tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191933982024-03-17T20:03:57.910-07:00Idaho Beauty's Creative JourneyExploring the creative journey...MY creative journey...as expressed through textiles. What nurtures it, what blocks it? Inspirations, frustrations and "doing the work." Oh yes - and the occasional rant.The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.comBlogger2100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-22147028094371656022024-03-13T13:11:00.000-07:002024-03-13T13:11:48.878-07:00Getting There<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3hGKDMzywrYZ-94BTaeqT3KHwSS5KlcYk8wpUdpRNg-hZd1mOAB3SbkwjY596Bla2YBKM7HSgwRDE7nEgDSQtGg65E5nra7Z4bm5hppP2E1XO8OaBmxTyZ7Vy-V85AgVXL-O2LBtY2GG3kGhgRkDwQlVlZGvNhGPrqoGchtpJbdWw_5uB6EVlg/s640/toe%20up%20sock4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3hGKDMzywrYZ-94BTaeqT3KHwSS5KlcYk8wpUdpRNg-hZd1mOAB3SbkwjY596Bla2YBKM7HSgwRDE7nEgDSQtGg65E5nra7Z4bm5hppP2E1XO8OaBmxTyZ7Vy-V85AgVXL-O2LBtY2GG3kGhgRkDwQlVlZGvNhGPrqoGchtpJbdWw_5uB6EVlg/s320/toe%20up%20sock4.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Tiny needles, thin thread, slow progress . . . this second sock is taking forever even though I am now past the heel turn and into a steady knit two purl two ribbing. I pick it up in the evenings when watching certain tv shows that don't require my eyes to be locked onto the screen but many evenings I find I'm too tired to move from the couch to the big leather chair with the good lighting to work on it. Ah well, eventually . . . In the meantime, I keep running across sock knitters who talk of blocking their socks when done. Somehow I don't feel the need but there must be a reason. So with nothing better to do, I started searching for sock blockers that would accommodate knee highs since I plan my next pair to be a pair of those. Such a wide range of blockers are available but all short with one exception. These birch blockers with free customization were a bit pricey but since they come from Ukraine, I decided to splurge. My name and logo are burned into the birch, and the length of the foot can be adjusted for many sizes. I am pleased!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQN9sHyS6A3swK-o6amYcdJXUXrE87-Q_Hm6g288O94d4tlHVprXaXUPXjqMMnElinP0Sut1c-6AngpuuFTp2S9wIAZGgqR7iiLAJGq8j77IxZ26ox2N4oIrNFWkWnlklkEOqPc7qxcsnbYtE7fp9ACAcDSpPKMBEsWegjqBGC71JmZ50Exd_KFg/s639/Last%20major%20fabric%20purchase.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="639" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQN9sHyS6A3swK-o6amYcdJXUXrE87-Q_Hm6g288O94d4tlHVprXaXUPXjqMMnElinP0Sut1c-6AngpuuFTp2S9wIAZGgqR7iiLAJGq8j77IxZ26ox2N4oIrNFWkWnlklkEOqPc7qxcsnbYtE7fp9ACAcDSpPKMBEsWegjqBGC71JmZ50Exd_KFg/s320/Last%20major%20fabric%20purchase.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm about ready to dive into the baby quilt. My ironing board is functional as an ironing board again and half of the work table cleared of bookmaking projects etc. so I can get that new fabric washed and ironed and start cutting. While I'm at it, I'm planning on washing the last fabric splurge I made back before I started having physical issues keeping me from sewing - they were one more thing I'd left on the floor and never got around to tending to. One is a batik with mariner compasses on it that I thought I could pair with one of the specialty fat quarters - why I didn't want to put either away. Maybe I'll finally get them together. Three or four spotted batiks which I've always loved, reminding me of water and were on sale. A dark brown solid that I thought might bleach interestingly. A rusty orange batik that I thought could work into one of my nature-inspired art quilts. Time to get them washed and into the stash.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of art quilts, <a href="https://ellenanneeddy.wordpress.com/about-ellen-anne-eddy/the-nature-of-nature-an-art-statement/" target="_blank">Ellen Anne Eddy</a> recently described art in conjunction with her work with some students. Ellen was quite prominent in the quilting world when I landed in Wisconsin in the early 1990's and discovered what a hotbed of quilting the Midwest was. My late friend Judi somehow knew so many of these quilters who taught and hung out at quilt shows and Ellen was one she introduced me to as we queried her about dyeing fabric. I'm not a particular fan of her heavily thread painted nature pieces, but she knows her stuff and is a delightful person still. Here is what she said:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><i style="color: #38761d;">"I run into a lot of people who tell me they aren’t artists. Usually,
that’s because they’re more verbal than visual. If you talk with them
they can explain their images and the concepts in a way that brims with
art. Perhaps the problem is how do we define art?. If it has to be set in a
mold, like figure drawing, or landscapes, that’s a pretty big limit on a
much wider world. But if art is, vision out of chaos., order out of disaster, and the
creation of beauty and sense in the retelling of ourselves., that may be
where my definition hovers. Art is life. The way we live creates our
own beauty, our own songs, soothes our worst fears, and helps us to see
ourselves in a different mirror that focuses on our strengths and
beauty, instead of our failures and misgivings. Art simply flows out of that. The things we produce our wonderful. But
they are largely the byproduct of the process of restructuring who we
are through our imagery. These kids already have it. I believe we all
do, from birth."</i></blockquote></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">You can see some of the kids' beginnings of their fabric art on Ellen's <a href="https://ellenanneeddy.wordpress.com/2024/02/04/when-does-it-change-when-does-the-art-start/?fbclid=IwAR3BadQ7F4tlPpS1D7ZH3hACTaROB_qd_L9H4AGtemG9J4FDLRFmpkTSjEU&utm" target="_blank">blog post here</a> as well as read more about the project.<br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-377939507603634902024-03-07T18:50:00.000-08:002024-03-07T18:50:15.481-08:00Mistakes Were Made . . .<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uegAukVKtHQncyz9qnoSMGC8mzVIk7I-NgSE8q-PjXuuRdAXoY0XJdQJWpV7Q2NBukesmCHAbKYONIadcRa6blKaHU1fhkcO6wXBqhG9K-ybxjGICzD3dz_dIpT10lEX2O0d6izPX_RhgIksv7MtgRVPg40KDsWZOUFRe2JxiJf7YeN3DtCvEg/s935/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="935" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uegAukVKtHQncyz9qnoSMGC8mzVIk7I-NgSE8q-PjXuuRdAXoY0XJdQJWpV7Q2NBukesmCHAbKYONIadcRa6blKaHU1fhkcO6wXBqhG9K-ybxjGICzD3dz_dIpT10lEX2O0d6izPX_RhgIksv7MtgRVPg40KDsWZOUFRe2JxiJf7YeN3DtCvEg/w400-h127/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I sat down on Tuesday to write this blog post, my internet went down and stayed down until this morning. Thus the lateness of this post; always amazes me how it throws me off whenever I can't keep to my normal internet routine. I did find ways to fill the time, of course, including more tidying of the studio and some housework I've been avoiding. You'd think I might have spent some time knitting on my sock but I was giving it a rest after working last week getting the heel turned on sock two. I'd struggled on sock one with the method used in my pattern directions and struggled again even though I had a better understanding of what I was doing. Mistakes were made that left a couple of holes in the knitting, but rather than unraveling what I'd done to the bad spot, I just fixed it with a bit of "darning" from the inside. After all, these socks are not gifts so I can live with the imperfections and my fixes. But onward to finishing up the Celtic Weave journal, where I discovered another mistake made. I didn't notice it until I'd sewn almost half the signatures together with the outside link stitches. Look closely at the above photo (or click for a larger view) and you will see in the center 3 sets of holes in the middle of each signature. There should only be two. I know not how I managed to mark my template with the two holes for the weaving offset from center by so much. I simply could not live with it so I added a hole that made the weaving space longer but at least centered. Yes, you CAN punch additional holes in a signature after it is sewn into the spine.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVeP_a4TDGiWdGfuNgvy-w96fQtUmA_Ic75t7FaKVD8_BX3eQvuGCZoXDgTgJMnQgOdgDIljcdLisFDl2_8E0RmQyFRV6Cs7gaCpnx7lUTQwwqC7Ra_8KCBrqXNRTS64AibjgpmoB4qz7c3lLB_pSvRbGf3phuS0TKFLRINEoTIk4nL5DDsTtn-Q/s949/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="949" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVeP_a4TDGiWdGfuNgvy-w96fQtUmA_Ic75t7FaKVD8_BX3eQvuGCZoXDgTgJMnQgOdgDIljcdLisFDl2_8E0RmQyFRV6Cs7gaCpnx7lUTQwwqC7Ra_8KCBrqXNRTS64AibjgpmoB4qz7c3lLB_pSvRbGf3phuS0TKFLRINEoTIk4nL5DDsTtn-Q/w400-h125/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was hoping that the threads crossing over would hide the extra holes but they did not. My signatures are a bit thicker I think than the ones on the first journal so the weaving isn't as compressed. I like that it shows up better even if it doesn't cover the extra holes. And I'm not unhappy with the extra width; I think the stitching looks very balanced. I worked a bit at encouraging the holes to close with some success, but like the socks, I'm glad this is not a gift; I can live with this imperfection, as well as the fact that the lines printed on the pages do not line up along the spine. I seldom remember to think about how the signatures will look on these open spine bindings. In this case, I really struggled with trimming the pages to size, my paper cutter forcing me to reduce the number of pages cut at a time (which accounts for lines not lining up) and still not giving me clean cuts many times. I trimmed the fore edges with a rotary cutter and struggled with that too, the pages within the folded signatures shifting inside leaving me with uneven cuts. Seriously, the signatures turned out a mess which I could mostly but not entirely clean up. Sigh. I blame it all on the paper, although I've used it before and don't remember having these issues.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Yvn5t3H0iTs-dS3rSuMym-G_eTJ47cslO6jTsjMTGwTdDsOZ2Yizv-5d2d5bM8Vp2Zhhf6UUYqMYCkjHpQddTg5TpwBds0noh4aiNixkR7J2V1D1oWUMYRymCYkN-nGSWlekSBosvtSFSJHi50PFqlt1hvJU7bHlDElICDikiEkfZWi7Kf6p1w/s640/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Yvn5t3H0iTs-dS3rSuMym-G_eTJ47cslO6jTsjMTGwTdDsOZ2Yizv-5d2d5bM8Vp2Zhhf6UUYqMYCkjHpQddTg5TpwBds0noh4aiNixkR7J2V1D1oWUMYRymCYkN-nGSWlekSBosvtSFSJHi50PFqlt1hvJU7bHlDElICDikiEkfZWi7Kf6p1w/w400-h300/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal5.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">But it is done, or almost, a chunky 5 x 6-3/4 book for quotations. I did fold the covers to leave a rather large flap on front and back which I will glue at top and bottom so it functions like a pocket.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9CyBuGeYtvlGf6yHO3O-qxQ2gdF3GVAoJBR5oHHtlIQFsnEN6vU1EP6I_gcocAYEhI9AWUz7Ihgmz3UTCWwOZU6H6b7D4RhrWOdb0uPzJVNhq51Ykj_dvyLi5vOuo-hRtKlK4a0YOjIsRZqD4tzrLupnXiLsVY9R4RHYKiJ1cIKFBwIHaeiNo0A/s640/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9CyBuGeYtvlGf6yHO3O-qxQ2gdF3GVAoJBR5oHHtlIQFsnEN6vU1EP6I_gcocAYEhI9AWUz7Ihgmz3UTCWwOZU6H6b7D4RhrWOdb0uPzJVNhq51Ykj_dvyLi5vOuo-hRtKlK4a0YOjIsRZqD4tzrLupnXiLsVY9R4RHYKiJ1cIKFBwIHaeiNo0A/w400-h300/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">But before doing that, I'm considering adding an elastic closure like what is on my current quotation book, running vertically along the fore edge rather than horizontally around the middle (and in doing so, covering up the weaving stitch). The chunkiness of the signatures coupled with the soft cover seem to demand that and the flap can hide where it comes through the back cover. But what should I use? I could use this bright green narrow elastic.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mmSyxqP3kaqFhcgVfIpyRfHFoFljuR1OIz9a7q0gmi6u9Zc1IrDnk3zY1N7ZJ8r8yWqAARwFD-1Zc9wO5hv8w7nLCF6IgxkzQhp4taNvJvgUQIR8rZKQrUmnslzprqUVvt8SiduFrHOE_30-wrQyz65YoheqgmjYNE0eaXVFvEkJyxcGFvgHEg/s640/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mmSyxqP3kaqFhcgVfIpyRfHFoFljuR1OIz9a7q0gmi6u9Zc1IrDnk3zY1N7ZJ8r8yWqAARwFD-1Zc9wO5hv8w7nLCF6IgxkzQhp4taNvJvgUQIR8rZKQrUmnslzprqUVvt8SiduFrHOE_30-wrQyz65YoheqgmjYNE0eaXVFvEkJyxcGFvgHEg/w400-h300/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal7.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Or I could use this wider decorative flat elastic which has a bit of glitz to it but goes well with the handmade paper of the cover. What do you think? <br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-4411391251342735312024-02-28T19:03:00.000-08:002024-02-28T19:03:46.717-08:00Another Book and a Solution<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2cpnKpdx5_oFFtThCSx2-EgJO4Y6sdm_Oiz_-dfG-OQMPqNfof1t3efnl77vskBY22nkz-le2VcuDT4XLMiV_TqCwHPSGzZ7vO7-bF-p1upqsdd66GfhBlMHlK5T92YHJxo5kJ_wFFikIjJ80OxBv4J8rgz0J8e4PSfSgJcRXFePawQWWQXymSg/s640/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2cpnKpdx5_oFFtThCSx2-EgJO4Y6sdm_Oiz_-dfG-OQMPqNfof1t3efnl77vskBY22nkz-le2VcuDT4XLMiV_TqCwHPSGzZ7vO7-bF-p1upqsdd66GfhBlMHlK5T92YHJxo5kJ_wFFikIjJ80OxBv4J8rgz0J8e4PSfSgJcRXFePawQWWQXymSg/w400-h300/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When I cut the covers for <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2023/08/celtic-weave-binding.html" target="_blank">this Celtic Weave Journal</a>, I had an approximately 7 inch wide strip of the handmade paper left, enough I hoped that I could make a smaller Celtic Weave Journal for myself. That was near the end of August last year, and yes, I'd left it out on the worktable along with instructions, signature paper, needles and linen thread thinking I would get to it long before now. It is the last thing I need to work on to clear enough space to get started on the overdue baby quilt. The strip is actually not long enough to make front and back covers in the same manner as in the original book, but over the months I had an epiphany; I could make the covers like in the Butterfly Binding where the folded in side that will be between signatures is narrow instead of having to be as wide as the front of the cover. Now to decide just how that will work, what the width of the folds and ultimate size of signatures would be. Here I am experimenting with that by folding a piece of copy paper in various ways.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRBeqn7_TAYH2cMlrSJxdsrPIjns9IvXWoHVcL3zLVOcSxbQdR8NWMrCOmCWQELTRpBzFglIgNzU8sZ6qfETN4DxpNLVGDbi7AwW5eiu307Nb1WF-Bo9cvQohfNfsZrMJRtWzrNAKxMzUnfo85YOp2sckWONPsQS1SYxnSTxuLDiNS1FsNI_YxQ/s640/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRBeqn7_TAYH2cMlrSJxdsrPIjns9IvXWoHVcL3zLVOcSxbQdR8NWMrCOmCWQELTRpBzFglIgNzU8sZ6qfETN4DxpNLVGDbi7AwW5eiu307Nb1WF-Bo9cvQohfNfsZrMJRtWzrNAKxMzUnfo85YOp2sckWONPsQS1SYxnSTxuLDiNS1FsNI_YxQ/w400-h300/2nd%20Celtic%20Weave%20Journal2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The paper I wanted to use is a 24 lb Ivory "Granite" Specialty paper by Southworth (bought on extreme markdown at Staples). The size paper I need to turn into my signatures is approximately 10 x 7 inches, preferably short grain since it will be folded in half to make 5 x 7 signatures. But normal 8-1/2 x 11 paper is long grain, meaning it folds with ease along its length, not so much crosswise. But 24 lb paper is relatively thin and I've folded similar against the grain to make signatures without much problem. I'd also been toying with the idea of printing lines on the pages, starting to think of how I could create a line document to print within the size of the pages once trimmed. I don't always know how I will use the books I make, but when I do have a particular use in mind, it motivates me even more. So as I mused, I realized this would make a great replacement book for one nearly full that I use for recording poems and quotations. Starting to get excited! More musings as I walk (where I do some of my best problem solving) about how to get lines printed since that use for the book really does require them, when I remembered a line pdf supplied by the book club. I checked and, since I have to trim down these pages anyway, I can make it work. There's my stack of printed pages ready to trim and fold into my signatures.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzX-41waNcGnlefkY7HPshMvbweArbO5VmyJpVyPfDTqxl3RPsOnAwy56oId6So1q_zPq0-oEqO4LnX7kcuK4VzHKp74Wt7AfdWWupAsTm7E4hsSMCtIoetr9cFshcvnSn3-KqhdmJK5WjJznL1yKBBCmUqMaZnFF-xgqAVMSvY_lEiZbUtTtgpg/s640/organizing%20effort3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzX-41waNcGnlefkY7HPshMvbweArbO5VmyJpVyPfDTqxl3RPsOnAwy56oId6So1q_zPq0-oEqO4LnX7kcuK4VzHKp74Wt7AfdWWupAsTm7E4hsSMCtIoetr9cFshcvnSn3-KqhdmJK5WjJznL1yKBBCmUqMaZnFF-xgqAVMSvY_lEiZbUtTtgpg/s320/organizing%20effort3.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Frankly, there was a lot of puttering going on last week before I got busy on the book. I've been reticent to tackle the stack of fabrics on the ironing board but really they must go if I'm to work on a quilt, As I peeled them back to reveal so many beautiful fat quarters I've dyed, I knew why they had ended up on the floor. I didn't want to fold any of them up (I've had issues in the past getting creases out of fabric that has been folded and stored one on top of the other) and even if I did, I didn't really know how to "file" them. Then another epiphany: they could easily be clipped to hangers and remain flat. I've done it before and can't imagine why that hadn't occurred to me earlier.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgViUQXt2SocUbY_w5rNyy615ZIEOtmPlPgQxB2mO7M6xsqW1SzmzOc_YT2hwyfgOgPRYTOMPhqVYVa2DI6DsKBmUq3B6DuvkenDVTE3MqW1M5LDeFTAqHt6kJgkU_YwxRSZDyE3gZKJl0LX7Lvoqwo-wVEnRh7uI19-f6yZyZre3FAUxZ7vVsoEQ/s640/organizing%20effort2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgViUQXt2SocUbY_w5rNyy615ZIEOtmPlPgQxB2mO7M6xsqW1SzmzOc_YT2hwyfgOgPRYTOMPhqVYVa2DI6DsKBmUq3B6DuvkenDVTE3MqW1M5LDeFTAqHt6kJgkU_YwxRSZDyE3gZKJl0LX7Lvoqwo-wVEnRh7uI19-f6yZyZre3FAUxZ7vVsoEQ/s320/organizing%20effort2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">There were also big yardage of Stonehenge fabrics I'd bought for a particular project, again, wanting to leave them as flat as possible because I was using such large pieces in work, and might well use them in other art quilts as they are the kind of thing that worked well with my nature pieces. But that project is long done, and I can't imagine any project that will call for them soon so I did do a fold in half so they would fit in the wire cubes where my batiks and hand-dyes reside. Next layer had some really small pieces (on the left of the ironing board) that I think came from friend Judi's stash - again I probably didn't want to fold them up and hide them away and didn't really know how to logically file them in the space I had anyway. Still have to figure that out, but with just a few more fat quarters to hang, I'm well on my way to having a functional ironing board again and a little more organizing complete. <br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-54772095427117520922024-02-20T14:24:00.000-08:002024-02-20T14:24:28.836-08:00More Collage<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H8FzldR2i6mtOY1JBDFGa9AJlQHWnCCvtm-8oiycrDuyK2hZu3IUhoWk-1R_jC7cPo_2L47aRhSTRAIp2y9O37PmEHMl_wkeVtf-ObK9p_yIWcikyMurS1KDN2uZHjXK2MdUAkJVKAnKJUADzssQpokQv0J5LPGF7hDHvB9viyxN1nbzWILjcA/s640/organize%20art%20journal%20spread1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H8FzldR2i6mtOY1JBDFGa9AJlQHWnCCvtm-8oiycrDuyK2hZu3IUhoWk-1R_jC7cPo_2L47aRhSTRAIp2y9O37PmEHMl_wkeVtf-ObK9p_yIWcikyMurS1KDN2uZHjXK2MdUAkJVKAnKJUADzssQpokQv0J5LPGF7hDHvB9viyxN1nbzWILjcA/s320/organize%20art%20journal%20spread1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I had started a spread in my big art journal before I was <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2024/02/design-team-invite.html" target="_blank">tapped to make the Scrappy Journal</a>, which ironically would also include collaging. Although I was eager to work on my journal page, I thought of it as good practice, a trial run before I got to that part in my art journal. The theme for the page is my resolution word: organize. <a href="https://www.lalymille.com/blog/word-of-the-year-art-journal-2024" target="_blank">Laly Mille</a> who I'd taken a class from, was art journaling her resolution word, and in running across a picture of a clock, I thought of my wish to organize my time and was inspired to do the same. Art journaling has two worthwhile components in my book. The page can be a place to experiment with new media, tools and techniques, and in the process of composing the collage it can unlock feelings, emotions and more, just like writing in a journal can, only here you are exploring visually. Laly often does written journaling on the page in pencil before anything else which I find helpful in focusing my mind on what it is I want to accomplish with this page or maybe just what I'm feeling at the moment. With that done, time to start covering the page. I started with laying down some watercolor paint with nothing particular in mind.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkbSPfI8hldt4DCU9kF3QsJQVZFC3P5cN8xuT1E8DJp2a4cHyWsuuOgB_XYAr-0idIJf-SGcBFPN2_-58XeUet8c-EBy8rh3V9q1cN6sz2x6KnpiLMf2rg0S0e1Hzvi2mleut3xDKpKJocwFDfFRhowVlnBHJdqfF7EkY8w4fyq_bOkiphRGnvQ/s640/organize%20art%20journal%20spread2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkbSPfI8hldt4DCU9kF3QsJQVZFC3P5cN8xuT1E8DJp2a4cHyWsuuOgB_XYAr-0idIJf-SGcBFPN2_-58XeUet8c-EBy8rh3V9q1cN6sz2x6KnpiLMf2rg0S0e1Hzvi2mleut3xDKpKJocwFDfFRhowVlnBHJdqfF7EkY8w4fyq_bOkiphRGnvQ/w400-h300/organize%20art%20journal%20spread2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I started with watercolor because I wanted to conduct an experiment. I knew what happens when you scatter salt over fabric or paper that is wet with dye or paint. The salt sucks the color to it and you can get some interesting patterning. I'd read that you could do the same with what's in those packets that come in some many things to keep things dry. One of my medications comes with a rather large packet so I have quite a few saved waiting for the experiment. I was surprised to find that they are actually filled with tiny balls. Look closely at the above photo and you should be able to spot some that haven't drawn up any color. The "dots" are ones that definitely have.