A new year, a fresh start

Happy New Year!

Just a few days until February, so you may think I'm late with these wishes but the lunar year 4715 just started yesterday. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Instead of giving you too much information about last year, though that might slip out, I'm concentrating on the here and now.

And now, I'm in the middle of a terrific online workshop called Photoshop Elements: Essentials 1 from the terrific Deb Cashatt and Kris Sazaki, aka the Pixel Ladies. Here's one result of the first week's lessons:  

It's a reduced image for posting on the web and it has a watermark. The piece was juried into Breakout: Quilt Visions 2016 at Visions Art Museum, San Diego. 

A much deserved shout-out goes to two machine quilting instructors: Sandra Palmer Ciolino, for setting me on the path of thinking critically about the quilting; and Jenny Lyon, for opening up and narrowing the quilting possibilities. Couldn't have gotten there without them! 

Over the moon

One of my pieces has been juried into Breakout: Quilt Visions 2016! Yay, I am over the moon!

Last fall, after finishing Terra Verde for Color Improvisations II, I was on a roll and kept going by finishing others that had been hanging around the studio for years. Vernal Vortex, formerly nicknamed High Anxiety, will be in Visions.

Here's the top after piecing:

pieced but not trimmed

I blogged about developing the design and piecing it here and here. That was 2012. Had no idea how to quilt it. Later that same year, I focused on fmq and wondered if I will ever get to the stage when I could tackle this. Tucked it away.

Three years later, I had a plan and was ready to tackle it. Want to see how? Here's a detail in the midst of quilting:

small area for quilting redo

All that fmq practice and I'd used a walking foot.

I have a thing about posting the finished piece before it debuts at a show. So come see the whole thing at Visions Art Museum in San Diego. I'll be at the opening on October 15, 2016 and the show runs through January 8, 2017. Otherwise, you'll just have to watch for a post after the opening.

Developing anxiety

Time to clean up the studio. That means one of two things: it's an unbearable mess or project is done.  I am happy it's the latter. The nicknamed High Anxiety has been pieced! (This doesn't mean the former is not true.)

I'd finally determined a layout (see this post) nearly a month ago. 

initial layout

It was slow going assembling each of the six sections. I had to make more diamond modules.

three sections pieced

six sections pieced

More diamonds to fill in around the edges before sewing sections together.

two halves

Gap-osis at the bottom center half. Instead of trimming to create a straight edge, I deconstructed along the gap then filled it back in. Yes, more diamonds. Then sewed together the two halves, added more diamonds around the edges and marked a five-foot square.

finished top

At least this Potpourri workshop exercise is not in the ufo pile. Yeah! In another year or two or three I'll replace the nickname and quilt it up. 

Diamonds are forever

It’s been more than six weeks since I’ve returned from the Indianola, WA Potpourri workshop. You may think I've been avoiding my art, but it ain't so! Exercise 3 from the workshop has been morphing on the design wall.

I've nicknamed this composition High Anxiety for now. Not because that's the way I feel about it (not yet!) but because of the exercise directions.

At the workshop I started with the pieces splattered together helter-skelter.

helter-skelter & rotated

helter-skelter detail

Much as I like it, I’d go loony piecing this. For structure with options plus irregularity, I cut down each module into a diamond - 5 regular sizes and standard angles. You can see the variations from this set of modules.

cut and uncut diamonds

There are five sets of modules gradating in size, value and contrast. All of them are cut into diamonds, but not so they fit dimensionally snug with other sizes. The diamond templates are big enough to fit the rectangular modules without  being locked into one position.

I initially sewed the smallest modules together into strips.

sewn into rows

Too restrictive too soon. I don't hesitate to un-sew. 

These diamonds have been arranged and rearranged multiple times - more than are shown here.

on the diagonal

I like this but not what I was after. May be version 2.

The chosen arrangement – a radiating pattern - a reversal of the one above.

chosen one

This is one composition that demands to be bigger. The Black lines mark out a 5’ square. Rearranging the modules wasn't enough to make it work. I needed more diamonds. Because I had to dig out the colors from my stash, making more took forever.

Now it's about six feet square.

sew this up!

And ready to sew up! To keep it big I'll fill in gaps rather than cutting off the excess. However big it will be, I have a lot of piecing ahead! Maybe even more modules. I'd be making diamonds forever.

Ready or not

I used up a lot of fabric at the Potpourri workshop. So when I stopped at Fabric Depot in Portland, Oregon,  I replenished. Of course!

These eleven new fabrics are now studio-ready. But the studio is not. What if I have two sets of everything: one set in the studio and another to go. Save on disruptions. But it'd be twice as much to maintain. Oh well  - just a thought.

Nevertheless, another great workshop week. Even though Nancy was juggling two workshops (Improvisations and Potpourri) and independent study students too, I've never seen her so relaxed and happy! That doesn't mean she eased up on exercises! Four for the week. Here's what I made:

Exercise 1: b+w configuration

Exercise 2: double configurations based on b+w, with limited palette

I have this one (above) up on the design wall. Might want to adjust and refine before sandwiching. Then I will have another project to quilt. 

Exercise 3: unfinished

I didn't do exercise 4. Instead I continued with exercise 3. Still has a long way to go.

Though the exercises were challenging, the week cemented what I've learned so far. I feel more confident about my goals: to finish tops from other workshops; to independently redo exercises; and to continue my own explorations. Plus I plan on completing more quilts and do some dyeing too. All in one year? Hmmm, how much can I accomplish in the nine months left?