Where Did It Go?

This year, 

the week after Labour Day

flew by:

preparations for new counter tops,

now installed,

repairs to the underbelly

of the house

so pipes won't freeze 

come January.

The wind blew in rain and wet snow

on my birthday.

Diesel went missing,

still gone,

likely forever.

Diesel Cat

On the heels of his disappearance, 

a trip to Calgary

despite the weather,

for a dental check-up,

 an over-night visit,

 a meeting

and a workshop 

that all who made it enjoyed.

Tree down behind our meeting venue

Back home in a

twenty-four-hour turn-around;

then to work,

followed

by another trip --

this time to Sherwood Park

north of here,

just outside Edmonton.

 Another over-night

sandwiched

between two very full days

working a booth 

at the Creative Stitches Show.

Home again to face

fall yard work,

and company over-night.

Much to catch up:

correspondence,

errands,

connecting to neighbours

and friends.

There's always knitting

and working a bit in the studio.

There is always knitting.

This week?

A Monday evening meeting;

a Wednesday evening art Preview:

"10 x 10: The Unknown Artist".

Then a Thursday work-day

and travel that night

once more to Calgary.

Two nights this time;

another

Creative Stitches Show.

Suddenly -- Canola! (C) 2014

One of these days the merry-go-round will stop

and I will get off.

Quietly linking to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.

Prepped and Coping

Over the last day or two, our weather has cooled and we've had much needed rain.  Today's morning showers, swirling grey clouds and stiff breezes makes it look like Mother Nature is practicing for September, a mere 10 days away.

With cooler weather and the sense that autumn's creeping in comes a renewed Sense of Purpose and a determination to Get Things Done that I welcome after a summer of strained emotions coupled with uncertainty about Where I Go From Here.

Yesterday was mostly about prep:

The garden-fresh beans my sis gave me on Sunday were prepped for blanching and freezing:

I prepped my luncheon omelette:

And I prepped my materials for another series of miniatures at the request of one of "my" galleries -- Different Strokes in Olds -- which re-opens in September after a summer of renovations and roadwork:

Foundations prepped

Sketchbook, inspirational photos, fabrics...

I prepped my "10 x 10: The Unknown Artist" silent auction piece -- now it's ready to hang at the Preview which is Wednesday evening, September 24, at the Lacombe Memorial Centre:

Special thanks to Susan Lenz who is a framer as well as a textile artist, and who gave great advice recently about this sort of hanging paraphernalia on the SAQA Yahoo Group.  :-)

I also did more work on the Japanese Taupe Quilt.  Not liking all the blank space of plain blocks, I auditioned strip-pieced-and-plain four-patches instead:

A. -  Five plain blocks in the centre -- see?

B. - Auditioning 4-patches -- see?

Today?  "Prep" became "WIPs" or "Almost Finished":

This mini is almost there -- but I ran out of the colour of thread I need to create some motion in the sky:

Mini #1 - "There's One in Every Crowd"

This one just needs stitching of the evergreen, and trimming:

Mini #2 - "Sailor's Delight" - WIP

And the Japanese Taupe Quilt is coming together -- because I'm coping!  I discovered my math on the 4-patches was a tad "out", so...instead of starting over, I added narrow coping strips to the blocks and will incorporate them thus:

JTQ - Pieced Section #1 - Rows 1 & 2 (of 5) on design wall

Tomorrow?  I work at the shop, so the studio will have to wait till Friday.  Meanwhile, I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network -- let's see what others are up to, shall we?  :-)

P.S.  

• Finished this as a shop sample -- the Bollard Shrug from Berroco, in Weekend Chunky yarn:

Bollard Shrug - Self Portrait!

• SAQA colleague and cyber-friend Susan Lenz (she of the hanging apparatus tutorial) was in Portland, OR, this past weekend for the "Quilt! Knit! Stitch!" show, and saw my piece in the "Coming Up Roses" exhibit.  She had her husband, Steve, photograph her with my piece...see below (used with permission).  I'm thrilled to bits!

So lovely when someone known to you actually recognizes your work!

Breakthrough!

Sometimes it takes a painfully lo-o-o-ng time for me to get a piece out of my gut/heart/soul/brain and into fabric.  I say painful, because sometimes the angst manifests itself in anxiety, poor sleep, and ennui bordering on depression.

It's been this way with the piece on which I'm working for the Lacombe Foundation for the Arts second Annual "10 x 10: The Unknown Artist" silent auction fundraiser.  Though the event isn't until late September, the piece needs to be delivered on or before Tuesday, September 2.  Time's pressing!

I began with an idea that involved taking the canvas off the stretcher bars.  Testing this out with a sample canvas, I decided that while this was indeed feasible, I really didn't have time to experiment this year.  It could be wonderful; it could be a dud, but...you know.

Raise the anxiety a notch.  Now what?

I had another few ideas percolating for miniatures that I want to make and send to the Discovery Gallery when it re-opens in September.  What about one of them?  Hmmm....Went to my sketchbook and drew out a 5" x 5" scale draft.  Yep.  And some of the silks I dyed over the long weekend would work beautifully...