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqk8JoCS0kpejcq9-s8su4hyphenhyphen1l25poUO9EmYC0RRGFhnluda2EFsWrJCZ44HeiKOmlXVee2Yd__sDwtcomSboTrjdyq_3MBroPlych9NZyjEuZ46X8L5hMA-joGgmQhqT9utmtBaw-O0BnCL2Vnh3KTOD8BgztsDDJq1CtvXRDpapSSDEpZrgLXg/s640/organize%20art%20%20journal%20spread3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqk8JoCS0kpejcq9-s8su4hyphenhyphen1l25poUO9EmYC0RRGFhnluda2EFsWrJCZ44HeiKOmlXVee2Yd__sDwtcomSboTrjdyq_3MBroPlych9NZyjEuZ46X8L5hMA-joGgmQhqT9utmtBaw-O0BnCL2Vnh3KTOD8BgztsDDJq1CtvXRDpapSSDEpZrgLXg/w400-h300/organize%20art%20%20journal%20spread3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And when brushed off, they do leave a bit of patterning on the paper, not as much as I'd hoped but there just the same. Now I know.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOJOcbM2WudDsx8YQQcs7rcnqd44pHYgKXp7LxqptBtXxIAtTZOZhjbn36h3UZkhnO1l6c7rFqjxTf6ffv_pW7YUWh-C3EKH6hHjalshWaFMv68ai5UdU4frjNBH9QSTWu_faA2qnbsBrE0sxXJwETjMVme6hCJRrPk0i5KT5TaNvohyphenhypheneEkFq5g/s640/organize%20art%20journal%20spread4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOJOcbM2WudDsx8YQQcs7rcnqd44pHYgKXp7LxqptBtXxIAtTZOZhjbn36h3UZkhnO1l6c7rFqjxTf6ffv_pW7YUWh-C3EKH6hHjalshWaFMv68ai5UdU4frjNBH9QSTWu_faA2qnbsBrE0sxXJwETjMVme6hCJRrPk0i5KT5TaNvohyphenhypheneEkFq5g/w400-h300/organize%20art%20journal%20spread4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">With the Scrappy Journal done, I could pull out this spread again, along with the things I'd set aside to collage on it. I'm finally dipping more into my stash of security envelops and chose blue ones as I want to keep this spread light and positive. Was so excited when I ran across large text reading "Getting Organized" which I amended to "Get Organized". "New Year" and the colorful strips of balls and stars are from a New Year's card I received after Christmas (some people just admit they will not get their greetings out before Christmas!). The lined memo paper needs me to add those things I want to get organized but other than not, not sure what the next step should be. I'm pretty happy with it right now, but just like in quilting when I hesitate to add the final step of quilting for fear of ruining what I've already done, I'm hesitant to try blending with paint or other things even though I know it needs something to make it even better and bring the whole thing together. It can sit while I ponder and do some more straightening and organizing in the studio.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of which, my goddaughter asked the other day how the organizing was going and I have to admit it's going slowly, still dragging my feet about where things should go if not on the floor. Bits and pieces are finding either a new home and where they should have gone in the first place. I'm trying to be more disciplined about putting things away as soon as I am done with them rather than my usual habit of leaving them on the worktable pushed aside for "later". It really is a helpful habit to get into. But I am making some disturbing finds, like the silk tie fabric from one floor stack that I really can't remember why I wanted to leave it out. Or more disturbing, while rearranging the small stacking bins I keep under the worktable and looking through the quilting magazines on one, I uncovered two books I don't remember buying, and neither have anything to do with quilting, so why are they there? What other mysteries will I uncover?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Worse still perhaps is that I know I have to clear off the ironing board, those stacks still a bit mysterious, because I am about ready to embark on the baby quilt for my goddaughter's latest baby. Not willing to attend to that as my excitement in finding a pattern and material for the quilt is driving me to get started, I began searching through my stash for the pinks I think I want to use. Well, you have to audition those pinks against what you just bought and with nowhere else to do it, I started working on top of the pile on the ironing board. Mired, I am absolutely mired in a mess and confused as to what direction to go with these fabrics. So I'm thinking today the ironing board must be liberated, the fabric auditioning set aside until I have space on the worktable again. I want to start cutting!!!! That should be incentive enough, wouldn't you think?<br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-2402331497927979662024-02-14T20:05:00.000-08:002024-02-14T20:05:56.609-08:00Design Team Invite<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNZNQWqbEH3qiFH7EcHG2S3piISH4WddCc0Hh4iodJ_mpU50xWkFvAC1USOTvtsUYfDWFGmSAAEUuMMy2am4b8SYlT4Pjxh67YFjL7xHVr0DdwY6YWIbb75i6SMeAj6BoE-150hdL7NF4cHlG7VG6LXgWcsuQdJV2TS06-c3U-g3xGYuKW_pZ9A/s640/Scrappy%20Jouornal%20Challenge1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNZNQWqbEH3qiFH7EcHG2S3piISH4WddCc0Hh4iodJ_mpU50xWkFvAC1USOTvtsUYfDWFGmSAAEUuMMy2am4b8SYlT4Pjxh67YFjL7xHVr0DdwY6YWIbb75i6SMeAj6BoE-150hdL7NF4cHlG7VG6LXgWcsuQdJV2TS06-c3U-g3xGYuKW_pZ9A/w400-h300/Scrappy%20Jouornal%20Challenge1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The on-line <a href="https://www.handmadebookclub.com/" target="_blank">Handmade Book Club</a> that I subscribe to offers a 5-Day Challenge twice a year to the public for a small fee. You've seen books I've made through past challenges; it's a great way to dip your toe into bookmaking or increase your technical knowledge while adding new bindings to your repertoire. For awhile now, the club has been tapping members to be a part of what they call The Design Team for each challenge. Those who accept receive advance access to videos and instructions so that they can make additional inspiration books for the website in advance of opening up the challenge, incorporating their own style and twist on the challenge book. Guess who got the call a few weeks ago and suddenly panicked at the thought - yes me! Panic, because I know how long I often take to actually get around to finishing these challenges, and here I have a hard deadline of two weeks. Panic because I don't think of myself as a seasoned bookmaker (although I am), let alone a creative one who breaks from following directions to a "T" (although I often do these days). And I don't particularly like being put in the spotlight (although I do post my books here as well as in the Club's Facebook page) and part of what they hope I'll agree to is being interviewed in one of the daily Zoom meetings for participants during the challenge week. Eek eek eek! Yeah, you can see how insecure I am about this when I wouldn't for a second be insecure if it was about quilting. I eventually reasoned, "Why NOT accept?" and said yes to the offer. After cutting and folding a piece of watercolor paper for the cover, I decided to ease into things by stenciling the insides of it. I'd bought some new stencils in January that I was eager to try, and the willow one was a perfect size. I got out my Shiva oil sticks that have been gathering dust and chose a green that I hoped would mirror a green I planned to use on the outside cover.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwKs4crCSd23eERYVFgLaS8Su0GvRcCHdkYaTPYdrd2LiXALvBNijSHUd9RiReiQBkXrPX8I6c_fnCcYaNVuG5Ds0LyNceSiWV4Krmq-hL1m5NB3GnLLCXkXIljF2sKFuZnyXijc15qsfI68u6l3lZbGSJa81IegBLsCYLkRHHy0SofjLW4b_Sw/s640/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="640" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwKs4crCSd23eERYVFgLaS8Su0GvRcCHdkYaTPYdrd2LiXALvBNijSHUd9RiReiQBkXrPX8I6c_fnCcYaNVuG5Ds0LyNceSiWV4Krmq-hL1m5NB3GnLLCXkXIljF2sKFuZnyXijc15qsfI68u6l3lZbGSJa81IegBLsCYLkRHHy0SofjLW4b_Sw/w400-h272/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Security envelopes, fabric strips, lace and tissue paper, just some of the things I gathered.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As for the outside of the cover, this is where I thought, "What have I gotten myself into?" as I read instructions for adding collage to it. Not that I don't have plenty of collage supplies, I definitely do as evidenced by the more than enough piles of paper and fabric in the photo above that I pulled from bins and baskets, but I don't feel comfortable with collage, haven't done a lot of it and am often not happy with the attempts I've made. Well, consider this a push to get some practical experience, and that is exactly what it was.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBqW-0OsxATjDYic7QhT_D9_sqJewUKvdaKbI7NMcZsFkQ7tyztcokgTWfTSNpkXiss1NzOToeUvUtlIaFn2YZiC2CTG_sim6aoGOUH204tZZsmylDWxVegAGb1rf7hLzpdnhnQ/s642/Scrappy+Journal+Challenge3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="642" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBqW-0OsxATjDYic7QhT_D9_sqJewUKvdaKbI7NMcZsFkQ7tyztcokgTWfTSNpkXiss1NzOToeUvUtlIaFn2YZiC2CTG_sim6aoGOUH204tZZsmylDWxVegAGb1rf7hLzpdnhnQ/s320/Scrappy+Journal+Challenge3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The teacher suggested starting with torn pieces of text and other black and white ephemera. I worked with my many designs of security envelopes. Towards the end of working on this layer, I could feel myself loosening up as I added torn bits of orange from a magazine page, but also not exactly happy that my hard work here would soon be partially covered up. That is the one thing about collage that I have a hard time reconciling. But I forged ahead to layer two's suggestion of adding some transparent tissue paper. You can see it on the left of the photo of collage elements. I was so happy to have a place to use this, and it had the two colors I was working with, orange and teal. But again, there was one more layer to add that if I was not careful, might totally obliterate those lightening bolts. Took a deep breath and soldiered on, adding strips of batik and torn silk. Having a hard time feeling it. Having a hard time adding over some of that patterning of the security envelopes not to mention the lightening bolts. Trying to achieve visual and value balance. Not particularly happy. Let it sit for a day. Stewed over it in my head til the morrow.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_QPUnoxPM3HT4tOwLCYyS9fcEtgBiwVF2YOqRAk0MaBxC2JEvRlj_X6Rew_b-2VuFhRcUCxcZOTn5uih8DLnShv25bnDTxTybPvsrZGDRXhT0b5jm_6-9WdA3MtByOufj0BrmLVgPXFgdkm5YiMkotMnM5yR8KPbdCW-nDT3wlfPtMRBCdroJQ/s642/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="642" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_QPUnoxPM3HT4tOwLCYyS9fcEtgBiwVF2YOqRAk0MaBxC2JEvRlj_X6Rew_b-2VuFhRcUCxcZOTn5uih8DLnShv25bnDTxTybPvsrZGDRXhT0b5jm_6-9WdA3MtByOufj0BrmLVgPXFgdkm5YiMkotMnM5yR8KPbdCW-nDT3wlfPtMRBCdroJQ/s320/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'd wanted to add some lace but failed to find what I was looking for first time around. Now I looked a bit deeper and found a tatted-like off-white strip of lace and then a much wider similar piece. The narrow piece didn't do much for me and not enough really to use on both sides. But the wide one - there was enough to run the length of the cover on both front and back. Maybe along the fore edge would look good. Nope. Right down the center struck me as perfect. But there still seemed to be something lacking. One more day to sit, consider, stew over what additions might make it better.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdacND5Obb0HcEnM-AzSQFdxtNU_RNL_CCjrAUD7DszqUih_dT4BWwq7rgi6wHlUKzXHZtn5_z4AHBU_mhuUK_4EBod3E_5opRvPQioZwu0QqwXHLtY3X2dzgtRZGUIdHtdyuZ4Qki3Ks9j39ibISkUMzw-YErJRIndEGC1OvibnmTo7ZyDzF6fA/s642/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="642" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdacND5Obb0HcEnM-AzSQFdxtNU_RNL_CCjrAUD7DszqUih_dT4BWwq7rgi6wHlUKzXHZtn5_z4AHBU_mhuUK_4EBod3E_5opRvPQioZwu0QqwXHLtY3X2dzgtRZGUIdHtdyuZ4Qki3Ks9j39ibISkUMzw-YErJRIndEGC1OvibnmTo7ZyDzF6fA/s320/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'd actually gone ahead and punched sewing holes in the spine and signatures, but still kept analyzing the collage. When pulling fabric strips from a basket, there was also some lengths of yarn that might be the right color. As I wondered what I might use this book for, it dawned on me that it might be the perfect vehicle for organizing my yarn stash by inventorying it here, along with noting the pattern I might use for specific yarns and even keeping track of what I'd made from specific yarns and keeping their label and washing instructions there. Once determining that, it only made sense to add some yarn to my covers, and they turned out to be the bit that brought cohesiveness and balance to the collage.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEEQN6InDPoVA9AoTdF3tiMW1bwOMEKcWbylJWzcUCHK-hATj124-gHkJKFPTxvF5TOZqb6S0eP_yhMLa-LTXe2WwhReuzxtClQvWjrv-PTxCWpANI4REo_QAWTzpNn4M5uSnGasyas1xd52w8eranObIM3jc3oO3J5CcFG2qq8jly4ZVd5Ee9w/s640/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEEQN6InDPoVA9AoTdF3tiMW1bwOMEKcWbylJWzcUCHK-hATj124-gHkJKFPTxvF5TOZqb6S0eP_yhMLa-LTXe2WwhReuzxtClQvWjrv-PTxCWpANI4REo_QAWTzpNn4M5uSnGasyas1xd52w8eranObIM3jc3oO3J5CcFG2qq8jly4ZVd5Ee9w/w400-h300/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_l1ppV7-N3HYy3TqVjG3zbpo8_1txLsl7xF1LiZG7TDH6-w9Nf1whT7kCuy4WyqkhuQOJiA5eHi17HnsRUsBs2OjWxoBiniptFd4RZTSeNleLrLVEy-6D4uZ5qffbOEOb_8XX4wZX1zzLLo7uwnsSUcbNrq11hVx5trRwHaKYQDrtsYsvSHQDA/s640/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_l1ppV7-N3HYy3TqVjG3zbpo8_1txLsl7xF1LiZG7TDH6-w9Nf1whT7kCuy4WyqkhuQOJiA5eHi17HnsRUsBs2OjWxoBiniptFd4RZTSeNleLrLVEy-6D4uZ5qffbOEOb_8XX4wZX1zzLLo7uwnsSUcbNrq11hVx5trRwHaKYQDrtsYsvSHQDA/w400-h300/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge7.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">There I stood, in some kind of triumph, and realized I'd not taken progress photos of the different layers. So above are some close-ups so you can peer through to spot various bits that make up the whole.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSvTIRnMLjjYg6kHL2QcxQJTVGbSVsVALr5a_lZTTGanIOyezuzbfP9FSylC8B6A3aXm1K4S-8kBHr0Z1mivZFrB6uNVBDMyN6f2eyA3OTt_yXHrpfMWhaOoA3iEBuwAc0IioxGoWHZ5D7qQCfX-PpLFGZji5RGJ4-kZjDHnJXvuDrdKpqGuq0fw/s1861/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1861" data-original-width="365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSvTIRnMLjjYg6kHL2QcxQJTVGbSVsVALr5a_lZTTGanIOyezuzbfP9FSylC8B6A3aXm1K4S-8kBHr0Z1mivZFrB6uNVBDMyN6f2eyA3OTt_yXHrpfMWhaOoA3iEBuwAc0IioxGoWHZ5D7qQCfX-PpLFGZji5RGJ4-kZjDHnJXvuDrdKpqGuq0fw/s320/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge10.jpg" width="63" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">For me, that was the hard part. Sewing in the signatures was pretty straightforward, although a binding different from any I've done so far. The zig zag requires working with two signatures at once rather than one at a time. But to get the hang of the sewing, it was highly suggested that we practice on a scrap of file folder or such. I really have never been fond of practicing anything before diving in, but when cutting the cover, I ended up with a strip of watercolor paper the perfect size for this practice run that could easily become a bookmark, so I used it along with embroidery floss to get the muscle memory hang of backstitching the zigzags. It also helped me see if I liked the colors and order of the threads I planned to use to stitch the book together.<br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWJPiNFlWW_lz2KNhnT1ZH9yPcZ3_ptOBSKUX7huZPvmQEFkPE_FgPqGJE17TgNmp_SQqR7ucg7zvRrOyP9vJ7SI5wev61FiNpL1MpXW2dA35Faiybk5YMB2DWK-muLyvKAOIzOo4V6Pkcp2viZvCzC6uaFCYgLvzwg8K4wT_pLi8nC6SvXEjFw/s623/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="467" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWJPiNFlWW_lz2KNhnT1ZH9yPcZ3_ptOBSKUX7huZPvmQEFkPE_FgPqGJE17TgNmp_SQqR7ucg7zvRrOyP9vJ7SI5wev61FiNpL1MpXW2dA35Faiybk5YMB2DWK-muLyvKAOIzOo4V6Pkcp2viZvCzC6uaFCYgLvzwg8K4wT_pLi8nC6SvXEjFw/w300-h400/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge8.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here's my finished book for the Scrappy Journal Challenge. I love that zigzag binding and the collage is growing on me. It measures 4" x 9".</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBR7uDqwk0ttFdnjcMZC2wiaYch8hXtjSVl9HGYCup-TXlCv7zmVNVVlDWI7u4sx-9EsmWvRT1Rm2XAagSatjUuIzFPDCoS_gp4P9B_bDwP7RNx23BeyDEPi_MTZodCZuJv2XtwtOujDMYCBBXjsb1I22OUiNNUMQEfppzTczfYNYomYV5_JgsFA/s646/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="637" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBR7uDqwk0ttFdnjcMZC2wiaYch8hXtjSVl9HGYCup-TXlCv7zmVNVVlDWI7u4sx-9EsmWvRT1Rm2XAagSatjUuIzFPDCoS_gp4P9B_bDwP7RNx23BeyDEPi_MTZodCZuJv2XtwtOujDMYCBBXjsb1I22OUiNNUMQEfppzTczfYNYomYV5_JgsFA/w395-h400/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge9.JPG" width="395" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And here's a look at the inside. One of the perks of being on the Design Team was free access to custom designed pdf "Printables" so we could print lines, dots, dashed lines, and/or banner checklist pages for our signatures. I chose a mix of the banner checklist, lines, and dots. We'll see how well I like the way I distributed them when I start using this.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIiYnE1XZwQxpnVztjzfniGshNHv-MIDEAS_AABST-rQ72DVaBlrM9zc5gx69RkLLWiWAVZ2P_T6N_rfgrC5lMQ7TvbrjI7lvWU-UBTTq1CFBYz1r7gcIeQEIp4lgr_uVpQkhxLSucKiLjlls62Ec24UjzQC1zuwhLt0VZH_CuTQfY0SCsZh1PA/s640/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge%20Ali's%20version.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIiYnE1XZwQxpnVztjzfniGshNHv-MIDEAS_AABST-rQ72DVaBlrM9zc5gx69RkLLWiWAVZ2P_T6N_rfgrC5lMQ7TvbrjI7lvWU-UBTTq1CFBYz1r7gcIeQEIp4lgr_uVpQkhxLSucKiLjlls62Ec24UjzQC1zuwhLt0VZH_CuTQfY0SCsZh1PA/w400-h225/Scrappy%20Journal%20Challenge%20Ali's%20version.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teacher Ali's Version of Scrappy Journal<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our teacher is all about using up what you have this year rather than keep buying new things. This challenge is a perfect example of that, with her giving lots of options for the supplies needed. If you think you might be interested in participating in the challenge which will run the second week in March, everything you need to know about the challenge is on the site <a href="https://www.handmadebookclub.com/scrappy-journal-organic?fbclid=IwAR21FV3AFAljIdceje8cpuE0uDfqsdWYndMefqrXYOyccb-zW-ek-A3k9Ik" target="_blank">here</a>, along with link to sign up and a special earlybird price if you sign up before February 26th. Come join the fun!<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-67221533410771951302024-02-06T19:15:00.000-08:002024-02-06T19:15:10.693-08:00Unbelievable!<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTmJScDLMQSwVAGIL8OI8z5v9mn7XGqQdE6Z8AiDCASVwcKGadJdDapHyg8xYmNf6CcBnx7t0GDMOfzLSdff2KlsOxRLY43ahRLbRx4OaYnsq9t0rgZgMixcMiMLOioq0YDT0s0P8eb2pHDzT13FLFJLKDBbHcFeqqKYY_cHhPbsorxMm5B1oPw/s650/Stella%20Two.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="483" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTmJScDLMQSwVAGIL8OI8z5v9mn7XGqQdE6Z8AiDCASVwcKGadJdDapHyg8xYmNf6CcBnx7t0GDMOfzLSdff2KlsOxRLY43ahRLbRx4OaYnsq9t0rgZgMixcMiMLOioq0YDT0s0P8eb2pHDzT13FLFJLKDBbHcFeqqKYY_cHhPbsorxMm5B1oPw/s320/Stella%20Two.JPG" width="238" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't know about you, but I find myself filling out surveys and questionnaires and leaving my e-mail here and there in the hopes that I will win whatever free offer I decide I wouldn't mind having. I remain optimistic that surely one day I will win something, but I never do, or so rarely I can't remember the last time that spending time doing this rewarded me with a prize. I've slowed down considerably lately - all these clicks and comments eat up time I should be spending elsewhere, and I very nearly jettisoned a recent survey from the <a href="https://stellalighting.com/about/" target="_blank">Stella Lighting Company</a> which makes lamps somewhat like the <a href="https://www.ottlite.com/" target="_blank">Ott lights</a> I've used for years. For the record, I have a small portable task lamp, a floor lamp, two architect lamps with Ott daylight bulbs and I've also replaced the bulbs in my studio overhead fixture with Ott daylight bulbs. I'd decided that while I didn't need another task lamp with daylight bulb in my life, I'd keep on Stella's e-mail list just in case. So hovering over the delete button, I paused and decided, oh let's just do it. Five minutes of my life in exchange for the chance of being one of three randomly chosen people to receive one of their lamps. Imagine my surprise when the email came announcing I'd won a lamp, a Stella Two, what color would you like? So suspicious was I that this was some scam that I spent some time over on their website to confirm that this e-mail was real and wasn't asking for any info other than where to send the lamp. It arrived last week and it is a wonder, doing much more than my Ott task light does and worth over $200. <a href="https://stellalighting.com/shop/" target="_blank">Go check it out here</a> for all its features as well as other styles available. I'm thinking it might replace the architect lamp over my ironing board - places where it bends to adjust height and angle no longer tighten for a firm hold.