Finding your muse #3 Learning...

Inspiration and Self-Talk... 
I give talks on increasing one's creativity.
One of the biggest factors (in my opinion) of being creative is self-talk. 

Do we choose to listen to our internal censor, the one who harps at us, "you are no good, you can't draw, this is crap and you wasted fabric on it, no one will read/buy/like what you're making, etc" Or....
Do we find a way to keep that shrew busy so she leaves us in peace to actually enjoy making something? (Without worry about the outcome)

This weekend I led a workshop. We discussed creativity, played creativity games and gave free reign to imagination. What a good time!

Later that weekend I attended another workshop on use of EQ7 led by a tech-savvy person. Now, planning is not in my wheelhouse. I don't often plan quilts as it takes the joy out for me. I did want to see how the other half lives, and see if there was some part of that process I could use. 
Bravely, I faced the speaker who had brought my nemesis to the party...A computer. Plus software.

Gulp!
I already felt out of place, out of my element, out of air. (cue scary music)

As she began, moving and clicking and speaking a language I don't understand, I looked around the room. Surreptitiously I made note of all the heads nodding. Uh Oh! Heads nodding when answers were given. 

I nod slightly, just to fit in. 

Tentatively I raise my hand to ask naively "Mary, what are you doing?" Graciously she answers. I nod. 

It became apparent,  I am not a participant, I am an observer.
"Relax" I say to myself. 
Out loud I mumble to the woman sitting to my left, " I am a techno-idiot and need a book, "EQ7-for-dummies-who-can't-understand-EQ7-For Dummies" 

She relpies kindly, humorously, 
"First we'll work on your self esteem self-talk"
HA! Hahahaha! Good. Now I can relate to something and laugh. I find my way to a mental safe spot. 

Golly, I didn't realize my inner critic had joined us... she needed to go sit in the back and just get out of my way while I learn something new. 

She's a sneaky one...

More Finding your muse posts HERE!
 

summer frolic Cole's capers

Momma said, let's go for a walk!
It was really hot, but I indulged her.... then look what I found!!!

Nice of the neighbors to turn on the sprinklers for me!
Why, children, in my youth I loved a sprinkler!

Especially the pointy kind that shoot out water ... 

 I'd jump in, bite at that sprinkler til I choked! HA what a good time! I taught them who was boss and who had big teeth!

 Today I just walked around in it, didn't want to get too wet. That reminds me of a (whispered) bath. 
Don't you love to play in a sprinkler?

Summer Breeze...

This quilt was made years ago. 

We had just married, moved from Fl. to MD and I met a few quilters. When we met we all did some version of this pattern by Jean Wells. 

(I'll show the book at the end)

Of course I changed it up a bit, heh heh
I did 3-D flowers with sun buttons for faces, and used lime green with a cherished purple batik. 
At the time we had little money so this was a real extravagance. 

I am hanging it up this week for the summer. I love a banner format. 

The point is, this was finished about 1997... old is not bad y'all. I still love this quilt. I learned buttonhole stitch with applique on this quilt. 

I used perle cotton for the hand embroidery. 

I think it's bold and modern. 
Made long ago but....
I never put on a sleeve. I used to stake it to the wall with straight pins. Yep. 
Yesterday I went to the scrap bin and pulled out a strip about the right size. 

 I didn't care the width as this is not for entry in a show. I finished the outside edges and then with wrong sides together sewed the long seam. Pressed open and hand stitched the sleeve with the open seam against the backing. 

I usually do a 4" sleeve, insert it in the binding and hand stitch the bottom edge. 
This was so much faster but it also didn't need to be larger than my hanger which is small. 
Does this count for a finish today!? 

 Nearly 20 years old, it looks fresh to me.
This is another reason to prewash. The chemicals were washed out before making so they won't eat away at the quilt as it ages. 
This is the book I used for the pattern....
Just for interest, I arrange quilting books by category so I can always find them. 

How I met my Poodle

Today for Bacon's blog PigLove, he requested we read our pet a story.

Here is a video of Cole  having Momma read him a story this morning...
If the video doesn't work this is the link to Youtube...
enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8nBo-OyMt8

Momma's baby is 14 now, but will always be my pup

link to more stories:  piglove.

  new to my blog? I write about living the creative life.

 Each day is a new topic, stay tuned! LeeAnna

DOG-tor, will I ever fly again???

See, it's not like we can't afford a new stuffie toy every time one has an unfortunate accident with dog teeth...

