What to do, what to do.......

Still obsessing over what to do with the 4 1/2 WOF pieces of fabric that were used in my attempt at Eco-printing.  It's been suggested that I over dye the fabric.  I admit that I had thought of that and rejected the idea, as the colour that I now have, although spotty is luscious--IMHO.  Probably not in any one else's opinion, but then I'm the artist so my opinion is paramount.  ( snort)  Well, I've been wrong before.  The best compromise I can come up with might be to dye one or two of the pieces, just to see what happens, but save the rest for using in some sort of collage with the decent print that I have.  This may be coming more from an inability to figure out how to use the decent print than from any real design concepts.  But that is an issue for tomorrow.  The excellent home made wine, I've been drinking this evening, tells me that maybe my best thought, right now, is to go to bed.

Been awhile

But I'm just coming off eight days of computer problems with no internet access.  OMG!  How do we let ourselves get so reliant on these devices?

I'm still valiantly plodding along putting together pieces, for one single large piece to be quilted, using what I've learned in my self study  of improv piecing, over the summer.  But with fall fast approaching I felt that I needed to get a bit of Eco-printing done for an exhibition piece I plan to make over the winter in preparation for a gallery show next May.  My results were not good.  I had tried this technique twice before and got a few good prints using heavy water colour paper.  This time I used Prepared for Dying ( PFD) fabric, as instructed on the internet.  The first time I did three bundles, but tied them a little too tightly.  I checked one after boiling them the  proscribed two hours and it was very, very pale, so I left the other two bundles in for another three hours. These two were very dark, but with no recognizable leaf prints.  

So today, I did two more bundles, in a new bath.  One was slightly more loosely tied, and the other a lot more loosely tied.  The results weren't good with those either.  Out of the five bundles, I got one good usable print.  But the coloured fabric that came from the other bundles, may still be usable in creating a finished piece.  Here is the print I got and really like.

I guess I must have done something right, at some point.

back a step

Because I was determined to use what Maria Shell calls "tracks", in my new piece.  I thought it would be wise to make a trial according to  her directions, before starting out on sections of my planned piece.  So I cut what sounded like fairly large pieces of fabric and did the required stitching, and ended up with this.  I have yet to add long yellow strips along each edge, but this is huge!

This picture puts it in scale with my full design was with the ironing board in front for scale.  There is no way I could ever cope with a piece large enough to include this section.

So, now I need to step back and calculate, and then run a trial of the size of piece I think I will need.  I'll probably need to buy more fabric as well.

Ready to move on

I've spent a lot of time preparing samples and manipulating colour.  Now it's time to actually attempt to make a piece out of all of this.  Here are the colours I've selected for my piece.  I've used ruby glasses to check out value, and think there is enough to work with.  Looking at the picture I wonder what happened while I spent 4 hours cutting.  The light blue appears to have been rejected.  Or maybe the colour is just wrong in the picture and it's the teal that I did end up working with.

Next is a grid I made with two of the colours.  What appears black is a dark grey.  It appears more like itself in the picture above.

After putting the grid together, I cut as much of my planned cutting as I could before my wrist gave out.  Probably won't get to stitching that until, at least, Wednesday, and likely won't finish the stitching until the end of next month.

Thoughts on what I'm doing this summer

I've taken an internet workshop on modern quilts and improvisational piecing, with Elizabeth Barton, and now I'm working my way through Maria Shell's book on improvisational piecing.  Elizabeth emphasized the design process, to a certain extent, encouraging us to have, a least, a rough draft of our design before starting the cutting.  I ended up with several tops, ready to sandwich and quilt. Maria covers the various techniques involved in her style of work, but doesn't really mention design, as much as she covers colour selection.  What I feel I will end up with is a group of finished pieces/samples,  representing all of the techniques covered in the book.  All of these pieces could conceivably be made into a finished top, but not likely, unless colour selection was very well done, before starting any of the activities covered in the book.  Here is a photo of what I accomplished yesterday.  Just samples but when I've made my way through the book, I feel that I will have learned a lot.

So---, I have always been fanatical about precision piecing, whenever I've done any piecing, even to the point of reserving one special machine for piecing only, and doing all other work on a different machine.  The same with my cutting.  Well--not any longer!  I have learned to be comfortable with improvisational cutting--no ruler--when appropriate, and using the ruler when not.  I've also learned how easy it is to actually sew those improvisation-ally cut pieces.  My whole approach has loosened up. 

 I've also started to learn to use those bright clear fabrics. But I've always had difficulty with value, and my problem is no better working with more modern colour schemes, than it was working more traditionally.  There's a long way to go until I'm totally happy with my colour choices.  But I've never hesitated to work with colour theory, and analyze my colour problems.  I know I have difficulty here, and that's not going to go away easily.

So which way is better?  Neither.  Both ways have a place in my work, and the best thing I can take away from  three months study is the ability to know when one method of working might be more appropriate in a certain situation than the other.  I think the answer lurks in knowing what the final use of any project might be.  Certainly if the the work is ever going to be judged, then more traditional methods will be better, but if the work is being done for a feeling of simple joy, then the more modern and improvisational method of working might be a better choice.

But knowing me, I will always strive for the best quality of work within any situation.

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

Still at it

After tea, Dear Husband came to help me.  With his help we tackled the very big tubs of commercial fabric, some of which has been hanging around for 30 or more years.  We took out a huge plastic bag of usable fabric to the the thrift store, along with a green garbage bag of used clothing that had been waiting to go. Two green garbage bags went out to the bin and another one is in progress. Two of the small project boxes were used to re-home fabric, that had previously been in a huge tub.  The contents of several huge tubs were combined into one instead of two tubs, and we now have 8 huge tubs and 6 project boxes empty.  There are two huge tubs that still have to be sorted out.

We still have to take a look at the storeroom, but it's time for supper.  We've been at it since 10:00 this morning, and I expect to tackle more of it this evening.

Another purge

With all of the fabric I've purchased, I need to get rid of some of the crap in the studio.  This job has needed to be done for some time.  To make a point to myself, the first item was to go through some old and very old work, and cut it up for the garbage.  I usually start with that distasteful job as it sets the mood of ruthlessness needed for the job ahead.

After that, I tackled my project containers.  Each planned project is carefully set up in a plastic scrap booking 12 by 12 container.  Every needed or expected to be needed bit of fabric, thread, and embellishment is put in one place.  Sometimes the whole thing is ultimately forgotten.  Today those were dealt with.  What has potential use is kept, but other things go through the traditional "keep, donate or toss" ritual. I now have 8 empty containers.  Embarrassing!

Next will be the hand dyed fabric.  But first, a cup of tea.