Forced March

It's a miracle that I didn't gain any weight during my two weeks plus away from home and to ensure I don't, my husband conspired with the dogs to lure me on a walk to the swamp near our house. What he neglected to tell me is that it's 90 degrees with MUCH humidity and the swamp part of the walk was only during the first of a five-mostly-boring-mile circuit. I need a nap! No finishing that UFO in my plans for this afternoon.

Another UFO!

I swore I would never take another workshop that yielded UFOs and here is another one! This needs to be quilted and the edges, now held back with straight pins, hemmed down in the back.

I stopped at the Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, PA, on the way home from Morristown, NY, and saw so many gorgeous quilts my head is still fuzzy. The best part was that I now know some of the Famous Quilters over whose works I drooled. Mop, please!

Finished

I dumped the original busy project and replaced it with this one. I may return to it tomorrow if time permits. In the meantime, I have a finished product for show and tell tomorrow afternoon.

This quilt (about 20" square) started out with my favorite painted canvas (textile paint texturized with a tiling tool). I cut it into several pieces and rearranged them to create an acceptable composition. Another canvas that had been painted with blue acrylic and stenciled with metallic copper acrylic provided the blue elements, and the red is a Moda marble.

I stitched in the ditch around all the geometric shapes with monofilament, quilted the bamboo stenciling with gold metallic thread, and quilted around the abstract globs with variegated thread. I also stitched straight lines along some of the stripes. The edging was finished with satin stitching in two colors of variegated thread.

I'm pleased with the overall effect. Cyndi is going to be proud of me because it has a focal point. Teddi is not going to see arrows that point to nowhere since I was so very careful to create a flowing composition. Elizabeth likes it, too, and said so. Yippee!

What I would do differently next time: use facings for the edges instead of satin stitch, and plan my quilting. I lied. I won't plan my quilting. I have no idea how to plan my quilting which is why my quilting is always the weakest element of my projects. Maybe next year I should take a class on how to develop quilting patterns that enhance projects.

In the meantime, I like the composition and the colors of this project. I'll try another one at home and may be able to enter it in Hampton in January. (Workshop projects are not allowed in many juried shows.)

Slice and Dice

Painting is finished and the stash is ready to chop into useable shapes. So far I've been working with the typical straight edges, but I plan to try something different tomorrow. One of the teachers has shown her class a technique for inserting strips (not unlike the flange I've used before) and one of my classmates has inserted a semi-circular flap into one of her seams. I like both ideas and intend to steal them. Teddi says I need to add another small square since I have only two. My thought on the squares is that the uppermost one on the right is too small and if it's the right size, I'll need only one.

As is usual for me, the first attempt at this project is over-designed--WAY too much "stuff" to look at as it is. I may have to work on two pieces at the same time to use some of these ideas. But I know how I work: my first attempt is always busy and complicated and then pared down. Tomorrow is Pare-Down Day.

Day One--Splash and Splatter

Ms. Elizabeth Busch teaches Creating Small Works this week at QBL. Today she taught us to use acrylics and textile paints to alter the formerly unadorned canvas that we'll make into a quilt starting on Wednesday. Besides being an outstanding artist, this lady is a great teacher and fun to be around. Please look her up at her website.

So many of the class objected to my having a camera that I am not permitted to take photos of them and their works. However, I have no objection to your seeing and maybe even "stealing" my ideas. Help yourself!

QBL

Teddi and I arrived here at Morrisville State (a SUNY campus) after a 7 hour drive yesterday. Check-in took me back to my freshman college days in--gulp--1967. The dining hall food is pretty much the same (starch and mystery meat), so I'll be hanging out at the salad bar.

After dealing with our priorities (checking-in to the show, shopping at the vendor mall, viewing the quilt exhibit, shopping at the vendor mall, unpacking, and finding the dining hall) we found our classrooms to drop off our machines and supplies. My room is a gym! With a huge blue tarp covering the floor! And buckets! And I have a roller-bag full of paint and canvas!!! Oh, this will be Heaven on Earth! I'll get back to you.

Standards of Learning--off topic

Every year we teachers turn ourselves inside out preparing students for their SOL tests. We work hard and hope the public takes us seriously. Try as we might, people are just not getting the message. Here's some evidence of local math at a gas station somewhere along I-81 in southern VA. In math students learn to look for a bargain. In English they learn to read the small print. Where do they learn about signage?