The poodle has his favorites.
He kind of "loves them to death"
(We lived in a kind of terror of his fave fleece ball being thrown away... know what I mean? The poodle on an endless quest, tilting at windmills, seeking the squeaking youthful fleece ball that was gone?)

So my friend Glen (quiltswissy ) told me I could order new squeakers from Amazon

One destroyed squeaker, a bag of new ones

The DOG-tor is in!
The GAME is on!
I replace a squeaker, Cole watches, Cole does his poodle-best to break and remove the new squeaker. I do this sewing by hand. Usually. That's the only safe way. However...

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! I am the only one stupid enough to do this!

For surgery, no need to sterilize your hands... the dog spit does that for you.

I remove the dead squeaker from stuffie through the handy hole my dog made while breaking it.
Lots of opportunities to find a hole here!

It was like an episode of Botched!
Plastic surgery...STAT!

Replace squeaker, push remaining stuffing to side, if there's room because your dog ate some of the stuffing, I then wedge it under the presser foot and sew...

THIS is how I used my creativity today. THIS was my inspiration.

  
A safer alternative for repair when there is no room to put it under the sewing foot...
Some delicate work is needed I hand sew. Double thread, big knot, no need to worry about a scar, it'll be torn out in no time!

I make sure to trim threads close to bird, or my poodle will be flossing. 

All Done! Good as new, but with that old toy smell.
 Chirp! Lots of squeaks left in this one!

Now to sneak it back into the toy box...

before sleeping dogs notice...

Turquoise Diamonds

Turquoise with lime diamonds for this month's color at RSC. She is calling the color aquamarine but I just did turquoise since it's one of my faves at the moment.

I have been so sick, just some kind of cold but it sapped all my energy.
I could barely sit and read on the porch in the lovely weather much less sew.
Today I pulled myself together and mindfully sewed tiny pieces that should probably have been thrown away!

I haven't sewn the little diamonds together yet... that will have to wait until the brain is functional again. When the 9 small diamonds are sewn together it makes a diamond about 25" tall by 15" wide.

Don't know how I'll place them yet since there will be 12 colors

And I might just add in some black and white ones.
Linking to some mighty parties on  my links page, including these:
http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Finding the Muse #2 Music

There is a difference between being inspired to "make" and being inspired to "create"

As quilt makers, we are often inspired by other quilts and quilt makers who have developed a style we like. I have made  quilts from patterns.
 I like them, but I love the quilts I've made that represent my unique vision.

As an artist I am more interested in what inspires us to create from our hearts.

I have a list as long as your arm of different forms of inspiration... it's all around us. I'll get to each sometime duing this Thursday Finding the Muse Series. In fact I was inspired to write this week from a walk I took yesterday but I'll save that for another day.

Today's inspiration is music. 
If you google "images of art inspired by music" you'd find great variety. I saw art that resembled a guitar, some that was abstract letting movement tell the story, one that looked like a treble clef, some inspired by words to a song and so much more.

Music inspires strong responses.
Just hearing certain songs will cause us to Feel, to react, to remember...

Recently I saw this piano improv at a Paris train station... two young men spontaneously shared music...
.youtube
and this one in  Paris ... I didn't know that I loved this song but it made me feel something deeply...
youtube la foule
Both of which made me long to experience that kind of musical connection with another person.
Both inspired me to make my kind of art.

Just the current four favorites

What music do you play while working? I like bossa nova and samba music. From the 60's if possible.
Lately I am all kind of jazzed to work by Jake Shimabukuro playing Ukelele like an angel.

My favorite song of all, and I love music, is Girl from Ipanema. I listened to Astrid Gilberto's version while drawing the top sketch. A detail of the quick sketch...

I am sick. Head cold that knocked the wind out of me & gave me a wracking cough. I don't feel like sewing. I have little energy but I want to be creative so today it's drawing.
> I love how the ocher yellow color, one I do NOT like adds shading and emphasis to the turquoise and bright yellow.
> I like the line inspired by the song... a curve that could be a woman, a guitar, a shore line or beach
> Just as quilters do improv piecing, this was improv sketching in response to bossa nova.

(does it change your perception to see it from another angle?)
My words on the side set the tone and view.

I looked at the blank white page, and momentarily paused... what to do? What is the best interpretation of my song? There is no "best" just making. I started with intense pink. I colored and blended and made lines on a blank sheet of paper until I was done.








It doesn't need to win an award. It doesn't need to make money.
It only needed to flow from my heart today.

 Want more?
The first in this series is written word

PS,  this was made to interpret the song yellow polka dot bikini
 
post on "bikini body"