creatively speaking this week... spirals, painting challenge, machine choice, Spring Green, COLORS!

 

I've been progressing on each project this week. Each step teaches me, each color excites me, art is healing

Above is my rainbow scrap challenge block this year, a hexie spiral. Hand stitched with small scraps from my orange collection. So satisfying when it is done.... here are the colors completed so far

just blocks lying next to each other

The Index Card a Day challenge is on, I'm woefully behind but have now done several. We use the prompts to create something each day....

"Spring"   "Cobalt"  "Iguana" 

Love how the paints blended in the petals

drawn from an OLD photo online

when I see a prompt I wonder how I can interpret it in some unique way, so in person, her dress is brilliant cobalt blue

I could have drawn an iguana but chose to do mixed media. I printed out an image on paper, tore away what wasn't the black line drawing, glued it to index card then painted with watercolor pencils and ink

"embroidery"  "Tidal Pool" 

"Iridescent"  "Leopard" 

I did paint with iridescent inks but they don't photo well, and I thought of ways to show leopard.... 

I feel like I know this woman somehow.... the mix of animal prints, kind of chubby but reaching for fashion 

the ladies so far

Back to sewing.... I finished piecing the Spring Leaves top basted the layers together with pins, and began quilting it

first pull threads to use, think about how I want the texture, face using the tiny Gem machine to do this 

I usually don't try to match, but to accent with threads.... this one became my favorite to use for this stage of quilting

it has a bold thick texture, a lovely gentle color change, and looks so good when stitching in more leaves

A mix of straight line quilting to stabilize then some detail work here and there, keeping it flat and balanced with each addition. I don't do all one area then the next as that can distort. 

I just love the way it's coming along. As I quilt I decide what to do, where, which with treads.

so many tiny scraps, added one by one in the strip stage, inserted curves, all different tones and shades of green, different fabric prints, all come together in this... some planned, some serendipity

I called a local shop to ask prices for the Janome 6700 P machine. 

It's time (I miss the demise of my Bernina 1630) 

The salesman mentioned I should check out the pfaff expression 710 and it does come with a lot of feet I use, and the dual feed is a good thing.  

tell me what you think...bernina's are just too expensive for me at this point

Inspiration  

orange flowers brightening a yard

 decorative way to stitch on a button

https://youtube.com/shorts/ys41X2zTOXU?si=pmmbvz2-ZuBpg2Gh 

happy creating y'all

Linking with: 

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patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

 slow stitching Sundays

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/

finished or not

https://beadwright.blogspot.com/

https://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

creatively speaking this week: drawing, painting, and sewing

 

I have just a few things to share with you this week starting with one of my two rainbow scrap challenge blocks this year. The color focus is on orange scraps this month, and using them.

I chose 4 duos this week, cut them into 2.5" strips, sewed cut sewed cut sewed them into blocks of orange

Orange covers a large spectrum of color, from yellow orange to pink orange (coral)

I tried to blend some as they will not be together in the final quilt top, but mixed in with all the other colors. 

Orange makes a quilt sparkle, even just a bit of it in whatever tint you choose

close up of the pink/orange block to show the words

I started basting the hexies for this month's spiral hexie block

I played with the idea of another small embroidery piece done with fabric shards

like a rose kind of, or a like life, making some order out of chaos

I am not doing much other than morning pages right now in painting/drawing

a mix of gouache paint, and inktense ink pad with brush. Tried to control the slanted leaf brush, but the bristles tended to separate. I must be doing something wrong. At the end I did the hyacinth in blue/purple, lavender and white dots of posca pen.

I'm woefully behind on Index Card a day challenge but with focus I'll catch up 

this one was from the prompt pretzel

pencil, and inktense pan set on top

of course this spring green quilt is still in progress, each step of sewing together joining strips defies my design ability. It's almost together into a cohesive top... started the week kind of like this

curvy piecing to put those scrappy strips next to a straight one, decided the bottom set needed to go into a different project...

feeling proud of myself for making a decision the borders started going on, and from looking at it as a picture I saw those two light green strips looked like railroad tracks... GRRRR 

I do not want to unsew anything so how to mitigate, applique a little light green on the border? 

note I also cut wee leaves out of dusty greens to applique onto the bottom area between the first two scrappy strips and love it in person

they will be free motion quilted in the next stage if ever I get there! 