That was last week.

TODAY I finally "Just did it" (with apologies to Nike).  I went into the studio, cut the foundation fabric, applied the fusible web, created a pattern on clear plastic, auditioned the fabric, and fused it down.  Next step: stitch.  Man-o-man, do I feel better!

What's it look like?

It's a secret.  "The Unknown Artist", remember?  Sorry...no peeking till after the auction...

Still, I'm linking this up to WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network...I'm sure you'll find something there to look at!

SOLD!

This evening I attended the Preview of the "10 x 10: The Unknown Artist" fundraiser for the Lacombe Endowment for the Arts.  If you're a follower of this blog, you'll have seen my posts about the creation of my piece on stretched canvas, "Tree Study II":

The doors opened at 6:00 p.m.; I got there about 6:10 to find my friend C waiting in anticipation.  "Have you seen it? Have you seen it?" she practically shouted at me.  It turns out that this is what she meant:

Apparently it was the second piece sold -- less than 10 minutes after the doors opened!!  Whoa!  A fast $200 raised for the Endowment fund!  I'm still reeling from the surprise.  :-)

By the time I left at 7:40 p.m. (the event was closing at 8 p.m.), over a dozen pieces (almost 25% of the exhibit) had sold.  The rest, including my daughter's piece, "Spilling Towards" will be in the Silent Auction which begins tomorrow and runs through September 29 at 4 p.m.

Spilling Towards (C) Gina R. Blank
Medium: Wax on stretched canvas
10" x 10"

The good news is that reserve bids are $100, and her piece, as well as the others left after the Preview, have a chance to sell for much higher than the special fixed Preview price ($200).  This is the first such event the Endowment Fund has held, and from where I sit, it's off to a great start.

If you're in the area....stop by the Memorial Centre lobby and place a bid!

In Betwixt and Between

WIP Wednesday and Off-the-Wall Friday, that is.

This is another week in which I'm filling in for Lori at The Crafty Lady.  (She's got a booth at "Creative Stitches and Crafting Alive" in Edmonton.)  If you're in Lacombe tomorrow or Saturday, do drop by!  We've just had some shipments of yarn, and there's lots to see.  :-)  Of course, if you're in Edmonton, drop by the Show and see Lori at The Crafty Lady Booth.  She'll be the gal with great yarn, red hair and a big grin.  Tell her I sent you!

Monday was my first "usual Monday in Lacombe" since the end of June; I got back to my Anglican Rosary (10 a.m.) followed by coffee, aquacize (11 a.m.), lunch and Woolly Theology.  Dropped the finished shop sample off for Lori to take to the Creative Stitches show in Edmonton:

"Girl's Cropped Cardigan" - Schachenmayr SNC Inspirations #162
Yarn: Bravo Micro Crande

Tuesday...haircut; mow lawns (front and back): clear out beans (now finished) and weeds from garden; nap; read...

Wednesday: guy hired to clean furnace/ducts (first time in 5 years at least) didn't show; called his cell; found out he was stuck in northern Alberta with a broken-down vehicle, awaiting parts.  When I called, he said, "Gosh; I guess I'd better call my other customers, eh?"  Sigh....Re-booked for 2 weeks from now...I hope...

So...what to do with the gift of a day sans the noise and interruption of a Duct-cleaning Machine?

1. Start with a drawing (based on a real-life model):

2. Trace it onto the fabric.  I used a mechanical pencil.

3. Paint it with stitch.  I used black thread and FMQ:

4.  Quilt it:

5. Then paint it with Tsukineko ink, acrylic paint, Fabrico marker, textile medium, textile paint...

And there comes the rub.  Look closely at the green leaves, especially on the lower left of the photo.  Sigh.  Too much liquid = running.  Nothing I did could save it.  Even after drying it doesn't meet my standards.

What to do?  Dye more background fabric; re-do the drawing and stitching and quilting; paint again -- with less liquid and more control.

This is my piece for the 15 x 15 "Time" theme..."To Everything There is a Season".  Apt, no?

Meanwhile, the "Wasabi Hat" is finished:

"Wasabi Hat" on a dinner plate

And I've started Hat #5 in my "10 Weeks, 10 Hats" self-challenge.  Truth be told, I'm almost finished it, as I have only the decreases to the crown to do.  In quiet moments at TCL, this is what I'm doing, so I should be finished sometime tomorrow and on to Hat #6.

And after work this evening I trundled over to the Lacombe Memorial Centre (LMC), because the "10 x 10: The Unknown Artist" exhibit was supposed to be hung today.

I didn't realize the LMC was closed...the Library, which is open till 8 p.m., was shut off from the main area by a sliding door...the kind that's really a sort of wide 'mesh'.  Even so, I was able to get a sneak peek:

See the green piece, the second from the left?!  That's mine!  Whoa!  "Tree Study II" is right up there near the entry to the exhibit!!

And here are the details of the show:

I can hardly wait to see the whole thing.  Of course, I'll be at the Preview evening on Wednesday... Excited?  Who, me?  ;-)

Maybe I'll hook up to Off-the-wall Friday, just for fun...

