I am going to try to do a series of Halloween related words to change up the way I inspire your creativity. Enjoy.
dark room
dark energy
Dark Nights of the Soul by Thomas Moore
“It was a dark and stormy night…”
Definition: devoid or partially devoid of light : not receiving, reflecting, transmitting, or radiating light
dark glasses
dark planet
Dark Knight
dark matter
International Dark Sky Association
The Dark Tower by Stephen King (no, I haven’t read this series; his books are too creepy for me)
darkness engulfed the City
Dark Hunter
Dark Void
Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog, and how your work relates to the other responses.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted.
Whatever they are I have a love-hate relationship with them. I love to look through charm packs and dream about the finished projects that will magically appear in my house made – from that very charm pack fabric – and change my life.
In reality, I really like the little bits of one whole line!
I have to admit that I sincerely dislike actually working with pre-cuts, but I tend to forget. I get an idea (did you see the Jelly Roll Race post?) and live another day to learn the same lesson.
The really big thing I don’t like is pinked edge. I like the idea of it, but what a &^%%$#ing mess! I open a Jelly Roll and there are bits of fuzz everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!!
The other thing I don’t like about pre-cuts are that they are not cut properly. Recently, I posted a tutorial about making 8 half square triangles at a time. I decided that I would get a neutral charm pack and use my Hoopla charm pack and just make a boatload of HSTs. Why not? I am sure a cool pattern will come to mind once I am rolling in HSTs.
I got a Kona White Charm pack and dutifully sat in front of the TV and marked all the White charms with an X. The pinked edges did not make this easy. I had to kind of guess where the marks went. I don’t like to guess. I like to be as exact as possible.
I went to line them up with the Hoopla charms and what a pain! They did not really line up very well, despite both being 5″ charm packs.
Folded charm
Folding a charm looked ok, except for the bit on the left. I finger pressed and thought I could line up the finger pressed line with the X on the neutral charm.
As an aside, I don’t really want to mark charms inexactly and then have to finger press a bunch as well. If I end up with that as my only alternative, I will just press the charms with the iron. It will be a lot easier on my hands.
Finger pressed fold
As you can see from the photo (sorry about the quality of this one, it is the victim of my camera problems) the finger pressed line does not go corner to corner.
I don’t think there is anything I can do to force Moda to make their accuracy better. That is not a fight I want to fight today. Or tomorrow. I just have to deal with it in my own work.
Perhaps using pre-cuts as decorations is better than using it as fabric? Kind of an expensive decorating idea, though.
Sandy and I got busy on the second class in the design series. See her blog for more information. See her supplemental post for even further information.
During my research travels into Line this past week, I found a great definition for design in Ann Johnston’s The Quilter’s Book of Design, 2d. This is an adjunct to the definitions we gave you in the last podcast. It is: Design is a problem solving activity within all the arts, placing or creating subject matter so it is of visual significance and interesting to the artist.
Line is an Element of Design.
Double 4 PatchIrish Chain
Definition: Line is a mark on the surface that describes a shape or outline. A line is a mark made by a moving point and having psychological impact according to its direction, weight, and the variations in its direction and weight. Lines in quilt blocks can draw the eye around the quilt. For example, a Double Four Patch set in diagonal lines will draw the eye from top to bottom diagonally. An Irish Chain quilt setting can frame plain blocks filled with quilting or applique’ blocks.
Irish Chain FrameDouble 4 Patch- with Lines
Line is a mark on the surface that describes a shape or outline. Types of lines can include actual, implied, vertical, horizontal, diagonal and contour lines. The line quality makes the work more expressive. Lines act as a connector or boundary between shapes. They divide, but also connect. Lines may be:
thick or thin (Perl cotton v. Aurifil)
fast
slow
serene
agitated
jagged
lyrical
aggressive.
Line brings energy to the design. (Liz Berg handout)
lines in quilts are generally seam lines or quilting lines.
hand quilting
machine quilting
Pressing also creates a line.