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSXf58cOcjl9nCWo1x-_iefqvGxHvYohHJfapDPwfGkjSSqx9Wz-FvZgF23SPf4ZzfLDXBW8qC8Zv7L-jxj7kyXhLJpUiCwapQOO-PlR26EuOGcURa6XuJiye1r6Q6ooIizRxR9bMfOCTUh_3_Kao3Wk-vL6kymin3uuxnkBCF1tsAWWnQc1Lhw/s640/organizing%20effort1.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSXf58cOcjl9nCWo1x-_iefqvGxHvYohHJfapDPwfGkjSSqx9Wz-FvZgF23SPf4ZzfLDXBW8qC8Zv7L-jxj7kyXhLJpUiCwapQOO-PlR26EuOGcURa6XuJiye1r6Q6ooIizRxR9bMfOCTUh_3_Kao3Wk-vL6kymin3uuxnkBCF1tsAWWnQc1Lhw/s320/organizing%20effort1.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the organizing side, I've made little progress in the studio, so hard to face those piles and decide what to do with them. However, I spotted this little basket out in my garage and realized I could use it to corral some of my tools specific to bookbinding rather than having to hunt for them on the work table or in the bin where I have a lot of bookbinding supplies. I already use a tall cup for shears and glue brushes and other taller items. Needles are another thing that I'm always searching for in that bin - besides the straight bookbinding ones, I have some curved ones used on specific bindings. But it's always an irritating sorting through other things to get to them. A long time ago a made some small zippered pouches in several sizes, all given away except the one you see in the photo. I checked to see if the needles would fit and they do. The pouch will go in the bin but at least all the needles will be in one place inside it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Such a small step but it made me feel so good! What small thing have you accomplished lately that felt big once done? <br /></div><div><p></p></div>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-14069840908537946012024-01-29T17:18:00.000-08:002024-01-29T17:18:01.719-08:00Another Gratitude Journal<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXeOcxekAZHQVvbegCHrwfogrgEJGRTSFX1WwkljjP1mywYzWRr6WDisV4q_gsmG9ztbXZfgFO8x-GoBZ7YWzG8WCdKevoO3Krqtpgu5yjxf88-hTdsZJYwbdDl9h83xcOCaLMHnolM-0tqavDmGnPPdptXR0hc13Vi3d-XkLWCuUF_2vZuXHGaw/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXeOcxekAZHQVvbegCHrwfogrgEJGRTSFX1WwkljjP1mywYzWRr6WDisV4q_gsmG9ztbXZfgFO8x-GoBZ7YWzG8WCdKevoO3Krqtpgu5yjxf88-hTdsZJYwbdDl9h83xcOCaLMHnolM-0tqavDmGnPPdptXR0hc13Vi3d-XkLWCuUF_2vZuXHGaw/s320/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I put the finishing touches on this gratitude journal and got it into the hands of a friend last week so now I can share it with you. I'd shown you <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2023/12/snuck-up-on-me.html" target="_blank">here</a> how I backed the gift wrap for the pockets and covers by using Cling Wrap between the gift wrap and rice paper backing and a hot iron. The Cling Wrap melts a bit to stick the two layers together, but when I trimmed up a smaller piece where cling wrap and rice paper extended past the gift wrap, I discovered that the Cling wrap peels right off the paper. Sooo, not a permanent solution at all, but I think it will hold well enough in this application. If I back gift wrap again, I'll do so with something more permanent like fusible web, provided it doesn't cause any wrinkling.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKdb_Jcn5NtRjon5d3E3GsXfKaESmNx0ZywzUHrK0ki4g8qgiqocBsvXgpdCiA4EttLwqf70f0ZJ9SPLByKZbotrfI4LOg4Rz4zrDNMJ0lvA44c5-0vlD4c-Z3Dv1rFi6vOxn-onjY1d2_hw-3CnLMoRClVUEmOYbB6Tu2BYx18UkNMlxQ1sXYw/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKdb_Jcn5NtRjon5d3E3GsXfKaESmNx0ZywzUHrK0ki4g8qgiqocBsvXgpdCiA4EttLwqf70f0ZJ9SPLByKZbotrfI4LOg4Rz4zrDNMJ0lvA44c5-0vlD4c-Z3Dv1rFi6vOxn-onjY1d2_hw-3CnLMoRClVUEmOYbB6Tu2BYx18UkNMlxQ1sXYw/w300-h400/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal2.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'd pulled this beautiful gift wrap from National Wildlife Federation along with the William Morris gift wrap, not sure which I would use on the <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2023/10/another-book-challenge-some-inktober.html" target="_blank">first gratitude journal</a>. William Morris won out and I couldn't part with the finished book. That's ok because I felt this NWF paper more suited to my friend. When looking for ribbon for the closure of my book, I found this yellow ribbon as well, which I decided was perfect for this second book. But my choice of waxed linen thread on hand was pretty dull next to this paper so I found this yellow orange online. It could have been a brighter yellow but I didn't see anything better anywhere I looked.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSM0sFAQ6Fbe_Cef39TwEF-LReZA5cTcI0W2QkS_5tRek_HWPQDZeLhFNB5e8K19A6gBNmSR_mNuuHWj-XzzrnACPuDY2RQ7YnZ2pD8mcREx4gGWUmkPGYhcPdit_J3qNnpHcLJQhz2yw-WR_9PapAIS5MYM7RMKPxlte2oGahk7ay-0Y1fYYNeg/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSM0sFAQ6Fbe_Cef39TwEF-LReZA5cTcI0W2QkS_5tRek_HWPQDZeLhFNB5e8K19A6gBNmSR_mNuuHWj-XzzrnACPuDY2RQ7YnZ2pD8mcREx4gGWUmkPGYhcPdit_J3qNnpHcLJQhz2yw-WR_9PapAIS5MYM7RMKPxlte2oGahk7ay-0Y1fYYNeg/s320/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I made this reading through directions I'd printed out, only referencing the videos a few times. Got a little cocky when I sewed the back cover on when, in my haste, I kept reading "link stitch" as "kettle stitch" for some reason, probably because the kettle stitch was the stitch before. So I'm short a "chain" on that last row of stitches but otherwise, the cover is attached well.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDy-GJKrgAnejjAJPEYJB-c-4FAi3V6GucfWQD6MhB4xexqI7NNa5SxpGu1fn-g6aXSC2CBrrQKHovvX6mf3aWx0n8BdU5ZmkWtYRk-B8Ic2HKc06DstG7JwyxEdg1M3Gh5jJN61cJYEuWZOpj3sYClWKQYXUmyDi6ylSzeeeQmF_5Z3g0ktHNmA/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDy-GJKrgAnejjAJPEYJB-c-4FAi3V6GucfWQD6MhB4xexqI7NNa5SxpGu1fn-g6aXSC2CBrrQKHovvX6mf3aWx0n8BdU5ZmkWtYRk-B8Ic2HKc06DstG7JwyxEdg1M3Gh5jJN61cJYEuWZOpj3sYClWKQYXUmyDi6ylSzeeeQmF_5Z3g0ktHNmA/s320/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Didn't really have gift paper for the end papers (didn't want to use more of the cover paper) and in scrounging around my small stash of papers, I came across this paste paper I received from <a href="https://sylviaweirart.com/" target="_blank">Sylvia Weir</a> after I'd commented on her blog post showing her experiments with making it. It sort of looks like wavy water which I decided fit with the pocket gift wrap.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3R4tsN2nGMFC3UVsyEY5TyWwoxw9iyawIAq4eCXpzdY_6LKV18VGITzF4iq7dClkKnHdwjjf0Zs-CQMyM49yeBC0WbzD8HqwWUlF9maZ2TfHZhlM7aPgMTTow_FdQjd4l9VE5gjSkMzc0_l7fPpOPfUy9vqs-MURMXohSLRtGyyH-Ln20-i_qw/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3R4tsN2nGMFC3UVsyEY5TyWwoxw9iyawIAq4eCXpzdY_6LKV18VGITzF4iq7dClkKnHdwjjf0Zs-CQMyM49yeBC0WbzD8HqwWUlF9maZ2TfHZhlM7aPgMTTow_FdQjd4l9VE5gjSkMzc0_l7fPpOPfUy9vqs-MURMXohSLRtGyyH-Ln20-i_qw/s320/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I chose some scenes from old calendars for the signature wraps. Not intended but I realized they could be seen representing the 4 seasons so I arranged the signatures in order of spring to winter. This one would be summer. An inspirational quote printed on presentation paper is slipped into the pocket.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaK9J9NQmmSBlJW5r2jgBBnq1SwerVkanXaBqJ3zh0SM02wN_tDLteejIaJ_7b-AJDKNlxhdRyWuSRQAZNRGxTMa47_GxzkRg9EMotlNEoDUlNocYVo6KKEJAKHFfQQNkZULuANBbsOUZw7fM746gDUt090wWDZ3PN4cRHkCWDxoAaSnGvL9-PAg/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaK9J9NQmmSBlJW5r2jgBBnq1SwerVkanXaBqJ3zh0SM02wN_tDLteejIaJ_7b-AJDKNlxhdRyWuSRQAZNRGxTMa47_GxzkRg9EMotlNEoDUlNocYVo6KKEJAKHFfQQNkZULuANBbsOUZw7fM746gDUt090wWDZ3PN4cRHkCWDxoAaSnGvL9-PAg/w400-h300/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I glued this message on the title page so she would have no doubt what this book was for.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sv2oyU6-NsP9YKjpy8QqwAVbr_-ZTYWwrRDIBQezBG4gcGmdedEMdd5ihv_avC_pycVVWvoPg0hOMN3TCfuXFA6RGnDzigXbogJfgXhMKWurem2H84mdsEM6sjYdit_tXjuS2RDnMu_i8faQVBsEX7qmpiFlIaO9R0ROUQfzwlJOtHWlhzm17w/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sv2oyU6-NsP9YKjpy8QqwAVbr_-ZTYWwrRDIBQezBG4gcGmdedEMdd5ihv_avC_pycVVWvoPg0hOMN3TCfuXFA6RGnDzigXbogJfgXhMKWurem2H84mdsEM6sjYdit_tXjuS2RDnMu_i8faQVBsEX7qmpiFlIaO9R0ROUQfzwlJOtHWlhzm17w/s320/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I painted borders on some of the pages like I did in my own journal. It's such a nice touch, especially when coordinated with a magazine page inserted between signature pages.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKF8k1DKfNjqtlSw4eRuOFG_OwQcqH1JKCLPfBHgBwzOX9r6V2fj6ApJNNlGKyg_cmqkimcYs3ijov_W2WjOYPwUJ1PfdH-SlBU_M2J0CXc8HN4xuS75ZY8IYCEB2S6LHqETwz2-m5w5Yk7QgfU2SUaVeGHq2sPgXrc061SfDPJ1L1ZB0CkfnSfw/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKF8k1DKfNjqtlSw4eRuOFG_OwQcqH1JKCLPfBHgBwzOX9r6V2fj6ApJNNlGKyg_cmqkimcYs3ijov_W2WjOYPwUJ1PfdH-SlBU_M2J0CXc8HN4xuS75ZY8IYCEB2S6LHqETwz2-m5w5Yk7QgfU2SUaVeGHq2sPgXrc061SfDPJ1L1ZB0CkfnSfw/s320/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also used washi tape again to create borders. The tape is so old it doesn't want to peel off the roll without tearing. But I remembered a trick to help remove masking tape without affecting the surface it is being pulled away from: warm it with a heat tool or hair dryer. It did the trick.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2GEgZ4_IbVhok7Bksi4YWJ-GdtPKpc5FLSGkt-nn_lgTwSVmp3EVh6NVHWXgjD3LXUVB8CkgQ-gswqSVyQ_N67dRoXN-7CNYp9kf6GJCd9sT36XBSLvc812CDtMD5xhCVvXm7Q0iBLCEYmsyGYx9VlZFewMmduRDb-hGkVRjoIX93UofKVzyuQ/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2GEgZ4_IbVhok7Bksi4YWJ-GdtPKpc5FLSGkt-nn_lgTwSVmp3EVh6NVHWXgjD3LXUVB8CkgQ-gswqSVyQ_N67dRoXN-7CNYp9kf6GJCd9sT36XBSLvc812CDtMD5xhCVvXm7Q0iBLCEYmsyGYx9VlZFewMmduRDb-hGkVRjoIX93UofKVzyuQ/w400-h300/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal11.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some of the things I tried attaching didn't stick particularly well around the edges so I bordered them with washi tape to hold them in place.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSa5pTwU3dn-FkRtRM67F8pwtc9hcwedSoNnS-1jxlxVtyT9LeSys9k1_pzPv9d808s_YS2r-bMep34CeHLO0YQo4vcO0RKOijyvu3gjGGGp2f0SR5SQOZJaHTHTYEkV1XT1ShQy6v95byKiw9S3hxneP7aroEzHKyrClJechxKYxcE00Og5Ziw/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSa5pTwU3dn-FkRtRM67F8pwtc9hcwedSoNnS-1jxlxVtyT9LeSys9k1_pzPv9d808s_YS2r-bMep34CeHLO0YQo4vcO0RKOijyvu3gjGGGp2f0SR5SQOZJaHTHTYEkV1XT1ShQy6v95byKiw9S3hxneP7aroEzHKyrClJechxKYxcE00Og5Ziw/s320/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal7.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was doing my best to cover the back side of those calendar pictures - more washi tape holding a card in place and some stickers.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU13g7ho4MnhqPMkDZG6DlHyJv2NPI5jihjzeGFQ6j9SrTveEm4Fpc_F5pD0JxwU_QBqWfEmjQxpXntNl47ezCAVqi4eQB7hFENgTlPFIBARfbjyL8CCrSxE3Giyla22KiGnDzHkLx5m40YOLiwVD4Okyafz_xqOI7skCBwA6Ic44FwPtCkio9qA/s640/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU13g7ho4MnhqPMkDZG6DlHyJv2NPI5jihjzeGFQ6j9SrTveEm4Fpc_F5pD0JxwU_QBqWfEmjQxpXntNl47ezCAVqi4eQB7hFENgTlPFIBARfbjyL8CCrSxE3Giyla22KiGnDzHkLx5m40YOLiwVD4Okyafz_xqOI7skCBwA6Ic44FwPtCkio9qA/s320/2nd%20coptic%20gratitude%20journal10.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One last washi tape-bordered card. The book was very well received which I was sure it would be. But you never know, so I was more than pleased at my friend's response. She said what I included in the book was indeed inspirational and she was immediately planning what would go inside. So while she starts on her gratitude journal, I continue to add things to my own. So much to be grateful for, so many little things worth preserving in it.<br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-11397560340752006012024-01-23T14:31:00.000-08:002024-01-23T14:31:13.571-08:00Studio Organizing Kick Start<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCcsa7CjEEUHA5oON7VKdA1tlQo-5hw7z3sncyj6J2Rr_LlBVt2QmuqWyHwXw-21Xp7q9P3ucpF4rBFxBwcmsCi3kjNp-948r6bKPRwExT6xNYZ3qks1qRnU8gJAI3M5-qjJHTGVGJ16GtFq0-mjwy18yrx_AOiy3xu7nWwaOguBlcdYbXgJZVw/s600/Just%20want%20to%20create%20quotation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCcsa7CjEEUHA5oON7VKdA1tlQo-5hw7z3sncyj6J2Rr_LlBVt2QmuqWyHwXw-21Xp7q9P3ucpF4rBFxBwcmsCi3kjNp-948r6bKPRwExT6xNYZ3qks1qRnU8gJAI3M5-qjJHTGVGJ16GtFq0-mjwy18yrx_AOiy3xu7nWwaOguBlcdYbXgJZVw/s320/Just%20want%20to%20create%20quotation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I did get the latest gratitude journal sewn together last week but got delayed in adding finishing touches because I had this coupon from my landlord for a free rug cleaning and it was due to expire by the end of the month. I'd opted not to use it in December (who wants the uproar of a rug cleaning during the holidays, except I understand many companies are swamped with requests as people ready for company and parties - not me), then our weather took that deep dive temperature wise this month, and I knew the cleaners would have to leave the front door partially open while they worked. So last week we finally started rising above zero and I figured I'd better call and get my rug cleaning scheduled. Honestly, I thought they might not have an opening before my coupon expired. Instead, they could come the next day (NO!) or the following day (Okay!) and the rush was on to get things up off the floor and a few pieces of furniture moved throughout the house. Finishing the gratitude journal would have to wait.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXp0dyHMKVSBVL7CjslC9NigIxVyorOLHh4IFThb54FOLbA5GeP_9ZUJxLOxFsDxe02M380Olg8Y7G7OSIcQMqClVyxxsyteWS1Vri5ITHvxDbP_spLbX9XDVpAPffAoA5mKEZ7wcAkqkbZl-4o6YMWtV3CgLtmewvLA4ygcIuCSFjrgxwpsllQ/s640/rug%20cleaning%20prep1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXp0dyHMKVSBVL7CjslC9NigIxVyorOLHh4IFThb54FOLbA5GeP_9ZUJxLOxFsDxe02M380Olg8Y7G7OSIcQMqClVyxxsyteWS1Vri5ITHvxDbP_spLbX9XDVpAPffAoA5mKEZ7wcAkqkbZl-4o6YMWtV3CgLtmewvLA4ygcIuCSFjrgxwpsllQ/s320/rug%20cleaning%20prep1.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I nearly opted for them <i>not</i> to clean in my studio; it doesn't get the same amount of foot traffic as the rest of the house and as I've mentioned before, so many things end up piled on the floor for various reasons. My worktable was already covered, so where was I going to put all those things that needed picking up? I started by clearing things from the door back to where I have small tables for printer and laptop. Here's how it looked after removing bags and boxes from either side of this space.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2idNe850KuJiga3nr0PG9-A8zi43xfGeHox9BTHDUQN5gchlq2JZldUcdcUQ-_22YqIU-zsHu58A2XSuAHElEz7dAzVxmZrCVtg9R8xxitDuDKBLAqoyfh7sK9LiqX_5G9nsHqhR546UPmQe_9cLDOBDZSyH0fNlu8LMPLfx2Cu8vvjn58Vv0SQ/s640/rug%20cleaning%20prep2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2idNe850KuJiga3nr0PG9-A8zi43xfGeHox9BTHDUQN5gchlq2JZldUcdcUQ-_22YqIU-zsHu58A2XSuAHElEz7dAzVxmZrCVtg9R8xxitDuDKBLAqoyfh7sK9LiqX_5G9nsHqhR546UPmQe_9cLDOBDZSyH0fNlu8LMPLfx2Cu8vvjn58Vv0SQ/s320/rug%20cleaning%20prep2.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thank goodness this room has the adjoining bathroom where these things could be moved to, along with chairs and the laptop table.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwjo4WIJqgIsIT5smQalpHe0brZfY3Jsh6vA5_D3_GNwfaatEwj5LHwzIXyc1AqQj_bE2sSozDqqdb60_8yo6XYknRoq-NZj9qC-JY9aGwKoNU5T1oB1pXXaJsG743FbV52EV64z60Dz5xmA8p2-C8M6wIZ0lO4Kcnjm_Op0sZLEumAOo-E_LXw/s640/rug%20cleaning%20prep3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwjo4WIJqgIsIT5smQalpHe0brZfY3Jsh6vA5_D3_GNwfaatEwj5LHwzIXyc1AqQj_bE2sSozDqqdb60_8yo6XYknRoq-NZj9qC-JY9aGwKoNU5T1oB1pXXaJsG743FbV52EV64z60Dz5xmA8p2-C8M6wIZ0lO4Kcnjm_Op0sZLEumAOo-E_LXw/s320/rug%20cleaning%20prep3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then there was the small stack of fat quarter handdyes and Stonehedge fabric I didn't want to fold so laid on the floor between worktable and storage cabinets along the outer wall. Also another stack of projects I'd laid out in the space behind where I sit at my main sewing machine with the idea that they would be handy to work on - I remember my logic in a past organizing scheme, but they just sat and started getting covered up by things from my bookmaking projects and other small bins I'd worked from and not returned to their place in the closet. Honestly, as I started picking through them, some seemed like ancient history and maybe not applicable anymore, plus I also found more hand-dyed fat quarters with no idea why they had ended up on the bottom of this stack. Where to quickly put all this to clear that space seen above for cleaning?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84jLMrP1gYT5p_LJHJ506_iXQ-Mu2QxbpClXctL_cwrBeROPckpXwc5QFVwLMfiLYNClfbc4E3vQgKHzj4inixtkNxo4getLTYLU9EDmcGTNE2cwb6D2LYCUHFS442fVNyeGlKcNyRnVYadRXDBb1VIYKpipz2L5QTl36cDs5-5r8b6n1gL4eaQ/s640/rug%20cleaning%20prep4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84jLMrP1gYT5p_LJHJ506_iXQ-Mu2QxbpClXctL_cwrBeROPckpXwc5QFVwLMfiLYNClfbc4E3vQgKHzj4inixtkNxo4getLTYLU9EDmcGTNE2cwb6D2LYCUHFS442fVNyeGlKcNyRnVYadRXDBb1VIYKpipz2L5QTl36cDs5-5r8b6n1gL4eaQ/s320/rug%20cleaning%20prep4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here's where - on my ironing board. It already had things on it and I had no intention of folding it down. I decided they could work around it.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1161owyBRiODKs23Fx2vT_D2lWL07C7DN0VTXdNs1epS6-8tA9VuZEjIwIXKLMhrMl8_JJzjV2gWcg2erFBQhX2lNQflJlPKKPHJ1BRlVQ1gWhEmY7vp3_ZPyMVPjc1EatayxQSPB6Sy2-bZh24UoOhbWdSMmJ1g_nbHd9IsMN2RgxcrBf08SA/s640/rug%20cleaning%20prep5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1161owyBRiODKs23Fx2vT_D2lWL07C7DN0VTXdNs1epS6-8tA9VuZEjIwIXKLMhrMl8_JJzjV2gWcg2erFBQhX2lNQflJlPKKPHJ1BRlVQ1gWhEmY7vp3_ZPyMVPjc1EatayxQSPB6Sy2-bZh24UoOhbWdSMmJ1g_nbHd9IsMN2RgxcrBf08SA/s320/rug%20cleaning%20prep5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, kinda work around it. The cleaner immediately recognized that this room was a studio (his girlfriend makes upcycled art for sale) and said he'd be very careful going around all that was still under the worktable as well as this pile in front of the closet doors. I have two long skinny baskets of fat quarters that always sit there and I just piled the other bags and stacks on top of them. Turns out he decided to move the ironing board but did so without a thing out of place.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have to say, all that lifting, pulling, shoving and bending over picking up things left me with sore arm muscles, stiff back of legs and a general achyness all over which took several days to recover from but to my surprise, absolutely no back pain! I guess I've arrived at a new level of post surgery healing and it is great to know. The rest of the house is put back in order, a few organizing things attended to along the way, but I'm not looking forward to figuring out how to organize the mess of my studio, although a few things have been sorted. After all, it got in this state due to my inability to make decisions and procrastination about putting things back where they belong. But I will have to if I plan on getting any work done in there. I did finish up the gratitude journal yesterday, but my next project may be a baby quilt, and you can see I can't work on that or "create any other pretty things" until real progress is made on this unexpected kick start to getting things organized. <br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-37242098815157084532024-01-15T14:15:00.000-08:002024-01-15T18:10:24.477-08:00Busy & Cold!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyoq9WAUP34JTmEldYZ1nFBEPQgMtqoQVrp5EYn8GMXGtb5xRKRPGCh6WFMLLTRBjGwiw9PfPCPY6LAeRDFVVNygsky9QhOqb_-Xe2yf35x-S5zVVTAiPZkYL-vHjS-FFQ2s0BtVudr-xUIzb_CPUvNsQaG1gpglFbdh4Om-zpci1XQDYaHHUMw/s442/dorothy%20parker%20short%20poem.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="442" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyoq9WAUP34JTmEldYZ1nFBEPQgMtqoQVrp5EYn8GMXGtb5xRKRPGCh6WFMLLTRBjGwiw9PfPCPY6LAeRDFVVNygsky9QhOqb_-Xe2yf35x-S5zVVTAiPZkYL-vHjS-FFQ2s0BtVudr-xUIzb_CPUvNsQaG1gpglFbdh4Om-zpci1XQDYaHHUMw/w200-h143/dorothy%20parker%20short%20poem.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hope the above does not offend anyone, but when I came across <a href="https://dorothyparker.com/gallery/biography" target="_blank">Dorothy Parker's</a> short poem, I had to laugh. Oh yes, exactly how I feel as I find myself in denial, listening to talk of MLK day coming up and thinking, surely that isn't THIS Monday. But it is and we are at the mid-point of January already, leaving me wondering how did that happen. Well, keep on making organizational and project progress!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And I have, though I have no photos yet to prove it. I'm continuing work on another <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2023/10/another-book-challenge-some-inktober.html" target="_blank">gratitude journal</a>, this a belated Christmas present, and just like the one I made for myself, I am having great fun with it. And as I work and also move around my house, I am remembering a couple of key things about organizing. Most importantly, you don't have to do it all at once. Even dealing with a single item out of place RIGHT NOW rather than throwing it back on a pile for later is progress making me feel better. More and more is slowly being put right. And as I looked for magazine pages to use in the signatures, I got through two past issues of quilting magazines that I'd set on the end of the worktable until I felt I had time to go through them and pull any articles or pictures worth saving. Now there are two off my table and ready to go to the library where they have a magazine exchange section.