Flower Tote Bag

I loved this fabric, which I bought back in November. As I mentioned last week, I finally got to making a tote bag out of it.

I am pretty pleased with how it came out. I love the bright cheerfulness of these splashy flowers. I think it is a good way to use those big prints.



On one of the last bags, I didn’t like the way I couldn’t see the pocket and the straps, so this time I used a blue for one side of the outside of the bag so that the pocket was highlighted. It means that the bag sides were different fabrics, but who cares? I am pleased with the way the flower fabric stands out.

I used a tulip stitch for the top stitching on the edge around the top. It is ok. There were parts where I had to sew over a lot of layers and the spacing got a bit wrecked. I am going to keep this bag for myself, because it is cheerful and I didn’t put any interfacing in it.

Word of the Day: Shaping

“We must give [situations in our lives] rough shape and then throw them down into the center of our lives…As we shape the situation, we must be aware of what form we want things to take. The closer something comes to completion, the harder and more definite it becomes. Our options become fewer, until the full impact of our creation is all that there is.”

When I start a quilt, the possibilities are endless. I start shaping the finished product with an idea in my head. Each decision I make limits future options until I have a completed idea. This is not a bad thing, it is the process of a project. Working through the process allows the final piece to take shape.

Word of the Day: Healing

“No matter how extreme a situation is, it will change.”

“Natural events balance themselves out by seeking heir opposites and this process of balance is at the heart of all healing…”

All life is continual destruction and healing, over and over again.”

“…healing will follow upheaval.”

Yesterday’s word, disaster, was all about change in my mind. Today’s word, healing, makes me think of change also and how people change after being sick. Sometimes they die, and sometimes they change their lives completely; they exercise, they eat organic food, think positively, don’t drink, etc.

In the sense of quiltmaking, we can start a project and ruin it in some way, either intentionally (it wasn’t working out, so we slice and dice it) or unintentionally (knock over the paint on to the project). This means that the project has taken an unexpected and unplanned for turn. A project won’t ‘heal’ itself. You have to facilitate that ‘healing’ by fixing it. Fixing it can mean incorporating the new reality into a new design or it can mean abandoning the project and starting something new.

Even an abandoned piece may get a new life down the road as a back or a stuffed toy or the answer to a disaster with another project.

Word of the Day: Disaster

UGH!

That was my first thought, anyway, especially after yesterday’s word!

“Disaster strikes at its own time. It is so overwhelming that we can nothing other than accept it.”

Personally, I think this is the most important thing, other than disaster is actually about change. It instigates or inspires or incites change, change we have to accept.

“Disaster is natural. It is not the curse of the gods, it is not punishment. Disaster results from the interplay of forces…”

“Disasters may well change us deeply, but hey will pass. We must keep to our deeper convictions and remember our goals. Whether we remain ash or become the phoenix is up to us.”

Word of the Day: Optimism

The book talks about an old man who planted an orchard after he retired from his job. He was undaunted even though the people around him said he wouldn’t live long enough to see it bear fruit.

I think that starting projects that are daunting is the epitomy of optimism and it shows optimism and joy in the process and not just in the end product.

Using Fabric

I am really in a philosophical frame of mind right now. Not sure why, but I seem to be thinking more about things rather than just trying to get through the day. All that vacation freed up brain space, I guess!


I started a new tote bag last night (forgoing all computer time for fabric time!). As you can see, the fabric is a large flower print. I needed another fabric to go with it. As I was pawing through my blues (oh no! are they back??), I found myself thinking about using fabric.

I am very grateful for all of the fabric that I have. It makes me feel like I could sew to eternity and not worry. It seems that when I am looking for a specific color or shade, however, that I don’t have enough fabric. What I was doing last night was looking through fabrics to go with this wild flower print. It was a lot easier because I didn’t have a certain value or tone in mind. Does the amount of fabric expand or contract depending on what I am looking for?

Additional Gifts from Near and Far

I am a lucky girl! I have such nice friends who give me presents sometimes. 😉

First, I got a gift certificate for some fabric. Above is what I bought. Dots, of course, but also some of Mark Lipinski’s Califon line. I like the delicate designs. Not sure how I will use it, but something will come up. Now I can rest assured that the FOTY 2009 quilt will have some fabric in it. Thgift certificate came from TFQ for Christmas and the fabric just arrived today. I still owe her a thank you note.


How do you like this gift bag? The bottom has something slightly stiff in it, so it stands nicely up to attention. It is made out of felt, so I may be able to make lovely designs with embroidery (using my machine’s embroidery function) on the front instead of the applique’. The blanket stitch can be done on the machine as well. I’ll have to try it. One thing I like about it is the cute size.


This little teapot pincushion was in the gift bag. My friend, Leah, gave both to me. We hadn’t seen each other for a long time and when we got together, she produced this little package for me. It is a very sweet treat, and unexpected.

