Paying the piper

When you've been working with fibre for as long as I have, the day comes when you are forced to upgrade or replace equipment and tools. Over the past 55 years I have had close to a dozen good, new sewing machines.  I wore out the internal cams in two good quality Kenmore machines, teaching myself to FMQ--and do it well.  At this point I expect that my current machine, less than 10 years old, will be my last.  It is a Janome Horizon 7700, and it has a lot of miles on it.  I love it, but recognize its limitations, and have accepted and accommodated to them.  One such is its weight.  It's a heavy thing, and I'm not getting any younger, nor is my husband.  Today we bought one of those huge rolling carts to move it around in, for when I'm teaching or taking a workshop.  K-a-a-a-ching!

Got me thinking about the sort of expenses I need to start anticipate. I have a short shopping/wish list of things that will have to be replaced over the next year.  First on the list is my cutting board.  Even the best self-healing boards wear out at some point, and mine is there.  Earlier this year my ironing board was replaced.  The old one was over 50 years old, and was a darn good board.  It was 18" wide, and I could no longer get covers for it. The foot on one leg was worn right through, making positioning the board on the floor a tricky issue.  Originally it had a cord that could be plugged into the wall, and then an outlet on the end of the board in which to actually plug in the iron.  Long gone.  It had followed me to six different houses over the years.  The frame is still tucked into a cord in the garage, as I can't make myself face the reality of putting it in the garbage.  Funny how attached I was to that, but sewing machines and irons go through my life without a ripple ( except in my cheque book, of course)

Now I've reached the point in life that I have to take into consideration how many years I'll be around to make use of any new equipment, when deciding to replace items.  Don't want to go there either.

Changed my mind

The blue piece in my previous post has bothered me since it was done.  Finally I "bit the bullet", and changed it.  There was probably nothing wrong with it, but, in my mind, it wasn't right.  I took it apart.  Then I took out all of the tiny snowflakes filtering down, turned it upside down, and put them back in, but falling from the opposite end. As you can imagine, this was a bit of work, as it had been beaded and bound already.  The binding, backing, and  both the tiny beads, and their glitter-y white trails removed, stitch by stitch.  Re-stitching the glitter-y white trails, was a challenge, as all of the other beads, within the larger snowflakes were still there, and had to be avoided with the presser-foot, as many of the trails went right over the larger snowflakes, but it also gave me the change to put some of those trails behind the large snowflakes.  

Sounds a little ridiculous in writing, but I feel much more satisfied with the piece, and it's no longer keeping me awake at night.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network

A few busy days

Made a small batch of paper.  It turned out that the hardest thing to gather was enough old newspaper to soak up the excess water.  Most of the flyers we've been getting were to oddly shaped to be useful.  My results weren't great, but I did get 6 pieces that may have some potential for use in Mixed Media.  I learned a lot.  My metallic mesh was too light, and this made it difficult to control.  I have now layered two pieces together, and sealed the edges with Duct tape.  My hands are still covered with small cuts from trying to control the mesh.  

There wasn't nearly enough pulp emulsion.  This meant that it was very difficult to get enough pulp onto the mesh, made more difficult by the mesh bending with any weight, and causing the pulp to move, and gather in lumps.  Obviously, pulling the mesh through the pulp is a learned skill!  One that needs practice!

But what I have is well coloured, and the bits of green tea I added to the emulsion, worked very well.  The lacey bits around the edges intrigue me, and I know I'm going to try to make them a feature of any Mixed Media pieces I do.

The blue snowflake piece is also finished.  I really struggled with a title and settled on "Gentle Snowfall".  This picture doesn't show detail well.

Here are a couple of close-ups.

But now, I'm all caught up with the studio work.  Not sure what to do with myself over the next little while, until I come up with a new challenge.

Preparing for a new venture

Recently, I watched a video on Design Matters tv on Paper making and waxing. ( www.designmatterstv.com/introduction-to-papermaking/  and www.designmatterstv.com/waxing-papers/ ) This intrigues me, and I've decided to give it a try.  Before that can happen, I needed to acquire all the necessary supplies.

Having decided that the wire mesh was probably the most difficult of the supplies needed for the paper making, today's outing was a search for that.  The lady in the video said that what she used had been found in a auto repair supply store, so that's how we started.  Visited four of those without any luck, but at the last one the fellow recommended Artists' Emporium, or Micheal's.  That didn't compute for either me or my husband, but since we were just a block from Artists' Emporium, we dropped in and asked.  Yep, they had something.  Checked it out--1/16" metallic mesh- 3 big sheets for under $20.  Evidently it is used on armatures for creating three dimensional masks and sculptures.  Who knew?!  Then it was a search for a second hand electric frying pan, and involved visiting a couple of large thrift stores.  Neither Value Village nor Mennonite Central Committee had any, nor did they have anything the least bit similar, which made me wonder if they don't sell such things for some reason.

Discussing possible alternatives, we remembered that we had an old electric grill, that hadn't been used in years.  Sure enough we found it ( Actually he knew where it was, it just involved a lot of digging).  Given the way the lady used the bee's wax, I think it should work well. But, he couldn't find any J-Cloths, on a trip to Giant Tiger.  I never for a minute thought that they would be the problem.

