Category: Experimental
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Push-up 1 rotated
One of the aspects of experimentation I often forget is to try to keep an open mind all the way to the end and beyond. I often start with a general idea at the beginning and it is difficult to move beyond that. With this piece, for instance, the whole time I was sewing it…
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First push-up complete
In my interview with Lisa Chin, I touched on my idea of “push-ups” for artists. Briefly, it is based on the idea that an athlete strengthens himself many different ways that are not directly related to their particular sport. For instance, he may never compete at push-ups, but he does them regularly because he knows…
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Mobile studio
Sweet hubby surprised me this week by suggesting we take a little creative retreat for a couple of days. He removed the dining table from the RV that my Dad gave us, and he put my portable sewing table in its place. It fit perfectly! Of course, that meant we had to eat our meals…
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Work-at-home ethics, part 2
I was talking to DD#1 about the idea of artists doing “push-ups.” That’s the way I think of the process of exploring an idea without expecting to create a masterpiece. It is a relaxed approach. It’s low risk. I don’t worry about failure. I just try to enjoy the process. I try to keep my…
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Good work-at-home ethics
The last couple of weeks, I’ve been trying to teach myself good work-at-home ethics. I’ve been using this quilt as my learning tool. Part of its purpose is to explore tonal gradations. The other part is to train myself to stay on task. I need to learn good work-at-home ethics because I’m becoming more ADD…
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Tutorial: What goes on a quilt label
While I was putting the final touches on “Cabin Window” last week, there was a Facebook question about making quilt labels. That made me think of some of the different ways I’ve made labels through the years. I guess it goes without saying that I hope you label your quilts! Every quilt you make deserves…
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Tutorial: Facing instead of binding
I finished quilting my quilt yesterday morning. Just simple lines following the curves of the piecing. It’s been quite a while since I’ve done any quilting, so I was pretty rusty. The quilting lines aren’t as smooth and the corners aren’t as sharp as I would like, but it’s done, and that’s what is important…
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Product Review: Mountain Mist White Gold
Do you ever find things in your studio that you don’t remember purchasing? This week I went to my stash of batting and found a crib size roll of Mountain Mist White Gold batting. Since I am in “use it up” mode, I decided that my latest quilt would be the perfect opportunity to give…
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Thread color decisions
Decisions, decisions. Today I need to decide if I will quilt this with just one color thread, or if I will use multiple colors. For most of the quilts I make, thread color is an easy choice. Since I am usually depicting realistic objects, I usually pick a thread that blends in, and I change…
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Making progress
I worked fairly diligently today — at least several hours — and I’m making progress. I still want to work on the two lower corners. I haven’t done a very good job working those out yet, but maybe I’ll have another hour or two after dinner. I’m also considering making the edges curved rather than…