Dubai Weekend, & Thank you! vegan MOFO

just wanted to add a quick note today concerning my writing schedule for veganMOFO as it'll be slightly different than in North America because the weekend here is friday/saturday, needless to say weekdays are sunday thru thursday. with everything happening on a weekend, i won't have time on fridays, but will post on sundays.

also wanted to add a thanks to those working so hard putting this awesome idea together. it's fun to come together like this, discover new things, & get to share thoughts & ideas. i love taking part. during dark times, it is a bit trying to 'stick to my guns'. this helps me realise that it's not just me standing alone on some achromatic linear void, while the world revolves beside me in technocolor. i'm getting traffic to my site & comments too! it feels great to be communicating with people. i have just discovered vegan month of food. i was completely unaware of it, & by chance came across it on november 1st, whew. i'm not as prepared for this round as i'll be for the next. [i thought this was only the 2nd round as there's only a bloglist for 2009, when were the others?] i have few photos of food that i've not already posted. & i've not been cooking up a storm this week. guess i'll have to add that to this week's list. :)

that's it for now, onto the weekend of reading the 713 blogs now added to my googleReader! i just bought Fable III, so i will probably get behind in the reading plan. & i have a craft date tomorrow, yeah! i will be revisiting quilt blocks i started last january. i had decided to try at least 1 block from each of the 15 examples from Stars by Chris Franses, & perhaps put them into a quilt at some point. *no pressure* i got so far as making the first two templates, buying|washing|ironing the material, cutting a few pieces & that's about it. think i need to add some pressure.




good enough!

my new UFO from Deb Plestid's workshop

this post i started a bit ago... everyday life has interrupted the blogging process.
_________

well, what a great weekend. i had 2 full days of creativity. it was mentally exhausting by the end of it. Deb Plestid is a wonderful lady. how fun was it to play with fabric, & toss around ideas with someone around for guidance.

i should have taken some photos of the workshop itself, but was so engrossed in my project, & watching the projects of the other 14 participants enfold. it is very interesting to see the creativity of others. the same idea having so many facets.

i got to the workshop with only a raw idea in my mind. it took the whole 2 days to sketch it, work out the spatial organisation, make templates, choose & cut the fabric, fussy-cut a bunch of flowers, iron on steam seam (or wonder under) beneath each piece of fabric & prepare for sewing. i also learned much by watching the others work on their pieces.



by the 2nd day, it was a bit stressful watching the experienced quilters create a top, make the quilt sandwich, cut their holes & start stitching over the water soluble 'fabric'. while i sat & decided fabric for the top.


my piece, as of yet unnamed, was inspired by a few different works i have in my collection. it took me a while to be inspired, & as my little one is my muse & motivator, she aided me in this. i love collage using fabric, notions, pastels et al, so thinking about a new fun pastime decided to 'paint' a picture of a little girl blowing bubbles in the garden. the bubbles will be the holes in the quilt once i get to that stage.


i'm planning on quilting the girl separately, & then the fun part of embellishing with findings, fabric flowers & embroidery. now i need to find the time.



a few
flowers
from
my garden

Deb Plestid's Workshop

i'm having mixed emotions on this weekend's quilt workshop with Deb Plestid because i'm new to quilting & this is a full-on two day workshop. i'm excited to try something new, but i remain a bit apprehensive.

the workshop is a landscape portrait of my choosing demonstrating the use of water soluble machine embroidery stabilizer, & free motion machine quilting. to use the water soluble stabilizer, there is a decision to be made as to where i will cut a hole in my quilt! i have still to pick a design, & collect the long list of necessary supplies. luckily i have a great friend that knows i'm leaving the area soon, so is letting me borrow much from her. even so, i don't have some of the things on the list. i will have to wing it.

this is an example of a hole in a quilt.