Here's everything we have so far.

As you can see, I've even started tearing up paper.  The funny shapes in the bottom left hand corner, are molded pieces of bee's wax, that I've had for years. I used chocolate molds to create them, as  I used to include a small piece in any kits I put together for classes that involved had stitching. As it was suggested that we be sure to include coloured paper, and not all white, DH brought in some torn off each of the three big rolls hidden in the garage.

Not sure when I might actually get to work, but, while we wait for Christmas, it keeps us busy and off the streets.

I'm so-o-o ashamed.

The last week or so has been a rush of craft sales, and preparation for craft sales, and then meetings about craft sales.  One such sale has been a regular event for the past few years, and every year I swear that I'll make a few Crazy Patch stockings to take, and every year I forget until it's too late.  This year was no exception.

So I vowed to make them right after the New Year.  However, with all of my meager Christmas preparations done, and a bit of time until the day, I started them this week.  The first one is sewn together, and decorated with programmed stitches in gold.  When I made my plans, I had forgotten that I had given all, yes, all, of my lace scraps to the local thrift store as part  of my "great purge".  But giving it a bit of consideration, I realized that I would be unlikely to get a price that would justify buying more, nor would it likely justify the extra labour that would be needed.

So here is the first one, just before stitching together.  I will be adding a red lining, and finishing with the top edge bound.  I assure you that they are the same size, and the difference probably due to foreshortening in the photo.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network

Still researching

I'm continuing to read articles etc about the use of sketch books as an aid in the design process.  I've found several "tricks" to help in the process, and I'm considering trying a couple of them. As a personal incentive toward this I have some new sketch books.  Symbolic of turning a new leaf?  Not that I do anything on a small scale, I have 5 of them.  Three are smaller books--handy to carry around with me when I'm out of the house.  Two have been around for awhile, but had been forgotten in a drawer.  These two are meant for mixed media, and have a heavier than usual page weight, to better support wet media.  The three smaller ones are new for me, and are beautiful.  They, too, have a heavier than usual page weight, were manufactured in France, and even have an attached ribbon book mark.  Very special books indeed.  Now, to get past making a mark on that first page.  someone once suggested forgetting about that first page and making the first marks on the second page.

I anticipate having a lot of time over the next few weeks to make marks in all of them.

The navel gazing saga continues

My navel must be the most watched navel in the world.  Today I spent several hours as a docent in the gallery in Selkirk.  there was a a sort of festival going on, and there were far more docents than usual, but, for some reason, the crowds didn't turn up.  This gave us the opportunity to talk, and as artists always seem to do, we exchanged info on our lack of confidence in our art.  We discussed our process, and also our response to the effect our aging has had on each of us, relative to our artistic process.  All of us appear to be going through the same worry about that process.  None of us expressed absolute confidence in our process.   This means a lot to me--just knowing that this lack of confidence is normal. 

So, where do I go from here?  There is now a queue of pieces waiting for finishing--at least four in active process and one in the planning stages.  Do I work hard on getting those done, or do I continue to explore  alternative methods of working, such as using my sketch books as an aid to the design process, as well as using them as a detailed project record?  Probably a combination of both, but I will have to be very aware of my tendency to bury myself in the work, and ignore the process.

A better solution?

I shared my distress with "Black Ice" with a friend, whose judgement I trust.  She decided that she didn't trust a screen view of a photo to accurately display the value contrast and colour of the piece, and dropped in this afternoon to see the real thing.  She wasn't as disappointed as I was with it, and thought it still had value and was worth finishing. Just prior to her arriving, I had turned it to landscape format rather than portrait, and found a much more pleasing design.  I had also darkened the colour of the snowflakes a bit with black acrylic paint.

It has yet to be trimmed, and will be narrower and a tiny bit shorter than it is now, which may also help consolidate the design a bit.  So it is to be trimmed and bound, in black, and entered into the show it was planned for.  That organization can make a final decision about it.

Not so sure

This is the piece I've been frantically working on for the the past week.  I took a piece of white fabric, and spatter painted it, with black.  Disaster.  So I overdyed it with a very dark grey dye.  Then I created some stamps, and used them to print three snowflakes on it.  It was then FM'd quite densely allover.  This is what I now have, although in this picture the quilting was not quite finished. I'm not very happy, despite the amount of work that went into it.  I working title was "Black Ice", but that certainly doesn't suit anymore.

There is close to 35 hours of work into it, up to this point, so I don't want to declare it part of my "crap quota", just yet.  I wonder if my best bet might be to cut it into three smaller pieces, each large enough to make one snowflake a focal point.

Producing, but not entirely happy with it.

Just doing a bit more "navel gazing", I guess.  Lately I've had the opportunity to view a couple of fibre art shows, both in person and on line.  My work seems  little "blah", in comparison, or is this, maybe, just my normal lack of self confidence?  I have two pieces on the go.  They are quite similar, but also different enough to be, maybe, a series.  I've almost finished the FMQ'g on one, and it appears lacking.  My usual  first response to this problem is--add beads.  My worry, this time, is that it won't be enough.  Giving it further thought, the issue may be that the result didn't meet my original vision, but, at the same time, maybe it has developed a "vision" of its own.  If that's the case, then perhaps, I should be spending a little more time in the planning process, and rely less on serendipity.

