I won something!

Every month at quilt guild, every week at Rotary, I buy those raffle tickets... do I ever win, no!   So what a surprise it was to see my name at the top of the list of giveaway winners on Quilt Inspiration first thing this morning.  Now THAT's the way to start off a Monday!  I'm one of those people who NEVER seem to win anything.  

ACK

5:00 -  it's turned in.  To say it was done would be an exaggeration.   I had to rush faster and faster, and got to the point where I needed to attach the sleeve and wire, and didn't have time to sew it, and the wire wouldn't stay wrapped around the dowel.   The nice gallery lady thought I needed heavier wire, and let me have some, as well as loaning some wire cutters.  But the wire was not the problem, it was the sleeve falling off, and the attachment to the dowel.

Well,  if they send it back rather than show it  I won't be surprised.  I wish I'd taken one more minute to get a better photograph but I was afraid they'd be locking the door at 4:01.   Here are the only ones I took:

At least it's an item knocked off the UFO list.  And this evening I finished off the name tag too.

T-4.5 hours

An hour gone by -  I've completed the photo-transfer sheet design, my entry form, label, and reviewed the submission requirements yet again.

I named the piece, "Beacon in the Darkness,"  thought that captured the idea of the sculptures, the city hall as a place for all citizens.

Also decided it would be really cool if the it was cut out yellow fabric showed thru the lanterns.  Why do I always make more work for myself?

3:45 - Deliver
3:00 - 3:45  Sleeve, wood, wire, labels
2:30 - 3:00  Backing
12:39 - 2:30  Quilting
11:30 - 12:39  Attach transfers and prepare sandwich  - Check! (9 min. late)

10:30 - 11:30 - Layout transfers  -  Check!

T-5.5 hours

No time for posting progress photos.  No time for blogging, really.   It's 10:30.   I helped paint and helped SO with his job yesterday.  Somethings you just gotta do.  He's not really very supportive of this latest "deadline" I've created for myself.

The lettering is done, and  I pieced the sky last night (did some stupid things that made it harder and less successful...re fusing)  and am now working on the photo transfer design.  And the submission requirements.

1.  print photo transfers
2. apply them to quilt
3.  sandwich
4.  baste
5. quilt
6. pillow -style backing - no time to bind
7.  attach hanging sleeve
8.  get wood and attach wire
9.  entry forms attached.

I might make it after all

I'm feeling a little better.   I got this done last night:

Yes, I still have to:

Piece the sky and spotlight

Design, transfer and cut out and fuse the lettering

Take better photos

do the photo transfers

assemble it

quilt it

bind it

make a hanger....  

well I was feeling better until I wrote all that out.

At the same time, I've created a design for FFFC #51...  using only golden rectangles and the arcs from constructing them:

Wish I could post PDFs here, but I don't really want to fuss with the computer right now.  I have to think about how to make them come out right with added seam allowances, how to finish the uneven edges, etc. etc.  but in the spirit of FAST I'm going to run with it.

I have also got my guild name tag almost ready to wear.
 I need to make a clasp system for a future beaded neck loop then I can assemble it.

What was I thinking?

I'm starting to see no way that I can finish this City Hall quilt in time to submit it by Saturday.  Especially since I've committed to having Thanksgiving at my house that will kill all day Thursday.  I should be working on the house Friday, not a quilt.  I'm still piecing, then I need to apply the photos, sandwich, quilt, bind.... what WAS I thinking???

Progress on City Hall

  Starting to make some progress on City Hall.  After several proportional disasters, this one started to look better:

Here's how to do some cool Art Deco carved text - sort of:

Color study:

And finally sewing some fabric!

Challenge 51 is out early!

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US FFFC has issued this month's challenge almost a week early... so yes, more time, but also more to think about.

When I saw the topic -  Use only one shape - I immediately thought of the golden rectangle, which I had just been looking at last night.  I was hoping to proportion my City Hall project that way, but it wouldn't work out well.   So now I know what to use for FFFC #51 and how to pay tribute to my partner Jim Zervas who passed away recently.   He thought the Golden Section was an important way to achieve harmony in architectural design, and used it to create our company logo.  We've tinkered with it over the 49 1/2 years, but the shell has always stayed intact.

Some of the example links in the challenge post showed a mathematician who uses the GS in her quilts, so I won't be the only genius to come up with the idea.  I'm not sure how I can make this more personal an about Jim, but I have some time to think about that.  Something more creative that sticking his face in the middle or embroidering words... hm.

