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Archive for the ‘Fusing’ Category

Send in the Clowns

Thursday, March 23rd, 2017

I have been working on this piece for an exhibit at Trinity with the theme The Circus of Life. I just had to do this piece because I feel as if Washington DC is a circus with a bunch of clowns trying to govern. Here are details:

I printed resistance words for the background.

It is very therapeutic to work on a piece like this. I am so frustrated with all  the bad stuff being done to our country. I worry about how we will ever get back to normal and doing things that are actually good for people and the planet.

I have been having fun teaching my wool felt stitching class on Wednesday nights at Trinity. Here are some photos of the designs they are working on.

I made this rooster to demonstrate adding the decorative embroidery stitches.

So you can see that I have been busy. I am having some trouble getting around because of plantar fasciitis in my left foot. I miss being able to take Scooter for long walks. Today, I went to REI and bought some New Balance walking shoes and orthotics. I am noticing a difference tonight. But, dang, they are kind of ugly shoes and I so want to have warm weather and to be able to wear sandals again. Hope springs eternal.

Oops! I’m Back

Monday, March 13th, 2017

Well, I haven’t been anywhere, but I have been busy, busy. We had a visit from our California peeps at the end of February. We had lots of fun family time together. Here is Paige at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry).

I also got wrapped up in getting my resist piece done. First, I made the letters, using some snow dyed fabric in my stash.

Then I cut up a whole bunch of my pink and fuschia fabric to make one of my collaged backgrounds.

I used some of my own photos and found other copyright free photos on Flicker of the Women’s March in January. I printed these on Jacquard ExravOrganza sheets.

I collaged and fused them to the pink background. It is now ready to be trimmed and backed and quilted! I am quite happy with it. I am going to tweak the colors in the resist a bit with some paint or color pencil.

Here is a detail shot with a photo of Mr C and I.

As you know, I share studio space with my daughter. She is amassing quite a body of work.

The other thing I have done is finish samples for my wool stitching class at Trinity Cathedral.

The first class was last Wednesday. I have two young boys, 8 and 10, a teen-age girl, 3 guys, and several women. My assistant got sick so it was a bit daunting to work with everyone by myself. They had a bit of a problem getting the idea of making a freezer paper pattern for each part of their chosen object even though I demonstrated it with the piece I am making along with them!! It was fun and time flew by.

 

 

 

A Hectic, Satisfying Day

Thursday, January 7th, 2016

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When I took this quilt (without the tree) to my critique session last fall, the critic said it was not finished, it needed something else. I had always thought about putting a California Oak on it because you often see a lone Oak on the golden hills. I thought it might be too realistic for the overall tone of the quilt. But, today I did it. And, I am still not sure, but I sure love the tree.

I took off for the studio this morning to get this done. I cut a trunk.

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I auditioned some green fabrics and ended up using this batik. I think it worked well.

I fused the tree together on a teflon sheet.

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Then, I auditioned it in different spots on the landscape and fused it down.

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I took it home and quilted it.

I also finished this little quilt. I scattered a few more leaves on it before I added the facing.

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Tonight, we took the street car down to the Pearl to the opening of an art exhibit that 3 friends are in. I also retrieved my Blue Picasso Woman and brought it home. It has been traveling for a year and a half.

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I took all 3 of these quilts to Kristin LaFlamme who is taking them to Seattle with her tomorrow to be photographed by Mark Frey, who is a great photographer of textiles and art objects. Kristin has a 3-D piece that needs to be photographed for a catalog for a SAQA exhibit at the Textile Museum, Migration Stories. Here she is photographing it in our condo hallway for a video she plans to make of it in various sites.

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And so, I am feeling pretty good tonight. Got a lot accomplished. Tomorrow, I start an online dyeing class with Elizabeth Barton. While I was at the studio, I checked on my supplies. In this workshop she promises:

If you’ve never dyed before, this is the class to take. If you have taken a class but ended up feeling confused about the whole process, this is the class to take. If you have taken a class, and felt like it was all too much work, this is the class to take! If you have taken a class and had wimpy or muddy results, this is the class to take! If you have read about a class where you had to dye thousands of little square samples before you could even think about what you needed to make that quilt you have in mind, this is the class to take! If you want to be able to dye a reasonable approximation of any color you see anywhere, this is the class to take! In five lessons, I explain the process of hand dyeing in simple, safe, clear, easy to remember terms. We make enough dye concentrate in the first class to last us through the whole course – and beyond! You really don’t need to be mixing up dye every single time! There are only a few key factors to successful dyeing and I’ll explain them very clearly, so failure just simply is not an option! We will cover: dye mixing, gradation dyeing, pure versus mixed colors, how to derive your own recipes, how to dye neutrals and why you need them and the benefits of overdyeing. In the last class, working from a color inspiration source, we dye the fabric for your next quilt!

 

 

Making Progress

Saturday, February 28th, 2015

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I finished this, except for the edges. Turned it in and it got a great review from EB. As is my MO, I was a underwhelmed when I finished it, but it is growing on me.

I did some more work on this piece, but need to quilt the background before I finish the top.

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I started working on the water piece for this group.

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Lisa is here, looking for a house to buy. She thinks she found one to make an offer on. We are meeting the realtor with her tomorrow at the house. It seems like the perfect place for them. Tonight we had a nice family meal at Stephanie’s.

 

On Creative Overload

Thursday, February 26th, 2015

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This is a sneak peek at one of the pieces for my show. This will be titled Green Pastures, referencing Psalm 23. I had so much fun this morning, fusing and cutting into the fabric.

I am on my last week of the Photoshop Class. I have learned so much. So worth fitting it into my busy life.

I started a 5 week clay workshop at Trinity last night. It is just on Wednesday nights. He told us to make as many small objects as we could – he suggested food and body parts as well as pinch pots.

Here is some of what I did:

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It was very relaxing to play with clay.

I am on a deadline to finish this month’s homework for the EB Master Class.

I dedicated yesterday to getting it done. I have been so restricted with work space because the studio is maxed out with solo show stuff. I finally set up on the dining room table.

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I had made freezer paper patterns for this last year. I sorted them out on the big drawing.

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I started with this mess and some photos of where I left off last year plus my sketch.

It took all day, but I got it assembled. I ironed it to my big teflon sheet and moved it back in to my sewing room.

 

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I almost had a disaster today. I brought batting and backing from the studio and moved the teflon sheet to the sofa while I cut the batting and backing and fused them. The teflon sheet slipped off the sofa and I had to do some finessing to get it rearranged on the backing and fused. I finished quilting it tonight, but have not photographed it yet. I will do that in the morning.

I have to get the multi-purpose room cleaned up in the morning. Lisa arrives at lunch time to start the house hunting in earnest. She will be out on Friday and again on Saturday. It would be so great if she could find something this week-end that they can move into at the end of March when they move here.