Many of the on line resources push the idea of sketch books.   I use a sketch book, but mainly to record my ideas, with some notes about size, materials etc, not for the development of ideas.  I also try to keep a record of the various techniques I try out, and the results.  I'm not very good at being consistent with that.  None the less, I have made a vow to explore the use of sketch books, as a design aid.

Another issue is that I'm so comfortable with such a range of techniques, that I've never really developed a recognizable "voice".  I'm not sure I care too much about that, as I'm usually more challenged with the availability of multiple techniques, but this doesn't allow me to revert to "tried and true" when I get into trouble.  That being said, I've been told, but only by a few, that they recognize my work by the elegance and simplicity of design.  I'm not sure whether this is a compliment or not.

Right now, while physically working on my two pieces mentioned above, My brain is searching for the kernel of an idea in response to the latest call for entries from FAN.  Small ( 7 by 10) pieces using the specific design components of lines and circles.  At least the design process of something that small will fit in my sketch book.

Slow progress

I've not been feeling well the last two or three days.  When I was working I only rarely took sick days.  Those who worked with me said that I was never sick, but sometimes "dragged butt" for a few days.  I think that describes how things have been since the weekend.  Slowly but surely, I have finished the cushions I spoke of in the last post.  It's been a few years since I did anything like that, and my arthritic hands objected to the process quite strenuously.  I have learned to never do anything like that again.  So this means yet another physical skill that has been lost to the aging process.

This also means that I have no further commitments, and can do whatever I want, studio-wise.  As part of pacing the difficult work, I made a set of ATC's for this month's trade.  The theme was "Windows", so I pulled some pictures of stained glass windows off the internet, and made a collage of them.  I'm pleased with how they turned out.

Actually, I do have a commitment.  A class proposal I made to the LQG has been accepted, for next April.  Now we just have to wait and see if anyone signs up.  I have a sample to take to help promote the class, and have the entire class planned out in my mind.  All that needs doing is getting everything down on paper.  

This brings to mind the old saying that " those who can, do, and those who can't, teach".  There are a lot of things I can no longer do, but I can teach.

A frenzy of activity

But all's quiet now.  I have 22 cards for the craft sale in early Dec.  As well, I'm planning to take all of the stock I have left over from craft sales over the years, and mark it all down, in hopes of getting rid of it.  I'm firmly committed to my goal of not ever doing craft sales again, and this will help with my resolve.  Not sure what might happen if I end up bringing stuff home, though.  I'd rather garbage it than send it to the thrift store.

This means that I now have to get to work on the cushions I have promised to make for a friend.  She had quite firm ideas on how they were to be finished, including supplying the fabric she wished to be used.  She is a high profile needlework designer, and instructor, and these cushions are to be used in promotional activities for her newest designs.  So I know enough to do what I'm told.  I have now cut everything, and further prepared for every step of the process, and should have them finished in a couple of days.

I have recently entered two distinct art exhibits, committing to three pieces.  One of the three is finished, but the other two are just germinating in my mind, at this point.  The theme of this exhibit is "Ice".  I've done a lot of snow and ice inspired pieces over the years, and find the designs of those pieces keep interfering with my thinking.  There is no reason not to take some inspiration from those pieces, but I like to think that my designing abilities have matured a bit.  So I'll keep plugging along for awhile.  One design that immediately sprung to mind on hearing the theme was to take a picture of a well filled glass of B&B brandy, on the rocks, with the bottle beside it, print it on cloth, and add thread painting.  I could title it " My Favourite Kind of Ice".  Still haven't totally rejected that one, Just have to work out the technical details.  Maybe my design sense hasn't matured much as I think.

Another opportunity

When I was wallowing in my frustration at not being able to machine quilt, an opportunity presented itself, in a reminder that the gift shop in Selkirk, was looking for Seasonal items.  The last three days have been spent in producing 15 greeting cards, and three small purses, all using items from my stash.  The only thing I had to buy was a glue stick, when the one from the stash emptied itself.  I used previously painted papers with abstract images using alcohol inks.  I found quite a pile of greeting cards blanks c/w matching envelopes, that had been given to me.  Unfortunately one card suffered from glue in the wrong spot, and wasn't good enough to offer for sale.  But that doesn't mean I can't use it for myself.  And I knew where to find a big plastic tub full of specialty fabrics that worked out quite nicely.  

Now, I figure that, if I can buy more card blanks, I could make a few greeting cards to take to the craft sale I'm committed to in early December, so I would have a few new items.

Emotional ups and downs

Bit of an emotion roller coaster ride the last couple of days.  Excited about getting my machine back, and pleased at getting exactly enough green fabric to bind my leaf piece.  One of the joys at getting the machine back was that it would allow me to work on FMQ'g quilting the hand embroidered antique table cloth that I found at the thrift store.  This is to be a practice piece, prior to working on a very lovely  antique linen, hand embroidered (beautiful combination of cut work and pulled thread work) tablecloth that was given to me by a very special relative, as a wedding gift over 50 years ago. This tablecloth was the reason behind me taking Cindy Needham's Craftsy class not once but twice.  I was also looking for a simple crafty activity that I could demonstrate and display at an upcoming craft show.  Well, I've been working on the practice piece, and have found that it is just too heavy for me to manipulate through the machine.  There are all sorts of ways that a problem like this can be worked with.  I've used most of them, at some point or another, over the years. 

