Creative Life Sampler

  Progress Report (7 of 9) All the words have been completed for my latest text quilt, so I thought I'd experiment with time lapse photography and show how they all fall into place on the layout grid for this quilt. I've been looking for something to film this way ever since I ran across the option on my cell. (See my effort above by clicking on the arrow.) These words were done by hand in reverse appliqué. Never stopped to consider how long it takes me to create a word before, so I decided to keep track of the process this time around.  I just totaled up the hours I spent on ten words and was quite surprised. Rounding up and down to the nearest 15 minutes, the grand total is 125 hours in about 5 weeks. That is just the hand work on the letters. I haven't even started the quilting yet! Good thing I enjoy this process so much.   Reverse appliqué is the perfect technique to execute graceful curving lines and shapes with varying contours. An added benefit is that there...

Taking in the Scenes at Water's Edge Took the time for a beach walk last week and spotted this amusingly incongruous scene: a set of drums on a planked path through the dunes. I had to share it with you.  Love how this individual was thinking outside the literal box of the room where we can presume these instruments normally reside. Who knows what new ideas this musician was planning to explore with a change of scenery?  It was a great reminder that expressing oneself is often inspired by the world around us, . . . and the act of expressing/creating can happen any where!   

Word for the Week (6 of 9) Working on the blocks for my commissioned text quilt, I can't help but ponder the list of words that were chosen.  Some words bring specific images to mind. For instance, when "athletic" was added to the list it was easy to see who that word was defining. It's an adjective that takes form in physical characteristics.  "Accomplished" conjures up a vision of confidence in navigating many challenges and successfully tackling meaningful activities. Some qualities are enormous in meaning, pulling in multiple other adjectives that contribute to its full impact. The descriptive list of a person's qualities doesn't need to include those other adjectives because one word is so robust.  Then there are words we assume we understand because we associate them with life experiences or history.  "Groovy" took an interesting trip to get to the list of qualities for this quilt. It was added after the person making the list consul...

3 Words Added (5 of 9)  This week I'm adding "centered," "loving," and "reflective" to the grid of my wall hanging. With more than half the adjectives finished, we start to get a picture of the person that inspired this word quilt. Even the happy, bright color palette says volumes about this individual. More to come, stay tuned!