When you press to one side, you have 3 layers of fabric bulking up the seam. This can be used to highlight areas (see Ruth McDowell’s Piecing Beyond the Basics book)
lines on quilts can also be embroidery (hand or machine)
piece of blank paper (can be the back of junk mail)
catalog or magazine pictures you are willing to cut up
paper scissors
drawing or writing implement (You can use anything, but one with a smooth line is great!)
glue stick
Find a picture in your magazine or catalog and cut a 3×3″ square out of it.
Take a piece of blank paper and lay it on the table in front of you
Glue the 3×3″ square somewhere towards the middle on the paper. There should be at least 2″ of white space around each side of the magazine picture.
Turn the paper upside down so the image is upside down.
Continue the image out from each side of the paper using your pen
“Simplify the design in the square and its drawn continuation.” Use the cut off edges to make a new design.
Perform this exercise over and over on different pieces of paper with different pictures until you are happy with the result.
Use the simplified design as a starting point for a quilt.
(adapted from Fearless Design for Every Quilter by Lorraine Torrence, pg. 63)
Exercise #2
You can do exercise #2 with free motion quilting as well using a 3×3″ square of fabric on top of a small (11×11″ or so) quilt sandwich.
Supplies you will need:
a charm pack OR
a group of approximately 50 3-5″ paper squares of all colors and designs (junkmail works well, you could use a scrapbooking paper punch if you have that) OR
cut a group of 3-5″ squares of fabric (approximately 50)
notebook or paper (reusing junk mail is just fine)
pen or other writing implement
Directions:
Put all the squares on the floor or on a table right next to each other. Do not arrange them yet.
Look at them and see if you see any dominate lines. Make a note of how the lines show up (because of the color? because of the design on the fabric or paper? Other?)
If you have a camera, take a photo.
Rearrange the squares in some kind of order.
Look at them and see if you see any dominate lines. Make a note of how the lines show up (because of the color? because of the design on the fabric or paper? Other?)
If you have a camera, take a photo.
Based on what you saw in the squares of your fabric, draw simple lines in your notebook or on paper.
Optional: think about and take note of design ideas that are suggested to you by the images you have created.
This looks similar to the block from last week, Off Center 4 Patch Rectangle. There are some differences in the cutting, but you could make a second version of last week’s block and use that instead.
If you have made blocks or a quilt from these patterns, please post a link in the comments section of the relevant block or on the AQ Block-a-Long Flickr group. I would love to see what you have made.
I have mixed feelings about 12″ blocks. They are big. I don’t like making them, because they take up so much fabric. I can’t use scraps, in general for them. However, I seem to be making a lot of them lately. I can use up a lot of fabric making 12″ blocks. I can also use these large expanses of patchwork to showcase the luscious large prints that I adore.
The latest batch of 12″ squares are 9 patch blocks for BAMQG. Not only are the 12″ finished, but they are also Halloween colors. Not my favorite, but not brown and beige either. I was kind of hoping I didn’t win the blocks (I didn’t), but then I remembered the Disappearing 9 Patch. I thought that this group wouldn’t be as controlled as the Food Quilt, but using the Disappearing 9 Patch pattern would also alleviate the large expanse of fabric problem.
Any size 9 Patches are so easy to make that they are like candy. I don’t seem to be able to make just one.
2 9 PatchesAdrianne's Lozenge 9 Patch
It turned out that we were able to use any 9 patch grid pattern not just the regular simple 9 patch. I am not sure why I didn’t know that.
I had a problem with my camera and didn’t take many photos, but people did some really great blocks and wonderful color combinations. I have that lozenge shape on my mind, so Adrianne’s block (left) really appealed to me. I think that it is more Fall than Halloweenish, but still a very nice block, and one I might want to try sometime. My blocks looked a little sad in comparison.
Angela's Rose
Local quilt work is really good and the BAMQGers work is no exception. Angela, in particular, is really taking off in terms of work. Kathleen asked me to write down the names and descriptions of the quilts as she took photos, so I didn’t hear all the details about this quilt. I do know that she took a class in reverse applique and that this technique was different from traditional reverse applique’. I really am excited that Angela is trying new things and really pushing herself in her quilt work.