This is a personal physical issue.  I hurt my shoulder in a nasty fall, last June.  It is still causing me a lot of pain, especially with any sort of movement against resistance.  My doctor is not optimistic, as this shoulder was previously broken, again in a fall, and is quite arthritic. ( Don't carry heavy shoulder bags, over long periods.  Just sayin")  So again I'm facing the down side of the aging process.  Another lost function/skill. 

Now, how do I turn this into an opportunity?  I'm not yet sure.  I have to think about it.  I spent yesterday wallowing my frustration, which is just a form of going through the grieving process, but today I have to get on with life.

Thanks for listening.

There are some days when everything goes wrong

The most recent dye bath is an example.  I don't know what went wrong.  My suspicion that the tablecloth fabric was a poor choice.  It was much softer and far more used/worn than the almost pristine napkins.  I used the same dyes, and in just about the same concentration.  The results were nothing like I had expected.

This piece has some promise.  I quite like the colour it turned out, but there is no way I would call this either "Grass Green" or "Spring Green", what I had hoped for.  I'm going to keep it, and, already I have the vision of a project, developing in my mind.

This is somewhat similar, but the edges of the colours much sharper.  ( I think the picture is a little out of focus) I'm not as excited about this one.

There had been a bit of navy and purple in the original dye bath, so I added a little to this one.  At least, I thought I had added a little. Guess I screwed up there.

There was no way any of the above could be used with the beaded leaves.  I only had one of the original napkins left and a small scrap, about 12" square.  I tried again.  The last of the original fabric and the last of my ice.  I didn't put any navy or purple in the dyes.  Success!  I think I might have just enough to add the narrow border to the piece.  The first is the napkin, and, if necessary, I can get a little extra out of the scrap.

Arg-g-g-h!

I had thought that this leaf piece could be bound in the same white cotton as I have between the lines, but looking it against the white  of the flannel on the design wall ( well, it was white a few years ago), I think the binding needs to make a bolder statement.  I'm not a fan of high contrast binding, but this just might be a place for it.  As well, I think that it needs to be just about the same colour as the predominant green in the leaves.  So, for the 4th time, I have a parfait dye bath set up, and I'm dyeing more cotton damask.  I don't have a lot of control over what the result will be, so here's hoping.

The cotton damask  I've used came originally from a two sets of napkins that I acquired, but they're gone. So I'm now into the table cloth.  That was bought a the local thrift store, and it looks like I'll have to go back there, if I ever want to dye the fabric again.  I love the way the weave of the fabric seems to glow, after dyeing.

For those who have wondered....

I had several responses to my query about the best layout for the leaves on the piece I'm currently making. The suggestions were about evenly distributed, among a few friends who e-mailed me privately, and those who commented on the blog.  One person, who knows my work well, said that she had trouble choosing, knowing that I would be adding other embellishment. Well, gosh, hadn't planned on that, but now that you mention it......   Giving the suggestion some thought, I realized that in all of the options, the leaves needed to be grounded, in some way.  I prepared a wrapped cord, using #8 perle cotton in the four colours that were used in the dyeing process,  and added them in simple straight lines.  The leaves were then sewn on, but the binding not yet done.  I'm happy.  There are also extra leaves that will be saved for another project.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network,  and Nina-Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Friday.

A "good Thing"

I called the shop to find out they might expect the parts to come in to fix the stop/start button on my big machine.  It has to come from Japan, and is expected around the end of November.  But, there would be no danger if I brought the machine home in the mean time, and used it.  Just imagine how quickly I got in the car and drove across the city to pick it up.

One of those weeks.....

Yep, that's right.  My large machine has been in for servicing, and I had hoped to get it back this week, as I was enrolled in a workshop yesterday.  Didn't get it back.  We're "waiting for parts".  This meant taking the old machine,  the one I keep for piecing, as it's more accurate than the newer one.  I spent a lot of hours FMQ'g on this older machine, with its small harp, before buying the newer on with the 11" one.  So I was optimistic, and prepared my supplies,  winding a couple of bobbins with Superior Bottomline.  I could only find the colour I need for the top in Bottomline, as well, so that went along.  The most critical part of the workshop involved FMQ'g, on a piece  that would have both sides showing, when finished.  Well, the darn machine didn't like Bottomline, and I was faced with constant thread breakage, and snarls.  I tried every strategy I knew, but that didn't help.  There was even a former machine salesperson, another student, who helped a bit, finally lending me a spool of Wonderfil that I used in the bobbin, with some decent results---for awhile.  I did manage to get enough FMQ'g done to continue on the workshop project, despite the upper tension started going out more and more often, finally proving un-fixable.  So now I have another machine to go in for servicing, once the newer one come home again.

But that doesn't help with the line of projects, each one with a looming deadline, that are scattered all over the studio.  While driving out into the country today, to take  down a show in a town about 1 1/2 hour away, I remembered giving my daughter a small, inexpensive machine, for Chritsmas, a few years ago.  I gave her a call, and then dropped in to pick it up on my way home.  Not as easy as it sounds, as she also lives in the country, but in the opposite direction.

