Lots Going On

First, some friends of mine are giving away goodies for this Blog Hop Party to which they belong.  There's Margarita and Kit, for example.  Both make wonderful textile art -- and Marga combines her fabric with paper...

Then there's The Needle and Thread Network (TNTN), a network of All-Canadian (sorry, eh?) needle-workers of any and all stripes, celebrating its First Anniversary with a series of give-aways.  The Network is operated by my cyber-friend, Monika -- she of the stunning (to use an over-worked adjective) threat-painted postcards and pictures of the Canadian prairies.  What's not to like?!

Then there's Sandy H. of Q4TROU (Quilting for the Rest of Us), who is coming up on Podcast #100, and will be giving away even more goodies...

Looks like creative cyberspace is replete with generous spirits!

Stay tuned: I have a couple of major anniversaries coming up in the next few months...and yes, there will be a few giveaways.  :-)

Meanwhile, however, I continue to plug away at The Work At Hand.  Blessed with a couple of cool, breezy days -- let's refer to them as 'Autumn Previews', shall we? -- I have been working indoors.  Wednesday, while my kitten, Pookie, was missing, I put up eight large jars of pickled crab apples.  Friday, to celebrate her safe return home, I froze some more green, purple (yes) and waxed (yellow) beans.  Today, I made kale and potato soup (!)  for lunch.  Totally yummy -- from ingredients provided by my CSA (Sandy, you know all about this sort of thing, don't you?).  Tomorrow...I'm thinkin' carrot soup -- with the tops, too!

Next I quilted my C&G piece for Activity 10/11 -- Shadow Applique:

I used free-motion straight stitching (no, this is not an oxymoron -- just ask Leah Day)  I wanted to replicate the funky not-so-straight lines of the cheesecloth layer, and I really liked the effect I got.  I used a thread (Sulky 40 wt) that would complement the background to keep the effect muted.  Here's a close-up:

Today?  Well...
First, I washed up the Stepping Stones Socks, from Clara Parkes' Knitter's Book of Socks, made on commission for my friend, DH.   Shown -- a detail of the cuff.  Isn't it pretty?  The yarn is Emu Superwash Double Knit, which means it's a bit heavy for just shoes, but would work well alone (think: house- or bed-socks) or in clogs, or in boots.

I've recently finished 2 hats for our 'knitting tree' at church:

#3 - Shining Star -
pattern by Canadian  Kate Gilbert

 The "Shining Star" hat was made from left-overs from the Dr. Who Scarf -- Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice Solids in 'Eggplant' and Scarlet' -- both acrylic.

#4 - Dibdin - pattern by Berroco

 "Dibdin" was made in Noro Himaraya wool yarn from my stash.










Next, I mounted 'Triangulation' onto its black mat board, ready to send to Gail Harker for her fund-raiser:

'Triangulation' (c) 2012

I think the mat board really sets it off, don't you? (yes, I know that's both a loaded and a rhetorical question; no answer is expected!)

I like it so much that I have another piece planned, and will send Gail two.





Then I took the bull by the horns and confronted the thread-painting I knew I needed to do to finish this piece:

Working title: "House" -- simply the first in a series of abandoned Alberta buildings I want to re-create from photos...You might recognize a close-up piece finished earlier..."The Watcher".  In fact, I showed "House" in an earlier post, before the roof was finished, before the quilting and thread painting...Now all it needs is to be bound/enveloped and labelled, and to have a sleeve for hanging.

But...if it's to be a series, there really should be at least three, so I will be re-visiting photos in up-coming weeks to figure out the right piece.

To take a break, finally, this afternoon I began to assemble the 9-patch blocks I've been making from flannel given my by somebody (!).  I bought some solids to use in between, and a different print for backing, and will put the entire baby-style quilt together for our "knitting" tree at church:

This evening? I think I'm going to kick back and relax!  Maybe even watch an episode of The Quilt Show...

Have a great rest of the weekend, eh?

C&G and FMQ

Today I focused on two things, which happened to complement each other perfectly:  my C&G Module 5, excercises 15 & 16, and the Free Motion Quilt Project, for which I'm playing 'catch up'.  

Yep.  I began by trying to catch up a bit with Leah Day, and made it through the introduction and the "Wiggle" exercises.  This is the stack of practice blocks -- with the best one on top, of course!  I have more squares of muslin and batting paired and ready to go as I continue this project.

At the same time in the C&G...

