is it for the pears. I just can't imagine creating another pear piece. This one took a very long time because I had no idea what to do with the actual pear, which was one that I stamped and painted a few days ago. I spent forever arranging and rearranging fabrics, selecting, putting back, adding, editing. This is what I finally came up with. It still needs to be blocked (which I've never done), and I need to add a sleeve (which I've never done) or tabs (which I've never made) for hanging.

In between pear quilts, I finished the sunflowers quilt. I'm very happy with it, but I still have to block it, too, and figure out how to hang it.

I really am proud of myself for doing the three pear pieces. I know I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl, and sticking with a theme has been very hard. But I do feel as though it forced me to stretch and apply myself in ways that I don't normally.

I may come back to the pears periodically, just to keep myself limber. For now, though, I'm off to other adventures.

Breathing Room

First, a brief aside. I was flipping through a back issue of Somerset Studio as I enjoyed my coffee this morning, when my eyes lit upon this phrase: "the gift of curiousity and desire." I sat and contemplated this for a moment, and realized how profound it is. Curiousity and desire sometimes feel like the bane of my existence, because they're always driving me forward--sometimes in a thousand different directions. And yet, what would my life be like without them? Curiousity and desire allow me to see wonder in what might otherwise pass unnoticed; to seek new experiences and knowledge; and most importantly, to feel joy in both learning and creating. I feel truly blessed to have been given this gift.

This past weekend was crazy busy, and this week has been even worse. I was in an intensive training class for three days, and then came home in the evenings to continue working on the tasks I couldn't complete at work because . . . I was in training. I've been working 12 hours a day or so, but I still needed some "me" time--time for what I think of as my "real" work--not the job that pays the bills, but the work that feeds my soul. Anyway, I was only able to snatch 5 minutes here, 20 minutes there. One night I stayed up until midnight sewing, and paid for it the next day, but it had to be done.

So imagine my surprise when I finally had time to take a deep breath and look at what I had done in the past week:

1) Added borders to a convergence piece that I put together a while back.
2) Carved a pear stamp, stamped pears onto fabric, and overdyed.


3) Played with melting crayons onto paper and then adding acrylic; I have no idea why or what to do this, but I love the look

4) Drew a rather awful but somewhat entertaining sketch of one of my dogs (I think he looks like a middle-aged man wearing a sweater).







5) Rolled some fabric beads and melted some angelina fibers.

6) Pieced together a mini art-quilt from fabric I had painted, then machine-quilted it.

Sneaking Away from Pear-Picking

Going through my stash of beautiful batiks to create the perfect border on the 2nd pear quilt, I was reminded that I had originally bought them to make a convergence quilt (my life most often reminds me of that book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. For those of you who have read it, you know exactly what I mean. Is it any wonder I never seem to get anything done?).

At any rate, I put together the convergence quilt top pretty quickly, but of course, it turns out that this is the easiest part. The hard part is figuring out where to take the piece from here. The borders make all the difference on a piece like this, and I also feel like I need to do something in the center--applique?--to break the geometrics up a little and give it a focal point. Or not.

I now have two of these converged pieces I've created, and I'm sure I'll set this one aside with the other one until some day when inspiration hits.

Speaking of inspiration, I guess it's time to go back to the orchard and the workbook and continue working on the pears theme. Speaking of pears, I'm hungry; I wonder if we have any cookies?

A Pair of Pears

I completed the 2nd mini art quilt in the "pears" theme. This one was easy, because the pattern, the colors, and even the idea of a batik border is pretty much taken right out of the book, Art Quilt Workbook. Chapter 3 is about working from photographs, and the authors provide a pattern of a pear with the shading and highlights included. This worked right into my drawing class this week, too, since we learned about shading and highlights. I'm anxious to draw something, complete with highlights and shading, and then create my own pattern out of it.

This was a good exercise because I learned a lot about creating and working from a pattern. The most important thing I learned is to follow the directions. I thought I would be smart and, instead of tracing the pattern onto tracing paper, simply copy it on the copier. That worked well for tracing out the pieces on the fusible web, but when it came time to place those pieces on the background, I had nothing to follow. I finally went back and traced the pattern, then taped it to the background fabric and slipped the fabric pieces underneath, placing them where they were supposed to go. Instead of saving myself time, I ended up taking twice as long.

In addition, I learned:

• When you're trying to illustrate highlights & lowlights, don't use fabric with color variation; that messes up the plan.
• Same thing for variegated thread

Another thing I practiced with this mini quilt was a continuous binding. I've been afraid of those up to now, and instead I've been binding the sides, then the top and bottom. I thought it was time to make myself do a continuous binding, instead (I know it's called something else, but I can't remember the name right now). It actually turns out that, once again, the continuous binding is easier than what I've been doing, and the results look much better.

I'm not sure I can create another pear piece; I don't really know why, except that I'm having a hard time thinking of things to do with pears. I think that's a failure of imagination on my part, so I'm tempted to stick with it and really push myself to come up with an interesting design. The next chapter in the workbook is on creating a collaged art quilt. Perhaps I'll hang out in the orchard just a little while longer, and see what grows.

The Orchard

I've decided to stick with something for a while, to really focus and concentrate on improving my skills. I have a new-found sense of purpose and direction, and the self-discipline to complete a series. Ok, that's a lie. I have a new book.

I ordered Jane Davila's & Elin Waterston's Art Quilt Workbook, and it came in the mail a few days ago. I like this book because it not only presents information related to art quilt design, it also has exercises to follow. One of those is to make miniature art quilts to practice the lessons in each chapter.

The book suggests that all of the practice quilts follow a theme, and I thought this would be a good idea. I can focus on technique and design without having to also figure out what the theme of the piece will be. At first I thought I would focus on flowers, but a little voice in my head whined, "you ALWAYS do flowers. Do something different!" Ok, I thought, how about trees? I LOVE trees. I feel an affinity with trees. I'm glad I'm not a tree, because they seem so content to be rooted in one spot for years--decades, even. I, on the other hand, can hardly sit still for 5 minutes.

Anyway, as I was flipping through the book, I happened upon a lesson revolving around pears, and I thought, "hey! pears! I have pears (plastic ones), I can practice my drawing-class skills and actually draw pears" (we're drawing fruit next week in our last class session; I'm thinking of it as a sort of final exam, which is frightening and not very productive, but I tend to do that to myself).

So I jumped in and created a miniature art quilt around pears. It was fun, but I'm not sure how much more I have to "say" about pears. I'm going to try to stick with it though, no matter how much I wish I had selected trees as my theme.

Besides, I have a bigger struggle: all those back issues of Somerset Studio that were on sale for $2 have arrived, and I'm gorging myself on them and swooning over the ideas in them. I feel a sudden compulsion to create a travel-themed art journal about a trip I took two years ago. I really need to stamp something. I'm sure I'll expire if I don't immediately attach some embellishments to a painted surface.

But NO. I have to practice that self-discipline thing and continue with the workbook and with creating my practice, pear-themed miniature quilts. I want to see the evolution of my miniature quilts from something I don't particularly like (this one) to something I'm proud of and actually consider artistic, or at least well-designed.

Besides, I'm gaining a new respect for pears. It may be nice to just hang out in this orchard for a while.