So the evening was spent using every trick I know to figure out how to get a machine to do FMQ'g, when that machine was never intended to do it.  I ended up with quite the jury-rigged system, but one that will let me do the basics, although I would never attempt to do any exhibition  work on it.  I'll have to see how much progress I make on the deadlines, given the limitations of what I have.  But it will keep me from giving up the game in frustration, at least until the "big" machine comes home.

Decision time

Some time ago I posted about having cut many strips from a hand dyed piece of cotton damask, and my difficulty envisioning the next step. My progress has been mainly trial and error, and slow.

First, I pieced the strips together, adding a tiny bit of white between them.  Looked okay.

Then I dyed more cotton Damask with the same colour dyes, but in a more concentrated solution.  This was then sandwiched, and machine quilted within an inch of its life.  Leaf shapes were cut out, and hand beaded around the edges.

I'm now at the stage of figuring out how to use those shapes.  I've come up with three options, from fairly regimented to more "free fall".  Not sure which way to go.  Any opinions?

Option #1

Option #2

Option #3

Any help would be appreciated.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network, and Nina-Marie Syre's, Off the Wall Friday".

Surprise find

Doing a little more purging, I looked in a drawer, that I haven't opened in years.  I was surprised to find that it was full of tassels, mainly hand-made, but with a couple of luscious purchased ones as well.  I remembered taking a workshop in making them, taught by a girlhood friend, who is now deceased.  I also remembered the work that went into them.  Some were not quite finished, and some of them were not very well designed, but these five sure brought back memories.  The red and ecru ones are made with Rya rug yarn--a really gorgeous thing to work with, and no longer available around here.  The pine cone is velvet yarn  I have no idea where I found that!

Tonight  my Small fibre art group meets, and I plan to take them for "show'n'tell", and hopefully, get some ideas about using them, in an art piece.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network.

keeping busy

My big sewing machine is in for servicing, and I'm wanting to keep busy until it comes home.

Having taken Cindy Needham's  Craftsy course on reclaiming old linens not once but twice, I figured I better get to it.  I bought a hand embroidered tablecloth at the thrift store, for $1.00, to use for practice and experimentation.  It's proven to be a challenge, as the embroidered bits are not evenly distributed around the tablecloth, so the whole thing had to be completely laid out--no short cuts.  It's taken a week, but the whole cloth is now marked, ready for machine quilting.

First I pieced together tracing paper a little larger than the full tablecloth.  Then I centered the cloth itself under it, and traced exactly around each and every hand sewn motif.  Then I marked an echo around that tracing, so as to make sure that there was enough space left for that portion of the quilting..  There was not enough hand embroidery to make any sort of blatant statement, so I drafted some special motifs to accent the smaller portions of the design, and then repeated them in four spots around the outer rim of the piece.  Taking the tracing paper off the tablecloth, I next drew three concentric circles at intervals from the center of the paper to the edge of the overall design.  Given the sparse-ness  of the embroidered bits, I felt the overall design would need something like that to anchor it.  Then I filled in the rest of the empty space with various feather design and marked a grid between two of the concentric circles for a change of pace from the feathers.

Putting the tracing paper and the actual cloth together was a bit of a challenge as well. I lay the cloth wrong side up on my work table and covered it with the tracing paper, carefully matching the embroidered bits with the appropriate spot on the tracing.  Then, I made simple tailor tacks in critical spots to hold them together.

Next was preparing a light box.  With the empty machine table, I placed two aquarium bulbs, that my clever husband had connected to one plug in cord, in the space where the machine usually sits.  The I placed large piece of glass on top of the table to work on.  The ironing board is placed behind the table to support the weight of the tablecloth, as I worked on it.

The actual tracing took me three days.  The "sandwich" kept slipping around,so I ended up having too use a couple of heavy weights to hold it in place as I worked.

The cloth itself is now hanging on my design wall, waiting for the machine to return from its travels.  Here is a close up of the traced design, and a few of the embroidered motifs.

I plan to link this with Nina Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Friday, and The Needle and Thread Network.

Frustration

I'me very busy trying to draft a pattern for quilting a hand  embroidered tablecloth I bought at the thrift store for $1.00.  This is meant to be a practice piece, as I have a beautifully hand embroidered, fine linen tablecloth that I received as a wedding gift many, many years ago, that I would like to preserve in some way.  So far, I've found that the embroidered motifs, with the thrift store piece, are not well spaced to over the surface, making any sort of cohesive design difficult.  I had anticipated running into issues with this project, which explains the need for a practice piece.  I've also found that the fabric used in these pieces can make of break them. I had thought this might have been a coarse linen, but it behaves more like real cheap cotton, shifting and moving while I'm trying to work with it.  I had never considered stabilizing it, and probably wouldn't have, had I thought of it.  I'm now at the marking phase of the project, and have discovered that I'm still having to compensate, as I go along.  This wasn't entirely unexpected, and the design overall, took this into consideration. I just hadn't anticipated the degree to which it would become an issue.

I shall persevere.