Have a great weekend!

September

Bless Mother Nature; she still thinks it's summer.  Today it hit 29 C with nary a breeze.  I'm writing this post in the late afternoon on the bench of my Outdoor Studio, where I have been knitting the small short sleeve of a child's sweater.  

I began the day with an almost-90-minute jog (actual distance yet to be determined) and then puttered about indoors.  I packed my case and organized my larger pieces on hangers for the trip south tomorrow -- and to the gallery Wednesday.  I dug out my overnight case.

In anticipation of the Duct Guy next week -- cleaning my furnace ducts -- I sorted the mountain of green fabrics resting on the corner of my cutting table, and generally improved his access to the ducts in the floor of my sewdio.

In the process, I pieced the September Block for the Cinnamon Block-of-the-Month:

"Grandmother's Favourite"

I updated the blog for the Anglican Parish of St. Cyprian's...because I'm the one who does that.  :-)

Then I went outside, where I've been pretty much ever since.

I'm moving in slow motion.  

My neighbours are away and while I like them a lot, I'm happy to be on my own this "Last Official Day of Summer" (no matter that the summer-to-autumn change-over doesn't happen, calendar-wise, for another few weeks).

And I'm pondering...the "new" year; my friend C, who's birthday is today;  the activities of the week ahead; the outcome of the gallery visit; the outcome of the 2013 SAQA Benefit Auction (which starts online a week from today); the outcome of the City of Lacombe exhibit, "10 x 10: The Unknown Artist", which goes up at the Lacombe Memorial Centre (5214 - 50 Avenue, Lacombe, Alberta) ten days from today...

You get the picture.

September.  Full of autumnal goodness, yet clinging to summer's warmth...

View of sis' garden shed from her deck

Crazy Stewy, the Resident Squirrel

Diesel enjoys late August sunshine

Labour Day Hors D'oeuvres - my tomatoes!

Late summer geraniums border the Outdoor Studio

Here's hoping your move into Fall* is smooth and silky...

*with apologies to my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, who are getting excited about Spring!

Working on the Work

Now that Tree Study I is finished and posted with the rest of the wonderful 15 x 15 quilts in our "Texture" challenge, I've moved on to Tree Study II!  This one is going to finish at 10" x 10" and be mounted on stretched canvas that size, because it's my donation to a silent auction fundraiser for the Lacombe Arts Endowment Fund.  This is the body that sponsors the annual Art Show and Sale, and gives scholarships to local arts students.  It's stated mission is to "[be] a catalyst designed to build a legacy in perpetuity for the arts that supports the education, awareness, appreciation and development of the arts thereby contributing to the quality of life for residents of Lacombe & Area."

The theme of this exhibit is "The Unknown Artist" -- meaning that the works will be displayed without any identification.  Artists are asked to sign their work on the back of the pieces.  The subject matter and medium are up to each artist.  The work will be displayed in the Lacombe Memorial Centre from September 12 through 29, during the annual Culture and Harvest Festival, and there's an opening night preview allowing attendees to purchase work for only $200 per piece -- a first come, first served sale for those people only.  Pieces not sold on that evening will be available for the Silent Auction with a reserve (minimum) bid of $100.

None of my local friends follow my blog, to my knowledge...but just in case, so I can remain relatively "unknown"...I'll post a bit about the process but not the finished piece till after the exhibit is hung.  Of course, I expect to be the only textile artist in the exhibit -- based on the participants in the annual Art Show and Sale -- unless someone using textiles, unbeknownst to me, is participating!  That alone would peg my piece right there!

Detail of Mountain Ash tree with fungus/moss

Anyway, back to the process.  In an earlier post I showed you my plans for working with water soluble fabric.  I have some early results and am very pleased:

Embroidery worked on soluble fabric

See the wee holes in the fabric in the above photo?  Those appeared because I left the piece on my work table under a partially open window -- and we got a thunderstorm!  Yes, some rain came in and...well, let's just say the fabric lives up to its name!  :-)

Section of embroidery on soluble fabric, before washing

 In the next photo, you can see how the fabric dissolved in water, leaving wee gaps (planned).  The embroidery is wet in the photo, so shows up darker in colour than it does when dry.

Section washed and drying on a towel

Below is a view of my 10 x 10 piece, bordered in complementary fabric which will be wrapped around the sides of the stretched canvas given me by the exhibit committee.  I've auditioned the washed lace on the piece and as a result, have prepared some more of the soluble fabric for stitching.  My current task is to finish embroidering several more small bits of "fungus", and then to attach all to the quilted background with a few tiny beads in toned-in colour for more texture and for a sense of dew/damp on the bark that was there when I took the original photo.

And...that's as much of it as you'll see for the next while!  Later in September, when the show goes up, I'll post a finished photo and, I hope, photos of the other pieces, as I fully intend to be there for the opening reception on September 18!

Before I get back to my stitching, I'll link this up with WIP Wednesday over on The Needle and Thread Network.  Pour yourself a cuppa, sit back, and enjoy reading about what everyone's up to!