Random Thoughts on a Rainy Day

 I really love to put binding on. From cleaning up the edges, to sitting and hand-stitching it down and the signaling of the end of a project, I love it.

I love my new 60mm Olfa rotary cutter. I don't know why I thought I was using the largest size when it was the 45mm one that has carried me through the last few years. I never noticed I had lost the bigger one .

Scraps in a basket might be worth re-visiting for a small Rooflines project.

A green Olfa mat is best. The blades do not dull as quickly with this mat. Again, a recent observation after my class in December in which I was going through blades every few hours and not necessarily secondary to poor technique.

Two healthy adults drive each other crazy inside the house in the month of January. Good thing I remembered that going to the coffee shop was an option today.

Some random thoughts for you on a rainy 60 degree January day here in Michigan. :)

A Few Updates

     I looked at my last post date (after a prompt from a friend) and couldn't believe I hadn't posted in over a week. So, I return and will give you a quick update.

Vacation: We returned home last Saturday to a houseful of furniture which needed to be moved back into place as we had our hardwood floors refinished while we were away.What a mess of dust to return to. And my college daughter was home on winter break and just left yesterday so I wanted to spend some time with her.  It also just takes me a good 48 hours to transition and get back up and running smoothly. No matter how efficient I try to be!

Vermont: Had a great vacation and I was a hermit working away and enjoying my time with family. I  made cheese one day and will share tomorrow. Very fun. Very little snow but they did ski with lots of snow made by the snow guns.

My class (Lisa Call Working in a Series): I am still in a lovefest with this class. I have had my moments of self doubt (why should I be taking this class? who do I think I am fitting in to this class?  why in the world would I think this piece of fabric would work or this color?  I don't even like this piece so why would I show it to her, my classmates or you ? Why am I working so hard?) Ok maybe a few hours or  a day or two of self doubt. But in the end, I just want to create and be more focused in my creativity. Working in a series is putting everything I have previously learned into a framework. Have I made anything exceptional? No, that isn't the point. Learning how to move forward is and to create more work is. You work hard and I am learning to be patient with myself and my work. Well worth every minute of work and money I have spent on this class.

    I see glimpses of hope in each piece as I move forward-an area of each piece that I like and can improve upon. In the next piece. And the next piece is what I am working on!

PS- I say all this even after I made one huge wrong cut in a piece last week-it wasn't salvageable so I have no new pictures for you.  I have moved on.:)

New Lights

     This may not be very exciting to you. But I am sooo excited as today an electrician came to install some new track lights for me in my studio. There is a huge long boring story behind this as the box of lights has been sitting in the studio for way too long but I won't bore you. It has become a joke actually in the family but I have been patiently waiting for a friend to install them-for months.

      But today was the day. Look up at the ceiling-very exciting to have it done.

     I had to clean before they came as they warned me about drywall dust. Not much dust at all but  it is very nice to have a really clean studio.

     This is taken with just the recessed lights on and daylight. The colors when I photograph are really washed out in comparison to how I see them.

  This is a little better and brighter I think but I will have to angle the lights differently now that I see this. But definitely truer to the actual colors I see without really fussing with my camera settings.

    One more picture of clear clean tables.

    And now I will go deal with this. And not tell my family because the saga of the lights continues.

    I also need to quickly get to work on the piece you just saw on my design board which is due on Sunday. I feel remarkably relaxed since I have to travel to Vermont tomorrow.  The dog ate my homework or more likely the airlines lost my luggage would be a good excuse. I shouldn't even say that as both have happened before.

    And I think I am just not so nervous about my class anymore. I am really accepting where I am and trying to not be impatient with moving forward. Challenged and working hard but not nervous. Nice to be back and realize how crazy I can make myself.

Keep Looking For That Road

     I just finished a few more black and white pieces. I just wanted to push myself to use these small pieces to critically take a look at what I did and didn't like about a quick improvisational design. (And to get ready for a certain class which you inevitably  start with a black and white piece which I dread). I didn't spend much time on them but, again, they do bring the design sharply into focus.

    But the saving moment  for these little pieces: they just got me moving and wanting to do more. And gave me time to think about what I want to do the next year and bring in to focus what I really don't want to do. You may wonder why I would want to finish a "study" piece and the answer is-practice and more practice.

Looking For The Road #2
15x19 - 2011

Looking For The Road #3
14x18 -2011

     I just want to add paint to these. But I won't. I will just let them be black and white. And not be afraid of it when I have to use it in a few weeks.

    But to add to that- that is not to say I may not try more with paint added. Aren't I fickle?

    Be creative, my friends.

Feeling Torn

     I am giving myself all kind of explanations on why I just want to sew like this again. Take a look.

Red Pepper Quilts

Maybe because I really need some spring and am tired of all the dreariness.

Be"Mused

 Maybe because I just miss commercial fabrics.

Film In The Fridge

Maybe because it's the crisp white.

I could try some fabric from www.inkandspindle.blogspot.com

Or from Whipstitch Fabrics.

Or I could just go upstairs and complete one of my many unfinished projects. Why does that feel like work today?

Maybe I just need spring. Or a trip to Meijer Gardens.

 Be creative, my friends!

2010 Wrap Up

                                                  
                                                     Unpacking-notice no clothes just fabric and supplies

    I am really not one for resolutions. I guess because they usually involve me losing some amount of weight. And it just comes back.  I am more for making a list and getting it done.  Setting goals. That feels better for me.  It’s probably all the same thing but just what motivates you to change , do something differently or accomplish something.

     So, I felt like I should take a look at what I have learned in the past year. Since I am a newbie, maybe it would help me with what I need to do next.

(I feel like this is one of those essays you write when you get back from your summer vacation in elementary school. I give you permission to skip this and go directly to the pictures.)

2010 : What I have Learned

1. I learned that even though I might not like the piece I am working on, I need to push through and finish it. It’s the pushing through part where I usually learn things about design, color or the unpredictablity of a composition.

                                                                 on my wall today

2. I learned that I have many friends, old and new, that I can ask for advice or critique. But in the end, I have to live with it.


3. I learned that by just reaching out a little bit online, there are some great friends to meet and enjoy this process with. Old friends and new friends have made it an enjoyable year.  Thanks again- you are great.

4. I learned through and indepth “Artprize” experience(visited many times…) that I can find something to like in all different forms of art. Meeting Nellie was loads of fun, too. I have much to learn about art and art history.

                                                

5. I lack focus. I just get so excited about the possibilities that I need to just concentrate on the here and now. Making a list helps. I did it all the time when I worked as a physical therapist and do it now as a mom. So why would I function differently here?

6. I need to have a reliable and dependable machine. Not one that will just handle piecing but one that can repeatedly handle  machine quilting. I  am just going to keep trading then in until I find one that works as well as my first machine did 20 years ago. The feeling that me and my machine are one make it  all worth it when I am doing a big piece.

7. And the biggest thing I learned- being a studio artist takes time and patience. You have to go through the steps. You can’t just barge over top of them. You have to do the work.  And then do more work.  And then do it again. I only have a glimpse of what this takes.

              
                                                   Japanese fabrics

     I have made some workshop plans. No I am not going back to school. For today, I am going to do some machine quilting and try to finish up one of my pieces that I couldn't do last week. And make some dyes up for the snow we are supposed to get tomorrow. Snow dyeing!

     Thanks for listening. Be creative, my friends!