Speaking of Celebrations I'd just like to give a shout out to South Korea for their incredible closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics. If you didn't get the chance to see it, try to catch it on line. Of course, every time I watch Olympic events, in any season, I'm inspired by people who commit themselves to learning skills so well that they push the limits and achieve amazing things. Closing ceremonies always come across as bittersweet, the culmination of victories, defeats and personal triumphs. It's a given that they will reflect the aspirational side of coming together to compete. This one was not only inspiring, but creative and innovative. There were some really effective moments. For example, I thought the portion which referenced "time" captured its nature and essence in a graphic, visually intriguing manner. It was almost like you could freeze frame at any point and hang it as modern art on your wall. Clearly technology is opening up new
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Aaaaand....Ta Da! (5 of 5) I wish I had taken a photo of all the scraps left after 3 wall hangings and a lap quilt. 36 neckties and several yards of cream silk = piles of thin strips, awkward triangles, little squares and other shapes that defied labels. Anything that couldn't support a durable margin for seaming, and still show off at least a half inch of fabric, found its way to the circular file. What remained seemed really precious to me; 1) because it was from my dads ties, and 2) because I can be, well,... um, what's the right word here?...frugal. Even with my trusty coupons, that silk was a small fortune. I couldn’t bring myself to throw out any of it. Why not put it all to good use? What came to mind was the quilt you see in the banner of this blog, (special thanks to my quilting buddy Sara for the idea/tutorial): Front and back- use up all that fabric, then you can start a new collection! Randomly connecting
Really? Another Star? (4 of 5) Yeah. It really wasn't a conscious decision to keep doing variations on the star theme, it just kind of happened. This is a Texas Star. Working the diamonds in concentric circles from the center, it is usually solid to the points, a big burst of color. But I began sewing this wall hanging before I realized there wasn’t enough of each fabric to follow the traditional pattern. This is where photographing stages played an important part in the final outcome. The center was the easiest part, I just needed 8 diamonds. As I moved outward to the next levels, the required number of diamonds increased and my fabric diminished. You can also see that some of the choices would eventually effect the feeling of the quilt, making it look darker or heavier than other choices. In the bottom left photo you can see where I compared a solid point to the point I chose...my judgement call. Perhaps you would have gone in the other direction.
“Wait, wait, don’t leave yet!” If you’re not really “into quilts”, I may have lost you by this time. So, let’s take a step back and make some observations. Producing this quilt series was very similar to situations you face every day in your personal and professional lives. Suppose you get ready to make dinner at the end of a long day, but when you go to the fridge you find it isn’t as well stocked as you anticipated. Someone who loves to cook can create a yummy meal with next to nothing. Many a parent has uttered the words “Here, use this instead” when their child has informed them they are out of an important craft supply. In fact, if, in mid brush stroke, a painter finds the tube of turquoise has run dry, they use what they know about color to create a close match. They might even decide to change the color all together. This is often how something really different comes along. I’ll bet you can think of several work situations where you were given a job with multiple re
Tribute Series continued (3 of 5) A few fabric choices had been put aside from the beginning: a dusty rose paisley, the purple, and the patterns on black didn't fit. I looked forward to using them. With my sister, my fellow artist, in mind, I decided to keep the star theme going. This is where fabric imperfections posed bigger cutting issues. In order to create the kaleidoscope effect at the center of the stars, each diamond shape needs to be cut at the same spot in the overall pattern of the fabric. The stretching and distorting of the pattern where the tie went around the neck, an obvious stain or worn spot had to be considered in advance, like planning how you will eat around the bad spot in an apple. When I look at this wall hanging, with its 12 stars, I think of three families of 4, each of my siblings' and mine. I'm reminded that nothing pleased my dad more than to have his whole family together. Still this is a tribute to him, so the corners represent
The Creating Begins (2 of 5) With the ties laid out before me, I was presented with my color palette, really heavy with two colors; navy blue and burgundy. At first it just seemed like a lot of dark color. But as I thought about this man, who had served his country with a long Naval career, a patriotic theme began to emerge. Still, I definitely lacked the white in “red, white and blue”. Store bought silk was the pricey, but only answer for a background color. The first quilt was wall hanging size, in a star pattern. This one went to my brother who actually remembers borrowing some of these ties from our dad- an emotional connection I hadn’t even considered. For my Moms quilt I expanded on this theme and created a lap sized quilt with a slightly different star shape. You can imagine the connection she has to these ties. Now she can see them draped on the back of her coach, instead of collecting dust in the closet. Note how the look of this pattern changes as th
Necktie Projects (1 of 5) The thought of using men’s ties for quilting never occurred to me until I began noticing the occasional tie quilt at area quilt shows. For me, it exemplified the quilting tradition of re-purposing fabric to create something new. It was intriguing. When my Dad passed away in 2015, I requested his ties with the vague plan of putting them to good use and creating something in his memory. My mom brought me a bag of 36 ties and they sat in my guest room for 2 years. Then, browsing the books at my local JoAnn’s one day, I found just the one to inspire me (see Books for Quilters in sidebar). Finally, it was time to do something with his collection. Of course, this project requires more than just cutting up a fresh piece of fabric to start sewing pieces together. You begin with deconstructing the tie; pulling out the seams and separating the valuable, usable silk from the insides, and lining. These are
Genesis of my Blog From what I hear, blogging usually begins with the germ of an idea. For me, this possibility began to take shape after an especially productive period of quilting in 2017. When the last stitch was sewn, I realized I had inadvertently documented the decision making process through the eyes of my cell phone and iPad. At several points in creating these quilts I had taken pictures of my choices so I could compare them, decide what appealed to me, then move forward. Before I knew it, there was the process of creating, and I thought “I wonder if anybody else would find this interesting?” Then came a “catch up” call with my sister, Holly, who works in ceramics. As we were sharing our latest creative pursuits, the conversation turned to staying productive and the challenge of generating new ideas. The question naturally popped up: “How?” OK, here was someone who would be interested in an examination of the creative process... but you kind of hope that your relatives