Experimenting

Experimenting is great because, from the start, it gives you permission to fail. Some experiments will work out and some won’t. Either way, it’s okay because you’re learning something.     Maria Elkins

I love days when I go into my studio with no agenda.   Experimentation becomes possible then.   I don't know about you, but some days I enter the studio with an idea but find that once I begin to play with it, new ideas come and the joy of experimentation takes over.   I do learn something.   I do figure out things oftimes in such situations.  And because on those days, anything I do is for me, then, it doesn't matter whether I make mistakes or whether or not the stitching is perfect, or whether the seams match up.  Everything I do, then , is for PLAY, discovery, practice, freedom..!!

Christmas Topper (Process)

I cut templates from cardboard

I had plenty of fabric's

cut fabric disks and batting squares

Someone said it would be so easy.   Quilt-as-you-go, 1-2-3- it's done!   NOT!

Sewed 2 disk together with backing and touch of glue

Lay out circles and watch pattern begin

Make sure seams meete

I had lots of Christmas pieces.

Back of quilt

It 's nothing like it looked in the book, but it makes a great piece to practice quilting with HQ 16.

AA Quilts and Honoree Jeffers

My sister and I went to Morehead, KY to the Folk Art Museum last night to see the quilts on display and to hear Professor Jeffers' reading.   It was an interesting and informative trip.   The quilts were fascinating examples of art, all hand quilted and seemingly made from what was on hand.  When I think of the patience it requires to hand quilt, I am in awe of these earlier quilters.

Professor Jeffers was mentored by Lucille Clifton, one of my favorite poets.  Her own poetry  was strong, graphic, and often touching.  I love poetry.  I was reading a blog earlier today where the writer said she collects poems she loves, and reads some poetry everyday.  She said it calms her and gets her in the mood to begin creating.  It caused me to wonder what others do to fuel the mood to begin working?

Peace, love and blessings to you.

Morehead, KY Coming Attractions

 

The exhibit "Southern Stitches: African-American Quilts from the Collection of Larry Hackley" opens October 21 at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY. The show runs until February 26, 2011 and features 16 bold and colorful quilts made by six African-American quilters from Mississippi and Alabama. Hackley is a folk art collector. The opening Thursday, Oct. 21, 5-7 p.m. will also feature a reading by poet Honorée Jeffers at 7 p.m. One of her collections is titled "The Gospel of Barbecue." Enjoy!

From Kyra Hick's  Black Threads blog.     I want to see both the quilt collection and Honoree Jeffers.  She's a scholar and poet who is doing an ongoing study of Phyllis Wheatley's work.   Morehead is just a couple hours away from Huntington.  

Sewing/Quilting Studio

Getting Studio organized AGAIN.   Working on bazaar items for Winter Festival.

Trying to find balance between what I have to have out and what I want at hand.  I'm a minimalist, but this still feels like waaaay too much.

Cutting table and opposite wall of fabric storage

design wall with back of MMGarden hanging there

Best Find:  Light table --from a friend who was going to throw it away!

Well at least things are neat again.  Of course, that state won't last too long as I'm in the throes of working on craft items for Winter Festival show and finishing up a couple big quilts, which I hope to have finished soon.   Then I begin on a T-Shirt quilt requested by my sister.

Peace, love to visitors.

By the OHIO

      Two days ago it was 80 degrees.  I was driving by the Ohio river to one of my favorite quilt shops ,  Ingrams in South Point.    Today, it is rainy and cold ( around 40 ) ------ a good day for staying in and quilting.   I have been so caught up in the Black Arts in America site and getting wall repaired, painted, and refitted with design wall that I haven't spent anytime here.   This is my problem with blogs,  I will write conscientiously for awhile, then drop off.   I journal too and my rhythm is the same.  When I've taught journaling classes, people tend to think that its something you have to do every day.  Not true.  I have boxes of journals that have accumulated over the years from my sporadic journaling.

      Anyway, I loved the way the sun sparkled over the water the day I drove over to the quilt shop.   I had to get out and climb down the hill to get a picture that showed this.   You can see my angle is from between the weeds there that were taller than me.  The design made by the (is that golden rod) makes me want to make a landscape quilt from this pic.  I love landscape quilts too, as you can see from the Mountain Mama Garden .   WV and my hometown Huntington offer a billion opportunities for designing in this genre.

I finally published two pics ( one of my son Chris, and one of my friend, Frank) on the BAIA site and I'd like to publish a few more.   I love going there and looking at what some of the other artists have put up. I love the diversity of images the site hosts.   I discovered yet another fabric artists (Margene May), I'll have to go back and check the name.   But I was blown away by her work.  She does, like Linc, a sort of  raw edge patch using a variety of ethnic fabrics, in constructing her faces.   Her images are mostly full body, and she seems to have developed her own human look, although they may be based on real people.   Her work is very beautiful.

                                                 Christmas table cover^

     I'm still playing with the Handiquilter 16.   I quilted one baby quilt  on it ( using large stippling pattern) and I've started on the Christmas cover top which I messed up royally.   But that is what makes it wonderful for this sort of practice.  I'm learning to control my speed and I figure by the time I finish this project, I'll have trained my foot to know exactly how to control the speed to what I want.  Those flaps have to be sewn down.  the quilt, though difficult at first for me to balance evenly, went together easily, once I realized I had to layout each row and consistently work to keep flaps even and seamline meeting.  UGhhhhh.   Now it's great practice for leaning to quilt around each flap in every row in a circular manner.   There is no zigzag, sooooo I'm doing a wiggly line around each flap.

Peace and love to readers.