I have been transferring my pincushion between sewing machine and ironing board, so this came at the right time and, perhaps, I can start thinking about just keeping one near each workstation? I am definitely going to have to buy more pins!

Word of the Day: Work

In my opinion, there are two kinds of work: work where you make money and your life’s work. Some people are fortunate enough to have both in one. For me, the work I do for money is interesting (mostly) and challenging (often), but my life’s work is creativity. At the moment I create quilts and tote bags, occasionally ornaments or other little things. In the past I have made leaded glass windows, painted, knitted, crocheted, done mixed media collages and sculpted. Creativity is my life. It feeds my soul and comforts my psyche.

The book talks, today, about a woodcutter needing to cut wood regardless of the weather, but that planning ahead can make the work easier. The book calls this working in “concert with the seasons” or “according to seasonal circumstances.”

This means that you do some of the heavy work when there is no snow and leave the chopping of kindling for snowy days. It means planning ahead and planning your work.

By “concert with the seasons,”a person is conserving effort. The woodcutter can conserve effort, not only by working in “concert with the seasons,” but also by cutting with the grain, chopping with the right force, etc.

I do this in quiltmaking all the time. I may cut all the pieces of a block before sitting down at the machine to sew. This allows me to see what the block will look like. It helps me conserve effort, as well, because I can sit and sew the whole block without having to jump up and cut another piece each time I sew two together. I prepare the pieces of my Cross (Flowering Snowball) blocks in advance so I can sit and sew in peace when I have a few moments. This kind of planning ahead makes sense. “Whether it is the time or the method, the labor is half initiative and half knowing how to let things proceed on their own.”

Prairie Point Tutorial from Melody Johnson

You never know when you might need to know how to make a prairie point. Her recent blog posts are full of color, too. Just what we need in the midst of grey January. Here is a post on making prairie points.

Prairie Points Two Ways

 
 
 
3. Fold down one edge………………………………..4. Fold down the other edge. Prairie Point made.
 
  blog it

Word of the Day: Forbearance

endurance
bearing their fortune*

“We may have great fortune or bad, but we should patiently bear both.” Trees bear what comes: the weather, development, etc. We may receive criticism on our work – fair and unfair, correct and incorrect, astute and not. We must bear it, but not let it change us. It should inform us, but not change us. “No matter what, we must always be true to our inner selves” and the direction we want our work to take.

I think it is important for me to consider that I don’t have to only bear things that happen to me; that I can also direct new things to happen. I think what the book is saying is that things happen and we have to take them (absorb them??) and that we shouldn’t fret and worry and rend our garments as a result. We should learn from them, too.

*I may, on certain days, post words related to the word of the day, or even only brief thoughts. Some words are harder than others!

Stephanie Metz Upcoming Sculpture Exhibit

Stephanie Metz is having an upcoming exhibit of her felted wool scuplpture. I prefer her Figurative Studies of women over her animal work, but it is very interesting to see in person. Email her directly for more information.


From: Stephanie Metz [mailto:stephaniegmetz@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 10:03 PM
To: Stephanie Metz
Subject: Stephanie Metz Upcoming Sculpture Exhibit

I am very pleased to have my new felted wool sculpture Super Suckler included in the upcoming exhibit Natural Blunders. Come say hello at the opening reception on January 24th, or check out images of the work at www.stephaniemetz.com.

Thanks,

Stephanie Metz


 

The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University presents

Natural Blunders

January 24 – March 20, 2009

Like artists throughout history, those in the Natural Blunders exhibition use nature as a departure point for compelling and resonant works of art. Uniquely, the Natural Blunders artists address the historically antagonistic relationship between humans and nature, highlighting the recent trends toward cloning and aggressive breeding techniques. In this exhibition, you will see a broad range of responses toward the environmentfrom veneration to more critical responses toward our traditionally Western adversarial relationship to nature. Ultimately, the works in Natural Blunders can be viewed as an artistic rebellion against what is essentially a world out of balance.

Curator Karen Kienzle

Opening Reception

Saturday, January 24, 2009, 6:008:00 P.M., free

Featured Artists:

Alastair Bolton, Cheryl Coon, Lauren Davies, Susan Felter, David Hevel, Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor, Misako Inaoka, Ernest Jolly, Michael McConnell, Stephanie Metz, Paul Paiement, Jane Rosen, John Slepian, Kathryn Spence, Tara Tucker, Sarah Wagner, Gail Wight

Also on view:

Futurefarmers: Nearby Nature and Flora and Fauna from the de Saisset Museums Permanent Collection curated by the SCU Biology Department

de Saisset Museum

Santa Clara University

500 El Camino Real

Santa Clara, CA 95053-0550

408.554.4528

www.scu.edu/desaisset

FREE ADMISSION

TuesdaySunday, 11:00 AM 4:00 PM

Closed Mondays

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stephaniegmetz@yahoo.com