Finally, some time to myself

The last month or so has been frantically busy, between organizing and hanging gallery shows, and a wonderful family reunion, mainly at my house.  Today, I delivered and set up an exhibit at the Gaynor Family Library in Selkirk.  I had no idea what to expect, and hadn't realized that the whole configuration/set up of the library had changed, since my one visit to it, two years ago.  What had been described to me as a display case, turned out to be a wall alcove, only to be viewed from one side.  I had checked out the display cases at our local library, wondering if the ones in Selkirk  would be the same thing. Big surprise!  However, the lady from the library was most helpful, in making suggestions, and even supplying equipment.  I managed to get 5 different reliquaries and boxes into the available space, and am very pleased with the appearance of the finished project.  This is the last current commitment I have to deal with.  Big sigh of relief!  I will have to dismantle the show in Pinawa, at some point in the future, and the new display will have to be brought home "sometime in January".  So I have almost three month of "free time" in which to do whatever I please.  The craft show in early December is coming together fairly well, and at this point, but I feel no urgency about it.

What a wonderful feeling, and what a load off my shoulders!

Decision time

With a major purging session behind me, and the end of any possible machine sewing on the piece I've been working on for the last while, I don't know what to do with myself.  The hand sewing needed for that piece is getting done in short sessions, as I'm finding it difficult in terms of my arthritis.  So I need some machine work I can do, as a change of pace.  There are about 8 charity quilts cut, ready to go.  These are usually done quickly, one right after the other, as I find they sabotage my creative thinking.  Six were turned in this month.  There is no need to rush the remaining pile.  Being committed to a craft sale in December, I have a fair bit of preparation work to get done in the next two months.  But, based on historical data, this sale is likely to be a wonderful social day, without any serious sale opportunities.  Somehow it doesn't seem to have a high priority.  There are notes for two art pieces in my sketch book.  One of these leads into the other, so will have to be done first, except, I need to create the patterns, not my favourite task.  The deadline is late summer, next year. My brain doesn't know which task to choose as a priority.  A wealth of possibilities, which is sometimes a two edged sword.  So I go back to the old directive when faced with a mental block--Just do Something--doesn't matter what--but just start something.  My friends are expecting me to have a booth at the craft sale, and it might be in my best interest to put up a good one, even if the sale expectations are low.  I have a clear idea on how to do that, so I just have to kick myself in the butt and get to it!

At the beginning of September, two friends and I rented space in a smaller gallery for the month, and hung a show.  It was to come down ( end of the time we had paid for) this coming weekend.  I contacted them to arrange a convenient time to go, as it's about 1 1/2 hour away.  To my surprise, they asked if the show could be extended for several weeks.  Fine by me!  What a compliment!

More purging

Today I tackled my "Box of Tricks".  This is a big plastic tub in which I've stored anything I buy or make for mixed media work.  It was full to overflowing.  I also had a couple of smaller plastic project boxes that hadn't been cleaned out since their projects were either finished or scrapped. There was also a boot box of ribbon and a smaller plastic tub of ribbon, as well as two full, ribbon-filled, plastic grocery bags. I ended up with the equivalent of  a one and a half-full green garbage bags for the thrift store, and a half -full bag of garbage.  Doesn't sound like a lot, but it represents 4 1/2 hours of steady work.

Doing the work gave me lots of time to think. I thought about how much money the stuff represented.  It had been purchased over 30-40 years, in mainly smaller purchases, but when added together, the total was frightening.  A lot of the stuff had been leftover from previous projects.  So I both remembered those projects, and mourned the memories.  This was a sad day.  Not only am I grieving over the loss, I'm also being forced to accept that  I will not live long enough to use the stuff.  I don't have that many years left.

So a lot of battling emotions: relief at getting the job done and getting the stuff out of the house, and sadness at the need to do so.

Decision time

Today I was asked to submit a proposal for teaching at an upcoming quilting weekend.  This could be perceived as an honour. They specifically asked for something unusual, as the event has been going on for several years, and most traditional activities have been covered. 

This Guild tends to be very project driven in their workshops, rather than concentrating on the learning of a technique. Doing this would mean thinking up a concept for the class, and then doing all the research, making samples, and writing hand outs.  Then drafting a proposal. As this is only a proposal, the class may not run, and the work would be for nothing.  Even if the class is offered, poor enrollment would mean that the class would not run, and I would be stuck with the expense of any kits prepared.  Nor would I be compensated for my time. I believe that the actual payment for teaching would be about $200, plus the actual cost for any kits provided. (Traditional quilt guilds are notoriously cheap.)

 I have pretty well stopped teaching, after doing it for almost 40 years, and accept that I'm at the end of my teaching career. I think I've decided that I don't want to do it.  

Different activity this week

We've had family visiting from Ontario.  My sister from Sundridge has been here, and the whole family from both Winnipeg and Neepawa have been getting together to visit and eat.  At out age, one never knows whether a visit may be the last, so we really make a big deal of it.  But the two of us have also spent a little time in the studio,  Since I can always talk ad stitch, a few more of the leaves have been beaded, and even a few of those pesky strips sewn onto the background, for the current piece I'm making.

I'm more than half way in terms of sewing the strips to the background, and well pleased with the result.

A few of the leaves to be appliqued to the finished strips have been beaded and lots more to do.

