Month: February 2008

PPP is Over

The Pineapple Pity Party is over. It was good for me to write that post yesterday, because it was like a kick in the pants. As I was finishing the post, I started to think that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to see what I was facing and possibly make a few more blocks. So, I went upstairs (the DSL still isn’t working up there, so I am racing up and down the stairs all day) and laid out all the blocks on the floor. This exercise coincided with some furniture moving, so it wasn’t an ideal situation.
The piece isn’t as big as I thought it was going to be. Certainly, it covers the floor, but that is it. I wasn’t able to get a picture of the whole thing, which means you can’t get the whole effect, but I think you can get the idea.

I looked at all the blocks and compared them to their neighbors and came up with a catalog of problems.

Top right block too big – way too big.

Top block way too big.

Too big again.

I have a plan of action, however, and I am happy about that.

  1. Make two new blocks: one center and one border and see how they compare to others.
  2. Try to figure out what exactly the problem is.
  3. Compare blocks to each other and sew as many together as possible.
  4. Remake blocks as necessary.
  5. Make pillows out of unusable blocks 😉

Tsukineko Inks

I am at loose ends right at the moment…bored actually. This is a new feeling for me as I usually have a zillion things to do and am running around doing them. It is not that I don’t have a zillion things to do, it is that I don’t feel like doing them. Part of the problem is 1) the child woke me up at the crack of dawn for some stupid, trivial (to me, not to him, of course) request and I have been out of sorts all day; 2) I have been working 5+ days a week lately with no time just to veg and that is what I am doing now; and, finally [most significantly?], 3) the Pineapple Problem is growing [probably] out of proportion. I want to sew, but seeing the Pineapples laying on my cutting table paralyzes me. I am thinking of abandoning the whole project, but I had such high hopes. I have so many dots. It seems like a big failure. If I could see the lesson in the failure, then I might do it and start over, but I can’t see the lesson and suspect that there isn’t one.

To combat this unfamiliar and unwelcome feeling, first I checked eBay for my SIL’s discontinued crystal pattern, then I tried to buy fabric on eQuilter. Got an error message and didn’t succeed. I am a master at finding web and software bugs and I don’t even try. This was not the moment to have this particular ‘skill’ rear it’s ugly head. Finally, I went to Melody Johnson’s blog, because I noticed the last time I was there the amazingly large blogroll she has. One of the blogs I found there was Frieda Anderson’s blog. She took a class in Tsukineko inks the other day. (I bet you were wondering when I would get to the point!)

I have been thinking about the T.I. inks sitting abandoned in one of my drawers lately. Thus, I was pleased to see this article about using them. It gives me a more realistic view of how they might work. Clipmarks has a publishing limit, so go to Frieda’s blog and read all about it. Perhaps I can convince Friend Julie to hold my hand while I try this medium sometime.

Tsukineko Inks

Yesterday Judy Coats Perez led a class for the Textile Diva’s at the College of DuPage on Tsukinelo Inks. We had a blast. I had never used these inks and was very interesting in giving them a try. What I discovered is that you need to practice. Big surprise.
Judy demonstrated the various techniques of applying the inks to dry white or light colored hand dyed cottons. Dipping the Fantast/x coloring tool bullet point (nub), either sharp or rounded, into the ink you then rub the nub onto the fabric creating shading and shape. To thin the inks you can use Aloe instead of water. After playing around I found I liked using the Aloe method better as it gave a smoother appearance.
blog it

Mom’s Pineapple

Last December Mom and I decided to take a Pineapple class on the spur of the moment. I paid for everything as part of her Christmas gift and we took the class together in January. You all know the progress I am making, but my mom has finished hers and it is above. She did a wonderful job and I am so impressed with the finished product. She normally does pieces like Mary Lou Weideman.

Here is a detail.