Compounded & confounded

 

Curves Sampler

  

The Bride & the Batchelors - Wild Bride

Two weeks at the Crow Timber Barn - 5:30am to 11pm days - compounded by a three-hour shift from Pacific to Eastern time has turned life topsy turvy and my usually disordered household into a disaster zone. Small price for priceless workshops.

First week - Lines Curves Circles and Figure Ground, Part 1 - was the least stressful workshops I've ever taken from Nancy Crow. I didn't finish all the exercises, but gained much confidence piecing curves. A terrific time making these too. 



breakdown screen print




resist on silk



Second week - Layers upon Layers with Carol Soderlund - was a enticing exploration of surface design techniques which also cemented dyeing knowledge gained in True Colors last fall. The starch resist and breakdown screen printing are my favs.  

resist on undercloth & direct resist on pimatex

The bags under my eyes are receding. My pants are not worn backwards. I'm back at work and recovering from these exciting times. If I find those papers I'd stashed somewhere safe, life would return to normal.  



Changed and trimmed

I left it this piece from the recent workshop on the design wall.  

With a little distance and after many viewings, I see some room for improvements. A few changes and some trimming. Now it's really ready for quilting.

Squaring up

Extra fabric hangs around the edges of this improvisational piece from the Lines Curves Shapes and Figure/Ground workshop. It was cropped for my last post, but as you can see here, it really needs squaring up.

I have no tried and true method to square up pieces bigger than my worktable. This one is about 54w x 42h. Here's how I did it this time.

I smoothed it out on the design wall, picked a side to start, then chalked a straight line. Using my biggest square ruler, I rotated around and chalked other sides with the hope that the last side would be at right angles to the first one.

To review I pinned fabric strips along each chalk line. 

I see I could've started with another edge. Okay, once more around.

Comparison of the two photos side by side.

Until I can get to a big table to cut and sandwich it, I securely pinned the strips along the chalk lines.

Next time I'll try squaring it up in Photoshop first. How do you square up?

Making lists, checking them thrice

I've been a nervous wreck packing for this workshop. So I made two lists: one for workshop supplies and another for personal stuff. But I'm still not comfortable.

It's my first time in Indianola, Washington. It's a small town. What will happen if I forget something?

I'm always antsy before a trip. Don't worry. Once I'm on the road I'll relax.

Boxes and chocolates

In another week I'd be on the road with Diana to Indianola, Washington for another workshop week with the esteemable Nancy Crow. Sixth workshop and seventh week since the first in fall 2008. It'd be my first workshop with her outside of the Barn.

Nothing worthy may result but I've loved each and every workshop. It's my vacation - my retreat from the everyday – a week to focus creatively and productively. Exactly what I need despite the challenges.

My shelves are nearly empty. I've packed my fabrics - about 165 hues, 250 yards, 90 pounds ready to go.

Most of them fitted so perfectly into this big Ikea zippered bag. But it was impossibly heavy. Oh well. I've whittle them down to fit into three manageable boxes. Packing the other stuff tonight.

So my friend, Diana, doesn't accuse me of hogging all of her trunk space, I'll make a test run by packing my car tomorrow after the rain has stopped.

Thank you all for your well wishes for my sweetheart. He's much improved. No more pain only itching. He drove 4 miles to the opthalmologist without incident. He's been feasting on Girl Scout cookies and watching his favorite sitcoms. His appetite has returned. Yesterday he made a salmon dinner and we started on the one-pound box of chocolates. Wonderful to have him healthy again! and wonderful chocolates!