And here is part of the family, too busy eating to even look at the camera and say "cheese"

I plan to link this to The Needle and Thread Network.

Update on my leaves

Still working frantically on my Damask leaves, although I have no idea what the panic might be.  The fabric paper leaves just didn't work out. I fused an inner leaf on, and then beaded around it. I then did the same thing with the second leaf for the back.  But joining the two sections proved a problem.  With glue in the center the two pieces were joined but there were still gaps along the edges.   I sewed around the edge, and this just didn't turn out well. I had been slowly developing reservations about using them. and finally decided that they wouldn't do.  But, they might prove quite fine for a future mixed media project, so are off to the big plastic container of "stuff" that I reserve for that sort of work.

But I already knew that I needed more leaves, and had parfait dyed three more napkins. Thankfully, they had turned out well, and were the darker colours I had hoped for.  It was still the same dye powder, but used in much greater concentration.

I stabilized all of them, and cut two rectangles out of them, each roughly the same size.  Each pair, from the same napkin, were sandwiched with batting, and machine quilted--horizontally, vertically and on an angle, in lines 1/4" apart. Leaf shapes were individually cut by hand.  The edges were sealed with acrylic paint, and then I started beading them.

I'm well pleased with this, and will continue beading until I have enough to applique onto the striped background. I'm slowly getting that stitched.  That, too, is turning out to be a little more demanding than I had anticipated.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network

A new idea and new energy

Awhile back I mentioned parfait dying Damask napkins and then cutting them in strips, but then not knowing what to do with them.  The other day it came to me that I've always been attracted to leaves. What if--I covered the sewn together strips with a swath of dimensional leaves?  How to make those leaves? Pintrest gave me a couple of ideas, and I've used so many techniques over the years, what if I took a look at some of the older techniques?  One I remembered was quilted leaves cut out and edge stitched with beads.  I knew that I had seen it done by Linda Kemshell, but couldn't remember where, so hit the reference books, without success.  Then found the demo on Quilting arts tv number 201. 

The dyed strips really have a problem with value.  Here they are on my portable flannel wall, ready to be sewn together. Yeah, there's a value issue there, but it will make a good background for leaves of a darker value.

First thing I did was try, for the third time, to dye a couple of napkins with the same colours, but much more intensely coloured.  Not wanting to change too much, I elected to use parfait dying again.

The other thing I decided to try was fabric paper.  I quickly realized that I would probably have to back the leaf with the same thing, as I wanted them to be dimensional.  For that I would need a consistent shape and that meant I would need a template.  Good thing I'm as old as I am, and learned my craft before rotary cutters.  I just happened to have a bit of template plastic on hand.  The price puts it out of my range these days.  The red paint on the scissors designates them as paper scissors. The colour on the fabric paper is much darker than it appears here.  I cut out 12 leaves, which when sewn together, will make 6 leaves.  

When I looked at them, they looked a little "blah-h-h".  This meant that there had to be either paint or fabric added to lift up the "zowie" factor.  More paint would make all the layers difficult to sew through, so I went to my stash of fabric scraps that already had fusible web on one side.

Does anyone else save those scraps?  I have two gallon sized Zip Loc bags stuffed with them, and they have never let me down when I wanted that perfect little piece, for what ever.  I do store them in sealed bags, as I think that extends the life of the fusible web.  Here's the pile after I've gone through it, and then sealed up ready to go back into the storage shelves.

And that was yesterday.  Today I'll deal with the parfait dye bath, and figure out what's going to happen with that.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network, and maybe, Nina-Marie Sayre's  Off the Wall Friday.

Still Finding my way

With the physical limits I'm trying to deal with, I'm struggling to keep  myself busy in the studio.  This is probably a measure of the strength of my drive to create.  Regular breaks are being built into my time down there.  I am reading a lot-thank Goodness for the public library.  Evenings are being spent playing poker on the internet for play money.  There is also a need for more small pouches to be sold at a local gift shop.  Trying to find some inspiration and/or technique that I can manage has sent me back to the DVD's of the early Quilting Arts tv.  Today I was watching video the 200 series, and that lead to time spent painting fabric.

The small pouches I'm slowly working on have lead to some family discussions and some soul searching on my part.  These are selling fairly well, and the production uses a lot of left over fabric and scraps. The money is negligible.  I'm certainly not getting paid for the time, and unless scraps and leftovers are used, the cost of supplies isn't even covered.  But then, I never had the expectation of profit.  At the same time, living on a fixed pension income, means every cent spent of art supplies, has to be carefully considered. 

Still, the social contacts that are involved are welcome.  Aging without socialization quickly leads to isolation  which can, itself, lead to mental deterioration.  Not going there!

I participated in craft shows and sales for many years, until I was persuaded to look at my work as "art".  The final straw came when my booth, at a major show, was situated next to one selling obscene rubber stamps.  Since than I have limited myself to art shows and exhibits, and activities associated with that, such as a gallery gift shop.

A second positive result of selling both art and craft is the validation one receives for one's work.  Early in my life this was important to me.  With both a family and a job, how else could I justify the time spent creating?  No longer important. I'm comfortable with my abilities.

