Order Out of Chaos

I continue to find peace in piecing -- and in knitting and embroidery -- when I'm not out in my yard, that is!

Since I last posted, I've done a great deal more shovelling of wood chips, edging of flower beds, and generally preparing my garden for planting.  I even managed to wrestle with my new lawn mower and mow the land (2 narrow lots) next to my home before it rained.

This baby is a Troybilt 159 cc, 21" 3-in-1 gas lawn mower with rear-wheel drive and push-button electric start!  Whoa! 

I've never owned a gas mower before, but there's no cord long enough for me to mow that piece of land with my electric one...so...I had to put on my Big Girl Pants and move up in the lawn mower power world! 

It's heavier, and far more complex: battery, charging source, oil, gasoline, 3 types of mowing -- mulching, grass bag and side chute...

And as per usual, the photos illustrating the assembly and operation were written by someone who never had to follow his own instructions! LOL! 

But I managed...and that lot got mowed.

Then the rains -- and the wind -- came, and I was most happy to hunker down inside again...sort of.  I spent Wednesday afternoon and Thursday stitching, but yesterday morning the rain lightened  up enough for me to get out early to the nursery for bedding plants, and to travel on up the road to Stettler for more topsoil to finish filling the raised bed.  Temps have been cool, so nothings actually planted yet...but starting tomorrow...

Meanwhile, as I mentioned, there's been peace to be found in the sewdio.

On the knitting front, work on my Tegna top continues, but the focus has been my May "Socks from Stash" project.  The first sock is finished and I'm making my way down the foot of the second.  Using 60 stitches, I just love how the colour play is working!

Yarn: Ancient Arts "Reinvent" in 'Calico Cat'
Pattern: "A Nice Ribbed Sock"
Designer: Glenna C.

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned in passing that I'd resumed work on an embroidered sampler designed by Jeannette Douglas of Calgary.  Having let it languish as a UFO for 20 years, I've firmly committed to finishing it and sending it to my friends for their 25th 45th wedding anniversary in August.  It's a bell pull, so I've sealed the deal by ordering the hardware and hope it will arrive in good time!  Meanwhile, this is how it looked a day or two ago:

As of this writing, there's a row of text below those flowers that has been completed, and I'm moving down the "trunk" of the Tower.  (There are gaps where buttons and beads are to go, and there are outlines to complete, but I always leave those to the end.)  

It's a rhythmic, quiet process that I particularly enjoy with my early morning coffee and again after dinner in the evening.

And in the sewdio...I've finally sandwiched the "Strip to Shore" quilt top, so it's ready to go under the needle.  My main focus though has been the orderly piecing of not one but two Bonnie Hunter mysteries.

Stack of 25 main blocks
for "Frolic!"

One is "Frolic!" which she released as a mystery per usual -- in November 2019 (free pattern link no longer available; this one is now available as a digital pattern and right now Bonnie has a sale going on those!)   

I finished all 25 of the main blocks some time ago, and set them aside.  In typical Bonnie fashion, it's a large quilt, and this one is set 'on point'.  

Well, now.  In the past 10 days I've returned to that project, and made even more progress -- to whit: I've finished the four (4) corner blocks.  Where in other quilts these might be corner triangles of one solid fabric, these ones are pieced -- such that they look like 1/4 of one of the "regular" blocks!!

And  I've finished four (4) of the twelve (count 'em!) "half-blocks" that will function as the "setting triangles" as this top gets put together in rows -- again, on point!

Each one is like assembling a jagged-edged jig-saw puzzle, with some mirror imaging involved -- meaning, with my eyesight (astygmatism among other things), continuing struggles to get every piece going in the right direction!  Still, I've persisted...

(L) pieces of the 1/2-block waiting to be assembled
(R) a stack of four (4) finished 1/2 blocks

See what I mean?

And then there's her "Unity" Sew-in-Place Project.  In a recent interview with Lyric Montgomery Kinard*, Bonnie admitted that this project was originally intended as her 2020 Mystery...but now...with COVID-19...she produced it early -- double quick! -- and will have to come up with something new for the fall.  With staying-at-home (for the most part in most places) being the order of the day, I'm guessing that will happen...but I have no idea for certain.

Anyway...This pattern is now complete (as of Monday, May 18) with eight parts.  As I set it aside after Part 2, I'm now playing catch-up. 

Who am I kidding?!  It's not a race!  I've just decided to take it up again because working on these blocks is very soothing, repetitive and peaceful.  More Order Out of Chaos!