Her Kona Challenge quilt was accepted into the New Quilts for Northern California along with the Zig Zaggy quilt.
The next challenge will be with a line called Heirloom. I am not familiar with it, but what I saw of it I liked. This is a guild sponsored challenge. Adrianne was going to hand out fabric, but the block the group voted on required some solids, which people wanted to coordinate, so there was a little back and forth about that. The Board decided to decide what to do about the solid and hand out fabric next month. I am not going to do that challenge, because I don’t want to do a challenge where the fabric and block are dictated to me. I like the Roman strip block, but not enough to take time away from my own projects.
C&T Goodies
The awesome, Lisa, at C&T sent us a prize pack. We did a giveaway and I handed out all the postcards. I asked her for the Studio Color Wheel postcards to hand out and she sent me a giant box of goodies, including a copy of the Studio Color Wheel, which Deborah won, and an Ultimate Color Tool.
There was a lot of business and I felt the generational gap hit me. I like to have some privacy online (I know I am walking the line having a blog and a big online presence) and that view isn’t shared by some of the younger crowd at the meeting. I felt old.
At the September BAMQG meeting, Claudia mentioned the Jelly Roll Race as an activity for the meeting. I liked the idea, but wasn’t that enthusiastic about doing it for an activity at a meeting. I like to sew slowly and my machine has been behaving badly lately, which sounded like a recipe for disaster. I am not one for Disasters with an Audience. Still, as I said, I liked the idea.
I know I said I was done with precuts, but, apparently, I can’t help myself. I bought a Terrain Jelly Roll and began the process on my own. Later, I saw an explanation of how the process should work and I was interested to see that the writer suggests mitering the strips together.
For a person who doesn’t like really long seams, this project was kind of a nightmare of long seams.
I finally finished the center of the quilt and kind of liked it. it is large enough to be the center of a large throw. I also like that I can see how much fabric a Jelly Roll really is. I want to put some borders on it, but am not sure what yet.
Pokey Bolton announced that there is a shakeup at Quilting Arts. You can read the whole deal on her blog. I’d like my title to be Chief Creative Officer. I’ll get right on that.
I would have kept this news for a Various and Sundry post, since this is the perfect tidbit for that kind of post. I didn’t want to be posting it in 3-4 weeks, however.
Yes, it has been an angry and busy week for me, thus the inspiration for today’s word (better late than never right?).
Controlling anger before it controls you
12 Angry Men
Anger management
Definition: Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response. (great definition, don’t you think?)
Quote: Always write angry letters to your enemies. Never mail them. James Fallows
Quote: “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned,” spoken by Zara in Act III, Scene VIII.[1] (This is usually paraphrased as “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”) William Congreve (I always thought the quote was”Hell hath no fury like a woman’s anger” You get the idea, just go with it)
Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog, and how your work relates to the other responses.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted.
I can’t believe that September is over – well, nearly, anyway – already! I hope you are doing your Christmas sewing, because it will be upon us before you know it. And those of you who don’t celebrate can just stop laughing! I may get you into my sewing room as a sewing slave. 😉
Tools
Did you hear that Anna Maria Horner is the new spokesperson for Janome? They made an announcement on the new AMH/Janome collaboration site. I wonder what happened to Marie Osmond?
I thought I had mentioned True Grips to you, but I don’t see a reference on any of my previous posts. I heard about True Grips in a recent issue of Quilts & More. They often have a little page of tools and supplies, with interesting blurbs. These caught my eye, because of my experience as well as Sandy and Frances’ recent comments about slipping rulers. Sandy is slowly changing out all of her rulers to Creative Grids rulers. I also like Creative Grids rulers, because the dots on the back provide some traction. TFQ and I have talked about Creative Grids rulers. She likes them, too, except for the big branding circle in the middle of the ruler that seems to always be right where you need to line up lines. Still, I would like to replace all of my rulers with Creative Grids rulers, but it is just isn’t practical. I’d rather buy fabric.