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm still feeling pretty invigorated and diving into my studio with more energy and direction than I've felt for quite awhile. Could it be the ultra cold weather we've been experiencing? Like much of the country, we have been affected by that Arctic Blast. Thursday I hustled between snow squalls to pick up meds, groceries and a battery for the garage door opener and do a quick shovel of my short sidewalk to the front steps as that very day the temps were predicted to drop from high 20's towards single digits. And indeed, by Friday we were in the negatives, windchills leaving no doubt that my daily walks would be on hold. For two days we did not get above zero with our lowest low being around -18, but yesterday and today our high has been 8 degrees and the lows have been edging closer to zero. The forecast shows a steady rise in temperature the rest of the week but also a storm coming in tomorrow night or Wednesday that may dump up to a foot of snow on us. Well, it IS winter in the Pacific Northwest, and I have to admit, the super cold but sunny days have brought me a bit alive! And more snow? Just gives me more excuse to stay inside to work in the studio and knit in the evening.<br /></p><p>How's the weather in your neck of the woods? <br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-46769191315816836562024-01-09T11:52:00.000-08:002024-01-09T12:37:54.051-08:00One and (Not) Done<p style="text-align: justify;">I started last week with unusual vigor, and when I sat down to do my usual checks on the internet, I instead found myself pulling things out of the center cubby of my roll top desk. There are smaller cubbies on either side that are fine in terms of being organized, but this larger one is where I tend to toss papers I think I will want to reference soon or just don't know what to do with yet. It always gets totally out of hand and gets searched through throughout the year without ever really doing anything about the pile. Not this day. Out came everything, including 2 years' worth of Christmas cards (I always hold some back thinking I will answer them before the next Christmas rolls around but rarely do), a paper clipped group of recipes from magazines (I have no idea why I put them there), and various papers that could either be filed or tossed. In the process, the fountain pen I'd been looking for I think 2 years emerged; I must have tossed it up there with something too and it had rolled to the back and down near the bottom of the stack. I know I looked for it several times in that cubby, lifting up papers from the front but probably just burying it further. Anyway, excited to have it back. Then I attacked the corner of the writing area where I had let those insurance "explanation of benefits", prescription labels and paid medical statements pile up, waiting for me to match them up and file them. Well look at that - a clean desk and my first organizing of the year done.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_v0riBBtnJPOStMG04ZXyD8xFbE0fPWTx-uPxJxebVbMTQnO4QpnLBbhQF7vuJ5iNnTnRG2L8qbEetaPaKceFjoDpmUovj2_IUJYOo30P44M3GiSEMTTADnjFYTuiSrWD2QQNfmvNpPe9I1fJMm_eOSl4oY79CSS6gi27gRkRIdU8gnKZLZWdBQ/s640/toe%20up%20sock3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_v0riBBtnJPOStMG04ZXyD8xFbE0fPWTx-uPxJxebVbMTQnO4QpnLBbhQF7vuJ5iNnTnRG2L8qbEetaPaKceFjoDpmUovj2_IUJYOo30P44M3GiSEMTTADnjFYTuiSrWD2QQNfmvNpPe9I1fJMm_eOSl4oY79CSS6gi27gRkRIdU8gnKZLZWdBQ/w400-h300/toe%20up%20sock3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Also one and (not) done, the first sock of the pair from the grey wool. I actually knitted into the wee hours of New Year's Day to finish them, only to find the instructions for binding off merely saying to do it with a sewn bind off. A sewn bind off? What is that? While these directions did include illustrations of how to cast on and decrease/increase, it assumed I'd know how to do a sewn bind off. Luckily, when I first got interested in knitting socks, I invested in a book that absolutely has everything you need to know about knitting socks, all the different methods and stitches, and then patterns to try them out. I did a quick check and yes, it had instructions for a sewn bind off, but it was way to late for me to absorb the method. Another day, a study of the method, and I quickly finished off this first sock. It really is an easy and nifty bind off for the top of a ribbed sock. Speaking of ribs, I realize that the sock looks a little weird, but that's the 2 x 2 ribbing which stretches out when on the foot, keeping them snug all the way up past the ankle without being too tight. That bodes well for the knee high version which I just may try. It's a good fit though maybe a tad long heel to toe, but I think blocking will made it all better. I've started on sock two, having the same struggle with that different cast-on and the first few inches of increases. I may have done a better job than on the first sock which has a curious lump of knitting under the middle toes and a few holes I need to sew up. Anxious to get past the increases and on to the ribbing pattern.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHm5AbHZ6k4vAKGmkGZn-27sOb9nY0WnXX3fudVTvyqBepB1oZ439sKkbvDEOS7P5a8I9-F2Q1IypGrkD07yHIAXTb33l67NKiRDiH3eSjiAEM3sHBPP8k7OyBjLTHQel_BCLdM3rhSr366YAKHIBTPO8wJk8i1JnTze7YgCXUvcWjvT-kG3p2g/s640/Celtic%20Weave11.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHm5AbHZ6k4vAKGmkGZn-27sOb9nY0WnXX3fudVTvyqBepB1oZ439sKkbvDEOS7P5a8I9-F2Q1IypGrkD07yHIAXTb33l67NKiRDiH3eSjiAEM3sHBPP8k7OyBjLTHQel_BCLdM3rhSr366YAKHIBTPO8wJk8i1JnTze7YgCXUvcWjvT-kG3p2g/w400-h300/Celtic%20Weave11.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Do you remember the <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2023/08/celtic-weave-binding.html" target="_blank">Celtic Weave handmade book</a> from August? I intended to add a few things to the pages before gifting it to my niece who has been researching her Irish heritage and making a few sojourns to Ireland. Plenty of time, I told myself as I set it aside to work on other things. And then not plenty of time as I realized it would be a Christmas gift and Christmas was almost here. So that week before Christmas, I got busy, cutting out the stained glass images of a Celtic design that repeatedly showed up in catalogs. I'd been tossing them in the bin of ephemera for art journaling/mixed media and now they had a home. The signature papers are off-white while the Celtic design had a white background, so I used an X-acto knife to cut away the white within the design. I've been wanting to try the <a href="https://www.grafixarts.com/products/artist-tac/" target="_blank">Artist-tac adhesive</a> that is especially made for open designs like lace or doilies; instead of a solid sheet of adhesive, it has dots of adhesive. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6dx-Ixa6vM&list=PL_i4kuQz7Td7-TXjG0lY9rwd2xS_Su2ta&index=24" target="_blank">Here's the video</a> where I found out about this product and shows it in action as well as Art Graf's Double tack which I used to adhere a large print out instead of glue so there'd be no wrinkling. Both product worked great.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9KgvPtNsJ13xjo6QFK86Tco6UxZS7plqXd3te0NEWkKD-nFC95-sj-fexvU3y4SdKD_E_1JK0na-s3esjLps5q7x238a0vWbdopOMgcurDSigdEQXTra6iOXyXCOWCai8o7ahnomVZ19DH0tIFn9p8QX5slw_iqiPHTLuJ1a7EnjMroKR9qdrQ/s640/Celtic%20Weave12.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9KgvPtNsJ13xjo6QFK86Tco6UxZS7plqXd3te0NEWkKD-nFC95-sj-fexvU3y4SdKD_E_1JK0na-s3esjLps5q7x238a0vWbdopOMgcurDSigdEQXTra6iOXyXCOWCai8o7ahnomVZ19DH0tIFn9p8QX5slw_iqiPHTLuJ1a7EnjMroKR9qdrQ/s320/Celtic%20Weave12.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The book has 8 inner signatures and I had just enough of these Celtic designs to place one on the first page of each of those signatures.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3m_tSRVyN92sChRo206Hy41uQHabIAvYBH6rmTTyGchgFd1iHOc5K-kIsjk36xe-B4e7jH6YX6IDLCE-FwesYixfgYZi54Drv7ZUzvgbm0w9ZbzX7BCsI0BOHBdnSopwbQnGP0awEJHve2JpF3ay0TEaQEN5QAqAQ-JD535cJ-XDRn0FOp9VNkA/s640/Celtic%20Weave13.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3m_tSRVyN92sChRo206Hy41uQHabIAvYBH6rmTTyGchgFd1iHOc5K-kIsjk36xe-B4e7jH6YX6IDLCE-FwesYixfgYZi54Drv7ZUzvgbm0w9ZbzX7BCsI0BOHBdnSopwbQnGP0awEJHve2JpF3ay0TEaQEN5QAqAQ-JD535cJ-XDRn0FOp9VNkA/w400-h300/Celtic%20Weave13.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also wanted to add a couple of Irish Blessings and decided to invest in a wood stencil designed for drawing evenly spaced lines on a page. Oh, where have you been all my life? I found <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1175828290/long-ruled-stencil-line-stencil-ruled" target="_blank">this one on Etsy</a> and decided that even though a little more expensive than some of the plastic ones for sale, it would be worth it and I think I was right. Here I've drawn the lines in pencil and they were erased after I finished writing. The finished book is now in the hands of my niece and she is delighted with it. Call that a finish for 2023. On to 2024 projects whatever they may be!<br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-75992397649543035852024-01-01T15:44:00.000-08:002024-01-01T15:44:08.880-08:00Into A New Year<p style="text-align: justify;">Time once again to reveal my resolution word for the new year. I often have ideas pop into my head in advance of the end of one year and beginning of the next, but this year I was drawing a blank, no inspiration hitting me. But at last I had a thought, and the thought became something I warmed to. And I decided, this is it: my resolution word for 2024 will be "<b><i>ORGANIZE</i>"</b>. I'm generally quite the organizer but I've fallen off the wagon for too long. One look in my studio will tell you how badly I need to get that space organized again, but it is not the only space in my house needing attention. Also, my computer, full of photos that need sorting and/or deleting, saves to read later, things to print out. I need to get back to making lists too, short term and long term things and projects to complete, and I know that will help me stay more organized. I think I have a big job ahead of me but I am very ready to have a less clutter space everywhere, with organizing keeping me on track. Because you know, I still have so much to finish and no end to new things I want to try.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLUzsijNOqiFViBmmX1WXnxQP59WsnhAzNFXOqVEU0jgZ7qVGgy19OAeYqBD2k0DGSc8s6VhCK5OulxRIM1xncBwA-nSt6qCOcXC3e8KnvHA7grKBk7xecR0yeJX8hE6UZvad28ixeTumwOY19vyzfly5PS4TkGhgTPUjAecIQd6dBm2sMQOx-A/s640/yarn%20splurge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLUzsijNOqiFViBmmX1WXnxQP59WsnhAzNFXOqVEU0jgZ7qVGgy19OAeYqBD2k0DGSc8s6VhCK5OulxRIM1xncBwA-nSt6qCOcXC3e8KnvHA7grKBk7xecR0yeJX8hE6UZvad28ixeTumwOY19vyzfly5PS4TkGhgTPUjAecIQd6dBm2sMQOx-A/s320/yarn%20splurge.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of new things, I have a confession to make. I've definitely been bitten by the knitting bug again, and have been spending a lot of time poring over patterns I have and downloading new free patterns to print out. I'd gotten out my stash of yarns, thinking to match what I had to patterns at hand, so that once that pair of socks is done, I can dive into the next project and start using up yarn. As I went through the bags, I was reminded of the mill end wool yarns I used to get at a yarn shop in town and wondering if they still carried them now that the shop had changed hands. The owner must have ESP because shortly after that, she posted that they had just gotten in a new shipment and showed a picture of them hanging on the wall. It was too much for me to resist, although I kept telling myself I did NOT need more yarn. But yarn is like quilting fabric, and one buys it even if one doesn't need it, because it is beautiful, and in this case quite a deal - just $4.50 per 190 yd skein. Be still my heart, as I focused on a lavender one. Against my better judgement, I stopped by, and not only bought all of the lavender yarn, but also the beautiful blue yarn right next to it. So there is my big bag of yarn, with enough there for a couple of sweaters. I already have it paired with patterns and am way too excited about getting started on them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So that's how I'm starting off 2024 - with high hopes to get organized and way too much yarn for evening knitting! How about you? Have you done any reflecting on how 2023 went for you? Any plans or resolutions for the new year? <a href="https://www.calm.com/" target="_blank">Calm</a> has a Facebook page where they post meditative and well, calming things, and I thought this offering might be good to work through; maybe you will too. Let's have a great New Year!<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUjHOq2vU-6E5YzOVYCRvRiLZgxoB04g0nDssGd76x6usaWyGP3ZaJoFe52cN82XXNXiFfJOY3r00-O7IjvsHgdLu9rb4bEXMPfoNTj6eHT9ESkaoWQ7z3bmeDuC5YxpvAx8VyjNf12NBtC1Wj3r-t9oIrqSgBpeizYaZYsVPfSYQW0fAUS4Kng/s1080/Calm%20reflect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUjHOq2vU-6E5YzOVYCRvRiLZgxoB04g0nDssGd76x6usaWyGP3ZaJoFe52cN82XXNXiFfJOY3r00-O7IjvsHgdLu9rb4bEXMPfoNTj6eHT9ESkaoWQ7z3bmeDuC5YxpvAx8VyjNf12NBtC1Wj3r-t9oIrqSgBpeizYaZYsVPfSYQW0fAUS4Kng/w400-h400/Calm%20reflect.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2K29p3fkEhF3c0iB8yhbR8JNt39JS8cnQXblmRNmMKMDR647BFJ4_ApoD_4YvOTp0z7z2MqaX7Y4BcTAW__ewVGaVVr4lhQAmouKt3HWRHXDISvexhwfobCpHF5NguIpl63aXvHbdRmgBRSW4Euqqle8cvCVCLrKv9lPTX_rVpRZIgsvP2A__oA/s1080/calm%20moving%20forward.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2K29p3fkEhF3c0iB8yhbR8JNt39JS8cnQXblmRNmMKMDR647BFJ4_ApoD_4YvOTp0z7z2MqaX7Y4BcTAW__ewVGaVVr4lhQAmouKt3HWRHXDISvexhwfobCpHF5NguIpl63aXvHbdRmgBRSW4Euqqle8cvCVCLrKv9lPTX_rVpRZIgsvP2A__oA/w400-h400/calm%20moving%20forward.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************<br /></p><p>For previous year's resolution words, see these posts:</p><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="text_exposed_show">2008 - Freedom </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="text_exposed_show">2009 - <a href="http://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2009/01/resolution-word-for-2009.html">Calm</a></span></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="text_exposed_show">2010 - <a href="http://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2010/01/beginning-of-new-year.html">Focus</a> </span></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="text_exposed_show">2011 - <a href="http://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2011/01/refocus.html">Refocus</a></span></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="text_exposed_show">2012 - <a href="http://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-year.html">Balance & Harmony</a></span></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="text_exposed_show">2013 - <a href="http://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2013/01/its-2013.html">Perseverance</a></span></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="text_exposed_show">2014 - <a href="http://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-word-for-year.html">Explore</a></span></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="text_exposed_show">2015 - <a href="http://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2015/01/time-to-ponder.html">Fearless</a></span></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="text_exposed_show">2016 - <a href="http://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-word-please.html">Light </a></span></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">2017 - <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2017/01/another-year-begins.html" target="_blank">Endure</a> </span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">2018 - <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2018/01/2018.html" target="_blank">Refresh</a> <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">2019 - <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2019/01/and-resolution-word-of-year-is.html" target="_blank">Wing It! </a></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">2020 - <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2020/01/go.html" target="_blank">Go</a>!</span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">2021 - <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2021/01/whats-word.html" target="_blank">Finish</a> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">2022 - <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2022/01/and-now-its-new-year.html" target="_blank">More</a> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">2023 - <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2023/01/welcoming-another-year.html" target="_blank">Continue</a> <br /></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-58031570233244522332023-12-24T17:45:00.000-08:002023-12-24T17:45:52.978-08:00Holiday Greetings To My Faithful Readers<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3JNw2XAzhMWSNfI0ZQ-Ob7Z2jb2sXttVoxfrWRmDXJOSqT_O2iMTE2w_kKZKgIWZMsUgNX21pYFmW5ylhaYGRNOqPXwrWdI4d38pmSDGF6u7JliTeyTMYiP794jZ2vTAUINU6of1WZ7VpotIV4xGD90FvOTsLFtlcvDFT1AOH_NrxkwcCDKKyw/s640/2023%20xmas2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3JNw2XAzhMWSNfI0ZQ-Ob7Z2jb2sXttVoxfrWRmDXJOSqT_O2iMTE2w_kKZKgIWZMsUgNX21pYFmW5ylhaYGRNOqPXwrWdI4d38pmSDGF6u7JliTeyTMYiP794jZ2vTAUINU6of1WZ7VpotIV4xGD90FvOTsLFtlcvDFT1AOH_NrxkwcCDKKyw/w400-h300/2023%20xmas2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">May your holidays be bright, full of love and laughter and remembrance of those who have gone before us into that good night. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxURV2paFjN52HdSgJu8_yhjeoassi9oZpiyruS9fTcdT57_tiavsXY3pLPxP-b6XqBFgHs-7YchFwtUL6s4VxiXK5nLSgOT_ehPJRxJnUoOmXOR-And96G4gQ2CUdi69SHtbB5Vmj8AGkiwvaMwb2iQr85szp6MMtfP1qQVg62EksBuyV5k6WA/s640/neighborhood%20dec1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxURV2paFjN52HdSgJu8_yhjeoassi9oZpiyruS9fTcdT57_tiavsXY3pLPxP-b6XqBFgHs-7YchFwtUL6s4VxiXK5nLSgOT_ehPJRxJnUoOmXOR-And96G4gQ2CUdi69SHtbB5Vmj8AGkiwvaMwb2iQr85szp6MMtfP1qQVg62EksBuyV5k6WA/w400-h300/neighborhood%20dec1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5UxI9CydwmhmQxmvmAfeZ4RhOkN527f8_GMePFnlMqBuq2xyzZ3Shvovt6oUu0QZjCkRAD4xlMVWincVB7pO-tbHUJc-3CLEFmyTEW_a0QpkgN_U-opNq7ZyRfPC-FgcR3IMTcGt-tTcaxEbLUMhB4Cm0DhEYrz-dvzaj_RJb1_xNR_yI_lBAA/s634/neighborhood%20dec2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="634" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5UxI9CydwmhmQxmvmAfeZ4RhOkN527f8_GMePFnlMqBuq2xyzZ3Shvovt6oUu0QZjCkRAD4xlMVWincVB7pO-tbHUJc-3CLEFmyTEW_a0QpkgN_U-opNq7ZyRfPC-FgcR3IMTcGt-tTcaxEbLUMhB4Cm0DhEYrz-dvzaj_RJb1_xNR_yI_lBAA/w400-h378/neighborhood%20dec2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We didn't get any new snow, but that just makes my walks around the neighborhood easier - don't want any falls dislodging any of the hardware in my back! There are quite a few new renters on my street and not as many decorations as I've seen in the past but these two put a smile on my face - and they are lighted up at night!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-ARnjXLHgEF_cXiU5r35s6JcZ-XliIfIQMof6poPUybu46dAyMRLu_abA1JplrBo4z5MQdEfauFvOg2f1FPw7B-ARC6EDPCa8zJC9O7B_VsU2ngptliUao1lh4SN8f2_Rb7VcYhrCp86f4wTesCHzSCWeeOL6Z55zY0zdSsc5edn-P1n6VcpTQ/s638/deer%20at%20apple%20tree1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="638" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-ARnjXLHgEF_cXiU5r35s6JcZ-XliIfIQMof6poPUybu46dAyMRLu_abA1JplrBo4z5MQdEfauFvOg2f1FPw7B-ARC6EDPCa8zJC9O7B_VsU2ngptliUao1lh4SN8f2_Rb7VcYhrCp86f4wTesCHzSCWeeOL6Z55zY0zdSsc5edn-P1n6VcpTQ/s320/deer%20at%20apple%20tree1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>And there have been deer browsing behind our row of townhouses and yesterday I noticed one reason why. There is quite the apple tree a few houses down from me and it is still just loaded with apples which the deer obviously love. Sorry not to get a better picture but it's this cheap cell phone of mine . . .</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhax9G4mju3F8smColgxtcWwY4vmqweMczwtU5apGgZWt9NECeRoHS3DWObb6Q3FwAS1wUEQ15m0Qe9iUYbLpqIYBJa7SqcgfxQCYZ59pKGbTGb_iTfCQ9boFYXlzSYV-JRtx8fPriBrpyPfZ4e_dWbE6_vQf_p7AGmFQlWEmfsZzWPnRgRTCVv7w/s442/deer%20at%20apple%20tree2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhax9G4mju3F8smColgxtcWwY4vmqweMczwtU5apGgZWt9NECeRoHS3DWObb6Q3FwAS1wUEQ15m0Qe9iUYbLpqIYBJa7SqcgfxQCYZ59pKGbTGb_iTfCQ9boFYXlzSYV-JRtx8fPriBrpyPfZ4e_dWbE6_vQf_p7AGmFQlWEmfsZzWPnRgRTCVv7w/s320/deer%20at%20apple%20tree2.jpg" width="287" /></a></div><p></p><p>The one was in a staring contest with me while the other soon fled back into the bushes - look at that white tail warning!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So peace to you all! Don't forget to put your feet up and relax, go for a long walk, enjoy any visitors you might have, and maybe sneak in a little creative endeavor. Mine will be knitting on that sock - I've just turned the heel!</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Merry Christmas !!!