Winter School Continues...

Photo courtesy of
the CRM Society and the
Glasgow School of Art.

In my last post, I promised an update from "Winter School".  Recent study hasn't involved a class, though.  Rather, I've been working through books on Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the piece on roses I'm preparing (scroll down).  There are two motifs he favoured that I want to refer to for my work: the Glasgow Rose, which I already mentioned, and the idea of squares/grids/lattices.

To wit, I've been exploring ways to create grids, including surface design, and the work of Beryl Taylor -- specifically her diamond grid hanging shown in Mixed Media Explorations (QuiltingArts, LLC, 2006).  This is a step out on a limb for me, as I far and away favour working with fabric over paper and glue...but in the course of this work, I decided to go ahead and try a couple of samples.

I began by making what Ms. Taylor calls "fabric paper", with a piece of muslin, basic white glue, and assorted paper and tissues:

Paper fabric hanging to dry

Once it was dry, I cut it up and made this sample:

Paper fabric grid mounted on felt-backed silk
with stencil ready for paint

What I did was this:  I had an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of acrylic felt which I covered with a piece of thin silk fabric from a bag of scraps recently given me by my friend C (from her friend, G in Calgary).  I then cut a piece of the fabric paper, and stitched it down over the silk piece.  I further stitched a grid of rectangles over the whole thing, and cut out every other one to make the grid...but left space at the bottom because I wanted to test out the layout and impact of a Glasgow Rose motif stencil.  I did the stencil in gold -- it turned out rather well -- and mounted the entire thing onto a larger piece of the fabric paper, stitching it down by hand all the way around on the pink silk.  (Sorry, no photo taken.  Later -- I promise!)

The upshot of all this was that while I liked the effect, I don't want to work with fabric paper in a large size.  It's messy to make, and -- more importantly -- too stiff for what I want to do.  However, it gave me a sense of what the work could look like if I combined a grid and the rose motif, and I learned something new in the process.  Oh...and I have one more grid sample to make from the left-over material (again -- photo to come; I promise!)

Meanwhile, back in the woods... I made up a large version of "A Walk in the Woods" that needs to be quilted for my 15 x 15 "Contrast" theme, and then I thought about interpreting it on blue background, like this photo:

Yesterday, I dug out some of my own hand-dyed blue fabric, a closely woven cotton, that would be tough to use as sky because it had some 'spots' on it that were very uneven.  I thought about how to paint it, and decided to use freezer paper to create a mask.  Here's what it looked like partially painted:

It's clipped to a piece of foam core for stability, and sitting on the counter in my south-facing sunny back room, but you get the idea.

So...as of today, two pieces are ready for quilting, and a third is on the wall in a life-sized mock-up of paper and plastic film:

(L) Mock-up of "Homage to CRM" (working title)
and (R) painted "A Walk in the Woods II"

Anything else?

• The Japanese Taupe Quilt design is making slow progress: the medallion centre block has half the applique finished;
• And the traditional medallion quilt from the door prize I won a few years back looks like this:

• Pattern: "Carpenter's Star" -- technique designed by Debbie Maddy of Calico Carriage.  The kit contained all the fabric for the top, and the pattern for a 70" square finished piece.  I've gone back to my Craftsy class with Ann Petersen - "Quilting Large Quilts on a Small Machine" -- and will be doing this with her advice and guidance.  There are 4 borders to add; all but the outermost are very narrow.  She's given me some great options for quilting the central motif and then adding borders in such a way that there's not too much bulk in the seams.  That said, I don't have enough batting to do such a large piece, so it will have to wait for now.
• Knitting?  Yes...as always!  
• DD's "Elm" socks continue: #2 is cast on, and I've made my way past the ribbing, past Chart A and into Chart B.  Much easier the second time around, now that all the pattern adjustments have been made and all I have to do is follow my notes.  :-)  
• As a respite from all the brown...I started a quick scarf from stash 'novelty' yarns -- Berroco 'Cliche Colors' and Katia 'Flash', a ribbon yarn in hot pink (both discontinued, I believe):

I recommend this book for those of you who aren't into designing your own knits, and/or are looking for colourful inspiration -- especially for what to do with those fun and funky yarns you might still have in your stash and which are making a bit of a come-back these days.  It's Scarves and Shawls for Yarn Lovers: Knitting with Simple Patterns and Amazing Yarns by Carri Hammett, Creative Publishing International, 2006.  Mine is the hard-cover version, which has a spiral-bound spine so it lies flat when opened -- always a plus!

Now...off to quilt!  But before I go, I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network -- because clearly, this week, I've got WIPs!

Buzzing

Quite a bit going on here in the sewdio this week.  Having submitted my application for a booth in Lacombe, I've been putting together pieces...some of which, truth be told, began as samples for larger items.  Here's the run-down:

1. She's Come Undone:

I didn't like the quilting on "the tree piece" that I did in Pamela's class.  Specifically, I didn't like the quilting in the sky section.  Oh, it looked alright from the front, but the threads weren't "playing nice" on the back.  I also didn't like the fact that the roof of the building lined up with the 'horizon'.  Something needs to be done about that -- likely adding to the roof so that it covers the horizon line!  The piece remains (for now) in a state of "undone-ness" -- but at least I've given it a "proper" title: "Lost in the Woods":

Sky undone -- with bowl of threads to prove it!

