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! 

Prepared for Pauly

I'm ready with two strip sets for next weekend's workshop.

two strip sets 

Instead of the usual solids, I am using prints in hopes of reducing that print stash. One is a set with five different fabrics. The other is a set with five similar fabrics. Can you tell which is what? Maybe I'm stretching the directions just a little due to limited tolerance for combining prints.

Pat Pauly will teach a two-day Slash and Burn, Techniques for Improvisational Quilts at my guild. This will be the very first workshop I've added as the guild's Program person (I'm now the Program Chair). A two-day workshop is usually a harder sell, but it's full with a waiting list! My critique group will host a dinner for her next Saturday. Maybe she'll share how she does it all - maintains her good humor, her energy and her productivity. Wouldn't you like to know? 

A simple life

I came back from Italy only to be consumed for six weeks by two intensive projects for the job I didn't retired from. By the half year mark, my studio routine was non-existent and creative accomplishments sorely lacking.

I resolved to fix that with judicious pruning. I limited my gardening activities, limited my already limited housekeeping (furthering its decaying state), limited my social life, limited my internet usage and stole away to work in the studio. I've now re-established my nightly studio routine and made good headway on an(other) intensive project, so I can ease up on my monastic life.

You want to see what I've been working on? I'm not ready to show you the whole thing. You'll have to be at the Crow Timber Barn in Ohio to see it. I'll be there from October 7th to 11th for Nancy Crow's Potpourri II workshop. This top will be there too.

Yet I can't have a post without a photo. So here's a teaser:

corner of four modules

A continuation of circles with straight lines.

I previously teased you with this. Well, I wasn't happy with this which was a very symmetrical four-square, about 40x40. I took it apart and made six more modules. Still wasn't satisfied and made another six. After 60 hours just piecing, I'm happy with this bigger (100x60) better relative.

Oh, life should be so simple!

Wire diversions

I've long admired Mari Andrews' sculptures ever since visiting her studio a number of years ago. Now am looking forward to her exhibition Over, Under and Inside Out at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. 

Mari Andrews' Hold Mari Andrews' Propensitus Gravitas

Two years ago she offered a one-day workshop called Paperless Drawing - Wire Sculpture at the Richmond Art Center. But the timing didn't work. This year I had another chance so I broke with my nose-to-the-grindstone routine.

After learning about wire - types, gauges, tools, knots - I played, adding other paraphernalia to wire, to create these two small sculptures:

I'm still having fun toying with their orientation.

It was a terrific diversion from the rigors of piecing. Maybe I'll make one every day week month. Oh, heck, just make another one . . .  whenever . . . then another . . .

Quick & simple projects

Some time ago I'd replace the binding on an old blanket: 

new binding on old blanket

and transformed it into a designer item. Buoyed by that success, I made some quick & simple pragmatic things while the studio was in transition.

Studio trash container repurposed from a 25-pound rice sack:

simple & quick studio waste basket

Case for my tai chi sword & saber:

case, saber & sword

Designing the pattern and adjusting the fit were not so quick nor simple, but at least it didn't take that long.

Then there's the long promised bed quilt, which I'd posted about previously. Due to its size, definitely not quick but fairly simple:

on the wall before corners were filled in

 trial layout on the bed, unquilted

It looks quite different on the bed - something to keep in mind for the next (if ever) bed quilt.

I was on a pragmatic roll and signed up for a guild workshop. A collaged vest to kill three birds with one stone: make my first art-to-wear, use a clothing pattern from my ever-growing collection, and reduce the stash of print fabric.

First I made a fitting muslin to try out the two different front placket options. The pattern is Lois Ericson's In the Studio - 7, Folds and Edges.

muslin vest on the design wall

muslin vest on an old (deformed) dress form

During the workshop, the instructor, Christine Barnes, helped me with the right front panel. After the workshop, I worked on the other two sections, the back yoke and the left front under panel, on my own. These took forever to look right; tortuous instead of quick and simple. 

collaged front panels and back yoke, before stitching

covered with stitches & washed

By the time it will be finished, it'd be too warm to wear. So it's going into the ufo pile. Not permanently - just until fall.

Then there's the baby quilt for my first grand nephew due in May. I decided against that project (that's how I spell relief). Instead, four siblings and I got together on a group gift off their Pottery Barn baby registry - a dresser with a changing table topper - that'll match the crib from my nephew's mother (another sister).

Remind me not to do start any quick & simple projects; enough pragmatism for the year. No more diversions or procrastinations. The studio may be a work in progress, but it's time to refocused on my non-pragmatic work.

Quilt as desired

Are you someone who can be ready for a trip at the drop of a hat? Then return home and jump right back into your routine without much jet lag? I am envious because that's certainly not true for me. Out of state trips always knocks me out for a week.