</b></span><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-69801524942069442812023-12-19T17:21:00.000-08:002023-12-19T17:21:39.360-08:00Snuck Up On Me<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7Xv0JXclNFpwgRh2ZSN1wUFw9tJKIMZbIoyMxtWzpE-V3gMcLm-6of7UoR6RKifyVA2yrvJ_aiXhnEe0z8mDlJunLQOhfLhdAlaBvYDZSeoiUGwo5v0YBzvqTZmGMumBRid44hkLDsbkmMuakuzmPH8fsP0TSxPUKYn8hdi_NxGGXKkDixdVNQ/s640/2nd%20gratitude%20journal1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7Xv0JXclNFpwgRh2ZSN1wUFw9tJKIMZbIoyMxtWzpE-V3gMcLm-6of7UoR6RKifyVA2yrvJ_aiXhnEe0z8mDlJunLQOhfLhdAlaBvYDZSeoiUGwo5v0YBzvqTZmGMumBRid44hkLDsbkmMuakuzmPH8fsP0TSxPUKYn8hdi_NxGGXKkDixdVNQ/w400-h300/2nd%20gratitude%20journal1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gift wrap backed with rice paper & folded into a double pocket<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I started working on another gratitude journal last week, knowing Christmas was quickly approaching and I'd better get going if it would reach its recipient as a holiday gift. But as I was perusing the calendar to plan my holiday to do's, I realized I didn't have two weeks left but just one! So I've had to put it aside to work on cards and such but I thought I'd share this nifty trick I tried with the gift wrap. I'm not the only one in the book club that had difficulty gluing gift wrap to bookboard without it bubbling and wrinkling. And I worried that my paper wasn't as strong as needed to keep the pockets from tearing. After much random mulling, I wondered if I couldn't back the gift wrap with rice paper the way one does fabric to make book cloth. But I still wondered about what adhesive to use when I ran across a "hack" for adhering decorative napkins to something like an envelop.* Ahh, here was something else book club members had struggled with when it was suggested to make cover paper using decorative napkins glued to copy paper. I watched the video and it looked too simple to be true How many times have I struggled with a technique that a video had presented as easy? But this time it really was.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">So here is all you do. Lay down a sheet of parchment paper and your regular paper (the video showed an envelop with the flap open). Smooth a layer of plastic wrap over that (Saran Wrap is one brand name you are probably familiar with). Finally, lay down your decorative napkin, or in my case, a piece of gift wrap, right side up on top and cover with a piece of parchment paper. Now evenly press the whole thing with a hot iron which will melt the plastic wrap and create the bond between plain paper and the decorative paper. Oh my - did that work slick! Now I can't attest to the longevity let alone the archival quality of this process but for what I am using it for, that doesn't really matter. And I can tell now that by doing this with the gift wrap for covering the boards, I'll have paper I won't have to worry about tearing or not lying smooth when glued. Can't wait to do this to the rest of the pocket paper and the cover paper. But I'll have to because it's back to getting my Christmas card done.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">*If you're on Facebook, you can watch the video here, my little gift to you: <a href="https://fb.watch/p1_n2LyTpp/" target="_blank">Cling Wrap Hack</a><br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-52072888446817522592023-12-11T15:15:00.000-08:002023-12-11T15:15:49.546-08:00An Alternative To Paint and A Finish<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlMtNm0RCjcuBx10KaxdOIwjCA78k6x3sCOO1CHC-ZHJQB_jEwknxsc6pUfgmxLSTsaIvEQPTEUyeyEKLONUYAQk_nsddxKJluKWN1MeOGiE1231u5Ck5pA6D-oxmT-d9pz3GIIzTiFx1pLWMGtm7EOklsJlq97F5_kQrMOQjIaSQdLKNuplqzg/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlMtNm0RCjcuBx10KaxdOIwjCA78k6x3sCOO1CHC-ZHJQB_jEwknxsc6pUfgmxLSTsaIvEQPTEUyeyEKLONUYAQk_nsddxKJluKWN1MeOGiE1231u5Ck5pA6D-oxmT-d9pz3GIIzTiFx1pLWMGtm7EOklsJlq97F5_kQrMOQjIaSQdLKNuplqzg/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge17.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Years ago Washi Tape crossed my radar as a thing. I didn't understand what it was exactly, nor why it was being touted as a must have item but I bought some anyway. The 4 or 5 rolls I bought have remained unopened until the other day. I've gained a better understanding of how to use this tape but still couldn't figure out how to work it into any of my various projects - it just didn't seem to be the sort of thing I'd use. But as I found a page in the gratitude journal to add a gratitude to, but one that did not have the painted borders, it dawned on me that I could put strips of Washi tape around my entry. Oooo, so much less messy than paint, quick and easy, I'm going to have to tape off some other pages! And yes, last week's challenge was dealing with a crown that came off. Just what one needs in the weeks before Christmas! All better now for the time being but I'll be staying away from things like sticky caramel (which was not the culprit btw - I was just eating a slice of soft crust pizza . . .).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkzEBDaAa7p1fP6Je_lFpkykcWhesfycH7J7aeRhnVWKfNuH086u4Hax1tVBGdm6mmIcYyyk4WIkHiGyexdNdoAeDLJYNKeboljEg0bdlvkMjZeHYb1mHeiDgefWbAS_7g7uwQLFVvUCTwKaflp2LCCSIxHQdllPYBuu7vKPpIgzYMEzTPR3u3w/s800/4-patch%20mending%20done.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkzEBDaAa7p1fP6Je_lFpkykcWhesfycH7J7aeRhnVWKfNuH086u4Hax1tVBGdm6mmIcYyyk4WIkHiGyexdNdoAeDLJYNKeboljEg0bdlvkMjZeHYb1mHeiDgefWbAS_7g7uwQLFVvUCTwKaflp2LCCSIxHQdllPYBuu7vKPpIgzYMEzTPR3u3w/w400-h300/4-patch%20mending%20done.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As for my finish, I finally got all the lines of quilting on the 4-patch strip quilt resewn. I started working on that back in August but not very steadily. But I could see the finish line approaching the last time I worked on it so devoted big chunks of time over the weekend to get it done. And really, this was not something I was going to do slowly and carefully; perfection was hardly on my mind and so there are lots of places where my new stitching did not go exactly over the old stitching. Can you hear me yelling "I DON"T CARE!!! I just want to get this done!"? It seemed to take forever anyway. I don't think there's any other repair or mending work to do so I can move on to some other more interesting sewing project. <br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-14805381065468298102023-12-05T14:06:00.000-08:002023-12-05T14:06:26.762-08:00Kicking Off the Holiday Season<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcso_hB9GEtMwlvZyUyFOUAa5TO0tApZVzsh02XTm2PPDN1lk_lRJFRM9uoKGeiavazTWWs9XHJwfahA8HZ8wERsHc2iJjpRD3u5aP328W5OuVb8mK4sR44zLEuUOT8beIlavDQgkx-i8dtnHuhQTrc6D713faT_DPY1YDfE2qmLyls2TrPCYkbw/s640/2023%20xmas1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcso_hB9GEtMwlvZyUyFOUAa5TO0tApZVzsh02XTm2PPDN1lk_lRJFRM9uoKGeiavazTWWs9XHJwfahA8HZ8wERsHc2iJjpRD3u5aP328W5OuVb8mK4sR44zLEuUOT8beIlavDQgkx-i8dtnHuhQTrc6D713faT_DPY1YDfE2qmLyls2TrPCYkbw/w400-h300/2023%20xmas1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We all have our holiday traditions, and for me, I don't touch anything Christmas until the first weekend in December. On that Sunday morning I break out the 3-disc set of Bach's Christmas Oratorio and I'm off! This year my niece sent me this advent calendar with specialty jams and spreads behind each day's door along with a brief message like "Be Merry!" And after brunch while the Oratorio was still playing and snow falling outside my window, I worked on my sock - so very Christmassy. The knitting seems quite slow going to me even though I am now past all the increasing and have the ribbing pattern set up, so I can just knit away without much thought. Those are size 1 needles I'm working with so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that progress is not speedier. However, I am halfway now to turning the heel.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1czqOWEsc1C4Os96o80YD6ggbQmXpYQwCaidfsssnG3wNw6kgRCqDvBJo0GFq7L2HEzcHkcEx1vWeIP-9vCutni0ks5NbVf_MRertZJ33BZ8MM9U5d1EI25RnrfjwNxa7UPwap5F0pwKAaPhuUaYFLo3B1lx66g3poyGcy5Rxn9gLzUHLwu_sZw/s640/toe%20up%20socks2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1czqOWEsc1C4Os96o80YD6ggbQmXpYQwCaidfsssnG3wNw6kgRCqDvBJo0GFq7L2HEzcHkcEx1vWeIP-9vCutni0ks5NbVf_MRertZJ33BZ8MM9U5d1EI25RnrfjwNxa7UPwap5F0pwKAaPhuUaYFLo3B1lx66g3poyGcy5Rxn9gLzUHLwu_sZw/w400-h300/toe%20up%20socks2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now that more of the sock is visible, I can see how the hand-painted yarn's variegation is working to create a subtle pattern. But I can also see now something I couldn't before, that this is not just gray yarn of different values light to dark but that there is also a purplish blue in there, also light to dark, so very pretty. No plain Jane Gray here. Working on this has not just scratched an itch, but made the itch worse! I keep finding myself picking up pattern books and going through my yarn stash to figure out what I might knit up next.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've just learned that my goddaughter finally had her baby, a couple of weeks late but just fine. She had originally told me that she planned to have 3 kids and that was it, and she was no spring chicken when she started. So she had the 3, I dutifully and joyfully made a special quilt for each, and thought I was done. But no, she has surprised me with a fourth. I will wait until after Christmas to get started on one but to be honest, I have no clue what I will make. I am so used to having ideas just waiting for an excuse to make up but I'm drawing a blank. Time I guess to start looking through my many books and patterns saved from magazines and find some inspiration! You can see the previous 3 quilts <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2016/09/mollys-undersea-playground.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2019/07/i-so-often-need-push.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2021/12/final-steps.html" target="_blank">here</a>. If you check these out, you can see why I feel that I can't make just any old baby quilt. But hey - it's a girl baby so I can break out some pink!<br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-78429625141706639632023-11-28T20:30:00.000-08:002023-11-29T12:31:32.306-08:00Loose Ends & Scratching An Itch<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-89X140nBP-be0vVXfXSGn5eN4AEY9jSVLDVnOA9XpK4jvjjxbRAkDg934wGgkKWb_X1CoZMZy-DlwKmiUVH2MN7G-yg6bMgGX_9qq7e6NuPGnAh4QC0Ypmgxd1V2SsmhsOgx-SUUBpeYRWvYuJo8QY0oZVfhawq-rPxfYuKLDvkWo6xP382sA/s480/toe%20up%20socks1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-89X140nBP-be0vVXfXSGn5eN4AEY9jSVLDVnOA9XpK4jvjjxbRAkDg934wGgkKWb_X1CoZMZy-DlwKmiUVH2MN7G-yg6bMgGX_9qq7e6NuPGnAh4QC0Ypmgxd1V2SsmhsOgx-SUUBpeYRWvYuJo8QY0oZVfhawq-rPxfYuKLDvkWo6xP382sA/s320/toe%20up%20socks1.JPG" width="264" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was quiet, just the way I like it, and I spent part of it scratching this itch to start a knitting project, specifically trying out a "toe up" sock pattern. I kept getting the nudge, remembering how I spent so much of my school vacations knitting by the fire, and the yarn with pattern has been sitting out for longer than I care to mention. I bought the yarn on sale a very long time ago, pretty much at the beginning of the sock knitting craze and I remember how hard it was to make up my mind about what color yarn to buy. Ever practical and not sure I'd like bright multicolored socks, I opted for the one called "Gray Matters", which is a wool/acrylic hand painted blend made in Turkey. In my defense, I've written before about the <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2011/11/in-praise-of-gray-or-is-that-grey.html" target="_blank">positive attributes of gray</a>, and then recently ran across this praise of gray:</p><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="x1iorvi4 x1pi30zi x1l90r2v x1swvt13" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message"><div class="x78zum5 xdt5ytf xz62fqu x16ldp7u"><div class="xu06os2 x1ok221b"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><i><b>“Gray isn’t just for shapeshifting clouds or sophisticated business suits. There is so much more to gray than that. It’s not a cliche. It’s a marvel. Gray is the disputed territory between the light and dark. It’s a color that has one foot in the shadows and one in the sun. I don’t know when we decided that the color gray was “boring” - because it’s anything but.”- John Roedel</b></i></blockquote></div></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There you have it, complete with "foot" pun, and the hand painted variegation should produce a more interesting and beautiful sock than a solid yarn would. This particular toe up pattern has a cast on not unlike the one for the mobius scarves I've made, but by starting with only 4 stitches on each of two needles and a method of increasing I was unfamiliar with, I found the beginnings of this sock challenging and giving me fits. But as the space grows it is getting easier, although working on multiple needles in the round is not my favorite. I'm ready to set up the ribbing pattern so things should go more quickly now.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi91X3nPCzlLk5YoztaZM_m4p74SRYCGBl6Lq2wo8AG5KZGWUnI9neS9967gHXIXfU_klBVqk-wExwqm5Sgdj2UruG2A4HZFq6Ok6Hb2bCpVzYPaP8Ae_0zWm_Uj0t-L0cdHP0Q-QACi9TFa2LRkuB5Fv_0FUW-ngRTl1OHEDFqmwO0dVBSVFQZ5g/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi91X3nPCzlLk5YoztaZM_m4p74SRYCGBl6Lq2wo8AG5KZGWUnI9neS9967gHXIXfU_klBVqk-wExwqm5Sgdj2UruG2A4HZFq6Ok6Hb2bCpVzYPaP8Ae_0zWm_Uj0t-L0cdHP0Q-QACi9TFa2LRkuB5Fv_0FUW-ngRTl1OHEDFqmwO0dVBSVFQZ5g/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge15.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As for loose ends, I feel I have so many as I look at what's scattered around my studio. But I took care of some of them last week. I got all the bits of ephemera added to the gratitude journal and started writing in it. I experimented with something the teacher showed us: masking off the center of a page to preserve it for adding text, then painting the rest of the page. I used that Fresco Finish paint again, partly because it dries to a matte chalky finish which, unlike regular acrylic paint, doesn't stick pages together and is easy to write on if one chooses. This is such a great look and will keep me from getting too wordy!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSNGvujM00JRqNwGovcpKSJ0xfMSQw-1Y3w47vHMwFVPxnoyT0UDoovpW8YVyUk3joCqpEpqREJBT77YMMjffIWsrcz93ERcpQHoYqSNAbzEOvNXOIuN6TiyuG0bpO0fzO3i6AiPph0i8VaiItPyz0LtDuDfCeTJVyJLGXg4lIpiCUC7XkZ0f7g/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSNGvujM00JRqNwGovcpKSJ0xfMSQw-1Y3w47vHMwFVPxnoyT0UDoovpW8YVyUk3joCqpEpqREJBT77YMMjffIWsrcz93ERcpQHoYqSNAbzEOvNXOIuN6TiyuG0bpO0fzO3i6AiPph0i8VaiItPyz0LtDuDfCeTJVyJLGXg4lIpiCUC7XkZ0f7g/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge16.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had a little paint left on the palette so I experimented with a fan brush, mimicking the flowers in the adjacent page. The camera didn't pick it up well, and you can't see the green that I also worked in between the pink, but I was pretty thrilled with the result. Funny how this particular journal is unleashing something in me that is unexpectedly liberating. I'm usually such a regimented and chronological person but this format has me jumping around all through the book. It's really fun to work in it.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4XCN4X7g-DTwXPkOttgJyPvx-TkGuLDRmpUZT-oWSAA1UXSRtxJCwlVfOhnYPvHuE2d3X7l52wydoVQ5gbiizr3H_XSiTpigRJTAWhxRT6seHkxYBmKsUn-nlT4JCtwz7QbaJy5jUXCWzAKPH3tKavUHdK6m46Gj0aKF-EG0h20cqBWH-ID6fw/s640/tree%20journal%20additions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4XCN4X7g-DTwXPkOttgJyPvx-TkGuLDRmpUZT-oWSAA1UXSRtxJCwlVfOhnYPvHuE2d3X7l52wydoVQ5gbiizr3H_XSiTpigRJTAWhxRT6seHkxYBmKsUn-nlT4JCtwz7QbaJy5jUXCWzAKPH3tKavUHdK6m46Gj0aKF-EG0h20cqBWH-ID6fw/s320/tree%20journal%20additions.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another loose end is adding quotations to this journal which I believe is the second book I made once I'd joined the Handmade Book Club. The journal itself has lots of issues, but it was a way to use some of the eco-dyed watercolor paper I'd made and then add lots of tree and leaves related things to the blank pages. There are paint experiments in there and a few pictures from magazines pasted in. Some actual dried leaves glued in as well. Still lots of pages to fill but I see it as an ongoing project. But I did want to get the poems and quotations added once it dawned on me how many I'd collected referencing trees and leaves. It will feel good to have that loose end tied up.<br /></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> <br /></div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div><p></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-64674733916851482112023-11-21T18:00:00.000-08:002023-11-21T18:00:41.454-08:00Pause and Gratitudes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKwNxZ1ctLapczSm0SkvksZ4EJKpPtCw1q1-bnkOkFLT3RG07d94_uSx-zAivKgLEBGih9NCqIR0jUf5cKmQvUM0EEUu4U7rdKmjIhh1KOcFG0FwhIgluM3yOvXq3XrGwIUUgJIVS-hdnfXV5JzqwnCM6TjSRlAnvsDpf6NLx4dPmCJZSNe6MUA/s674/artsy%20gratitudes.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKwNxZ1ctLapczSm0SkvksZ4EJKpPtCw1q1-bnkOkFLT3RG07d94_uSx-zAivKgLEBGih9NCqIR0jUf5cKmQvUM0EEUu4U7rdKmjIhh1KOcFG0FwhIgluM3yOvXq3XrGwIUUgJIVS-hdnfXV5JzqwnCM6TjSRlAnvsDpf6NLx4dPmCJZSNe6MUA/s320/artsy%20gratitudes.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yet another week of distractions and diversions, appointments and phone calls, basically not getting too much done in the studio in spite of good intentions (more requilting though - one grid line at a time will win that race!). I did take advantage of an opportunity to participate in a 5 day November Pause offered by <a href="https://www.michellegd.com/" target="_blank">Michelle GD</a> whose e-mails in general are full of "gentle thoughts and inspiration". In a world so rattled with horrid and discerning events, and the average person's life so full to the brim with activities and expectations, this would be a chance to slow down and reflect each of the five days, exploring what "pause" may mean and listing gratitudes in different ways (she's particularly into making lists). Why not, I thought. We were encouraged to go at our own pace, not feel obligated to do each day's journaling and listmaking on the day it arrived if it was just too much, not even do each part of a day's offering if it did not feel right. She so kindly said, "<i><u>I want everything about <b>November Pause</b> to be gentle and
spacious. Our hurting world doesn't need another hurried-harried,
frustrated-frazzled, overworked-overwhelmed, tired, feeling-unworthy
being. You, or me.</u></i>" I started off well, then began "having a week" and did have one day when I just couldn't face the subject we were to explore. But the next day I could, and it led to an epiphany I've been searching for. The last day we were encouraged to write our gratitudes in circles on the page and jazz them up with "lots of art". Oh, I am not good at this and didn't want to invest a lot of time in adding artsy things so just grabbed the set of fine point pens of many colors on my desk and played a bit with shapes and doodles. Overall though, I found these 5 days of exploration full of insights that made me feel better about myself and understand the value of the pauses I work into my days. A lot of guilt got off loaded.<br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Each day included a short reflection, several journaling prompts, that invitation to practice gratitude in different ways (which she called "a grateful heart", a short breathing practice to ground, a "what if" invitation to take a small loving action (after all, we're all in this together, or should be), and a poem. Here's the poem she shared on the last day, actually a blessing from my favorite author of blessings. As you are off however you celebrate Thanksgiving in a few days, may this blessing settle around you. And don't forget to pause if things get frantic!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpUlwClfKXRzVnVI72_ej7AaB7X00a0fIPZMZy4LUhFHi9Re2IuFyMKS-YVGZh7Df9ijxcq5fKgQjS-sQr595h5vgsn8trei5Uh7VJ_m1NBK3WS0-Q0D3QBPTsp-W1wXYw9tX021EeTtXWfWCLkhygWIs9jySq3z5sSXsllt1cBINKd1tOi8uwg/s728/For%20Presence%20-%20O'Donohue.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="446" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpUlwClfKXRzVnVI72_ej7AaB7X00a0fIPZMZy4LUhFHi9Re2IuFyMKS-YVGZh7Df9ijxcq5fKgQjS-sQr595h5vgsn8trei5Uh7VJ_m1NBK3WS0-Q0D3QBPTsp-W1wXYw9tX021EeTtXWfWCLkhygWIs9jySq3z5sSXsllt1cBINKd1tOi8uwg/w392-h640/For%20Presence%20-%20O'Donohue.jpg" width="392" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-57869704028906006022023-11-14T18:39:00.000-08:002023-11-14T18:39:19.958-08:00A Not Much Visible Progress Week<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcianbDd6Aetp3Aljl6-2OT65JvpZSPuy1B9KvXonJoDxTjOzRMkX8TvZ_-uB5WutK58yT5FbatmSBQzNlPTwU8FM1qzWVpv1dyX4I2uGLOevVhdedy4YzoO1-O01RyymUVhYTrHfqfRGe40ledIK2BDom8C_qDLNUlwfAm3JQDX3jUECMsBc3iA/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge14%20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcianbDd6Aetp3Aljl6-2OT65JvpZSPuy1B9KvXonJoDxTjOzRMkX8TvZ_-uB5WutK58yT5FbatmSBQzNlPTwU8FM1qzWVpv1dyX4I2uGLOevVhdedy4YzoO1-O01RyymUVhYTrHfqfRGe40ledIK2BDom8C_qDLNUlwfAm3JQDX3jUECMsBc3iA/w400-h300/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge14%20.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Honestly, not much of interest to share this week. After having made a bit of space on my work table after finishing the Abstract Color challenge pieces, I moved my gratitude challenge journal onto it along with all the bits and pieces of things I've collected to paste into it. It's been a bit exciting to realize how many things I've saved but had no real place to keep them that can be stored in this journal, and still have plenty of room for adding handwritten bits of gratitude and precious memories. But as always, I can't just slap them in any old way! So I was slowed down a bit once pocket things were inserted in pockets and I considered how I want to space out the other items among the signature pages. A work in progress . . .