I showed you the centre medallion HERE...and the next steps HERE.  Part 3 continues the theme.  Let's just say that Miss Bonnie is rather "star-struck" or "star crazy" with this quilt.  And yes, if you select colours in line with hers, it will have a distinctly American flavour...but being Canadian, I've changed it up a tiny bit, eh?  

So... there's another border of star blocks in process -- 36 in all.  As of this writing, I have 4 left to do in that column down the left side, but the photo was taken yesterday...

And here are a couple of the star blocks close up:

Even though I am not the world's greatest piecer, I continue to be amazed at how well my blocks turn out...and how everything seems to line up in the end!

As I've worked, I've particularly enjoyed vid-casts from Lyric Montgomery Kinard (especially her *Covi-chats) and from Kate Jackson (The Last Homely House East of the Sea).   I listen to Stitchery Stories (Susan Weeks).  The literary chats and poetry of Malcolm Guite and the music of Carrie Newcomer and Steve Bell (Canadian) bring hope and sustenance.  Podcasts from Parker Palmer (with Carrie Newcomer) and Krista Tippett (On Being) and Mary Hynes (Tapestry -- Canadian) bring inspiration and food for thought.

And right now, having everything line up in orderly rows; keeping Zoom meetings and online seminars and FB discussions to a minimum; sitting for long periods in quiet; going for long walks (no ear buds); and/or working in the garden (more rows) and with my hands -- well, that's what's supporting me.  

I don't make phone calls (much) and I take my time answering e-mail correspondence.  I have to manage the "noise" or it overwhelms.  I am thankful I have loving family and friends...and am satisfied in knowing that you think of me often and maybe even hold me in your prayers.  I hope before too long we can see each other in person...but for now...All is well.  All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. (after Julian of Norwich)

I hope whatever you are doing to manage, wherever you are...that those practices are healthy, helpful and soul-sustaining.   I'm linking this up to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday (another great source of connection!) -- finding that she too has been 'creating order out of chaos' with reorganizing her studio.  I hope you all have a good week, Gentle Readers -- take care and stay safe!

What a Difference a Frame Makes

I learned that from Lyric Kinard (and her course, "Picture it Framed")...and she was right...IF (and only if) you make your pieces to be mounted on stretched canvas or mount them on mat board or frame them in mats.

The look of it -- and the fact that it pretty much guarantees that (finally!) my small pieces won't be mistaken for place mats, dish cloths or cushion covers -- has me excited. So much so that I've been using the techniques for pretty much all of my new work thus far this year!

And today, I picked up the latest assortment...ALL of which will be available for purchase at the 19th Annual Lacombe Art Sale & Celebration of Creative Expression -- in the City of Lacombe on April 20 (1-8 p.m.) and Saturday (11 a.m. - 4 p.m).

Here's a selection to entice you to visit...if you're anywhere close to Central Alberta!

These three, inspired by photos taken by my friend, Bob, as mentioned in my last post:

After the Storm: Grenada
12" x 12"

Five Barns, Beiseker, AB
5" x 7"

Abandoned, Alaska
5" x 7"

And these mono-prints that I thought at first had failed...but they surprised me when I stitched them!

Grasslands I
20" x 16"

Grasslands II
20" x 16"

Grasslands III
12" x 12"

There will be others to choose from too, so I hope some of you will be able to join me and all the artists and artisans at the Lacombe Memorial Centre for the 19th Annual Art Show & Sale!

Linking this to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday; this week she (like most of us in more northern parts right now!) is urging us to call Spring's bluff and rejoice in it any way -- snow, freezing rain and cold be-darned!  If you can't get into the garden, get into the studio and drum up something colourful! 😊

Thanks for reading -- and have a wonderful week!

Creative Chaos

For a few days this past week, my studio looked rather like those February winds I mentioned in an earlier post had come right in and blown everything about.

I was working on my latest piece for the Scotland Series...testing out felting ideas, sampling stitching on water-soluble stabilizer, auditioning colours for wee buildings.  Creative chaos indeed!

The piece is now finished, and awaits its floater frame, but you can have a look at it beforehand:

Impressions of Portree (Isle of Skye)
12" x 12", mixed media on stretched canvas:
acrylic paint, coloured pens, needle-felting, quilting

And a bit of a detail shot...

