Cutting scraps

I haven't been posting not because I'm not sewing, but because I don't want to show too much of this quilt til I get the kinks worked out. I have gone back and forth on "border" blocks or better stated, edge treatments.

I've been laying it out on the floor and trying different combinations. I came out of the kitchen to see
Cole claiming it. Again. He is fascinated with this quilt. He sits and watches me sewing on it.  This is the one he ate two blocks at Christmas.
I am not in love with the "concrete" blocks I have many of now, but the black blocks are not quite right either and I now have many of them too. I am not a planner, so I have to make pieces to see if they work.
The idea is a concrete wall that burst into color. I don't want it too quilt-ish. I want it interesting and artsy.
It's all from the scrap bins except the concrete and black blocks.
Someone at my sewing bee commented it is growing every time she sees it and asked how big it will be.
Shrug.
As big as it gets, I guess. The only answer a non planner can give.

I also dug into the scrap containment system, (Want to see it?Look here!)  and cut out blocks to do at our two day sew in event. I cut and cut, and now the bins are.... overflowing!! What:?! I removed fabric and now they won't close? They breathed out I guess.

The sad news was I went through my cool black & white drawer to choose some fun fabrics for this soon to be quilt, and wouldn't cut into yardage not already cut into. "No, better save that one for a real quilt".

the cut piece ready to make on Monday

This is ridiculous no? This IS a real quilt! But it's a scrap quilt and I know how disappointed I would be to need a particular fabric, and the hole cut out of it would make it unusable. Once again DH asked if I  needed him to cut a swatch out of each of them so I could relax! (Um, don't you need to work on your schoolwork hon? )







So, until I write again, imagine me making tumbling blocks and tilting my head to an fro trying to make a decision. Cole will be watching and waiting for another opportunity to lay on it. We all make our judgements differently.
LeeAnna

A little Klimt

A Little Klimt 12" X 12"

 The Art group studying artists and using texture, STAT chose my favorite artist, Gustav Klimt to study this month. I love his work for the detail, the graphic nature, the organic swirls and the gold among other reasons.
Just to remind you, there are six of us in the group, each has chosen two artists to be studied, and we meet every two months with a 12 inch square quilt done in the style of the artist with a focus on texture.
These are the materials I chose to work with this time. There are four hair fabrics including copper silk, the background came from one of those upholstery sample books and was a sheer, three shades of tissue lame' including copper for the binding. I used misty fuse to adhere the metallic lame' but is still wanted to fray and melt. I did the whole thing on peltex, used metallic and rayon threads, prisma color pencils to paint the face.
I fused baguettes for the earring, and used a trim for the bottom after turning under the top to finish the edge.

It seems like the people in his work have sumptuous surroundings so the fringe seemed appropriate somehow. I was surprised that the gold sheers covered the lovely curves of the under hair, but the reflective properties must have trumped sheerness. I couched a heavy thread between her skin and the klimt like fabric I've hoarded for years. 

The crown was done with Golden medium with mica chips, spackled onto fabric covered peltex cut into the shape of a tiara. I hand tacked it to the finished piece.
As far as quilting choices, I outlined where I wanted a strong line, and swirled where I wanted hair, zigged and zagged now and then.

The interesting thing to me was that I liked my sketch better than the finished project.
That's just bizarre! I am not a trained drawing person. When I start with faces I just leap in to fabric and pencil/pen and so sometimes I get proportions a bit off. Oh well, it's my process, and while I could change how I approach things, too much planning drains me, and making mock-ups takes the fun out, and well, it's how I work so I accept the occasional misstep as part of the payment.
Now if someone could tell me how to get the stupid watermark off the bottom of my picassa files, the stupid one that says 2011 I'd be thrilled! I got it on, the smartest engineer and I, one day, and now neither of us can figure out how to remove it from picassa.
I am on to the next artist, Toulouse-Lautrec. I've done two sketches, and like them both.
This group is like doing a bi monthly challenge quilt, and I love a challenge, don't you?
LeeAnna

All this from scraps?