Enter True Grips.
Supposedly they keep your ruler from slipping (after you have applied them). I have tried Invisigrip and haven’t found it to do the job. Also, it is a pain to apply. You know those times where you are trying to get 2 feet of plastic wrap out of the box, cut and applied to the giant amount of leftovers that will take over your fridge? That is how I feel when I work with Invisigrip.
True Grips are little dots that you put on the back of your ruler that supposedly give it some traction. I don’t know if they are thin or thick. I hope they are not thick, because I don’t want to have to deal with a wobbly ruler. I have a lot of square and rectangular Omnigrid rulers that I would be happy to not have to replace. I checked out the Grace Company website, prepared to buy a couple of packages. $5.95 for the True Grips and $11.95 for shipping! Now Grace Company sells quilting frames and they probably have standard shipping rates. For a large thing, $11.95 is probably a good price, but for a little thing like the True Grips, $11.95 is not so good. Even shopping crazy person that I can be, I didn’t buy them.
I asked Julie to buy them. And she did. She will post them in her store soon and you can buy them for your non-Creative Grids rulers!
BTW, Intrepid Thread Julie is being (or was) interviewed on Quilter in the Gap podcast.
Out & About
Another new quilt museum joins the growing list: the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiberarts. There was an article pointed out to me by Morna McEver Golletz, Founder, President & CEO of the International Association of Professional Quilters. If I were planning a quilt trip, I guess I would hit the IQSC first and then drive to WI to see this museum and then down towards Kentucky for the AQS museum. Of course, this trip is not only just in my head, but straight out of my head as well. I would definitely do research before I left so I would hit all the quilt museums that are popping up and coming of age.
Karey Bresenhan and her cousin, Nancy Puentes, are also starting a quilt museum in Texas.
SJMQT Badge
This is the badge that was waiting for me when I went to the reception for my quilt at the quilt museum. I wrote about how weird (in a good way) I felt seeing my quilt on a gallery wall. This badge which clearly says ARTIST contributed to the feeling. Ever since I co-hosted Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski back in June, I have been thinking about art quilting, what it means to me and what I do. This badge was another piece in that puzzle. I keep meaning to write a blog post about my thoughts on the subject, but haven’t done it yet. What I have done is gotten back to working on a couple of art quilts. One is Kissy Fish and I am embellishing like a demon. I would really like to finish that quilt. The more I work on it, though, the more it asks for!
The Web and Social Media
I hate to be a crank, but I keep getting friend requests from people on various social media sites. This isn’t a bad thing, but I don’t know who they are or why they want to be friends. I am not a friend collector so I only want to be friends with people that I know. I always try to write a little note to the person with whom I want to be friends, even if I know them pretty well. At least they will know I am not a bot and it is really me. Am I too buttoned up?
Barbara Brackman has a wonderful Wedding Ring quilt on her blog post about the Quilt Complex. It is a wedding ring with a twist. I can see it being the type of idea that the Modern Quilters would run with. In a way, it reminds me of the more complex version of the Single Girl quilt.
Moda is having a Country Fair blog hop. I have dipped in and out, but haven’t made it a habit. Today I happened upon Barbara Brackman’s blog. It must be BB week for me! She had a chicken potholder project included in her Moda County Fair Blog post. She said that she “made several in different fabrics.” BB is very much into repros, which is not really my style. When I saw the chickens, I immediately thought of pink polka dots. I wonder how friends would like pink polka dotted chicken potholders for the entertainment value not for the decorating value! 😉
Media& Quilt World News
The Alliance for American Quilts needs volunteers at Houston to interview quiltmakers for a forthcoming book. Contact them if you can help out.
Dear Podcasters, Please interview Ruthann from Mirkwood Designs, Toni from Silly Chick Designs and Jennifer from Patchwork and Pacifiers so we can find out how they are doing. Thank you, J.