2. Still Considering Contrast:

Remember how I was hoping my class with Pamela ("About Contrast") would give me something to use for our current 15 x 15 theme, "Contrast"?  Well...the best laid plans (as Robbie Burns would say)...

But I'm not one to last long without ideas.  The lovely sunny weather has brought forth beautiful shadows against the snow:

From my front window

One of my favorite walks

I'm thinking about the blue-on-white...and came up with this sample today:

A Walk in the Woods  (C) 2014

Of course, there are some folks who'd rather view it this way:

A Walk in the Woods (C) 2014

Either way, it's 9.5" x 6.5" matted to 15" x 12" (or the other way 'round!).


3. The Glasgow Rose:

CRM, circa 1893

One Example
of the Glasgow Rose

Made famous by Charles Rennie MacIntosh (McIntosh), the Glasgow Rose has long been a favourite motif of mine, and one I've wanted to use in a piece.  Turns out that a special exhibit of the International Quilt Festival (Portland) is featuring roses this year...so my mind is in a whirl.  At a minimum size of 25" square -- large for me -- well, let's just say, if it gets finished and entered on time, it does.  And if it doesn't?  'Twill be a learning experience.

For now, I'm sampling:

Freezer Paper Stencil
in Sketchbook

Freezer Paper Removed

Stencil, Stamps and Spray

A Bouquet Overlaid on a Water-colour Background

The 'grid' or squares and lattices, was an other of the well-known MacIntosh motifs.  I'm pondering using the grid mainly as a quilting design...but perhaps with some cut-back applique judiciously placed...

Playing w/ Grids
Using Bleach and Coloured Marker

4. A Thing of Beauty:

And at last, on the knitting front, the first sock of the latest pair of socks for my daughter is finished!!  It'a a bit big for me (her feet are longer than mine) but you get the idea.  I'm very pleased with how it's turned out.  Pattern:  "Elm" by Cookie A. from Clara Parkes' The Knitter's Book of Socks.  Yarn: "Twig" from Madelinetosh Sock.

Hooking up now to WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network...because I might just be too busy tomorrow!  :-)

And Then There's Knitting

Tosh Sock
"Twig"

Three things I love: my daughter, knitting socks, and a challenge.  The last few weeks I've enjoyed all three in combination.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, my daughter's birthday was Monday.  In the fall, she'd suggested another pair of hand-knit socks -- this time in shades of brown.  She was really after variegated, but it took some time to find exactly what she wanted, and nothing at The Crafty Lady (where I work once a week) seemed to fill the bill.

Eventually I found Madelinetosh "Tosh Sock" in the 'Twig' colour-way -- not exactly variegated, but very nicely dyed indeed -- and ordered it from an online US retailer (there are online stores in Canada that carry "Tosh Sock" and a LYS in Edmonton that carries it and would mail order it, but none had 'Twig' in stock).  The yarn arrived too close to Christmas for a finished gift...but with a January birthday...

That's what I aimed for.  And...I seemed to find the perfect pattern in Clara Parkes' The Knitter's Book of Socks. I cast on, knit the cuff and first chart, and decided to see if anyone on Ravelry.com had made these.  Good thing, too, because it seems that this pattern has one draw-back: it has a long leg (not to-the-knee but...) -- and a long, slender leg at that.  Many of the knitters had had to move up from 60 to 72 stitches (it's a 12-row pattern repeat) and go up at least one needle size (up from 2.25 mm to...2.5, 3, 3.25...) just to get it over the heel (these are knit top-down).

Hmmm.

Now, my daughter's legs begin somewhere close to her neck (grin); that is, her entire being is long and slender and a bit curvy, unlike her mother (built like a box -- a short, square box).  Just after New Year's I wrote her for her desired leg length and the circumference of her calf at the top of her desired cuff -- something I hadn't needed for the plain vanilla socks in self-patterning yarns I've knit for her in the past.  She was away; her reply took a while to arrive.  When it did, there was some figuring...knit, knit, knit....and more figuring...

Suffice to say, as of this morning, I'm starting the heel flap on the first sock of the pair, and hope I've finagled the pattern sufficiently so that when I get back to the foot, it will flow with the leg.

Here's what it looked like on the needles, with 11 rows to go to the start of the heel:

And stretched over my hand for effect:

The pattern is "Elm" by Cookie A -- aptly named as the criss-cross ribbing resembles tree trunks.  My specs are as follows:

• Cuff, Chart A and first 6 rows of Chart B: 72 stitches and 2.5 mm needles;
• Rest of Chart B, all of Chart C, first 11 rows of Chart A and onward: 72 stitches and 2.25 mm needles;
• Leg length: 7.5"
• Yarn: Madelinetosh "Tosh Sock" in 'Twig' - 1 skein: 100% super-wash merino wool, fingering weight (per label).

I am completely grateful to two gals on Ravelry -- Frey-ja and Raelin in the KBOS forum -- for their ongoing advice, encouragement and support as I work out this project.

Onward and heel-ward!  :-)