I'm spending the day banking back and forth between sorting/cleaning the studio and sewing. When you sort, it brings lots of projects to mind, and it takes great strength not to drop everything and sew on them! Wips, UFOs, bits and pieces, leftovers, scraps too small to keep that need sewing.

Yesterday, I sorted the washed scraps given me by friends. Yep, I even wash scraps. I am pretty sensitive to chemicals, so even little pieces must be washed before the iron hits them. This is not hard. A mesh wash bag holds lots of little pieces safely in the washing machine. I even have one with four little compartments.  Once washed and out of the dryer, I sort by color and press them and put them in the color bins. This is part of my process, the calming part where I get to play with color, see shape and pattern and plan the next thing.
Here is a picture of the stacks before putting them away.

 I love to sew little odd shapes to other odd shapes and see what comes of it. Usually it's gorgeous and turns itself magically into something beautiful.

I do run a workshop in this technique, check the page Workshops and lectures

Before the green stack was put away I pulled out these tiny little pieces and played.

 I started sewing them, until I saw a leaf, to go with two other leaves that have been hanging around the design wall for weeks.
I might have to stop cleaning again and sew these into something!


During the sorting I ran across some painted flower petals.
Now, I had already put away my painted bits and pieces and didn't want to drag that bag back out, so I sat down and started playing with these!

Ah the road to order is never straight! Why, just around a bend there were flowers to be arranged and sewn. I glued the overlaps of two of them, and gathered some others up under the machine needle and stitched them into a cool textured lumpy organic piece that will no doubt go on something later.

 For now, I must get back to the excitement of sewing on my scraps. Maybe I'll sacrifice one of my hand dyed half yards to the two lovely flowers at the left. Oh, joy! Think of all the threadwork to come! Whee!!

I absolutely must show you the cow coasters that my new blog friend Linda Cline sent! They are waaaaay too cool to mess up with possible spills, heh, heh.
Or maybe I'll just let myself use them, and ENJOY (my word of the year) them freely. She was so kind as to include some yardage with the images printed on it so I am all kind of jazzed to make that into something cool. Wonder what I'll make...
My gratitude to Linda (lindas blog) and lookie there folks, I have another cool connection story. It's these connections between us that make life sweet.

LeeAnna

On fear of following directions

 A friend of mine just had a realization. The discussion was about people who buy and buy supplies to make quilts/art and never use them. Ever.
Now, we all do that occasionally but some people make a science of it.

My friend realized it was more enjoyable to hunt and gather all the supplies for a project,  than to make the project. These are projects in magazines or books. She attributes this to a fear of failure.

 She made me think of this issue in a new way... first of all, that gathering thing is fun, in and of itself. It's like jazzing your imagination. And there are endorphins released during shopping, you know.

Second, of course there is the possibility of failure when you are doing what someone else did, taught, demonstrated, suggested, wrote about.

 It's only when you are doing your own thing, that there is little risk of  failure  as no one know what you were trying to achieve.  (let's not think about  the times a  finished piece doesn't come out like it did in your head, smirk)  If for some reason you don't like a finished project, you can choose to see it as another artistic learning experience, not a failure.

I'm an old dancer, and the rule was if you forgot choreography,  just keep dancing and most people wouldn't know you'd messed up. (This doesn't count if you're a guy and were supposed to catch the prima ballerina mid-leap)

Anyway, there is less chance of failure if you are doing your own thing, than when following directions, which I find increasingly hard to do anyway.Know what I mean??
LeeAnna
playing with scraps, because there is no failure in a scrap!

weekend is coming to a close

Just a little post about the weekend. I am frustrated with my current quilting project because I just can't find a satisfactory border situation. It's a tumbling block pattern, which is a bit traditional but done in a bold way. I have been furiously hand piecing it through the holidays, and wanted to just finish it.

Don't Step on this

Here's the thing, it's a good piece and I have a vision for it and I can't just "finish it" It needs to be special.
It is much bigger now, but this picture was taken while Cole was in training to KEEP OFF THE QUILT. He was fascinated by it all season. At one point, when we were off cavorting without him, he ate, yes, ate two blocks. Plastic template and all. They are bigger than they look. And they just don't look appetizing to me, but then I'm not stuck eating kibble all day.