I also added to "Abbey Echoes I" by mounting it on a painted stretched canvas -- an idea learned in the "Picture it Framed" class with Lyric Kinard.  I tried to echo the arches in the white-on-black painting.

Abbey Echoes I
12" x 12" mounted on
painted stretched canvas
Finished size: 16" x 20"

I think this now makes it a better companion piece with "Abbey Echoes II", which finished at the same size.

Abbey Echoes II

In between the Scotland-inspired work, I've made a mini -- the first this year and the first of a series based on photos taken last July at a ranch about 3/4 hour's drive southwest of here.  There is an old home on the property that was replaced by the current ranch house some years ago, and simply left there...

It saddened and fascinated me -- particularly the door hidden behind the overgrown bushes...

And so I was inspired to start with this little piece:

Overgrown - (C) 2018
5" x 7" matted to 8" x 10"

There will be more to come in this series, as I am hoping to need "non-Scotland" pieces for the Lacombe Art Show and Sale in April (news about my application is due in a couple of weeks; I'll keep you posted!)

I also have some photos I want to recreate in textiles and stitch that are close-ups of various flora and fauna.  Those may take quite some time, so we'll see how that works out.

Meanwhile, I knit two hats for a client; continued piecing units for Bonnie Hunter's "On Ringo Lake" mystery (I'm now on Clue 6!); made progress on a very colourful bed quilt (for my home) that now needs fabric for borders and backing; and started yet another bed quilt from stash fabrics, based on a pattern from   "Simply Moderne", one of the magazines I gave away recently to celebrate my blog anniversary.  

Oh, and I did a bit of serendipitous snow dyeing with all that white stuff in my back yard...

Snow-dyed cheesecloth, scrim

Assorted cotton, poly-cotton and muslin

Batting scraps!

I really don't know what I'll do with them -- or even if I like them very much -- but it was a bit of fun.  Now my stock of dye powder is pretty low, so nothing will happen till I replenish it!

And so it goes...

Perhaps this gives you, my Gentle Readers, the impression that when it comes to my art work, I'm all over the map -- that I don't have a distinct style or 'voice' -- but I would disagree.  

I think it's possible to experiment with techniques -- from applique to piecing to mono-printing, to dyeing, to colouring with pens; from quilting sandwiches to mounts on stretched canvas to work directly applied to that canvas; from semi-representational to more impressionistic to down-right abstract -- and still have a distinct way of expressing oneself artistically.

Those of you who've followed my blog or see my work in my Facebook posts (3F Creations) will know that I have a penchant for landscapes that are more impressions than realistic, a fondness for colour, and a "side bar" of work that is more abstract or unreal, and may venture into making a statement from time to time.  And I see all of that as part of my unique artistic voice.

I'll leave you with those thoughts...and the link-up to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday, where she brings up that very topic: finding one's voice.  I'm curious to know about yours...so do give it some thought, and pause for a comment if you're willing to share.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

All Work and No Play...

Yes, I've been doing more paper work,  but I've also done some paper play this week.  (Advance Notice: lots to see here...this is a rather long post!)

I spent Monday assembling my first-ever Proper Proposal to an Art Gallery -- i.e., an Exhibit Description/Proposal for the Art Gallery of St. Albert near Edmonton, for Mark on the Body to appear there in 2018.  While I have two more of these to do, this one had a deadline (March 14)...and a timeline that says the Gallery will respond to all applicants by June 3, 2017.  In other words, "Hurry up and wait"!  :-)   The good news is that I had it in the mail on Wednesday, the postage to send it with tracking was reasonable, and it was delivered in St. Albert on Friday.

Next up: the McMullen Gallery, which is part of the University of Alberta Hospital Complex in Edmonton -- a key place for me to show this work, as that's where many of the latest advances in research about Type 1 Diabetes -- its causes, treatment, prevention and cure -- have been made, and where that important work continues.  Deadline for 2018 submissions: March 31.

And last but not least, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge -- 'way down in the south of the province -- it's a five-hour drive compared to two hours for those other galleries.  There's no deadline for this submission; the SAAG accepts proposals on an ongoing basis -- thank goodness!

The other hard slogging (!) came in the form of paper play with Lyric Kinard in her "Abstract-a-licious" online class.  I'd fallen behind a bit in the exercises since I last reported, and with the course now half over, realized I had to get going or I'd miss out!