</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyBoDcUEGt4y00pe_2HjwZ9hLf_-gd6sx4lEJE07Fr2JKDf6y7HSgC7Ddlwt9_wcoAmambE3rdfVk_ciAN3R-A9HOZdSOmnSJXpIjEGjc8mYmC5J1GoqZ3w6SimsVZIukTPfZFCRQL0rJeL4vNb5rNaCJHb-kVPfdQzSV-qV0U4_2mHH8lZOSXg/s960/Blue%20Admiral%20butterfly%20-%20rajesh%20kumar%20photography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="780" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyBoDcUEGt4y00pe_2HjwZ9hLf_-gd6sx4lEJE07Fr2JKDf6y7HSgC7Ddlwt9_wcoAmambE3rdfVk_ciAN3R-A9HOZdSOmnSJXpIjEGjc8mYmC5J1GoqZ3w6SimsVZIukTPfZFCRQL0rJeL4vNb5rNaCJHb-kVPfdQzSV-qV0U4_2mHH8lZOSXg/w325-h400/Blue%20Admiral%20butterfly%20-%20rajesh%20kumar%20photography.jpg" width="325" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto">Photo: @rajesh_kumar_photography.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And honestly again, who wants to see the darning of socks and repair of a seam in a favorite pair of pajamas? Yes, I do mend and darn and don't mind the process at all but I do tend to let it stack up until I have quite a bit to attend to. And I also sat a few times at the machine while I continue to requilt over the grid lines of the 4-patch strip quilt, but really, nothing to see there either. But I ran across this incredible butterfly on Facebook which at first glance looked to me like some art quilter's rendition done up in hand-dyed or painted fabric and thread painted with metallic threads. But no - this beautiful creature is mother nature's handiwork, and I am in awe. <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto">The Blue Admiral is a nymphalid butterfly, the only species of the genus Kaniska. It is found in south and southeast Asia. Have you stumbled upon something of rare beauty lately?<br /></span></p><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><br /></span></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-20841407988024665072023-11-07T19:16:00.000-08:002023-11-07T19:16:33.368-08:00Finally Done With Pink!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTR6MYREVrCYNRPXBKqq1wF9H68vxFq6zLLWNkhjKSM2sh5MSKnamvwu8TrV1vmdppo6r0Sy2Fpp2q9yZchPSC4GwWpUFTxnqWUICTRPfCL-mSt0n2-wAYXZhOv5PI9f7gleI-2A5c5L3U353OH7CPMtUpJMnbiSOLEhaH0r7fp8rsQZzOrXHSg/s1014/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="1014" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTR6MYREVrCYNRPXBKqq1wF9H68vxFq6zLLWNkhjKSM2sh5MSKnamvwu8TrV1vmdppo6r0Sy2Fpp2q9yZchPSC4GwWpUFTxnqWUICTRPfCL-mSt0n2-wAYXZhOv5PI9f7gleI-2A5c5L3U353OH7CPMtUpJMnbiSOLEhaH0r7fp8rsQZzOrXHSg/w400-h194/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltCHh1AtWJ0TY0Q7-7ZanppjawspsXlskNDSAoVbn1GGEpLHXttMJBsfj49r2Tk7Zzla7nBBYuDS5m7F1KsqutAFVE0-9A6XugzgRbzvFrHWBD-urShvA2jWoMZ0afLlc_4KBPiDqcUvXLce9Gpw6lhGw0r4QbZFNOytIcv2e2rcYfbm3r5H7kg/s1002/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="1002" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltCHh1AtWJ0TY0Q7-7ZanppjawspsXlskNDSAoVbn1GGEpLHXttMJBsfj49r2Tk7Zzla7nBBYuDS5m7F1KsqutAFVE0-9A6XugzgRbzvFrHWBD-urShvA2jWoMZ0afLlc_4KBPiDqcUvXLce9Gpw6lhGw0r4QbZFNOytIcv2e2rcYfbm3r5H7kg/w400-h196/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Finally got a chance yesterday to take one last assessment of my Abstract Color Challenge and add a few finishing touches. I can't believe how much these little 5 x 5 pieces of "art" have grown on me. If thought of as a series, the order above is the order I had them laid out in as I worked on them. But as I removed the tape holding them to the table and looked at each individually, I was fairly pleased with how each stood on its own. Click on the pics for a larger view to study the details. I really like the look of the spatters and am ok with the bit of pen work I added.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2iXHXuuKIwo00CMmXT7Pi49v4Iq5VmtM7wg7LTiYMF9Qdi_56SkEOxl7rASSsgB5NKx8R9HcdtTW9TWua6kd64lcVuFZifl1u09cEWXdyGoeV78fLXqc6DcK_AhNF1ml3etPhpOWsFM5_svm24m44w0Jd4clDtx22xNrR8FHnKyxUIUhpqyu5A/s640/Hidden%20Gems%20-%20Stepanek%20&%20Huchison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="640" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2iXHXuuKIwo00CMmXT7Pi49v4Iq5VmtM7wg7LTiYMF9Qdi_56SkEOxl7rASSsgB5NKx8R9HcdtTW9TWua6kd64lcVuFZifl1u09cEWXdyGoeV78fLXqc6DcK_AhNF1ml3etPhpOWsFM5_svm24m44w0Jd4clDtx22xNrR8FHnKyxUIUhpqyu5A/s320/Hidden%20Gems%20-%20Stepanek%20&%20Huchison.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime I ran across this quilt with what I feel is a stunning use of pink! It's called Hidden Gems by Gail Stepanek and Jan Hutchison.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxh7czgZ4MUOcF3mP4_Y8rF3V1RsLKkcugs33E9IX6R59LOAIb0O26AFpcCOCDbfGiKwE4oIZ0iJp_Jbdl0Xaby5HtiIuR09fG9cYF_Z8lHN_rp9tPmAsUhn236EtvjdwStZW7c3hyphenhyphennBIoYlxPSohsNXIa0v7C2bYTY6LJt7rqs0vb9ySQH9kr1A/s368/Ann%20Marie%20Anderson%20pink%20&%20blue%20on%20black%20sweater.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="368" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxh7czgZ4MUOcF3mP4_Y8rF3V1RsLKkcugs33E9IX6R59LOAIb0O26AFpcCOCDbfGiKwE4oIZ0iJp_Jbdl0Xaby5HtiIuR09fG9cYF_Z8lHN_rp9tPmAsUhn236EtvjdwStZW7c3hyphenhyphennBIoYlxPSohsNXIa0v7C2bYTY6LJt7rqs0vb9ySQH9kr1A/s320/Ann%20Marie%20Anderson%20pink%20&%20blue%20on%20black%20sweater.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And then I read an article about a wool and knitting festival on the Shetland Islands and was really taken with the pink and blue accents on this sweater, worn by wool felting teacher Ann Marie Anderson. I'm really gaining a new appreciation for the color pink!<br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-33322427244364759442023-11-02T15:41:00.000-07:002023-11-02T15:41:30.278-07:00Wrapping up #INKtober<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Ly-tXGjYfrMUSn5W2vzYYLT2v-IUHj60tNqNR8JktTVU1jOEAj-HFFDDSq1vQaf7Oa3_2F2mVDn8CyhXMzzhpkogFwRwYi_qd6YkYe7AR2IuHXPPxlg9qgB9w3v8C89eqd22JNeFUjEhAsrmJCPpSWcGDhY2S9Rid2RthSoyM1EkHaz0sUVtnA/s639/inktober2023-5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="508" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Ly-tXGjYfrMUSn5W2vzYYLT2v-IUHj60tNqNR8JktTVU1jOEAj-HFFDDSq1vQaf7Oa3_2F2mVDn8CyhXMzzhpkogFwRwYi_qd6YkYe7AR2IuHXPPxlg9qgB9w3v8C89eqd22JNeFUjEhAsrmJCPpSWcGDhY2S9Rid2RthSoyM1EkHaz0sUVtnA/s320/inktober2023-5.JPG" width="254" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've had a bit of "life intervening" so no progress on the Abstract Color Challenge but I did keep up with my daily INKtober sketches. I have to admit the last 5 or so days I could feel my enthusiasm waning and finding it harder to think up what to sketch. And with that I also found I was making more mistakes or misjudgements, perhaps not really concentrating, just in a hurry to be done. Wrapped up for another year, I am not feeling any eagerness to continue a daily sketch practice. On to other things.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, this might be a good time to share another Austin Kleon post, this one about <a href="https://austinkleon.com/2023/09/27/keith-jarrett-on-doing-your-thing/" target="_blank">time and music</a> and doing your own thing, but it really refers to more than music. Several things struck me as so true, what I experience myself, like this:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><b style="color: #274e13;">“We live in an age in which only results seem to count, not processes,”
Jarrett writes. “We need to hear the process of a musician working on
himself. We don’t need to hear who is more clever with synthesizers. Our
cleverness has created the world we live in…”</b></blockquote></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Nor do we need to hear who is more clever with their use of crystals on quilts or their free-motion quilting designs. I'm always more interested in process, not cleverness in the finished quilt. And the following quotation really captures what has happened since digital clocks came into existence (to which I have to protest that I DO often say, "almost (or about) 9:20":</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="highlight highlight-7" data-api-id="23149328"></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="color: #274e13;"><b>"We see the
world as ‘bits’ of information, either/or, yes or no, digital. We seem
to have no desire to experience time. We trade this experience for the
‘accuracy’ of ‘bits’ of time: it’s either 9:19 or 9:20, never almost
9:20. So we think that time is a straight line and, eventually, that
everything has edges. Something stops here, something starts there. But
the natural world is essentially circular. . ."</b></span></blockquote></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="highlight highlight-7" data-api-id="23149328">So I will get back to my process of finishing up various projects, and I will be thinking in terms of spending "about an hour" when I head to the studio. How about you? </span> <br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-209304916278708822023-10-25T19:02:00.000-07:002023-10-25T19:02:07.590-07:00#INKtober Continues As Does Color Challenge<div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnyo-MASkSb1IIfd_hZeQ7uuA21Div9-cLnaGtgwwzw4rKdnkMJwku8WzTKajT6IqNTFzJpTa9Tk5l3r6sgAjAWZKAczvRvCPEF9sYkKCtQxcTdauXMe6AmliRiUF3uPv9CpNU2hkdIGx1uJHaz7jP_NhovIXLD4gxqZmmiAItmqZZzviUjPfaw/s648/inktober2023-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="499" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnyo-MASkSb1IIfd_hZeQ7uuA21Div9-cLnaGtgwwzw4rKdnkMJwku8WzTKajT6IqNTFzJpTa9Tk5l3r6sgAjAWZKAczvRvCPEF9sYkKCtQxcTdauXMe6AmliRiUF3uPv9CpNU2hkdIGx1uJHaz7jP_NhovIXLD4gxqZmmiAItmqZZzviUjPfaw/s320/inktober2023-4.JPG" width="246" /></a></div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is the latest page of #INKtober sketches, giving you a glimpse into my life last week. You might spot some urban sketching; looking ahead, the weatherman warned of a severe drop in temperatures this week so get out and enjoy the last few days of 70 degree weather at the end of last week and over the weekend.</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9mDqhmjhspqkga88_nSF4QaYgveCFvkr_1hT7nD1VWKUmif-_SZ34az-1PMcTqi_RUZv2CX3vj5tHY7UiNVfjtY-V8XhVHbwdOtFXqe-ZMxAZFgPL94J_JmCS5hjzz8izLhMa7wz37785NokW143V5NDLGh9_z1iLKkEcvDouZK4X8oMvAIG6Q/s640/pencil%20underdrawing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9mDqhmjhspqkga88_nSF4QaYgveCFvkr_1hT7nD1VWKUmif-_SZ34az-1PMcTqi_RUZv2CX3vj5tHY7UiNVfjtY-V8XhVHbwdOtFXqe-ZMxAZFgPL94J_JmCS5hjzz8izLhMa7wz37785NokW143V5NDLGh9_z1iLKkEcvDouZK4X8oMvAIG6Q/w400-h300/pencil%20underdrawing.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So I grabbed my architecture sketchbook and headed over to the new houses across from the park on one of my walking routes to do two things. You might remember that the last time I was sketching at this location, I looked at my results once home and couldn't believe how off my roof was. I always take a picture of what I am sketching, and in reviewing it, I suddenly realized what was wrong. I'd been so focused on getting the eaves right that I totally forgot to add the peak lines of the roof. So that was the first thing I fixed. Then I moved a few houses down to sketch a straight-on view of a slightly different house. I don't always do a pencil undersketch before inking in and adding color to complete the drawing but for these two I did. You can just make out the images on the toned paper. A youngish man (20's?) stopped to chat, and we soon were discussing angles, perspective and shading, him mentioning that shading is what he struggles with. How fun to interact with another sketcher.</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4M54zAy0vTiIKrATUbCzm0ZZaBcA8nzUy9jqdMsm8mplQZrN6-6IrXAbZqSe5-U-aKZRi77SLfdgZituvCrF7Fgqnpy-Bb6S8X-T9XXFeN8I42-OEMxVUVy-Utk0NN7MgzvPbLpa4R8uUJPoWT_XLxA-KoSs2JuhpBH3KtjFc_UhHwmsY0qsoA/s645/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="645" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4M54zAy0vTiIKrATUbCzm0ZZaBcA8nzUy9jqdMsm8mplQZrN6-6IrXAbZqSe5-U-aKZRi77SLfdgZituvCrF7Fgqnpy-Bb6S8X-T9XXFeN8I42-OEMxVUVy-Utk0NN7MgzvPbLpa4R8uUJPoWT_XLxA-KoSs2JuhpBH3KtjFc_UhHwmsY0qsoA/w400-h398/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Do you ever feel like you need a pep talk to get moving again on your art projects? As I felt myself continuing to resist working on the Abstract Color Challenge, I ran across this blog post by Daniel Sroka entitled <span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.danielsroka.com/blog/stop-whining-and-make-some-damn-art/" target="_blank">Stop whining and make some damn art</a> </b>which<b> </b></span>was just what I needed! I've experienced the sort of self-doubt he describes and he is right: the way out to feeling good about yourself and your work again is to get back to work. Time to turn my awkward teenagers into something I could at least like and feel I'd made some good progress on. I added a few more pieces of collage, some ink and colored pencil highlights, some pink stamped on with bubble wrap, some pail pink paint in light areas and a bit over those strong pink pieces to knock them back a bit, then spattered each with brown ink. Ahhh, so much better (here's the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGtI47J_f9v93AN1qf5DHjfztXRgZi0EAvMey_Xbdc62iIZRtD9Ow2Y9NgNd6mHX71vW39w_G1Z66bw1XKAXI0u_xVPNW0-VyQR37IPYLt3_DRxjMtRTul0Vqny7TlhtHlY9HmKP5b8ubCXSqjlkgxtEeLamkJMNwQCAC0moVvE21rqh21rIMAg/s640/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge2.JPG" target="_blank">"before" picture</a>). I may add some handwritten text on at least one of them but I think these are pretty much done. I'll take individual pics of them when I'm sure.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3Ve_DRKXgVzpwu-Gce967wNahtvGjpGCHaGypISk2SCc1jW4xS32gqO23BX-o3LKhEW4aomsxxJX4sTZ2xYN72e-Xp-GOFF1vDFOyFJ6c3BGtdeZhJ_9VTlpxgjt1s4coT1knjtRO_xfxnpQG77P5YeTqFca5Nb8aeQWpBB_2sQxqStxeOpzIg/s638/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="528" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3Ve_DRKXgVzpwu-Gce967wNahtvGjpGCHaGypISk2SCc1jW4xS32gqO23BX-o3LKhEW4aomsxxJX4sTZ2xYN72e-Xp-GOFF1vDFOyFJ6c3BGtdeZhJ_9VTlpxgjt1s4coT1knjtRO_xfxnpQG77P5YeTqFca5Nb8aeQWpBB_2sQxqStxeOpzIg/s320/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge4.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I definitely like the pink glow they have now (not so obvious in the photos unfortunately) after applying this Fresco Finish chalk acrylic in Blush to the white areas and lightly across the strong pink. You might remember my epiphany about struggling with blending since all my paint colors on hand are strong and darkish and I never think to play with lightening them up by adding a bit of white. If only I'd think to add some pale paints to my collection. Enter Joggles.com having a sale on these very paints that were recommended to me by an internet friend years ago. I invested in 5 pale opaques: this Blush, Seaglass (which is a minty bluish green), Periwinkle (a lovely lavender), Eggshell (a nice off-white) and Buff (which is a bit sandy). That should cover all the bases.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While I feel better about these pieces, I know I have a lot to learn about collaging. I want to be successful on day one, have my pieces turn out looking as good as the teacher's examples, not be embarrassed to share them with the rest of the participants of this challenge. Not there yet. And then Helen Well's weekly blog post arrived in my mailbox, right off addressing this feeling of inadequacy in her <a href="https://helenwellsartist.com/blog/2023/10/23/art-making-manifesto" target="_blank">Art Making Manifesto</a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></i></p><blockquote><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The more art we make the better our art becomes. The more art we make
the more likely we are to develop skills and ideas. The more art we make
the more confident we become in our decisions</span></b></i>. </blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Stop whining and make more art! It will get better and better with experience and experimentation. As she says, "<i><b>Art-making is a skill, developed by practice and not an innate talent which we either have or don’t have. . . The idea of art being a ‘practice’ is right, we do indeed have to practice."</b></i> Helen has a total of nine items on her manifesto list, all interesting and worth considering. Give it a look.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpYFv9D6VdfLYavPd-skkvDPee618DYkPECkj2DTZSauKDg9k6wSzQ9Z1VTaaT81rkPmvY4_JtgAM1edb8UaZf-L565dhIzGjYeg8dVMLGXWE8OkRJDM9FfrFgC-9-1BtQiJQmwKWNerEdUbZn7UQj2KgNKBGbnd4NNJGDomF1DCdl299jG_8xQ/s640/first%20snow%20winter%202023-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpYFv9D6VdfLYavPd-skkvDPee618DYkPECkj2DTZSauKDg9k6wSzQ9Z1VTaaT81rkPmvY4_JtgAM1edb8UaZf-L565dhIzGjYeg8dVMLGXWE8OkRJDM9FfrFgC-9-1BtQiJQmwKWNerEdUbZn7UQj2KgNKBGbnd4NNJGDomF1DCdl299jG_8xQ/w300-h400/first%20snow%20winter%202023-1.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And right on cue, the weather took that plunge overnight. We didn't get much snow, just a little on the lawns that eventually melted as the day wore on, and we never got out of the 30's. I looked out the dining room window this afternoon, trying to make sense of the white on the tips of this small tree, looking like flowers or decorative lights.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpfgGFQAphC4lYkGJnEbgHTeBE7jz8k8HVuwwYxqN1JFPQjwv1t2HqFOFnGvS3b65BSjAkQZ7gueV5NUxa0FnOXBQLjacBqCig81Y_PBOLyo6wKSxmtf92RgsqY_ZgNIOyk1wGomHr7mb8us7S9FO86rMuo4cXbUjOo4EGeYIub4JDODm4RutqA/s640/first%20snow%20winter%202023-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpfgGFQAphC4lYkGJnEbgHTeBE7jz8k8HVuwwYxqN1JFPQjwv1t2HqFOFnGvS3b65BSjAkQZ7gueV5NUxa0FnOXBQLjacBqCig81Y_PBOLyo6wKSxmtf92RgsqY_ZgNIOyk1wGomHr7mb8us7S9FO86rMuo4cXbUjOo4EGeYIub4JDODm4RutqA/w300-h400/first%20snow%20winter%202023-2.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A closer look and I could see that somehow, the snow had settled between the needles forming a ball that stayed while snow elsewhere had melted off.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0yTMMpcgz3uN0YL-gJfcDt2uZkR73bIU0UtuzrwOx8uPTNLIrei3axhj9omHzH5AduqNhbdleBVDOjkcwDwDx6w3hdh3isf9LsnBPFyKn-8bob4MvGO121jdGueFK7b_79cWp_Y-WU9AQP6YcVHYaEEJxr4llZUrZn5ZxeHX_7B0XBaE6VV8sg/s640/first%20snow%20winter%202023-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0yTMMpcgz3uN0YL-gJfcDt2uZkR73bIU0UtuzrwOx8uPTNLIrei3axhj9omHzH5AduqNhbdleBVDOjkcwDwDx6w3hdh3isf9LsnBPFyKn-8bob4MvGO121jdGueFK7b_79cWp_Y-WU9AQP6YcVHYaEEJxr4llZUrZn5ZxeHX_7B0XBaE6VV8sg/w300-h400/first%20snow%20winter%202023-3.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't think I've ever seen this on this tree. Worth taking a picture.<br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-80850059901628796772023-10-17T19:19:00.000-07:002023-10-17T19:19:18.429-07:00Back To Pink & More #INKtober<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimwngbIN2gSqaPTGbIkzKEF_69BDmVCxI6pKg3ZAOhovpmh1Po2eYUrDswdqjY4vFUTWmxjM3_9JzQowHeVaG9uJkWq7lOBb22heKvPTBUbHdyEeuJA9NF-NpxIfqNu1E6tZdn9xlHWTlL6o_d1L3G9aoLN-_AuuNvzOMbPdB2-UzOap8YfAu57g/s1600/IMG_20231012_163741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimwngbIN2gSqaPTGbIkzKEF_69BDmVCxI6pKg3ZAOhovpmh1Po2eYUrDswdqjY4vFUTWmxjM3_9JzQowHeVaG9uJkWq7lOBb22heKvPTBUbHdyEeuJA9NF-NpxIfqNu1E6tZdn9xlHWTlL6o_d1L3G9aoLN-_AuuNvzOMbPdB2-UzOap8YfAu57g/w300-h400/IMG_20231012_163741.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">To be honest, not much got done last week as I apparently was showing side effects of an RSV shot. Chatted with the pharmacist about it and he highly suspects it's because of the immune-suppressing meds I take. Still feeling it this week so am still taking it slow. In the meantime, I am perked up by my neighbor's Halloween decorations. That's my front door past the tree that we share so I get a chuckle each time I go out and see those skeletons relaxing in the chaise lounges.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9uDTZPSoV6ODNKxOdMxpcZeouQhne0adqo5eAyJJUZPAW24fJNRSORizsOLiZ1qd_O4LlVvMKAfuMNytZ88pzwT6Z64uMRptaTc82ti-yQMK8O2U8t-bIACZPHPN2hujtxWHWIeK9oA6CtCNkm_qKQXb7DMGYeAW7x-C8VzaiA800usLqrfTEg/s640/inktober2023-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9uDTZPSoV6ODNKxOdMxpcZeouQhne0adqo5eAyJJUZPAW24fJNRSORizsOLiZ1qd_O4LlVvMKAfuMNytZ88pzwT6Z64uMRptaTc82ti-yQMK8O2U8t-bIACZPHPN2hujtxWHWIeK9oA6CtCNkm_qKQXb7DMGYeAW7x-C8VzaiA800usLqrfTEg/w353-h400/inktober2023-3.JPG" width="353" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, the #Inktober sketches take little time or energy so I've been able to keep up with them. Here's the latest page. As you can see, there was a day of beautiful fall weather where I felt good enough for a walk at city beach, and then a total cloudy blockout of the hyped eclipse which in my area was an 80 percent one.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixygwBn7Wjw8Wf5ct2NBNIZqfVocQ1G973wm6PZLWZOhBsuusaSHuLazQSfFZYYOFjZbo-sHhpCv9G0Jn7s9pMjVklEIN2cSUYC3p7aYHzGmQI15SlTtGPc-NuNToLujDARLfBcm2nzs0clVo9gXHKhL-RmJE-2x1G5IIWGLGzUJUbQnXRcS5dWA/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixygwBn7Wjw8Wf5ct2NBNIZqfVocQ1G973wm6PZLWZOhBsuusaSHuLazQSfFZYYOFjZbo-sHhpCv9G0Jn7s9pMjVklEIN2cSUYC3p7aYHzGmQI15SlTtGPc-NuNToLujDARLfBcm2nzs0clVo9gXHKhL-RmJE-2x1G5IIWGLGzUJUbQnXRcS5dWA/w400-h300/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge14.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I kept popping into the studio in moments I felt a little better, inserting some postcards into the pockets of the challenge gratitude journal. I'm calling this "Gratitude, Memories, Things I Love" so that I can include things like these postcards of familiar sights sent to me after I moved away from the area back in the 1990s. Yes, I've been holding on to them that long, in the bottom of a stationery box. That's the Tacoma Narrows bridge peeking out. The greeting cards I used as wrappers have printing on the back that I'd rather not see so I have these small calendar cards from NWF that I will paste over it.