Art, Craft and Needlework, June 2024

[Harriet]

This is the place to report on the fun stuff!

What has your creative juices flowing this month? Do you have a new technique you're mastering? Is there a new project that you're planning? Or are you delighted to be completing some UnFinished Objects and feeling virtuous?

If you've gotten any compliments on your art, here's the place to brag! We really want to hear. If you've taken a picture you'd like to share, check out the Tips Hints forum to find the different ways to do that, and let us see.

Check out Kathryn's photos in her thread about her project, a few threads below this one.

[Nancy]

For me my creative juices have been flowing in my writing.
Going outside to do a writing session for 20 min. or so is really helpful.
I'm so glad the weather is good for that now.

Sewing is OMM but no progress on it to report.
I did paint a couple rocks this week.

I got a new art book with water color theme of woodlands
I will be trying to draw from the sketches in this one, they are for the water color.
But I like the design of them and will ink some in a planner project.
And some journaling ideas.

I looked at some art class stuff but the teacher also teaches d & d gaming classes not my thing so sort of thought better of it.
They are self enrichment classes most were rerun ones any way.

[Harriet]

Nancy, I guess the way to choose a painting/sketching art class is to actually look at what some sample pieces are, or look at results of previous classes with the teacher. It's possible that dragons and such would be that teacher's direction, yes. I'd rather do something other than that, too. Woodlands sounds lovely.

Today I made the quilt sleeve. I was glad that there was enough of the backing fabric left in one piece. It was an unhappy discovery to find that such dense quilting had actually made the quilt smaller by a few inches each way. Good grief - the top was 92 inches square, and it went down to 88. Anyway, I made the sleeve 3 inches shorter at 85, so that it is and inch-and-a-half less at either end, and won't be seen from the front.

I've gotten the quilt laid on my ironing board in folds, with the top edge up, and have started attaching the sleeve. This will be a lot of handwork. Even though it's neatly held up for sewing, I can't seem to see well this way - poor light on the subject. If it doesn't start making more sense, I may take it to the LR couch and do it in my lap after all. At least that way I'd be seated comfortably.

Maybe we'll get a photo after there's a sleeve to hang it up.

[Nancy]

I am inspired...
Got yarn at an estate sale! Wa-hoo! Cotton for hot pads dish cloths or what ever... now to see when I do use em. I got a couple small bags.
Saw fabric strips in rolls so inspiring,,. then remembered the various butterfly prints I have gathered I could cut in to strips and use that way so many options.

Iti's pouring outside a good day for basement activities like sewing.
Writing I am trying to use up a note book with all the fun ideas I have now!

[Harriet]

I'm happy to hear about you feeling inspired, Nancy! If someone would hurry up and invent the transporter, I'd hand you a couple more butterfly prints.

Plugging along, going just one length of thread at a time on this quilt sleeve so that I protect my back and hopefully don't get eyestrain. I've continued to have it on the ironing board so that it's kept up most of the way across and is at a pretty good height.

Tobias is kept cozy with a "tent" of the quilt above his head from ironing board end to the back of "his" chair, lol. He stays there most of the time I'm standing up sewing beside him. He is one reason not to take the quilt to the couch for this - no reason to tempt anyone's allergies since I know this quilt will be going to another household soon and am not all that certain whether the young man or any of his family or other visitors might have an allergy.

[Harriet]

COMPASS Garden 60.jpg

Here is the quilt hanging at the venue on their rack, usually used for banners and tilting slightly with this weight. Worked fine, though. Don't know how to make the photo any larger.

I'd like to believe the pro photographer got a photo of it too but haven't heard that. There may have been people seated partially in front of it when photographer was in the room.

Don't really know what to call it yet. I may give it a name on their anniversary, lol. Right now, if I had to make a label, I'd probably say "Compass Garden Lone Star" to use all four words. Even if no one else gets it but me, dd's new husband has some Texas heritage, so my thought is that the doubled compass means new directions, but the star is anchoring, and together their patchwork supports graceful growth.

Anyway, that's the Magnum Opus. I will not be hitting those heights of brain-busting calculations on a large scale again. From now on, samplers and smaller pieces!

[Harriet]

Compass center February.jpg

Here's the center of the compass a little bigger, from when I'd gotten the top this far in February and mounted it on the design wall. You can still see one of the little numbered stickers I'd used to keep pieces in order before they were sewn. Those littered the floor under the sewing machine for a while, because they would be raked off as I tried to hold sections in my lap to start sewing together. That was number 1, and I pinned it on to keep track of which way was "up".

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Harriet: it is breathtaking!

[Nancy]

Awesome quilt great work Harriet!

[CathyS]

WOW!! Harriet that is amazing and beautiful.