So this weekend I took all the little bits and pieces and staked them to the design wall, auditioning fabric after fabric, combinations that rival any puzzle. There are literally endless choices for borders and I'm being driven insane! I think I have an acceptable one going, but wish you could all come see and tell me which one will be perfect. Come over... those of you in the area. Come here and help the woman who sees endless possibilities in this piece!
So this weekend, I sorted the stuff in the studio. I folded laundry mountain. I walked in the cold air. We bathed and groomed Cole, which is always a treat for all concerned. He looks like Little Richard right now, so tomorrow, Edward Scissorhands,  I will have to re trim him to look like a poodle.

 

in case it doesn't open and  you actually want to watch this, the link is click here

Other funny videos are in stored for your laughing pleasure on the side "just plain silly"

Christmas is almost all packed away, just the dishes on the storage unit dining room table to be packed and basemented. The studio is still a mess. I picked up the coolest branch today to try and sunprint but the cold weather was too daunting, but since I went through the paints and re organized them, throwing away dried ones, I am itching to paint again. The Stat project is Toulouse-lautrec so I probably should paint something. Klimt is still hanging around undone. I need to organize my entries for exhibit.
The weekend is over, all except for the Downton Abbey episode and wine drinking, (drinking word tonight is Anna, poor Anna) Cole and his Little Richard hair will have to wait for the morning.

Seriously, come help,  but call first.
LeeAnna

Art for Art

 This little pretty, about 6 X 8 inches was made in trade for some cool cow coasters made by a woman in CA. I saw them on her blog, and wrote to her instantly to see if there would be some way to get them into my possession, heh, heh. If you think I am a flamingo and poodle lover, you ain't seen nothing like my cow collection!! She agreed to trade them for one of my little gratitude squares.

Check out this quote! I don't know who said it first, but... thank you.

I used to date an art dealer who said it took two people to make art. One to make it, and one to tell them to stop!

Stop adding more, that is.

In my mind, more is better usually.
This time I painted the two side fabrics a while back, and found them organized beautifully together with painted scraps!! Ha! The system worked!

I combined them with a painted tree done last fall, a stencil and stamp collage of a bird edges turned over peltex for lift, and a stamped quote also on peltex. I am all about the texture y'all. I like painting, but the reason I think I like quilting so much is the stitch texture. I couched some thick threads, ironed on some baguettes, fused the binding and the whole thing is quilted with metallic thread. It sparkles! Whee!

 This is a shot to show some of the dimension. I love it. I am going to have a hard time letting it go, as per usual. Even though I really am excited about the coasters, I still have a hard time letting art go. Guess I have to make more! They all look different though, and that particular fabric is one of a kind since that's the kind of painter I am. It causes me to want to keep all of the fabric I alter. The problem is storage and sharing. The other side of me wants to connect with people, so here you go Linda!
LeeAnna
you might also like Other Paint of Fabric Posts Here

More sparkly paint fun

 It was a warm day for winter, so I got out the paints and went out back to play. I just happen to be really sensitive to adhesives and solvents so have to be outside even to use non-toxic textile paints.
I am on a mission. I contacted a blogger about trading artwork, and she agreed to trade for one of my little gratitude pieces.
 I also am behind on my Klimt challenge piece, and knew I wanted to make a tiara using thick mica infused medium by Golden. More about that later...


Here are all the scenes on the scroll of fabric. I used  blue, and a blue-gray solids and three different textile paints, all metallic. I like shiny-sparkly stuff! You know good and well I'll also use metallic thread to quilt this, heh, heh.

So I played with paint, using brushes, sponges and five stencils. When I say play, I mean I have no plan, I just add color til there is enough/too much. If it seems too plain I add some gold or darkest blue.

This is not my first time at the rodeo... I know how quilting stitch can change the look of a piece of art.
 I know in my world, I seldom throw anything painted  away because it's almost always usable in some form.
 I don't worry, just keep adding more!

 After the cropping,  bordering and quilting, I'll add beads, stamped words, gemstones, thick threads, and bits of lovelies I have kept for years. It's so much fun, this play. So engaging. I lose track of time, become calm, and get excited at the same time. Art is healing.
LeeAnna