My current assignment for Module 5 of the City and Guilds Level 2, Creative Techniques: Quilting, involves Free Motion Quilting (FMQ).. First there were exercises in my sketchbook:

 You can see in this first one that I was stiff and stilted, even as I tried to draw a favourite design without lifting pen from paper.

 The second one was a bit easier to do -- in part because I've done it before on fabric, and in part because now I was getting warmed up.

 Now we had to try to fit a design around a central motif.  See how the scale changes to accommodate the motif rather than detract from it?

This was another example of trying to scale a quilting design to a motif -- to create texture and interest without overwhelming the motif.

In the end, I had to select a free-motion design and stitch it around a motif.  I managed to dig out a sample I'd created for an earlier module and activity, and use it for my sample.  Not my best 'pebbles' work (I have done this before, 2 or 3 years ago...)  but it got me back into the groove.  At the same time, I was able to follow Leah's advice to modify my stippling foot, to test out various threads, and to adjust my chair (by adding a cushion to raise me just a bit) so that future exercises will be a bit more fun and relaxing.

Although I may move on in the C&G (I think foundation piecing is next on the agenda), I'll be continuing with the FMQ Project, so stay tuned for new designs and photos of practice samples as I continue to learn and to "Polish the Process".

P.S. The following pieces in the 3F shop have been submitted for juries' consideration to up-coming exhibits:

"Nobody Here But Us" - 16.25" W x 13.75"L - for "Spaces & Places", the 2012 Biennial Exhibit of the Focus on Fibre Arts Association, Edmonton, Alberta

and...

for the Gallery at the 2012 Lacombe Art Show & Sale, running April 20 -22 at the Lacombe Memorial Centre:

Snippets: A Quilt Artist's Learning Curve

A Beach, 3 Boys

Hay Bales

I've Also Been Quilting


Thought I'd posted somewhere in an archive about the first piece in what I'm calling my "Spirit" series -- but I can't find the link.  Ah well.  The piece is called God, of Your Goodness, and is inspired by the first line of a prayer from Julian of Norwich:  

God, of Your goodness, give me yourself,

for you are enough to me,

and I can ask for nothing else that is to Your glory.

And if I should ask for anything else,

I would still be in want,

for only in You have I all.

Robe - Right Front Section

"Heart Paisley" Detail

I'm at the quiltiing stage with this piece, and decided to do some "Heart Paisley" (per Leah Day) filling stitches on the sleeves of the robe belonging to the God-figure.   This resulted in a great deal of procrastination on my part, but I finally bit the bullet and practiced, practiced, practiced.  On Saturday afternoon, I went for it on the actual piece, and am quite pleased.  Onward and upward!

As my friend A poiinted out, this sort of McTavishing can result in a fairly firm fabric.  This means that on the sleeves, where I want to show 'flimsiness', I am going to quilt much more lightly.  I am also undecided about quilting the lame lapels of the robe; I'll leave that decision until I have finished the other front, and the centre panel.  

Lesson Learned: there's a place for dense quilting, and a place for not-so-dense quilting!  :-)

On the knitting front, I posted a query on Ravelry about how many strands to use in the single-colour section of the argyle (my second kilt hose commission), when you use 2 strands for the marl section.  It was generally agreed that I should use 2 strands throughout, which has me fussing about whether or not I have enough of the main colours (blue and green).  Think I'll order more, just in case.  I can always use this basic sock yarn for something else if I don't need it for the kilt hose.  I swatched the first 32 rows of the cuff, 75 sts on #12 CAD (2.75 mm) straight needles -- and got 15 sts and 20 rows to 2', when I should be getting 11 sts and 17 rows.  Sigh.  Pulled it out (recycle!) and will try with #11 CAD (3 mm) straights.  Yep, these hose are intarsia -- knit flat and seamed before working the foot.  Every minute with them is a learning experience, so I'm still having fun. :-)

Now back to the sewing machine!

And when it rains...

There's an indoor studio....wherein I'm practicing my FMQ (Free Motion Quilting) for "God, of Your Goodness". I knew I wanted to quilt heart shapes on the robe, to repeat the motif of the hand applique...and then I found Leah Day and her great tutorial on hearts and spirals FMQ in the new Interweave "e-mag", Quilting Arts in Stitches. I still need more practice to really loosen up with this motif, so that's on tap for this afternoon.

That, and playing with leaves -- again. This time it's not ivy, but aspen, for the third piece in my "Nature" series, also entitled... um... "Aspen".