I have been listening to some new podcasts just to expand my repertoire. I don’t really need anymore, because I am, once again, filling my iPod with audiobooks. I have found that there are things I like about podcasts and things that I don’t like:
I don’t mind rambling and hearing a bit about the podcaster’s life
I dislike self deprecation
I dislike needless apologies about the length of the episode; just make it however long it is, that is why I have a stop button
I don’t need a music intro, but it is nice when people have them
I like it when the podcaster introduces him/herself and says the name of the podcast. The date is nice, too, but not a requirement
I don’t like podfading. It worries me and makes me wish the podcasters would just say they don’t want to take the time for recording anymore
I like hearing opinions, though not so much about politics or religion
I like hearing about what you like, the products you use and the fabrics that make your heart sing
Thank you for introducing me to new designers and websites
And podcasters….I really appreciate the time and energy you put into your episodes. Keep up the good work!
I am interested in the new Kindle Fire. I really liked the post on the Stash Blog about books as objects, especially her quote from Anna Quindlen about building enough bookshelves.
I bought some Tsukineko inks some time ago and never had the chance to use them. As time passed, I lost my inspiration and the inks languished.
Mark Lipinski did me a real favor when I was at his house and I don’t even think he knows. He asked me about my art quiltmaking in the process of the podcast. He was trying to get to know me and, instead, he changed my focus. I had gotten away from surface design and was focusing on piecing. I don’t know why, but it was my reality. By asking me Mark made me think about art quiltmaking again.
As a result of that innocent question, I have started to go back to some older art quilt projects. I finished the beading on Kissy Fish, but before I finished, I was looking for some green beads. In searching for them, I found the inks. Soon after I was talking with Nancy and another friend and suggested that we work with these inks together. I am much better at new supplies when I have another person to work with. So we got together and tried the inks.
It was really fun. I didn’t make great art, but it was really fun.
A couple of weeks ago I went back to A Work of Heart for a Juicy Soul Retreat. I really had no idea what a juicy soul was or how it could be retreated. I went because I needed a bit of a creative change and Andrea and her good energy were just what I needed.
Andrea
It was the right thing to do. I really enjoyed the day, got a lot done and got my head a bit straighter than it was.
Finished Cover + Marker
I thought about the journal I wanted to make and wasn’t sure so I bought a new journal and brought my Purpose journal as well. I was thinking I might be able to add to that one.
One of the things that was different about this class than the other journaling classes I have attended at AWOH was that we all introduced ourselves and shared a little bit about ourselves. Some people shared why they were there-what they hoped to achieve- and others shared something about their art. My friend, though quite young, is staring retirement in the face and she was there to work on figuring out what’s next.
That struck a chord with me and I started working on the new journal. Some of the techniques for making backgrounds were similar to those I had used in other AWOH classes, but there was plenty of new stuff as well. Also, I don’t take notes in Andrea’s classes; I try to absorb the techniques, so I don’t remember some of the nuances from previous classes.
Darcy’s Background
I tried to get the backgrounds for the new journal done, but there just wasn’t enough time. It was probably a good thing. I have to remember that it isn’t about the finished product, but about the process.
The ProcessAWOH Hearts
Andrea is revamping half of her studio space and she has some of her work displayed on the new shelves there. I love the hearts. The pink background is such a wonderful pink. It isn’t too sickly sweet or light.
She has a project of her own in which she is creating 1000 houses-images of houses. I love the idea of choosing a shape and creating a series using that shape. The house shape is simple, but has a lot of possibilities. Hearts would also work. A 1000 is an amazing number of pieces of art. It is large enough to be a challenge, but also obtainable. She eventually wants to raffle the collection off to raise money for a charity.
This blocks is similar to the four patch and the other rectangle block I have posted, which I called Rectangle Four Patch.
This blocks is slightly off center, so the squares and rectangle are slightly different sizes than what you have been cutting.
This block is also suitable for 3 fabrics.
If you have made blocks or a quilt from these patterns, please post a link in the comments section of the relevant block or on the AQ Block-a-Long Flickr group. I would love to see what you have made.
The other night I caught a new episode of Love of Quilting and Jo Morton was a guest again. She was showing another technique for making half square triangles. I first became aware of Jo last year when I watched a previous episode of Love of Quilting.
