Next Challenge

At Quilt Surface Design Symposium each year they have a delightful challenge. This year it consists of the theme of four colors -- green, yellow, blue and red. At just 12" square, they make a great fast design challenge. Something I'll do in my class this June "Design Camp". Here is a link to find more: http://www.qsds.com/classesbysession2019.html

Live With It

This ain't the first time I've said, implored really, that you should live with your art. If nothing else, hang it up and enjoy it in the different light the room has, catch it from different angles while you walk past, and decide whether you need to change your entire decor to make it happy.

Paint Party

Nancy Valle's studio at the Anderson Arts Building in Rochester, N.Y. was the site of our portrait show. Sunday she hosted a paint party for when the artists came to pick up their works. What fun this was -- and I got to paint large scale. The final work won't last long; the next show goes up and that's show biz!

Finished and Hung

I could not wait to see how his looked on the wall, so spent the weekend on the facing and sleeve. It is a square 77", which surprised  me. The trim was fairly random, and I hadn't planned on square. I must be making too many "Take Two" pieces -- that square thing is getting  hard wired.

Just Face the Facing

Each side of this blue quilts is about 6 feet, so adding the sleeve, that's about 36 feet of hand sewing. The sun was out, I was happy to sit and sew. That's why I like winter. No compulsion to go out!

Square Dance

A big 48" T-square that Home Depot markets as a drywall measuring tool is my go-to for squaring up my finished quilt. I use the "T" end against the edge of the table to determine that 90 degree cut, then move to the other edge and continue. (Sorry my photo clipped the T-square.)

Grabbing Tyvek Labels

I've got my fabric ready to be soda-soaked for teaching in Florida. But first I want to sew on a tyvek label -- here I'm using an old post office envelope for priority mail -- that has my name on it. This is my big request to those who will be taking the class. I'm grumpy if they're not labeled!

Quilting Reward

Squaring up is tedious. But I do it. Cleaning and oiling is not a picnic, but I do that too. Finally quilting, ah, the quilting. That is the reward for all the goofy little stuff you have to do ahead of the quilting.

I Wasn't Kidding

The sun finally came out today, just long enough to me think I was warm while I shoveled. I wasn't. Glad the snow forced  me to stay put and finish that quilt top, and today I made the back. Tomorrow I'll try to slap it on the frame to quilt.

I See the Full Moon

These full moons (and tonight is a special lunar eclipse variety) make me melancholy. I think of how I've befriended nature -- squeezed clay, smelled freshly cut grass, braced sleeping on ice -- and realize that these stories aren't shared. They are not part of my art, not yet anyway.  And now full-moons is part of that list.

Make Hay While the Snow Flies

I'm near the piecing end of this garden. It took all the tricks I knew to get the parts together, and in hindsight, could have used a full scale drawing and freezer paper templates. But, then it wouldn't have changed around. Tomorrow to finish and then get it quilted. Another snow day for work.