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2VgSjDVm-hCMylLggu-8VU5hqZ9jnvXKgEjxsWJT5nvvIh4xClNnIov_iOt7F8oUyM-gyBoim8Ca4NP_LXuNfwr1OM3QCXNScq14sVVlzP-6tedPkgabOSQk_m9AHKhroroRLUo_3sGGqvQFxSIdeCp-BaazR7qF_WOL3P2s9Q2yXIxxh6CLmSg/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2VgSjDVm-hCMylLggu-8VU5hqZ9jnvXKgEjxsWJT5nvvIh4xClNnIov_iOt7F8oUyM-gyBoim8Ca4NP_LXuNfwr1OM3QCXNScq14sVVlzP-6tedPkgabOSQk_m9AHKhroroRLUo_3sGGqvQFxSIdeCp-BaazR7qF_WOL3P2s9Q2yXIxxh6CLmSg/w400-h300/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge15.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Someone from the challenge group shared this with us, suggesting we might like to include it in our journals. I decided I wanted it for my opening page. Still running into bits to add to my collection of things to paste on other pages.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGtI47J_f9v93AN1qf5DHjfztXRgZi0EAvMey_Xbdc62iIZRtD9Ow2Y9NgNd6mHX71vW39w_G1Z66bw1XKAXI0u_xVPNW0-VyQR37IPYLt3_DRxjMtRTul0Vqny7TlhtHlY9HmKP5b8ubCXSqjlkgxtEeLamkJMNwQCAC0moVvE21rqh21rIMAg/s640/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGtI47J_f9v93AN1qf5DHjfztXRgZi0EAvMey_Xbdc62iIZRtD9Ow2Y9NgNd6mHX71vW39w_G1Z66bw1XKAXI0u_xVPNW0-VyQR37IPYLt3_DRxjMtRTul0Vqny7TlhtHlY9HmKP5b8ubCXSqjlkgxtEeLamkJMNwQCAC0moVvE21rqh21rIMAg/w400-h300/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Lastly, I decided I couldn't put off gluing down the pieces loosely arranged on my 4 pieces of watercolor paper for the abstract color challenge. Feeling I'm not really embracing making these abstract, and they are still in that awkward teenager stage, but today I experimented with where I might add a few small pieces here and there. Also thinking about ink spatters and bubble wrap marks and water soluble colored pencils. Still feeling cramped working in these 5 x 5 inch spaces. I like the lower left one the best, really just as it is, but must be brave about adding something more to give it depth and interest. Mostly, I'm ready to have these off the worktable. On the day I glued these pieces down, I covered them with wax paper and put them under books to dry, then sat at the sewing machine a bit to continue restitching the diagonal grid quilting on the 4-patch strip quilt while listening to podcasts. I'm almost done with the lines going in one direction and will feel much better about this project when I can flip the quilt and start stitching the other direction. And honestly, I'm so itching to start a knitting project, as if I don't have enough things going. Must be the autumn weather . . .<br /></p>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-33339581390037235832023-10-10T22:34:00.000-07:002023-10-10T22:34:56.068-07:00Another Book Challenge & Some #INKtober Sketches<div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hJ6cQxFfiHhxoPN9iEwDwGCdOp8viGjpKq2pgOgbLmfFMs0Rw-HAnpMXK1nyakvqIpzqvlwOszwGS6vx8-0hYgcpQjCV_zqFWvtaoCylHph0UwmDqdFFnDA36x4Aaybyrq0olFs2Y71ptKuoFuBAFrPK3SnhKDat8YYhGQz77z-vsRo8a6hRhg/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hJ6cQxFfiHhxoPN9iEwDwGCdOp8viGjpKq2pgOgbLmfFMs0Rw-HAnpMXK1nyakvqIpzqvlwOszwGS6vx8-0hYgcpQjCV_zqFWvtaoCylHph0UwmDqdFFnDA36x4Aaybyrq0olFs2Y71ptKuoFuBAFrPK3SnhKDat8YYhGQz77z-vsRo8a6hRhg/w400-h300/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Last week was busy, and not a bit of pink abstract challenge in sight! Instead, I tried my best to keep up with my bookclub's latest open to the public challenge, this one called 5 Day Gratitude Journal Challenge. I watched the promo video and was feeling a little lukewarm about it as it is another coptic binding and I wasn't feeling the need for a gratitude journal. However, I was quite intrigued by the pockets it included and thought about a friend who might enjoy receiving such a journal. Those pockets needed a rather large piece of paper and many were using gift wrap for them so I looked through my box of wrapping paper and was surprised to find not only the book of William Morris Designs wrapping paper but also some pretty National Wildlife Federation papers, both which I had totally forgotten that I had. Signature wrappers were also called for and I had some blank butterfly cards I thought I could use. As I gathered them up, I also ran across things I'd not known what to do with but didn't want to toss that would fit into those pockets. Suddenly I was all in to make this book!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XSa-bsJp3AheQzfpJ6cZ7JFcXRZFuF6TZxrTJJa-ijwSxkjCyUsc5PQ9zT5LOXkkzaC-hfCtPJLROnXLNFHr_62ertIdl1iqzqJj4A62XrjKp4ATRn8lZ0-_XKCaXHdkOUgcE61rb6XYDtmS7-5Dt4qpzn1sZIEvIZB4jF1XGBLA34S25WhkSQ/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XSa-bsJp3AheQzfpJ6cZ7JFcXRZFuF6TZxrTJJa-ijwSxkjCyUsc5PQ9zT5LOXkkzaC-hfCtPJLROnXLNFHr_62ertIdl1iqzqJj4A62XrjKp4ATRn8lZ0-_XKCaXHdkOUgcE61rb6XYDtmS7-5Dt4qpzn1sZIEvIZB4jF1XGBLA34S25WhkSQ/w400-h300/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">First order of business was to make those pocket wrappers. I cut one sheet of wrapping paper and did a trial run. Easy enough with a few folds, and although I didn't have time to make the other three on Day one, I did pick out a different design for each of the rest of them. Day one instructions finished the following day.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbhmlUd7LKGnu-73sSQ_p5Dy-__VVcbPd2o3ZJM8UQBSGScvynKFO6lKY4SeteCz7pReNlmx_j9kaMPq6xsNKEfm0HiOSorUxbDNsxWYp5CzaqLc0_-0lGVwTbDzVPSCEPqGEObs6JeQj3pdXYn3E8asLST18pTeN_OjxBIesm0fRWWM_zfqTmQ/s637/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="637" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbhmlUd7LKGnu-73sSQ_p5Dy-__VVcbPd2o3ZJM8UQBSGScvynKFO6lKY4SeteCz7pReNlmx_j9kaMPq6xsNKEfm0HiOSorUxbDNsxWYp5CzaqLc0_-0lGVwTbDzVPSCEPqGEObs6JeQj3pdXYn3E8asLST18pTeN_OjxBIesm0fRWWM_zfqTmQ/w400-h210/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Only one day behind (which as these challenges generally go for me was really good), Day 2 instructions were for preparing the signatures which required some cutting down of 9 x 12 drawing paper to 6 x 12 for 6" signatures when folded. We were also encouraged to use pages from magazines as signature wrappers and interspersed within each signature. I used the greeting cards as my wrappers, trimming a little off top and bottom to fit and it not mattering that they weren't as wide as the signatures.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnBVPWOE1oN8Rb8sWDCarV3UYt507-68pi8GXCL0KQFwlOVvk9Ezc8KrCOM-ZQ0h8Fus5V-1QvFCYX0ldspLaRzz6ff0CIKq9Pz9TxymxZQ_ZGLNirFkJCAfKxLdd_xHvRW8D5yqDpHxB00fYFKeeMiihoGcMeQr0Laq4gpgSkK6pcAabznKC_g/s637/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="637" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnBVPWOE1oN8Rb8sWDCarV3UYt507-68pi8GXCL0KQFwlOVvk9Ezc8KrCOM-ZQ0h8Fus5V-1QvFCYX0ldspLaRzz6ff0CIKq9Pz9TxymxZQ_ZGLNirFkJCAfKxLdd_xHvRW8D5yqDpHxB00fYFKeeMiihoGcMeQr0Laq4gpgSkK6pcAabznKC_g/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTX4oWs3hFbGiETPtTur36cAuv9eiJTjp9B55-3Iv1MtHbxRWYqqQZrtQ1F9oNwyW8FR6_Kg1fLoDT0KgGXNSUDR1n2IpoX-rtDsX7JaANVakySDjxE35LtLJ8qEotjFhZYPemGCCvXsYx-s0hM4UIgbJ5nDP1u_W2nV2VRDQxKH-h0zj_V6vaJw/s637/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="637" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTX4oWs3hFbGiETPtTur36cAuv9eiJTjp9B55-3Iv1MtHbxRWYqqQZrtQ1F9oNwyW8FR6_Kg1fLoDT0KgGXNSUDR1n2IpoX-rtDsX7JaANVakySDjxE35LtLJ8qEotjFhZYPemGCCvXsYx-s0hM4UIgbJ5nDP1u_W2nV2VRDQxKH-h0zj_V6vaJw/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As for the interspersed magazine pages, also cut down to fit, I chose some pages of different paintings out of The Magazine Antiques. Some I put between pages, others I placed in the center of the signature. Like the greeting card wrappers, they did not need to span the entire page and the ones between pages of a signature did not even have to be folded down the middle - an example of that later.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTBnPwmydwiZbxyCEAHxLlMtG2LQUlQIbiQBUrgm7_x8IDeGIgFj-ljMWQ-P0IJXXKpKMIwgYm83gnEXM-03-WJhkiV0f-1Cewuzzi4xYIFYks80qd4wOidpTGQv0CY71ENOaUEtmGc0BInmXRwTckMrMX-IdhQM0KVrDHKwSPqZBP3xOqiWspA/s637/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge6.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="637" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTBnPwmydwiZbxyCEAHxLlMtG2LQUlQIbiQBUrgm7_x8IDeGIgFj-ljMWQ-P0IJXXKpKMIwgYm83gnEXM-03-WJhkiV0f-1Cewuzzi4xYIFYks80qd4wOidpTGQv0CY71ENOaUEtmGc0BInmXRwTckMrMX-IdhQM0KVrDHKwSPqZBP3xOqiWspA/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Under weights those signatures went, and cutting bookboard was next. I really don't like cutting bookboard. It is a long and arduous process and by the time I got two cut, I was out of steam to cover them. I cut the pieces of cover paper and end papers to size as well as sorting through my ribbon stash to choose one for the closure before calling it quits for the day. Getting just a little more behind but got the gluing done the next day. Took the signatures out from under the weights, wrapped the covers in waxed paper and put them under the weights. Honestly thought I'd punch the sewing holes in those signatures before quitting for the day but again, discovered I'd run out of steam.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's an instruction video for each day's assignment, only ten to fifteen minutes long but invaluable, so I'd been doing that too. On this next day it was time to make the punching template, another quick and simple process but that is all I did. Definitely slowing down! Then nothing on the day after, except I did spend time tracking down directions on-line for how to set my <a href="https://www.michaels.com/product/crop-a-dile-hole-punch-and-eyelet-setter-10402342" target="_blank">Crop-a-dile</a> up for inserting eyelets. I'd bought one with a coupon once I'd seen members of the club using one to punch holes in bookboard and insert eyelets. I bought some eyelets, although of the larger size of hole it makes although I really wanted the smaller one. I'd used it a few times to punch holes in leather but that was about it. And in the process, I'd misplaced the directions - they are SOMEWHERE on my worktable, I'm sure! Anyway, having familiarized myself with its workings and getting it set up for my eyelets, I called it a day.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TA_aM_ToSYN-dvx7D7jc-mtFzoKZbGIJigWRz6CN4nCeC4rNVFFyjKwFzfX200-VprnXc9K7PzIeSu9xm54Qgoac9ShmD893w46AEiKHUlSXy7yrYNDyssrwF173D2j0pUfTlg8jath7Gos3dRajB43yxBAexsrQiDl2k_Aj7WSI60WnWZU7GQ/s644/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge7.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="133" data-original-width="644" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TA_aM_ToSYN-dvx7D7jc-mtFzoKZbGIJigWRz6CN4nCeC4rNVFFyjKwFzfX200-VprnXc9K7PzIeSu9xm54Qgoac9ShmD893w46AEiKHUlSXy7yrYNDyssrwF173D2j0pUfTlg8jath7Gos3dRajB43yxBAexsrQiDl2k_Aj7WSI60WnWZU7GQ/w400-h83/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge7.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now it was Monday, with the 5 days of the challenge having ended on Friday. Time to get to work. I'd been worrying about durability of the gift wrap on the covers (plus I'd experienced<a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2023/07/establishingreturning-to-practice.html" target="_blank"> the same issue</a> with wrinkles as I did the last time I used this type of paper), and decided I wanted to put a coat of acrylic varnish over at least the outsides. Once that dried, I took a big breath and punched the sewing holes in the cover and added the eyelets. I've been told that one can get eyelets with a longer shaft that will work better through the thickness of the bookboard, but of coarse I hadn't bought that kind of eyelet. And as others experienced, there was a splitting of the shank on the back, which by the way, the company warns about. I used my trusty tack hammer to beat down the rough edges. And today, I sewed the book together, with little problem. The too large eyelet holes turned out not to be an issue. A white thread would have shown off the stitches more but I rather like the blue.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXNEL1v-YMjMiwKU6-o5BB-1ZMVRpPrgF9buouX2ovO5UrSbmpTcvXpzUBWIRgXLCCSTnDQPjFgYyCoo_1Dd5woowEBb2NVuNnvYf3UYq-5S_bl8y-SB_6T3fA4rVQ2PG2ieiwbAWRqWETO75G-5PrhlCo54HoJRnZJ-FnxO2xn088SEuyAzTGQ/s632/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge8.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="632" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXNEL1v-YMjMiwKU6-o5BB-1ZMVRpPrgF9buouX2ovO5UrSbmpTcvXpzUBWIRgXLCCSTnDQPjFgYyCoo_1Dd5woowEBb2NVuNnvYf3UYq-5S_bl8y-SB_6T3fA4rVQ2PG2ieiwbAWRqWETO75G-5PrhlCo54HoJRnZJ-FnxO2xn088SEuyAzTGQ/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge8.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click on the photo to see the eyelets<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A ribbon closure is a good choice for this kind of book. Not only is it already a little chunky because of those pockets, it will get fuller as things are added to those pockets and perhaps glued to blank pages, so it is starting out not closing flat (although not springing open as much as I feared since I tend to pull my stitches pretty tight) and will need the flexibility of a ribbon closure as I work in it. Because, once I started collecting things and found that William Morris paper, I fully embraced this book and everything about it and am excited to fill it not only with things relating to the gratitude theme, but also things I love and favorite memories. As for the friend who I originally thought I'd be making this for? I've already got some papers picked out for making a second one for her.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmQMX48qAeqvTgwq_KBLiXPhr-h4F_Wf64XsReqh_H4e_2iOVUhuo1MtVjkAYlAzatR8XC7F3WoQ2vIvXGV1pe39uKnF7xkZSskLqbDFt84A_y4Y4sFLy6JchIIjNB2GtOICfR7oTbdJH_J_tB1DpZGw3Kr9BuLC6xodklr_y1hRbcvADmPum9g/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge9.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="640" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmQMX48qAeqvTgwq_KBLiXPhr-h4F_Wf64XsReqh_H4e_2iOVUhuo1MtVjkAYlAzatR8XC7F3WoQ2vIvXGV1pe39uKnF7xkZSskLqbDFt84A_y4Y4sFLy6JchIIjNB2GtOICfR7oTbdJH_J_tB1DpZGw3Kr9BuLC6xodklr_y1hRbcvADmPum9g/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilk4J9OkprjJ0xrZeTTS-6uvvWMpUEb2NUPfOGMAjptKgdL3_nVsI4ru_nwsR_fhCBxVugsQvyk6wweTwbOrNisupLA1mERW3onI-G451GB9hPMjIQ-Ib_5P2RKbK0VQtR9m13z9HvHbwMY1rJI52r52ehlQl6c5FJ815PCri4PeWryoHAL62k5A/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge10.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="640" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilk4J9OkprjJ0xrZeTTS-6uvvWMpUEb2NUPfOGMAjptKgdL3_nVsI4ru_nwsR_fhCBxVugsQvyk6wweTwbOrNisupLA1mERW3onI-G451GB9hPMjIQ-Ib_5P2RKbK0VQtR9m13z9HvHbwMY1rJI52r52ehlQl6c5FJ815PCri4PeWryoHAL62k5A/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge10.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A look at the inside of front cover and back of pocket wrapper and how the pocket wrappers look side by side.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-HJZ-p1iMORbvZzFsQ2i6kNN65yre75d2ckbpQGFhVTNGHjjVEUErmgI0ihPJp8TsasBYkvroZ2IpjhW_dzkgGttUPf-rQjAOmVR26gyY7Z7kFlHCrf2USTxQ3wuMKZHLEDAsJVqLNTumri4ceJXY8xW5b-KPePX9yOWRWFakfxI1xVRU85isQ/s752/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge11.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-HJZ-p1iMORbvZzFsQ2i6kNN65yre75d2ckbpQGFhVTNGHjjVEUErmgI0ihPJp8TsasBYkvroZ2IpjhW_dzkgGttUPf-rQjAOmVR26gyY7Z7kFlHCrf2USTxQ3wuMKZHLEDAsJVqLNTumri4ceJXY8xW5b-KPePX9yOWRWFakfxI1xVRU85isQ/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge11.JPG" width="272" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here's an example of a magazine page that had a painting on each side. It is folded off-center and placed between pages of a signature.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggR-9yIl6a6NNdt9T5Cs4c_aoA4lQcsBVLg3uKJUwJxKUEi6mBXpJSOxZ6G_rFqTz00vFGNPOto9le1S00JpPcIbRXuBYuQt-4sNKCptzyxqDxP2DlELCQc7INHsXiNOZRkvr4y-9JIjkAmMIEWTVVSjlbO6Ml9MTTS0ipIlGhoFhgZnNy8glvg/s633/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge12.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="633" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggR-9yIl6a6NNdt9T5Cs4c_aoA4lQcsBVLg3uKJUwJxKUEi6mBXpJSOxZ6G_rFqTz00vFGNPOto9le1S00JpPcIbRXuBYuQt-4sNKCptzyxqDxP2DlELCQc7INHsXiNOZRkvr4y-9JIjkAmMIEWTVVSjlbO6Ml9MTTS0ipIlGhoFhgZnNy8glvg/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge12.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And this is the part of it you see when you get to that page on the other side of the center fold. None of these magazine pages are glued down.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKfhWfAg00-5p8L1wVlf4vVjQEpDEhCnpPSNOmAhAgW-eWPDEfstU1q0OhJ-sZNk17rG2LBtc6I-s6eC_ok_mK4vZYcOI8GQmw7m87Hb_wtfIlRHQvzAqCGL9WOZKlipMcuWHWQrZkWSGwauAP6zI3CakRNTeznrj3N2vsZCD6wxtM0pwKKMIuAQ/s640/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge13.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="640" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKfhWfAg00-5p8L1wVlf4vVjQEpDEhCnpPSNOmAhAgW-eWPDEfstU1q0OhJ-sZNk17rG2LBtc6I-s6eC_ok_mK4vZYcOI8GQmw7m87Hb_wtfIlRHQvzAqCGL9WOZKlipMcuWHWQrZkWSGwauAP6zI3CakRNTeznrj3N2vsZCD6wxtM0pwKKMIuAQ/s320/5%20day%20gratitude%20journal%20challenge13.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And finally, in the center of the last signature, I bound in this lovely handmade card from Jan in Wyoming which she sent to me after my back surgery. I'd been wondering where I could put it other than the top of my desk and this was perfect, certainly a reminder of a friendship to be grateful for.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbzIYb2A_dk7z4Su5Ojy8Wiimk16kk6NOdoIU8hL4kq34Gr3nPkYILSdG3zRyqoS7eW6dR51rf68zwM94ZWL_QbrZV62l4XP1AfbJk_wuQpVU91oN7MqdTG_5JlATxLvEuVUiywbryMwGBI6CEKzR3nje0o4vTgysYdvOu66J_YMduWYd3SHBqA/s647/inktober2023-1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="611" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbzIYb2A_dk7z4Su5Ojy8Wiimk16kk6NOdoIU8hL4kq34Gr3nPkYILSdG3zRyqoS7eW6dR51rf68zwM94ZWL_QbrZV62l4XP1AfbJk_wuQpVU91oN7MqdTG_5JlATxLvEuVUiywbryMwGBI6CEKzR3nje0o4vTgysYdvOu66J_YMduWYd3SHBqA/w378-h400/inktober2023-1.JPG" width="378" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As for #INKtober, I did think to skip it, what with these challenges to attend to. But flipping through the sketchbook I've been using for them, I decided it is such a good practice that if I keep each day's sketch quick, I could include it too. I even printed off the official prompts for this year, but then decided I wasn't that keen on a lot of them. Instead, I've reverted to a practice I was introduced to by one of the Sketchbook Revival teachers where you keep a daily diary by sketching an activity of the day. I am finding this so fun and so far, the self-made prompts have been easy to come by. That first one got me off to a rocky start, but each day seems to get a bit better. The eye needs training!<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCm9r1fJaVWmWe9mmeijvV8ZyjZfGhlB3-aGBlpss05VAhRCgNfdUtJbsV8X1Gt_U0y5VLUZF2WWoPUjSVvcI-PJj7c4aEZMvysSBexKqHNJbVFYhS6r1Eo3YDZE2jLq-flCJuOuYUnmKJnA5KaGFTzRgv3R7Of1_vMCJ51yVj4NPDGpoO3q8jQ/s647/inktober2023-2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="611" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCm9r1fJaVWmWe9mmeijvV8ZyjZfGhlB3-aGBlpss05VAhRCgNfdUtJbsV8X1Gt_U0y5VLUZF2WWoPUjSVvcI-PJj7c4aEZMvysSBexKqHNJbVFYhS6r1Eo3YDZE2jLq-flCJuOuYUnmKJnA5KaGFTzRgv3R7Of1_vMCJ51yVj4NPDGpoO3q8jQ/w378-h400/inktober2023-2.JPG" width="378" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p></div>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-82500198039531982992023-10-03T20:51:00.002-07:002023-10-03T20:51:32.894-07:00Revisiting Pink<div><div><div><div><div><div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-AbcHwg_llHOdxrLeOCkydfUSdFrbvhx38JBiMNgyDhwE4iXUrsI4U15zap2IBUxhOJ077l5to0tNQg4Raxk8yoxdy4vgmmcTCtKywHxpQjzga8_HBnzJC800q-3Ove3YT-4NC6AEmCO5m3eIgz0MnqpnDuLmUSDgDk0wdBDJHhKgTkQdRddXCw/s1365/pinks%20back%20for%20printing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1147" data-original-width="1365" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-AbcHwg_llHOdxrLeOCkydfUSdFrbvhx38JBiMNgyDhwE4iXUrsI4U15zap2IBUxhOJ077l5to0tNQg4Raxk8yoxdy4vgmmcTCtKywHxpQjzga8_HBnzJC800q-3Ove3YT-4NC6AEmCO5m3eIgz0MnqpnDuLmUSDgDk0wdBDJHhKgTkQdRddXCw/s320/pinks%20back%20for%20printing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">True confession: I have not gotten back to my pink abstract challenge piece. But the last few times I was in the studio and took a glance at them, I was suddenly excited rather than puzzled or frustrated with what I saw. Sometimes you need to give yourself longer time away from a project you feel stuck over than you might think. I'm ready to start gluing down pieces and finishing these up. In the meantime, I've gotten curious about my past use of pink in quilts so thought it might be fun to take a look through my journey with it, starting with its obvious use in baby quilts. The quilt above was made for a nephew's baby, with the mother showing how she was decorating the nursery in pink and green. Green? Not only would I never think to use this color scheme for a nursery, for some reason pairing pink with green was a different concept for me, especially in a baby quilt. But nature obviously pairs pink and green so I embraced the idea and quite like the way this one turned out. You can read more about this quilt and its construction <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2007/12/pink-quilt.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0R1bpMU-nvGkgzsEYFPNoDsbnXTX8_3qLwaS8z2HD8z3163GbHx7NI0hJtPOi8N4SQXNdYziEuwpQWc7AHctJqrl7zD_GNLr8w_EDZmOfVzW-mSXB6npmSUT0OGCWG4SThpj998mKSMq06EO2C3W_oPpXI3dC5gm39YWBzjEu-4QfiGTfHBkTQ/s640/Rohan's%20quilt.