Saturday, March 29, 2014

NINE...A SIMPLIED SERIES

I've been back in southern Oregon now for a couple of weeks and I have to say I am just now getting adjusted to life back in the states and ALMOST over missing my friends and life in Mexico. I was happy to get reaquainted with my sewing machine and have been getting lots done. AND my machine that "blew up" in Mazatlan has now been fixed by that miracle worker Jerry...it was a short in a wire that he replaced. Thank you Jerry!
I ordered a few things to be waiting for me and I was excited to open up my packages:
1. Elizabeth Barton's book VISUAL GUIDE TO WORKING IN A SERIES;
2. Valerie Goodwin's book ART QUILT MAPS;
3. 100 copies of my book SIGNS OF LIFE for me to take on the road; and
4. One yard of fabric I had printed from Spoonflower from one of my images.
There is so much inspiration in these books. And the Spoonflower package needs some playing with...washing and dyeing of the white parts to see the results. More on that later.
I have wanted to do another series and Barton's book was just the impetus. BUT I am one of those people who have so many ideas and so little time, so I wanted to make it SIMPLE. So here it is:
One of our themes for this year's collection of quilt journals is NINE. I decided to make 9 framed nine patches to explore free motion patterns, to expand my practice with font work, and to play with design elements to make each piece unique and interesting. I probably spent 3 to 4 hours selecting the fabric, cutting, piecing, pressing and sandwiching with batting and backing. I have 9 little sandwiched pieces (about 10x10 inches) ready to go.

So far, I have finished 3, 6, and 9 and look forward to the others. They are fun, take some planning and forethought,  and end up with a nice result. And they push me out of my free motion comfort zone. I was NOT planning to incorporate bleach work but I find I just can't help myself.

Now another thing on my creative plate these days is the 2 day class I'm taking next week with my friend Christine from Jean Wells (originator of the Sisters Quilt Show). Now that should challenge me, but I know Christine will help pull me through!

So maybe I'm fooling myself into thinking that I'm over my Mexican nostalgia....I'm just making sure I keep myself super busy so I don't think about it too much.

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