In Exercise 2 -- entitled "The Borrowers" -- we were instructed to riff off one (or more) of the paintings offered which had been altered to grey-scale.  I chose Van Gogh's "Starry Night", which appears below in colour:

Starry Night - Vincent Van Gogh, 1889 

There were several tracings involved -- identifying background shapes, the largest shapes, groups of shapes and that sort of thing.  I came up with a few images...

Largest Shapes

Grouping Shapes (this was tough,
and I'm not sure I got it!)

Background Shapes

Having chosen one of the paintings and traced its shapes, we were now challenged to "make it our own", again using tracings that we'd change a bit at a time till something new was created.  Here's my final composition, on paper:

It may be different from the original,
but it still looks like a landscape...
Why am I not surprised?  It even has a wide sky!

Then we were asked to add colour -- playing once more with the colour wheel.

 Again, no surprise -- I began with a monochromatic scheme in greens (upper left), moved to an analogous scheme of greens, blues and blue-greens (upper right), then as suggested, tried a 'triad' in primary colours (lower left) and finally a complementary scheme in blues and oranges (lower right).

I like all but the one in primary colours; my favourites, though, are the monochromatic and the complementary schemes: the former, because it is so close to what I see around me (when it's not winter!!) and the latter, because it strikes me as other-worldly somehow.  I'm thinking about replicating these in fabric, and depending on how it goes, might actually break down and do all four...as minis.

Exercise 3 required doodling -- something I've not done for a good fifty years and which has been exploited of late by folks making money by selling instructional books, special pens and special papers for it, putting me off entirely!  I was comforted to encounter kindred spirits in this class, for whom 'doodling' was the last thing they wanted to do.  That was a revelation to me, because everywhere I look it seems that folks have been smitten by it as a stress-release.  It did that for me when I used to chat on the phone in my teens, doodling away with my free hand, decorating my mother's grocery list.  Now I neither enjoy doodling, nor being on the phone except to very special individuals on very periodic occasions.  For stress release, I knit!

But enough of that.  I slogged away, dutiful student that I am, and made a few doodles.  I figured to make them true doodles, I needed to go back to the tools I used as a kid: a message pad (this one was about 3.5" x 8") and a ball point pen with a propensity for blotting!

Doodles

Next: add some patterning, first with a pen.  I outlined the ball-point with my favourite Pitt Pen "brush tip" in black, and went to town.  While I can't see doing this regularly (it got rather boring), it was fun for the time it took.

Doodles with patterns

Continuing with the theme of patterns, we were asked to take one of the doodles, and layer underneath it a batch of papers that contained black-and-white photos of patterns.  We were to cut out the shapes we saw in the doodles, mix them up and reassemble them with tape.

Now, I've never been good with paper and tape.  I get all caught up in the tape; it sticks to me, to itself and to the paper in places where I don't want it to stick.  Here are my sad and sorry combinations.  I managed only two samples and threw the other pieces into the recycle bin!

The one thing I learned (besides the reminder of why I never play with paper and tape, and use gift bags where possible) was that either my patterns were too similar or there was just too much pattern in the top sample, rather like the fabric block I made from large prints in my Craftsy class a few weeks back...

Too much pattern!

One last exploration remained in this lesson: positive and negative space.  Cut out one of the doodles that had been done on white paper, and play with it against a patterned background.

This was tricky, because the paper bounced around on itself, and I was determined not to use any tape for fear of getting tangled...but still, I persisted:

The underlying pattern is a grey-scale photo adapted from a coloured original that I'd taken of berries and leaves on the grass in autumn.  While I didn't enjoy the process (too fiddly), I did rather like the results.  That said, all the bits joined the others in the recycling bin shortly after this photo was taken!   :-)

There was one last exercise to do before I was fully caught up.  Exercise 4 -- "Reality Warps" -- involved tracing a pair of scissors (that is, a real object that is pretty easy to trace) and manipulating the tracing, adding to and/or subtracting from it, altering it...creating an entirely new image or motif to use as a springboard for a larger piece.

I chose my kitchen scissors which I use for picking lettuce and herbs in the garden, etc.

The original (upper left)
 and the first two variations.

As I reported when I posted in the 'classroom':

 I found this tricky.  I kept getting distracted by the **entire** shape being traced, and found it hard to isolate parts so I could either re-trace or alter them.  Still, I persisted.  The following is a series of 3 photos showing the original scissors (I chose my kitchen scissors because they seemed the most interesting) and two variations on the theme.  First, "original" plus #2 and #3...I rather liked #3 -- especially the "floral" centre.  