As young wife and mother, the social aspects of special interest groups may have kept me sane.  That my sound strange, but IMHO, it's a reality.  Now as an older person, with limited social opportunities, it remains a reality.

Got it!

A friend took a picture of the piece "Red Redemption", that was so well received in Pinawa yesterday, and sent it to me.

This is the piece that was originally painted, and then over-dyed with black Procion MX dye.  The one I thought was "jaw dropping" after it came out of the dye bath. This is a good picture, and shows the subtle colour effect under the dye.  It was only after the beading was finished that I picked up on the effect of the red colour, especially in the beads, that lead to the title.

A little good, a little bad

The over-dyed piece I mentioned in my last blog, was finished in time to hang with the show I mounted today in Pinawa.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and didn't get a picture.  The reaction from all of those in the gallery ( which was open at the time) was positive, and I think it may have been sold before I even left the building.  I knew it was going to be well received, but had underestimated the positive response it got.  That's not to say that  the rest of my pieces weren't well received.  I think it's going to be a good show.  Two of my friends are also exhibiting at the same time, but only one was hanging today.  From what I saw of her art photography,  she will be well represented as well.

The other piece I spoke of, inspired by the work of Beryl Taylor, did not go well, and I've put it away for now.  It seemed to want to go in a direction I didn't care for.  I know one should always listen to what pieces have to say for themselves while they're being created, but I felt that it was  a road I had traveled before, and had never been happy with.  Too formulaic, and not "my" art. 

Other bad news is that my physical problems are worsening, rather than getting better.  The pain is as bad, if not worse, than before, and my upper limb strength increasingly poor.  I have a feeling that I'm may have to stop all studio work for a period, certainly cutting fabric, by any whatever means.  I have time-limited requests for production of some of my "bread and butter" items,  but may have to let them go.  Won't do my reputation much good.  The thought of having more free time, scares me, as I have no idea how I might fill it.  I might even be forced to do some housework, and that would never make me a "happy camper".

I'm excited.

Last time I posted about the physical problems that have impacted my ability to work with fibre.  Slowly, over the paste couple of weeks, I've been looking for other activities that would allow me to continue to work with textiles, but within the limits of my current abilities.  I can machine stitch in small doses, so nothing will be finished quickly.

I now have three different projects in the works, and I'm excited.  The first is the multiple 1 1/2" strips of stabilized dyed cotton Damask that I spoke of in my last post.  Yes, I'm going to pursue stitching them together, with narrow solid colour strips, in between.  Then I may applique small geometric shapes over the whole thing, or, more likely, in a swath.  

Last week, my fibre art support group, The Fibre Art Divas, met and had a bit of "Show"n"Tell".  One lady showed apiece where she had marbled over previously dyed fabric.  I had several painted pieces that had been disappointments, so over-dyed those.  Two were disappointing, but two were jaw dropping.  I'm in the process of slowly machine quilting one of them, within the limits of my shoulder pain.  This will then be embellished and beaded.

Thirdly, on Pintrest, I noticed several pins of work that brought to mind the collage work of Beryl Taylor.  I bought her book "Mixed Media Explorations" several years ago, and had loved what I saw, but hadn't pursued it at the time.  Now I have the time, and have started to work my way through it.

I want to stay within the limits of my stash, rather than buy more "stuff". So I  have started with cutting motifs out of embossed wallpaper, and painting it, before working it into very small motifs that will later be applied to a background.  I made a firm decision to follow my own path in terms of colour, and will be working within a double complement scheme of red/green and blue/orange.  This was dictated by a group of Shibori dyed fabrics that I have.

I plan to link with The Needle and Thread Network, and Nina Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Fridays.

Re-thinking the whole fibre art gig

Sunday, while cutting endless 1 1/2" strips with my rotary cutter, my body objected, and went on a "sit down" strike.  Since then, I've been dealing with regular pain, and the knowledge that routine cutting, for the purpose of preparing fabric for charity quilts is off the table for me, even as a stash reduction strategy.  I have to accept increasing limitations of physical abilities, and not waste what is left on anything that doesn't further my fibre art work. I have a fair stock pile of pre-cut pieces for future charity quilts, and once that's gone--too bad.  

At the same time as my cutting came to an abrupt end, I realized that machine quilting, was also part of the problem.  I expect that I will be able to resume this, in limited, and carefully planned stages, but not for a awhile.  I am so-o-o glad that I'm prepared for hanging 3- yes three- exhibits on the first weekend in September.  What's more they are three different communities in the province, all of them needing trips out of town. My injured shoulder doesn't like driving either.

This all started, last spring, when I made a decision to accept any opportunity that came up.  Be careful what you wish for.  LOL  Now I need a new plan.  I have no idea what that may look like.

As well as cutting for charity quilts, I was working with something--not a vision but a vague idea.  This involved dyeing 8 20" Damask napkins, then cutting them into 1 1/2" strips and organizing them from darkest to lightest.  Didn't work and will never be seen again. 

So, I took some of the strips and organized them with narrow gaps of white in between.  Hmmmm?  Maybe something here, but probably not.  We'll see.  

Whatever happens, I have a whole bunch of lightly stabilized Damask strips, that are probably headed for the circular file. All I will have really lost is my time--and I have more of that.