Encrusted Crazy Quilts

Still not finished, but more progress made. This has been an interesting process. I'm not likely to do crazy quilt patches for the sole purpose of displaying my embroidery skills. (The little girl who could never stitch a sampler without causing a tangled mess and whose school papers always looked untidy is still alive and well these many years later--my embroidery will improve as I work on it, but will never be a "showcase" skill. Still, it's a positive addition to the toolbox, and the idea of crazy quilting as a method of communicating a message is an appealing one that could use some exploring. If nothing more, the handstitching process is a very meditatitve one, and that alone is sufficient.

Encrusted Crazy Quilts

Some more small progress. Many people in this class have not only finished beautifully done, heavily stitched blocks, but have done multiple blocks. For every stitch I've left behind, I've torn out dozens. I should have followed Sharon's layering instructions--I can see the logic behind them now that I've worked with this block for a while. I used trellis stitch to raise a "wall" around the lime, buttonhole stitch in perle cotton on most of the other citrus shapes. I'm not at all sure where I will go from here, but the journey is fun, and it's been nice to slow down and sink into a project.

Encrusted Crazy Quilts

Continuing with Sharon B's Encrusted Crazy Quilt class, I've been through the "yapping puppy" stage where ideas about a project's direction are coming fast and furiously. The lesson I have to learn over and over is not to become so wedded to one of those pups that the natural development of the project gets stifled right at the beginning. (Note to self: Not a good idea to post pictures for all the world to see during the yapping-puppy stage.)

Anyway, I've traveled a different path, with a nod to Magritte, which came about as I was obsessing about my lack of any thread that was just the right green for the "lime." There's still much be done, but I'm beginning to get a glimmer of an idea about how to proceed. I've always admired crazy quilters (and also quilters/embroiderers who work on crazy quilt blocks!), but I have an increased respect for the men and women who put together these beautiful works of art. Sharon's class--a wealth of information, well presented--is a good introduction, and the number of online resources available, both through www.pintangle.com and other generous people about the web, is amazing.

Encrusted Crazy Quilt Continues

So, here's one seam treatment sketched out. I thought I would continue with the buttonhole stitch wheels, only flip them to create mini-beach umbrellas. You can see that the reality is not as tidy as the sketch, and I'm a little doubtful, but my motto is "when in doubt, plow ahead." I began the word "Summertime" with a huge "S," which may turn out to be a mistake--oops, I mean "an encrusting opportunity." Things are not showing up so well. Here's where I pay for the mistake of not changing my fabric choices early on. I'm hoping that once I put a hot summer sun in the upper left quandrant, some balance will start magically appearing!

Encrusted Crazy Quilt

So, as proof that I'm crazy, I signed up for another of Sharon Boggon's classes (her classes are wonderful, but I never seem to keep up and actually finish--that's the crazy part of it). Still it's another year with the resolution not to procrastinate (let's see, exactly when did I last post here...?) I took this particular class to try to overcome my habit of always stopping short when working on embellished projects. I never do quite enough. I'm hoping that these projects will teach me to loosen up a bit.



Anyway, the block's assembled, one little seam finish is started, some possible embellishment areas are blocked out (with some wonky scanning). Im not thrilled with the block itself, but I've putzed about long enough and decided to just move forward.

So, here's "Ain't Got time for the Summertime Blues" in very rough draft form.

New Year - Making Lists

My 2009 goal of updating the blog regularly is slipping away, so here's the first post of the new year. Today, I'm thinking about lists, because inevitably a new year brings with it the temptation to make lists. From childhood up until I was in my forties, I was an obsessive list-maker. Then, in cleaning out a pile of clutter, I discovered a 5-year-old to-do list, and it was nearly identical to my most recent list. At that point, I quit, and during the subsequent years, the mere thought of making a list--even a simple one--evoked a major adverse psychological response.

I will say here that one of the most useful lists I ever made was "Ten Things That Make Me as Mad as Hell and What I can do About Them." For 2 or 3 things, it turned out there was nothing to be done, so I just turned loose of the Mad-as-Hell part. As for the remainder, I did something about a few of them, and decided that for one or two, the solution was not acceptable and, again, let go of the MAH.

For 2008, I actually made a virtual, relatively unscary list: make a start on growing an edible landscape (information gathered, but no food planted), transform my couch potato self into something new (took up off-road biking and kayaking), travel someplace interesting (Wyoming, and the South Carolina low country).

I'll probably keep those three for 2009 and add "more community service." And--for once--I'd like to actually complete an entire year's worth of Sharon Boggon's challenge.

For those into lifelists: http://www.43things.com/

Happy New Year (just a tad bit late).

pdc

Studio Sketchbooks and Journals - July 30

I've been working in the studio sketchbook, but haven't anything to post at present (translation: I'm really far behind, as usual, but at least this time it's not because I've been unproductive.)

Still, if I don't do anything else today, I'll be pasting this in a prominent place, both in the sketchbook and on the wall! From Maggie Stiefvater's blog (be sure to scroll down and take a look at her other 5 steps for success):

6. Who Are You?
What do you tell people? What do you want to be able to tell people? "I'm an artist." "I'm a writer." "I'm a five foot tall basketball player." Now let's pretend that these people can drop into your life randomly seven different times over seven different days. What will they find you doing? Will they find you, the artist, creating art or developing marketing plans for it? The writer writing? The basketball player shooting hoops? Or will they find you procrastinating . . . watching TV, folding laundry that could wait until after your dreams get tended to, reading my blog, running unnecessary errands. The fact of the matter is that you need to make your dreams your identity. Long before I was a published author, I told people I was a writer and an artist, and if you dropped in at my house randomly at any given time, that's what you'd find me doing.

And - right in line with the emotion I want to pack into a Girl15 piece I've perpetually working on, the following:

It's a question of wanting it, people. It's why I like writing for teens. Do you remember being a teen? When you had dreams so big they actually hurt to think you wouldn't get them? You need to sweep away the years of cynicism and putting your dreams aside and really harness that wanting again. In the end, watching So You Think You Can Dance won't change your life. But finishing that drawing, writing that paragraph, planting that garden -- whatever your dream is -- that will.

Onward!