The original --
and the next two variations.

And my report in the 'classroom':

....[the] "original" plus #4 and #5...Both 'variations' are rather ugly, but #4 (bottom left) is workable.

And finally...

The original --
and the last two variations.

On these, I commented...

...For these, I started again and created a riff off the original (top/centre right); from there I created the tracing I like best (#8).  Again, I was drawn to create something floral...or maybe it's an attempt to depict the "Star in the East" that hung over the stable in Bethlehem...who knows?!

The last section of Exercise 4 had us taking 'elbows' and cropping some of the above doodles, scribbles, and tracings, as well as the chosen sample painting(s) we'd borrowed from the masters...in order to come up with "New View(s)" for further creating and abstracting.

For example...from my explorations into "Starry Night" -- a few items with potential, especially (or so I think) for hand-stitch:

I've yet to translate these into anything, but I think there's definitely some potential for developing these.

You can bet, however, that I'll be doing it with fabric and pins on my design wall, not with paper and tape!

Now, having been snowed in (again), I'm off to do some shovelling.  Once I return, I'm pouring a cuppa and heading off to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday, where this week, she too has been playing with her cropper!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Herding Cats

I find I'm restless and unsettled these days.  Likely, it's due in part to the fact I'm paying far too much attention to what's happening (or not happening) Down South.

Then there have been a couple of recent deaths locally -- or connected locally -- young people in late teens and early twenties, one by her own hand.

Our priest is retiring at the end of this month and there's no one in sight to replace her -- at least, not that I know of.  Our Parish needs to update it's profile, discern changing needs, that sort of thing, before it will be ready to consider applicants for the post.

I continue to wait of news about the two exhibit entries I've put out...

And the weather is turning at last...longer days but very windy; snow is unpredictable, as is ice, on the roads.

Topping that is my online studying which is challenging my late-developing Artist's Brain to stretch and move in very different directions.

I feel like I've been hired to take charge of a 'herd' of cats!

There are some finishes and near-finishes to be pleased about.  The little dress I made for Baby Adina (who turns 1 year today) is in the mail.  Alas...I've discovered that while I thought about taking a photo of it -- I actually didn't.  :-(

The cowl I'm making for a shop sample is more than 1/2 done and will be finished tomorrow at The Shop.

Gina's Harry Potter House Socks are proceeding apace -- I'm well down the leg of the second sock of the pair...and

I've just sent off another $163 and change -- divided equally -- to the JDRF and Diabetes Canada (formerly the Canadian Diabetes Association) from sales of Mark on the Body (see the link in the side-bar for an online preview if you like.)  That brings the total so far to very close to $620 -- for which I am truly thankful!

And...there are some up-coming exhibit opportunities...such as the invitation from a quilt guild in Camrose to do a talk and trunk show at their meeting in mid-April, and a possibility of reprising that talk for the LQS in Stettler in June...

So this post is really about a follow up to my previous one!  (GRIN)

I got the "Windows" piece sewn together and tried it on with EB over at the Academy of Quilting -- with four different rotations.  Can you guess which one she liked best?  ;-)

Which one do you like best?

And...I've been working away in Lyric's "Abstract-a-licious" class, turning those thumbnails into colour and then into a motif I could translate to fabric.

First, my favourite motif (the one on the far left HERE), in colour -- two complimentary colours plus 'white', but done with differing values in coloured marker and crayon:

My favourite of these is the top left one -- here's a close-up:

Lyric liked the one on the very bottom, but it was too close to "Christmas colours" for me!

Today I began to work on this as a piece in fabric -- quite a good size, really...aiming for about 16" x 20" finished.  First, I pieced the background (with the sample on paper inset):

Then I took aim at the white, curvy overlay.  I decided that rather than fuse it, I would needle-turn it...but first I had to draw it out.  I cut a piece of white Kona cotton about the same size as the back ground fabric, and laid it over top of said background on the design wall.  Then...I literally took a mechanical pencil and drew the shape, matching the beginnings and endings of each curve with the stripes of the background, just as it was in the sample...but adding a bit extra fabric for turning under.

Then I tried it on in two different orientations...

First, like the sample

Next, in reverse

Believe it or not, I'm kinda favouring the second one...

Any thoughts?

While you ponder that, and get back to me, I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday on the Needle and Thread Network, and preparing to drive into town for the Ash Wednesday Service.  Maybe that will help me herd some of those cats!