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0R1bpMU-nvGkgzsEYFPNoDsbnXTX8_3qLwaS8z2HD8z3163GbHx7NI0hJtPOi8N4SQXNdYziEuwpQWc7AHctJqrl7zD_GNLr8w_EDZmOfVzW-mSXB6npmSUT0OGCWG4SThpj998mKSMq06EO2C3W_oPpXI3dC5gm39YWBzjEu-4QfiGTfHBkTQ/s320/Rohan's%20quilt.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This baby quilt was for one of my godson's little boys, and yes, I really do struggle with breaking out of the blue is for boys, pink is for girls thing, to the point that I worried about my use of pink here. But it was so obvious to use it with the blue fabric I'd chosen. No complaints from the parents, and I was told years later that the little boy was still taking this quilt with him to pre-school. Read more about it <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2014/08/more-waffling.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY_UXrCrs3s9ZFidSV2w51px4wFMIiFmG3YKytLPxuiDYwyA1UFzJ0bV26qm6ojiTEt5sWB82B7c4iCChxEtz6aIgWogbWFyvNb-WXLTOZTBSuGHMDjq2Z_IxFv8DN9BkPNLmxVCBEhlGWqLWoY9pYCMlZYghPJKzroF6c8qlzUwaHZ5VeK309mA/s793/hitmisfl.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="646" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY_UXrCrs3s9ZFidSV2w51px4wFMIiFmG3YKytLPxuiDYwyA1UFzJ0bV26qm6ojiTEt5sWB82B7c4iCChxEtz6aIgWogbWFyvNb-WXLTOZTBSuGHMDjq2Z_IxFv8DN9BkPNLmxVCBEhlGWqLWoY9pYCMlZYghPJKzroF6c8qlzUwaHZ5VeK309mA/s320/hitmisfl.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One more, made for the baby of a friend who worked with my late husband and was so much help to me after he died. As in the previous quilts, I often use the excuse of a baby quilt to try out techniques and patterns and this one is no exception. It is actually based on an antique quilt so I dived into my stash of reproduction fabrics for this one, and I had plenty of a soft pink for the borders and sashings. Really enjoyed working on this one and love how it came out. Pre-blogging so no post I can send you to for details.</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0cn4v15J5i_bfsJphd7bKjuL0s3mkuTVJqknQgTX4_P9ZHDw4KxFam3K2Ko7qHr93WM_FMRmFtu-jIhdVn2Bg6PKAhrIuk3FBMPCLSVgLWeZDAEJ9_jBepCC-qSBoWc73pQgx2N35NumXeAVX2nuyVz8-0uvmVtcZ6fWnYdWg5cZeX2wER-ORA/s640/crowsfeet019.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0cn4v15J5i_bfsJphd7bKjuL0s3mkuTVJqknQgTX4_P9ZHDw4KxFam3K2Ko7qHr93WM_FMRmFtu-jIhdVn2Bg6PKAhrIuk3FBMPCLSVgLWeZDAEJ9_jBepCC-qSBoWc73pQgx2N35NumXeAVX2nuyVz8-0uvmVtcZ6fWnYdWg5cZeX2wER-ORA/s320/crowsfeet019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ok, so verified that pink has always been a go-to when planning a baby quilt (although I was surprised at how many times I chose bright non-pink colors), and since I rarely bought fabric specifically for any of them, it's obvious I had a lot of pink in my stash. Not afraid of buying it, and in the case of reproduction pinks in particular, they are often subdued, muted, pale, and pair well with browns, as many of the reproduction prints of the late 1800s show with their pink florals on brown backgrounds. Here's a case in point, my I turned fifty Crow's Feet quilt. Look at all that pink and brown, at least 4 different prints, so soothing to my eye. I've made more than one antique reproduction quilt with these sorts of pinks. See more about it <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2009/02/magic-of-heirloom-machine-quilting.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sBvdxgTKAT1X6qJQaNl5s-at0KcJfjTjTvlPnZDYRTnuhaLPt1aiaTfL9QclTPi0txNhydFOJSvjGEzEkkM84w4BwyvUPuHnUE4Sx7ur5XU0vKcI_r2vXytw0sjJUhMokQjBGMKs12ZGqwwuOBHoF9t0a8-E_TBU9f_ocgYuOX7bE-tGqv41gA/s600/PHOTO013.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sBvdxgTKAT1X6qJQaNl5s-at0KcJfjTjTvlPnZDYRTnuhaLPt1aiaTfL9QclTPi0txNhydFOJSvjGEzEkkM84w4BwyvUPuHnUE4Sx7ur5XU0vKcI_r2vXytw0sjJUhMokQjBGMKs12ZGqwwuOBHoF9t0a8-E_TBU9f_ocgYuOX7bE-tGqv41gA/s320/PHOTO013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But there <i>is</i> one I've made with a very strong pink solid bought specifically for it. I wanted to make an Amish-style quilt for one of my brothers, using Quilt In A Day Roman Stripes pattern. It's not clear to me at the moment why I chose this color scheme of pinks, purple and blues, but I suspect I'd seen a real Amish quilt with those colors. At any rate, the fabrics were pick from Hancock's of Paducah's large range of Kona cotton solids on my first trip to the AQS show. Another pre-blogging quilt, but I can tell you it was queen size and hand quilted and took me about 5 years to complete, during which we moved twice, once while the quilt was on the frame. And a bit of an outlier when compared to most of my quilts.</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKVXwrWUpWLKZ8Lre0YIqiQgZUxSSl0mANYXFnDdapAdeGSScqoVGl8SWRQV35BBBpxNm4YsRIVLu8mOoY3JwQjgsETIpJxvvTsA8suRAo6cGf-OzHNIyhFMBJK3wQr1VDOUbYhppxg8RJYKd3PlKQ2gdc9PhCm2_qZY7L0jHNQuqew_Y1-XEKA/s600/IMG01A.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKVXwrWUpWLKZ8Lre0YIqiQgZUxSSl0mANYXFnDdapAdeGSScqoVGl8SWRQV35BBBpxNm4YsRIVLu8mOoY3JwQjgsETIpJxvvTsA8suRAo6cGf-OzHNIyhFMBJK3wQr1VDOUbYhppxg8RJYKd3PlKQ2gdc9PhCm2_qZY7L0jHNQuqew_Y1-XEKA/s320/IMG01A.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pink slipped into some of my early smaller projects, like what became a combination applique and pieced table runner. If it weren't for the pink in the green print, I doubt I would have chosen pink for one of the heart rings. I later found a big pink teapot with 3 pink mugs in an antique store that matched the pink in this and couldn't resist buying it.<br /></div><div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHB-4DItrO1qdxFzOmi1q4vf5Apdu7JeZrlaXIq-5104IBADwewZjHaB2EghKOf8WhwNXYWipjSV55hLl-0P_mC8ESQWjtn7OogRDugGJ492HMFT4pldyRGEFZa_0JOGe2sx0_Xwvg39fhkin4GxcvNYnB63HCKf9bSsN6wbvv3RECMC8YcyRzCA/s603/Personal%20Geography%20-%20%20States%20I%20Have%20Lived%20In.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="594" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHB-4DItrO1qdxFzOmi1q4vf5Apdu7JeZrlaXIq-5104IBADwewZjHaB2EghKOf8WhwNXYWipjSV55hLl-0P_mC8ESQWjtn7OogRDugGJ492HMFT4pldyRGEFZa_0JOGe2sx0_Xwvg39fhkin4GxcvNYnB63HCKf9bSsN6wbvv3RECMC8YcyRzCA/s320/Personal%20Geography%20-%20%20States%20I%20Have%20Lived%20In.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And this original design wall quilt ended up with pink as a background color, playing off the navy floral print with pink in it and pairing with burgundy. It was definitely the desire to use the blue with pink prints driving my pink background fabric choice, not the other way around. And to be honest, all that pink always has made me a bit uncomfortable in a quilt like this.<br /></div><div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgROVbRfgGArHhi6PMi9pKcpT0L-3KeJWESqWCq4FHH2xm9feNjzY5Gx4rBkh5vap0XvVk9-JVGPf99Z433nZoNdVWO2r2z4knyh3bNxa4g0rdABztSukHBIF-zp0ioEhG0obsRA1UkA1X8h3cOTHld_O32U-gHP-3u3k_d3nTcfwCz9J-nM6YE-A/s452/Easter%20in%20America.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="452" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgROVbRfgGArHhi6PMi9pKcpT0L-3KeJWESqWCq4FHH2xm9feNjzY5Gx4rBkh5vap0XvVk9-JVGPf99Z433nZoNdVWO2r2z4knyh3bNxa4g0rdABztSukHBIF-zp0ioEhG0obsRA1UkA1X8h3cOTHld_O32U-gHP-3u3k_d3nTcfwCz9J-nM6YE-A/s320/Easter%20in%20America.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL05Tcx2qM_N-NQQGv-oLFaJGtYkH-H4Rp68RZU1qcfJ5SC1OpR6aUhPxwEufpK5zPNu6lqVB7fvfttKdSjdfk32PpAjP9sX3RypxqIfAfTO1YCiSA_9IL_U7jbecGThHGlpq_nduOwJtI95MJd-UExpRE5CE46ATZfm8YHH4tdzCHGP0SwZV_OA/s446/Grid2%20web.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="445" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL05Tcx2qM_N-NQQGv-oLFaJGtYkH-H4Rp68RZU1qcfJ5SC1OpR6aUhPxwEufpK5zPNu6lqVB7fvfttKdSjdfk32PpAjP9sX3RypxqIfAfTO1YCiSA_9IL_U7jbecGThHGlpq_nduOwJtI95MJd-UExpRE5CE46ATZfm8YHH4tdzCHGP0SwZV_OA/s320/Grid2%20web.JPG" width="319" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mf6mUhCBIRat_sglbgn71iECbdmSoT2ULy0Vzy7S5YmOw_UBZ4gR2Iv7XYYBkknTzKn647ne2cHLROZ8xBW65Vl1ozzR4L1Up7QmL-LKR6N41lkq8bUsrW1Cm6Mtpa6S3VKPNnphGc-mWKVtjsOIMUlbYFhzDOyRp6XD37IvC1AzC_zyhAXEFg/s640/Grid%203%20web.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="640" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mf6mUhCBIRat_sglbgn71iECbdmSoT2ULy0Vzy7S5YmOw_UBZ4gR2Iv7XYYBkknTzKn647ne2cHLROZ8xBW65Vl1ozzR4L1Up7QmL-LKR6N41lkq8bUsrW1Cm6Mtpa6S3VKPNnphGc-mWKVtjsOIMUlbYFhzDOyRp6XD37IvC1AzC_zyhAXEFg/s320/Grid%203%20web.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I think about why so much pink in art quilts, I think it is because when one first starts dyeing fabric, Fuchsia is one of "primary" colors you work with. So there it is, so much pink everywhere. And as I started buying fabric paints in sets, the same was true; if not fuchsia, then magenta always included. So as I experimented, I just kept reaching for that color and ending up with more pink fabric to work with. In it went and afterwards I was not entirely happy. But I couldn't help using it and wasn't far enough along on my journey to know how to successfully alter it. Above are three such early examples as I tiptoed my way into making art quilts. The background of the first one was from an experiment Judi wanted to try where we painted dyes on fabric and batched them rather than the immersion dyeing method. I honestly didn't know what to do so just did a bit of spattering. <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2006/04/progress-report-on-last-week.html" target="_blank">This post</a> tells how I attached those squares of foil. The second one's background was an experiment with paint but I used squares cut from a batik that had a mix of blue and pink in it (more <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2007/01/grid-2-big-hairy-deal.html" target="_blank">here</a>). The last one I think was paint, at least the green over the pink was paint. I was playing with doing a grid series based on nine patches. A fourth one got made using another pinkish painted background (see <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-work.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2008/02/grid-4-almost-there.html" target="_blank">here</a>.), </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtd7tpkDe0avu-GTReEskofOQdX-53NfJeCYaofDTxCiUYZz2GP3NnXO_0GbH8OfsOZzgWjz7K1CC5LOjKgv59h0uxzp_e-Rsd4_XNk20f7qvnHxBb1uc1h3FV8ID-5bnp6x1kMxYxXNdAVpOf1f-iORLA1xzMyYRAOAa_prcFoUnD7xNBXxwjw/s814/Twisted%20Tree%20-%20cropped%20web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="430" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtd7tpkDe0avu-GTReEskofOQdX-53NfJeCYaofDTxCiUYZz2GP3NnXO_0GbH8OfsOZzgWjz7K1CC5LOjKgv59h0uxzp_e-Rsd4_XNk20f7qvnHxBb1uc1h3FV8ID-5bnp6x1kMxYxXNdAVpOf1f-iORLA1xzMyYRAOAa_prcFoUnD7xNBXxwjw/s320/Twisted%20Tree%20-%20cropped%20web.jpg" width="169" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And here's one last one from the painting experiments - a paint and twist and let dry technique which allows for the paint to migrate to the folds. I could see a tree and an owl as I pressed it and so that is what I did with it, quilting to accentuate what was clear to me, mounting it on burgundy crushed velvet from clothes I made for my mother and me back in the 70's and framed (see <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2009/04/remembering-70s.html" target="_blank">here)</a>. For posts on some of the paint experimenting, see <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2006/05/another-paint-session-ponderings.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2006/05/goals-for-may-week-of-may-1st.html" target="_blank">here</a>. So much pink . . .</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_twM1tFXdCp2b49f2_2chGUbQQ6yWUZ2FlOmZa-XD9Qu5cWhm_l9PXuDlkMGJjHuMwar1qhHvnjx3FlaDIIn9qucbOJiOYqsxMT12J1v5cAhD8Osze9v5bTkrdAy4BXSGczknRhJ78_KMfO7pCr0KzM5F5fOoTUPxDflygYZ9-vCZiTl_fBRASQ/s803/Reverberations%20-%20Sheila%20Mahanke%20Barnes%20web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="803" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_twM1tFXdCp2b49f2_2chGUbQQ6yWUZ2FlOmZa-XD9Qu5cWhm_l9PXuDlkMGJjHuMwar1qhHvnjx3FlaDIIn9qucbOJiOYqsxMT12J1v5cAhD8Osze9v5bTkrdAy4BXSGczknRhJ78_KMfO7pCr0KzM5F5fOoTUPxDflygYZ9-vCZiTl_fBRASQ/s320/Reverberations%20-%20Sheila%20Mahanke%20Barnes%20web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">But, as I continued my art quilt journey, I think I became more sophisticated with my use of pink. The quilt above was on the vierge of being purchased by the young man who would later become my optomotrist, but he eventually backed away and said, "People think I'm crazy enough as it is to live in a house painted purple. I CAN'T add a pink quilt on a wall inside!" <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2014/04/reverberations.html" target="_blank">Here's</a> where it began, with a kaleidoscope manipulation of a photo of a geranium and a piece of fabric that had been folded before going into the dye bath.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZdIfFBw5eWYNCzi8jGh-SzxIeWpSdQrCJqXP1VJoz-OsiQ3B7-2emSV86bkkDmG_ZxItJwIhJPDrHw3DmY3pVhyjTTuvvRZu_Tr2tRDLaOeOIYLzOUU_Ecfe1UdhFGk0P7TaUZ2nW6348KmSGMKC8_yDEzNe-a-Csj-Lao4Bpc3Kq-qkkm18MQ/s795/Sailing%20the%20Wine-Dark%20Sea%20II%20by%20Sheila%20Mahanke%20Barnes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="646" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZdIfFBw5eWYNCzi8jGh-SzxIeWpSdQrCJqXP1VJoz-OsiQ3B7-2emSV86bkkDmG_ZxItJwIhJPDrHw3DmY3pVhyjTTuvvRZu_Tr2tRDLaOeOIYLzOUU_Ecfe1UdhFGk0P7TaUZ2nW6348KmSGMKC8_yDEzNe-a-Csj-Lao4Bpc3Kq-qkkm18MQ/s320/Sailing%20the%20Wine-Dark%20Sea%20II%20by%20Sheila%20Mahanke%20Barnes.JPG" width="260" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">But one pink art quilt I make no apologies for is this one, the background being a surprise when pulled from the bottom of a bin where it had been soaking up dye dripping down through a rack of fabric being snow dyed. It became the "rose wine" to the "burgundy wine" in a pair inspired by Homer's reference to "sailing the wine dark seas" (see <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2014/06/deadline-met.html" target="_blank">here</a>). The squiggles are based on photos I took of sailboat masts reflected in the rippling water. I will never sell this one, and the pair hang over my computer so I enjoy them every day.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGw_dlF8iPQS7EpcKMxzxpMo3yWCfH9JKHg6cz80_r_AR-aRyXXf41vSBxNTEMztPXb6U1fmEjRd-E2qJr48KkTYYL2RfSdveI9UoDnUBsu8dc7noKefXKoI3fNf7TmeqVxPCOonBrOeb6mRTPXIcONChRyFbJtZCgNJRcbAr75jKGoKr2DW8urA/s639/Burgundy%20Leaves%20with%20dragonfly%20lining3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="639" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGw_dlF8iPQS7EpcKMxzxpMo3yWCfH9JKHg6cz80_r_AR-aRyXXf41vSBxNTEMztPXb6U1fmEjRd-E2qJr48KkTYYL2RfSdveI9UoDnUBsu8dc7noKefXKoI3fNf7TmeqVxPCOonBrOeb6mRTPXIcONChRyFbJtZCgNJRcbAr75jKGoKr2DW8urA/s320/Burgundy%20Leaves%20with%20dragonfly%20lining3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I was scrolling through my photo files, I did run across a few padfolios done with handdyes leaning toward pink (scroll to the bottom of <a href="https://idahobeautyquilts.blogspot.com/2016/02/threads-and-last-padfolios.html" target="_blank">this post</a>) but that's more like accessories in that a little pink or burgundy (or this lovely old rose) is really ok. In general though, my quilts have leaned mostly towards fall colors, a lot of rusts and browns and rich reds as well as ones with more blue and some golds. I've done pink, but again, pink does feel less appropriate for serious art unless used in moderation or to a specific theme. That must be the conclusion I came to, after all that painted and dyed pink! <br /></p></div>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19193398.post-45277180936922837312023-09-26T18:04:00.000-07:002023-09-26T18:04:22.714-07:00Succumbed Again . . .<div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGHA8L8BKXXc_z6WWW7pdpH104yEr8ThGpX9iwb8Rd0dpj3vVF_SK99UOW-gVkmdBBA64hdOZklKr-MzecVLorTnyumCqYLmL-Qe9Os-FtBXcx2ZmV-4qkkN2jOhYlRB9bpdmDSNVWyceVmTWHfJzxG4hAeceiFDEbPCu1JVZUigCK_Om-Vv6sA/s640/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGHA8L8BKXXc_z6WWW7pdpH104yEr8ThGpX9iwb8Rd0dpj3vVF_SK99UOW-gVkmdBBA64hdOZklKr-MzecVLorTnyumCqYLmL-Qe9Os-FtBXcx2ZmV-4qkkN2jOhYlRB9bpdmDSNVWyceVmTWHfJzxG4hAeceiFDEbPCu1JVZUigCK_Om-Vv6sA/w400-h300/mixed%20media%20color%20challenge1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have plenty enough to keep me occupied, but say "free 3 day workshop" with an artist I follow and try to learn more from on the subject of mixed media art journaling and collage, well, I can't help but sign up. Knowing how <a href="https://www.lalymille.com/" target="_blank">Laly Mille </a>presents these workshops, I knew what I was getting myself into time wise and that with each workshop being recorded, I could watch the videos according to my schedule. And my weekend schedule was full of motorcycle racing! Thus I haven't gotten very far on doing the actual work, but I'm already finding this Abstract Color Challenge to be helpful. I figured if nothing else, sticking with her direction to choose just one color plus some neutrals to work with would help simplify things so I could focus on other things. As you can see from the photo, I chose pink, not because I find it difficult to work with or a color I don't particularly care for, but because, unlike my go to's of teal and rusts, I tend to stereotype it as suitable for girlish quilts, not "serious" work, and difficult to sell if used in an art quilt. Time to get over that and see what I can do with pink.</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd3fddH5QZ3F1gvvIuCuMKoRgMaNqThHVUcYz8vdiueYSvsp_IF9YJYfP5Umf8m_6I6KcHcNMLqflmAnG0zqX-61IjYHBQ4v75TNIuzM0JQpE63iPEodo1Ur-3pq5Jf9QE79JTKiMmKGtfxU_oB6tscPF5Q8T0WN2Mh4sHF-f1gJBW-fMlF8_R8Q/s645/Pink%20meaning.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="645" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd3fddH5QZ3F1gvvIuCuMKoRgMaNqThHVUcYz8vdiueYSvsp_IF9YJYfP5Umf8m_6I6KcHcNMLqflmAnG0zqX-61IjYHBQ4v75TNIuzM0JQpE63iPEodo1Ur-3pq5Jf9QE79JTKiMmKGtfxU_oB6tscPF5Q8T0WN2Mh4sHF-f1gJBW-fMlF8_R8Q/w400-h301/Pink%20meaning.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was surprised at how very much mixed media supplies I own or have pulled from magazines that are pink. Lots more to work with than I thought I would have. But before doing any work on the small 5 x 5 inch pieces of watercolor paper that would make up the series we'd be working on, we were to fill out a questionnaire about color. No, not questions like what are the three primary colors or what do you mix together to get green. No, it was more assessing how we work with color in general, what are your favorite colors and why, and when and why do you try new color schemes or combinations? My answers inveritably hinged on my experience working with fabric, but also pointed out my stumbling around with paints and what colors to have in my collection. She also sent us this link to <a href="https://www.color-meanings.com/" target="_blank">Color Meanings</a> which had a lot of info new to me. You might enjoy checking out what your own color preferences mean.<br /></div><div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngxpeLHGdSLXLAGaBP-8OVsS-PU22SMsOMhA_aEYJduTrnMxSbITt9ZgrrVMh7vUhBgHhDzt9Vdixqf-I5R9YyIzUKK-5G8Eikowc3HbtPLq2lsh7RaDMMwkxNysVCpKZr_tjwBQCcQU3HcFTGAYugrzOS9-gVHatCACh5bqVVwRcBxVzebHJpA/s640/eyedropper%20geranium.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngxpeLHGdSLXLAGaBP-8OVsS-PU22SMsOMhA_aEYJduTrnMxSbITt9ZgrrVMh7vUhBgHhDzt9Vdixqf-I5R9YyIzUKK-5G8Eikowc3HbtPLq2lsh7RaDMMwkxNysVCpKZr_tjwBQCcQU3HcFTGAYugrzOS9-gVHatCACh5bqVVwRcBxVzebHJpA/w150-h200/eyedropper%20geranium.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next was doing some journaling in pencil across our watercolor squares, where I addressed pink directly, admitting that I love seeing pink sunsets and of course pink flowers as well, so why not more pink in my art? Day two we could start choosing collage papers and as usually, I floundered. Such a tiny space! She said it was so we would not be intimidated but I found it intimidating anyway because I always have such big ideas and big pieces of collage designs and have difficulty cutting them up/down. I had to sleep on it. Doing my usual mulling before dropping off, I came up with an idea and plan and got it going the next day. Needing to give it more thought and watch more workshop videos, it has sat in what Laly calls "the awkward teenage phase". Oh, yeah, lots of awkwardness there but with her next steps suggestions, I can see how to get past it now.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLwya8LjZ16gYp_HC0I3jOJ95eHZfaMJRLLa-TxjFLKfHdJwbn0Jgn1XU_sUJ3RZpWraBbGdf9Kd6hHAv-wKFM1CNvX6_X2WqjoFKdVST0h5gJ6ipz9QrqOZUnmunLEIgLVGrfff9YH3JskNhcjo-952EHQsuK4TyHVCmMl3SNQL8AMdr9C16cg/s640/eyedropper%20birch.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLwya8LjZ16gYp_HC0I3jOJ95eHZfaMJRLLa-TxjFLKfHdJwbn0Jgn1XU_sUJ3RZpWraBbGdf9Kd6hHAv-wKFM1CNvX6_X2WqjoFKdVST0h5gJ6ipz9QrqOZUnmunLEIgLVGrfff9YH3JskNhcjo-952EHQsuK4TyHVCmMl3SNQL8AMdr9C16cg/s320/eyedropper%20birch.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, the birches out back have given way to autumn and our cooler weather, as have other trees in the neighborhood. We are to get quite a bit of rain this week so spending time reading and working on the challenge and getting back to sewing should be easy to fit in (she says with a laugh). I leave you with <a href="http://www.susangaylord.com/" target="_blank">Susan Gaylord's</a> wish:</div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">"May autumn's bounty sustain and comfort us as the days shorten and the light recedes."</span></b></blockquote></div><br /><p></p></div>The Idaho Beautyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979439849662755082noreply@blogger.com3