A Bit More of Everything

 I'm still working on Everything All at Once -- but never fear, Gentle Readers -- I am pacing myself!  😃  And of course, what comprises "everything" is evolving over time.  

First, what's finished?!

"Frolic!", that's what!  Yes...I've finished the top for the Bonnie Hunter Mystery from 2019.  It's double-bed size -- 86" square -- and I'll have it quilted by my long-arm friend, Sylvia Sawyer at Windwood Long-arm Quilting just up the highway.  I found the perfect location from which to photograph it on Monday this week, in the February sunshine:

I'm rather non-plussed that it turned out so well, but then again, Bonnie's patterns always make my shoddy piecing look fabulous.  One goof: I applied the borders with the blue side of the arrowheads next to the top itself, rather than the pink.  It made positioning the corner-stones a challenge, but...I just went with what pleased me, and in the end, it'll all work out!

What continues?  

Well..."Grassy Creek", Bonnie Hunter's 2020 Mystery -- but now I have 9 blocks finished and 1 nearly there.  That's more than 1/2 the number needed for the size I'm making.  

And..."Traffic Jam", that scrappy free pattern from Pat Sloan  that my friend A. shared with me.  It now has enough 6-patch units for borders on two sides!

Shown here: centre block plus layout for border on right side.

It takes 11 of these units to go down each side, and each unit has six 2 1/2" squares.  Then there'll be the top and bottom borders -- each of which will take 11 units PLUS "corner-stones", which are really 9-patch units...so that's a lot of scraps!  Of course, because of how they breed, I'm not really noticing much difference in the sewdio...Sigh.

Sock knitting continues too.  I'm well on my way down the foot of the second sock for the February Socks from Stash challenge, but I Must Knit Faster to ensure I finish by Sunday evening!!

And what's new?

In the Knitting Department, I've cast on a Comfort Wrap for a friend who's recently been diagnosed with cancer....

Pattern: Simple Comfort Wrap
Designer: Lisa Santoni Cromar
Yarn: Diamond Luxury Collection "Tafi"
-- 60% alpaca, 40% silk
Colour-way: 7594 - "Mesa" (red on red)

It's a simple enough pattern repeat, but somehow, every once in a while I drop a YO (Yarn Over) here and there; I've already had to TINK (KNIT backwards) at least twice to get it right!   I really must slow down so I can finish this faster... 😉

In the Art Department...this week there's a new "finish" and a second piece underway.

For several weeks I've been 'auditing' a class in mark-making on paper and fabric, taught online by Canadian textile artist Susan Purney Mark.  I've met Susan and took a short session with her in person at a SAQA Western Canada Regional Retreat a few years ago.  Before that, when I was a Co-Rep for our region, she taught a workshop for us in Calgary. I enjoy her work and have one of her small pieces  in my home.  

Her workshop,"Cloth to Codex" (usually taught in person but not this year!) has been an interesting program.  Even though I am not fond of working on paper or making books, and not an enthusiastic 'mark maker' either, the substrate of the work is inspiring.  One of Susan's practices is asemic writing which I really like -- but I like *actual* cursive writing even more and so...

On Tuesday I dug out a stretched linen "canvas", and made this:

The Thing with Wings II
8" x 10" (unframed)
Pitt Pen, machine thread-painting

I reprised my piece for the SAQA Benefit Auction in 2020, entited The Thing with Wings, inspired by the poem on hope, written by Emily Dickenson.  First, I wrote the poem out on the "canvas".  Next, I sketched the tree on the back of the 'canvas' and outlined it in free-motion thread painting. That took some doing, because in order to get the stretched piece under my needle I had to remove the foot and the needle from the machine -- and put it all back together in order to stitch!  

I cut a piece of mat board and inserted it in the back of the stretcher bars to support the linen, and will have the piece put in one of my favourite 'floater frames.  I like it very much, and have hopes it will show and sell at the Lacombe Art Show and Sale this year, which is booked for the last weekend in May.

Then yesterday (Thursday) I started another new piece.  It's inspired by a photo taken by my talented daughter, Gina, which she included for the month of February, in a 2021 calendar she gave me comprised of her photography.  A few years back she purchased a glass 'ball' that she uses in her work, and she used it to take a photo of a tree in the vicinity of the High Level Bridge in Edmonton, Alberta, where she lives.

I took inspiration from that round image, blue on blue, and from some thoughts I've been pondering in recent weeks, about the 'little blue planet' on which we live.  The tree in her photo inspired my creation of a similar 'Tree of Life' image, and the circular image, my creation of a kind of globe.  The working title is "And She Saw That It was Good".

Here is my first draft:

I looked at it, let it sit for a bit, and decided it required a bit of tweaking.  Here's my second draft.  

Can you tell what I did?

Self-dyed and commercial cottons
Fused applique
Approx. 15" x 23" before quilting

Here's a close-up of the motif...