Jo Morton is a fabric designer, writer and quilt designer. She has a website, where she sells, apparently, self-published, books, and a blog. She is also a designer for Andover Fabrics and has a large number of collections and projects on their site.
Based on what I saw Marianne and Jo do on the show, I tried the technique and was pleased with the results.
I got in touch with Jo, who was very quick about getting back to me, and asked whether she had technique sheets or sections in her books discussing the scalability of her techniques. She said that the market is geared towards projects and she didn’t have technique sheets. Too bad. I had trouble with her Flying Geese technique, but found the half square triangle (HST ) technique to be one of the best I have seen. It is straightforward, there is a minimum of dealing with bias and the squares magically appear all at once.
Since she didn’t have technique sheets, searched the web. I found a similar one posted on Wet Canvas. The Wet Canvas tutorial does a good job of showing the different ways of using the half square triangles. Most of the techniques were the square method (like what I describe below, but with one square making 2 HSTs, rather than a larger square making 8 HSTs) like the p.s. i quilt tutorial. I am also interested in the Quilt in a Day method and this tutorial talks about that. B’s Modern Quilting has the fish tutorial method.
I started with 5″ squares, which is the size they used on the show. The 5″ squares make 8 HSTs. I thought this would be a great way to use charm packs.
2 5Draw an XPut 2 squares together
First, I drew an X, corner to corner, on the lighter square. Then I put the 2 squares right sides together and pressed them. If I had wanted to pin I would have pinned far away from any of the lines. I walked on the wild side and didn’t use pins.
Next, I sewed on each side of the lines, 1/4″ away from each line
Measure 2.5
After sewing, I measured 2.5″ from the side of the square.
Cut in a + Configuration
Cut the square in a plus configuration 2.5″ (middle of the X). I think you could cut on the pencil lines, but you have to cut in a plus configuration at some point and it seems to make sense to cut in the plus configuration first.
Cut in +, then X
After you cut the plus, you will have four squares, each with a line drawn diagonally across the middle. Cut the squares in half diagonally. You can use the line as a guide. It is more important to line your ruler up corner to corner.
HSTs from 5
The result is 8 2″ half square triangles. The above are actually a thread or two larger than 2″, which leaves the perfect opportunity for trimming to make them an absolutely perfect 2″.
Trim
Trim the squares to 2″. Trim on all four sides. Don’t be tempted to trim just on two sides. Line the 45 degree angle line on your ruler up with the diagonal seam line on your HST and trim on all four sides.
Beautiful HSTs
Now you have 8 beautiful HSTs. The bias edges shouldn’t be scary for you on the regular method, but this method makes HSTs much easier. I think this would be a fabulous method to make a lot of HSTs in a short amount of time. It is similar to a tutorial that p.s. i quilt posted, but times 4. I am planning to try out different sized beginning squares to see what sized HSTs I come up with.
I talked over the math with my DH and came up with a chart showing the different sizes you can make with this technique.
I worked on the LeMoyne Star today. I had some work, which languished while I was out of town,so I had to do that as well, but it was great to get back to sewing a bit.
The LeMoyne Star has some tricks, but is not very difficult to piece. I took pictures as I pieced it and will work on a tutorial for a future post. The key trick is to NEVER sew into the seam allowances. I did sew into the seam allowances along the outside edge towards the end of the process, but otherwise, I stopped shy of the seam allowance, or moved it out of the way as I was sewing. My stilletto came in handy. Choosing fabrics was a key piece of the process and took longer than I expected. The ‘make visual decisions visually’ adage worked well, though, because what I thought would look good didn’t look good at all. Below are some of the choices I considered:
Alternate colorway from the Moda Bliss lineDots from Quilted FishBright FlowersAnother Bliss FabricAqua-Red Sampler Quilt Blocks -September 2011
Above are all of the blocks I have made for the class so far. Don’t they look nice? They are hogging up space on my design wall, so I will need to take them down, but I am pleased with how they are coming out.