Deb Plestid is from here in nova scotia, & is renown for fibre art (quilted wall tapestries) focused on nature & landscapes. on her 'about page' is written, "I am drawn to the interactions of nature, light, shadow, and colour, which I attempt to transpose into my work using fabrics and motifs that I create and fabric that I collect from around the world."

one of my favs...

copper smithing

i began learning copper smithing with Marie of the Copper Meadow last october. at first, i designed a piece that was too difficult, but it remains in the book for a later date. then rethinking it, i came up with this.


this is a maquette of my piece. once the copper pieces were annealed, then they were either put through a press with various textural objects, or pounded with a ball peen hammer. each circle is cut with a jewellery saw, & then filed. each will have a jump ring soldered to it, & coloured in blues, reds, black & shiny copper. finally, about 30 will be chosen & placed on a trio of silver wire. i refer to it as the Coin Choker for now. i have another design that will incorporate similar elements that will be a Coin Necklace.

1st quilt

returning from South Korea in 2004, i took a class on quilting for the beginner. this quilt is a sampler from this class.


it was pieced by hand, & i will finish quilting it by hand at some point. for now it remains a ufo. i was going to use it for a crib quilt. lol. at this rate, it may be for a grandchild. i don't think it'll take too long, i just need to dig it out & finish it. i really enjoyed trying out the different types of blocks, particularly the drunkard's path (bottom RH corner). i love working with the curves. & i'll have to do some more applique (bottom LH corner ). i've not yet bound a quilt before. once the quilting is finished, then i'll have to figure out this part.

new projects

where does the time go? well, a month has elapsed since my last post. *shame* i've been busy with various projects & family obligations. i've taken a few photos on current projects, & will post them here shortly. for now i just need to get into the swing of things.

i'm in the process of cutting all the fabric for a new quilt. belonging to the quilt guild has been loads of fun this year with so many workshops. i'm participating in the guild's mystery quilt. if you're not familiar with the concept, here's a quick run-down ~ every month members are given a clue, for example, the first month the clue was a list of fabrics, of which there were six, in various lengths. the second to sixth clues have been cutting & piecing instructions. last month, for the seventh clue, we were given a sneak peak into the main blocks for the quilt. looks like a pretty quilt. looking forward to seeing how my colour choices will fit into these blocks. of course, this is my first big quilt. quite a project. & to top it off, i've decided to use flannel. other members have called me brave, but secretly i must say it's a matter of ignorance. our president has had to work the cutting out a little differently for me because of the flannel. :)

i'm trying to have all the fabric cut & some idea of the piecing for the workshop this saturday. so i've not been great at getting the blog updated. i'm really unsure as to how other bloggers are so prolific. esp getting photos done with each post. i must sign up with flickr. i suppose having a two year old slows things down.

i'm also near finished a wall hanging that i've done in another guild workshop from january. i've got a few photos of that as well. i must do some embellishing once i get done the binding. that was a fun little project. i'd like to do another one. i've decided to use mostly purples in my little one's room, so both the quilt & the wall hanging are predominately purple. it is a 'quilt as you go' pleated picture. it is very important to cut & number the strips of background fabric & sew them in order, to create an illusion of movement. i've used a batik that subtly changes colours of a more royal purple to a violet & back from one seam allowance to the other. the pleats have a complementary purple fabric on one side & black on the other. once completed the pleats will be ironed & sewn open across the picture creating movement. i'm hoping to embellish the piece with some couching & some shiny objects.



the third project i've started this past month, is another quilt, but a 'quilt as you go'. it was from a magazine. i'll have to look into the copyright before i explain it too much, but i'll include that info in the next post. i'm calling this one a double coverlet as it will just fit over a double bed like a throw. it's to cuddle-in, & for some extra warmth if needed. it too, is predominately in purples. it is called a peek-a-boo quilt. we had a workshop in february that explained the 'how to'. very simple. very cool. we were not given a quilt design, so i created one. as i was drawing it out on paper, i noticed (as with most quilt designs) how some elements pop, or could pop, if given the chance. it's amazing what colour & texture can achieve. so i, as with most things i do, have made a very simple design complicated. if it's not difficult, it's not fun. not really a motto i live by, but one that seems to guide me thru life. lol. i'll leave the difficult thing to a surprise. i hope it works out. more on this later.

i must get back to cutting...