There's still quite a bit to do to finish it, but I'm letting it 'percolate' now.  Eventually it will be finished with a facing as a soft piece with a sleeve-and-dowel hanging system.

It was so warm earlier this week that I found myself outside on my back stoop, stitching in the sunshine!  I put a cushion on the little chair I keep out there, and wore my Harris Tweed cape over a couple of layers, and was fine.  My hands didn't even get cold!  

I spent most of that time stitching down the facing on the back of "On the Straight and Narrow".  Now all it needs is a sleeve!

Today, however, we're right back into February weather, with snow flurries and gusty winds.  It'll be a good day for assembling those 6-patches into a border and attaching them to "Traffic Jam"!  

Later on, I'll curl up with some of my knitting, and -- oh yeah!  -- do the suggested reading for an online Lenten Retreat I'm taking online at 2 p.m. tomorrow, and for the following 2 Saturdays.  Whether you're registered for a spiritual retreat or one that will find you exploring new artwork, as Nina Marie is this weekend, it pays to be prepared!  I'll leave you with a link to her Off the Wall Friday -- and wish you all a weekend filled with creative blessings.  😊

Meanwhile, in the Sewdio...

SAQA Western Canada's first Regional Retreat has dominated my posts for the last few weeks -- when I've managed to post at all.  The paucity of posts arose from a variety of reasons, including the demands of yard and garden, as well as a late spring head cold (for which I mainly blame the unseasonably hot weather's triggering the automatic air conditioning to cool down the innards of my new car with a blast until the pre-set temp (19.5 C) was reached.  I now keep the AC off and roll down the windows instead!)

But I have been creating in the Sewdio -- really I have!  And here are some examples -- in addition to "Agnes Meets Judy", about which I've already posted.  :-)

First, two "birdie" commissions that arose from the Lacombe Art Show & Sale near the end of April:

Gather 'Round

Par-TAY!

Next, another commission of the quilty variety, but something completely different, and just a hair outside my comfort zone: binding an "Apple Core" quilt, which means bias binding around scalloped edges.  

The quilt is one of a couple owned by my client, who inherited them after her grandmother's death...about 40 years ago.  She'd kept them in a drawer, so they are in pristine condition.  She also told me that the pieces were made from fabric originally used in home sewing projects, such as house dresses, other dresses and aprons.  The fabric is clearly 1930's type:

See the irregular edge?

Though my client and I worked together to estimate the amount of fabric she'd need to buy for the binding she wanted (1/2" visible on both the front and the back), and though we used formulae found over the Internet at the time...well...it turned out that the 1 metre she bought was more than enough!

A large puddle of home-made bias binding
next to my sewing table

The preparation of the binding -- which I did 'all-of-a-piece' using instructions from my trusty Quilter's Ultimate Visual Guide -- turned out to be the most intimidating part of the process.  Once it was finished, though, pinning it and applying it by machine -- mitred corners and all! -- was much easier than I thought it would be.

Next I had to trim the excess batting and backing, left behind by the long-armer when the top was quilted:

Then, more pinning and a few hours of quiet hand-stitching, et voila!

In addition to paying me, I'm rather hoping that my client will let me keep the trimmed backing and batting.  While the latter is rather 'poofy', the extra fabric could prove handy for backing future small projects -- especially minis!

As for that excess bias binding -- well, the client has another (slightly smaller) "Apple Core" that needs it, and "would [I] do the job?"  Sure!  After all, the tough part is behind me!

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In the way of art work -- besides "Agnes Meets Judy" -- I've taken what I learned from Susan Purney Mark at the retreat and turned some samples into note cards:

I bought the blank cards eons ago, knowing someday I'd do something with them.  Now I've finished five using squares of the 'asemic writing' to which Susan introduced us as part of her 'mark-making' workshop, embellished with a touch of colour.  This week the clear plastic envelopes and labels I ordered especially for the back of each card arrived, meaning now I can go ahead and play some more with my fabric samples -- and make new ones. 

I plan to take a batch down the street to Gracie D's to offer them in her antiques/gifts/collectibles shop...and may take a few more to Different Strokes gallery in Olds when I drop in there in a couple of weeks.  I'm thinking that both Gracie and Deb might think they're a fit for their shops.

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I'll leave you with "before" and "after" photos of the yard work that's kept me out of the sewdio for the past 10 days or so -- an aged rock garden that's in my front yard.  Grass had encroached more than ever this spring, and there was a great deal of winter kill of the flax and other perennial ground cover, so I decided it was time to dig that stuff out:

In the process I took out all of the rocks.  These are but a few...

Finally the bed was clean and ready for fresh planting!

And here it is...complete with topsoil to build up the "holes" left by the removal of sod, new plants -- including a few annuals (marigolds) just because, weed barrier (no more grass and dandelions etc.! -- I hope!), and fragrant bark chips...

Now that I've caught you up with my corner of the world, Gentle Readers, I'm off to the Edmonton Festival of Quilts...and linking up with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.

Have a great weekend!