This two-week trip was wonderful despite a couple of hiccups. I re-connected with a long time (not old) good friend near Detroit. Together we took a short trip to Toronto. Then I'm at the Crow Timber Barn for a workshop - Machine Quilting: Inspiration, Design, Critique with Sandra Ciolino. I'll save the hiccups for another time and get down to what you really want to know about - the workshop.

iso right thread color & weight for Golden Sol

Sandy, our fearless leader (she prefers facilitator), not only quilts beautifully, she's a great teacher! Communicative, structured, generous, caring, attentive, open, non-threatening, organized and more. The qualities you wished all your teachers had. She deserves lots of credit for setting up an environment for everyone to thrive. What a difference five days made!

We were a small group of seven with not a bad apple in the bunch! Couldn't ask for a better group of people!

Machine quilting wise, each of us started in a different place - from little to some experience. But that was okay. Sandy gave each individual plenty of attention and guidance from wherever we were. Nudged and nursed us along until we were quilting with confidence.

We were also diverse stylistically. I expected more Nancy Crow students since it was at the Barn. Instead three had never taken any workshop with her and two had taken only one workshop. So we had a diverse range of quilt tops to critique.

The critiques were a fabulous learning experience. These were not a show-and-tell what's-good-what's-not likes-dislikes kind of free-for-all. Sandy provided a timed 5-step structure adapted and revised from Art + Quilt: Design Principles and Creativity Exercises by Lyric Kinard. Of course everyone wanted to know how to quilt their tops - our reason for being there.

The critique structure really worked and we really got into the swing of it. Sandy even joked she'll packaged us up and take us on the road! I got some helpful feedback and am no longer stymied by my larger tops.

The very first exercise was another fabulous learning experience. It made us take the plunge. Jump off the cliff. But in a non-threatening way. It opened up options. Very freeing. We learned there are no rules for thread color, thread weight and stitch lines. Sure, fiddle with the thread tension until that works. Otherwise, quilt as desired! 

I've heard that many times but was clueless as to what that meant. Now I know. There is no one way, no perfect way. Explore, experiment, play. Trust your instincts as an artist and quilt as desired.

With inadequate choice of threads, I didn't get far on the circle with straight lines shown at the top. So I started on these two small black and white compositions in the workshop:

geometric stitches with white, variegated white, variegated gray and black

organic stitches with contrasting variegated thread

A lot of intensive quilting. Geometric stitches requires focus whereas organic stitches flow more. By late morning Friday, I could only doodle:

stitcher doodles 

more stitcher doodles

Many thanks to Nancy Crow for going forth with the workshop despite our small group. Without your faith, this enriching experience would not have happened. When she offers this workshop again, go for it! You won't find a better teacher than Sandy nor a better facility than the Barn.

Apropos, Perfect Happiness was the title of Robert Genn's Tuesday Twice-Weekly Letter, which led with this quote from Winston Churchill: "The way to be happy is to find something that requires the kind of perfection that's impossible to achieve and spend the rest of your life trying to achieve it." Read the rest of it here. 

Something to hoot about

Showing in the New Quilts of Northern California exhibit at Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) which runs October 11-14 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.

Spin in Brown 

Spin in Brown, detail

It's the second time I've been juried into this exhibit. Orange Rhyme made it in last year. Woot! 

I won't be able to see it there, but I hope you can. Instead I'll be having fun in Ohio at the Crow Timber Barn for a machine quilting workshop with Sandy Ciolino. Woot!

Three is a lovely number

Quilt Therapy, my minigroup, issued a challenge to create a small quilt by 9/19/2012 for an upcoming community show. That's what I'm working on. 

Challenge parameters:

• size: 18x18
• colors: 50% to match three paint chips, and
• theme: three. 

Paint chips, mostly randomly selected:

red-oranges, yellow-oranges, & darkest neutral purples

Fabrics to match. In keeping with the theme, I'm using a 3x3 format - aka 9-patch. 

 paired squares

The number "3" makes a great shape. I selected a font, printed it large, enlarged it further on the copier, then cropped and traced for interesting mix of related shapes and positive/negative spaces:

patterns

Then I randomly paired patterns with fabric and outlined shapes with free motion stitches. Trimmed extra layers away - a raw edge reverse applique technique.

Then the fun part - arranging the squares in a 3 x3 format. This is similar to an exercise in the June shapes workshop with Terry Jarrard-Dimond posted here and here. From the trimmed layers, I made a polar twin 3x3 and arranged it in the same order:

arrangements v1, polar twin on left

Then rearranged in a dissimilar order:

 arrangement v2, related but not twins

Rearranged again in dissimilar order with some parts traded:

arrangement v3, traded parts

I really enjoy this design-play part of the process and could go on forever. Play more? or go with one of these? I've gotta put it together soon and get quilting. That deadline is looming!