Scattered

I'm trying to make some progress toward something quilty, despite the little and big glitches, deaths, job changes, holidays...    I tried to think about how to make art about my sadness at the death of our partner, but I'm not ready for that.

So I have all the beads and threads to start embellishing "Thorny" sitting beside the couch.  

But instead of doing that, I've been designing the City Hall quilt.  It's taken about ten days of stolen minutes to collect up (and buy) the fabric colors I want to use, study some photos and renderings of the era, make sketches combining those with elements of the real City Hall,

then drafting those out to scale in Autocad.  I thought I was going to make it 24 x 36 until I saw how large that was.  It can't possibly have enough detail to be interesting at that scale, so I cut it down to 18 x 24.  I guess I have scale issues.    I tinkered with the drafted version to make it into piece-able shapes, and I think I'm finally ready to start playing with the fabric.  It's due one week from today.   And I just volunteered to cook Thanksgiving dinner.

More UFO's

I had a feeling I was forgetting something...  I also have my Moonlight quilters name tag to finish before the next meeting, and a "friendship block" that should be done by January.   But that's just one 12" pieced block... Nametag's done except the assembly.  so how hard can it be, right?  But it does technically bring me to over ten UFO's.

The little time I had to get into sewing this evening I appliqued down the pieces of Thorny, and quilted about half of it.    Since the batting is cut too short, and I don't really care enough to fiddle with it,  I'm just going to consider it  a practice piece for now.   The free motion sewing felt really jerky - the darning foot seemed to be grabbing too much, even though the pressure was reduced.  I see in the instruction manual that there are some other free motion stitches.  I need to try those out, I guess.  It's pretty subtle.  I think I will embellish it with some beads and embroidery.

Maybe I'll eventually put some of this stuff on Etsy for a very reasonable price and see if anyone shows any interest.  I have not set up my "Shop" on their yet, since I have nothing to sell.

I did spend some time Friday night and a little Saturday morning on the City Hall quilt idea.  In fact I got a fairly solid design idea pinned down.  And I have colors that I would like to use.  But don't really have fabrics in the right colors yet.   This one is due the 27th, and that's a hard fast deadline.  And it will be publicly exhibited.

What to do next?

Despite the backlog of nine UFO's I'm considering which NEW project to start next.  Am I nuts?  Apparently.  Our daughter in law saw my bag last weekend and really liked it, so she asked if I would make a larger version as a diaper bag for her sister's baby shower.   I have been wanting to play around with that pattern anyway, so I liked the idea, but the shower is very soon.

I really want to enter that open exhibit that our local art museum is sponsoring.  I have only a conceptual idea and it's due the 27th.

The FFFC will be back around on the 26th.

Artitude challenge for October is on the table needing quilting and embellishing, the challenge for November still resides only in my brain, and is not really clear there.

Almost forgot - vague plans to make "something" for Christmas gifts and my own decorations...  placemats? advent calender for the kids?

And we have a memorial service to plan.   Sigh.

Inspiration

I have had no time to quilt this week as there was a commitment every evening after work, quilt guild and book club are both on the second week of the month now, and last night was a Rotary dinner... sigh.  I just don't want to give up any of these activities.

I have been debating about creating a piece for a show here in town  - the parameters are pretty specific but details somewhat vague.  I've emailed to see if they will accept a fiber art entry at all - I'd hate to put all the effort into something just to be turned away.  But it is due on the 27th, so it would be another Fast piece... size limit is 36 inches, though so that will keep it a little under control...

My screen saver this week has been a photo I took at a free motion quilting class - maybe I will absorb this by osmosis?

I Found Quilts!

I was so happy to come upon the exhibit at Mindport by the Island Quilters at last night's art walk.  I was just starting to wonder whether there were any art quilt enthusiasts in our area,  and there was a beautiful exhibit of these three women's work.  It's two blocks from my office, so I will be taking some sanity breaks to absorb more details during the two months it will be on display.

Thorny

I've decided to use Thorny for my Artitude challenge #1.  It's a still life,  I guess.

Living Vicariously...

... through the blogosphere.  I'm trying to imagine how much fun it must be to attend the International Quilt Festival in Houston.   I think I would have been totally overwhelmed, but in a good way.   One of my favorite posts and quilts so far is the amazing “Ruffled Feathers” by Roxanne Nelson, shown here on Susan Brubaker Knapp's blog.   


I keep saying I don't want to do photo-realistic work, yet those are the pieces that keep grabbing my interest....hmmm.