so here's to overcoming anxiety about my country and life, for long enough to be my true self, 

one who makes art

linking with: 

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

 slow stitching Sundays

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/

finished or not

https://beadwright.blogspot.com/

https://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

doing what we can to celebrate color... sewing bits of fabric together, watching paint dry, interpreting a theme

 

The block above came from this book

on the sewing front, I needed to see color sewn to color, repeat. I got out the blue scraps that are exceptionally small and started sewing...

the log cabin logs finish at 1/8th inch

 

I thought, I love foundation piecing, why not just do some really small (2") blocks, mindless right? I didn't count on the intensity of dealing with such small seam allowances and strips of fabric 1/2" wide. I completed two blocks and moved on. 

sewing to paper is a good idea for me now, can't use a rotary cutter, but I need to move on to 4" blocks maybe... so it can be zen for me

I took my smallest scraps and made some more blossoms in blues

 

One day I'll form a garden. Next I need to add in greens around these...

 Mostly I am able to do the painting/drawing artwork a day on index cards... so here are the 7 I did from week one... and here is the link to week two prompts:    https://daisyyellowart.com/vividlife/icad-2024-2

the prompts were from top right clockwise: lavender, zinnia, patisserie, tree, gradient, portal, owl  

I want to paint, to draw, to bead, to embroider, to sew... to be creative.

I have not done much of anything, (being distracted by nerve pain)  and just know I want to do it all 

I did watch a video on how to insert a spiral metal wire join on watercolor papers to make a flip book... I hope to do that with my icad pages as I draw paint on one side, and write on the reverse. I would like to have a way to keep them together and flip from page to page. 

 I tried to remember how to do the boat shaped coaster taught last week on Zen stitch... couldn't but this is what I did make, it works but is well, odd looking. But 

it works and could be a little bowl to hold stuff

I cut out one of my RSC blocks to be basted while watching tv this week. It's a way to handle fabric, and see the pretty color... 

linking with these fine folk:

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com

patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

 slow stitching Sundays

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/

finished or not

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

https://beadwright.blogspot.com/

art for fun Fridays 

watching paint dry and embellishing quilt blocks

 

I'm struggling with physical challenges but wanted to feel normal... know what I mean? Feeling normal means painting, writing and quilt making to me... so this in a nutshell is what was made this week. 

mostly in pictures.... can't be at computer for long but connecting with my art peeps keeps me feeling human. 

Love my metallic watercolor set from fine-tec

I did two icads this week,  small artwork on a 4" X 5" index card, the first prompt was wabi-sabi, a Japanese term that sort of means imperfection, impermanence, are to be valued... if you repair an item, make it noticeable... so I drew then painted a vase, then "broke it"

I write thoughts on the backs

the next ICAD prompt I attempted was "Bird" 

torn bits of trash printed paper collaged to the card

the back of the card

finished card with ink sketch

learning to draw a bird on a watercolor painting

3 recent paper pieced blocks

belt seems a bit blah

RSC scrap color this month is Red... I made a dress from the book paper pieced home... definitely not my favorite paper piecing as it has too many angles, and isn't printed with seam allowances between sections of which there are lots in a small block. But. I like her mid-century vibe a lot. 

I added a cute button to the dress, and wish I had a dress like that now. The tote has some iron on sequins and I'm going to sew those flower buttons on. I would like a tote in turquoise and pink, those scraps are from fave fabrics

the undecorated tote, two sections had to be joined with a Y seam, OMG

I finished this big quilt's binding sewn by hand this week, sitting watching Grace and Frankie on Netflix trying to distract myself from pain...

I pulled out a hand sewing UFO too.... for that distraction element, and am working away at the final tumbling blocks to the whole thing, 

there is a lot of the day in 24 hours.... I am phobic about hospitals, and doctors and have had so many the past month, that my nerves are frayed, and I suspect the adage God won't give you more than you can handle is wrong. I am beyond emotionally broken... barely functional, find I want to stay in bed to avoid life. Ever felt like that? There is no answer yet, no relief yet, but one step in front of the other. 

I make art, because I need to 

thank you for listening, and all your prayers, you all have been the bright lights for me this week

Love, LeeAnna

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com

patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

slow stitching Sundays

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/monday-musings-6-26-23/ 

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/ 

https://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/ 

face off

finished or not

https://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/