The parade's over and it's time to get back to work! In fact, I was so angry at myself last night about not reaching last week's hand quilting goal that I did it before going to bed. There! Now I can feel like I'm starting off fresh this week.
Last week I wrote in my guild's newsletter: "I am clinging to the last few days of 2005 like a school child who dreads the end of Christmas vacation...I've maintained a certain freedom from dealing with the serious stuff of the outside world that will surely disappear once the calendar flips to January." And sure enough, even before I could flip the calendar, I received the call confirming that the workshop I'm scheduled to teach at the end of the month will be using an updated book, requiring me to revise my supply list, lesson plans, even demo pieces. Studio time will have to be shared with workshop prep, but that is not an entirely bad thing. It's forcing me to move forward with a technique I've only somewhat dabbled with, in spite of my intentions to explore it more. It will become a part of my creative journey and take its place among my weekly goals.
More reality: It's time to get serious about my Warmth From Wisconsin (WFW) entry, which over-optimistically showed up in last week's goals. This is a local contest sponsored by the Pfaff/Bernina dealer, a quilt shop and a radio station to generate quilts for the needy in Montery, Mexico. Prizes include cash and gift certificates, but really, the draw to entering is that your quilt will end up in the hands of someone who really needs it. Judging criteria is quite different too. The winning quilts must be durable and preferably made from fabrics that won't readily show dirt. That doesn't mean people enter "ugly" quilts by any means. But it does shift the emphasis from counting stiches per inch to will this quilt hold up to abuse. Many are tied and polyester batting is actually preferable to cotton because it dries faster. Mine will be from a Mystery quilt pattern this year - I didn't have time to participate when the series was running in the guild newsletter (except to get the strips cut), but knew I could make it work for this contest. Not much creative about this, but it will be satisfying to work on, soothing "grunt work" (or woodchopping as my friend Bill calls it - Hi Bill!). Deadline is February 11 and I don't want to wait until the last minute, so will get going on that this week.
I also feel a journal quilt coming on. If I'm a good girl this week, I will allow myself a play day to work on it. So here's what I plan to do this week:
Last week I wrote in my guild's newsletter: "I am clinging to the last few days of 2005 like a school child who dreads the end of Christmas vacation...I've maintained a certain freedom from dealing with the serious stuff of the outside world that will surely disappear once the calendar flips to January." And sure enough, even before I could flip the calendar, I received the call confirming that the workshop I'm scheduled to teach at the end of the month will be using an updated book, requiring me to revise my supply list, lesson plans, even demo pieces. Studio time will have to be shared with workshop prep, but that is not an entirely bad thing. It's forcing me to move forward with a technique I've only somewhat dabbled with, in spite of my intentions to explore it more. It will become a part of my creative journey and take its place among my weekly goals.
More reality: It's time to get serious about my Warmth From Wisconsin (WFW) entry, which over-optimistically showed up in last week's goals. This is a local contest sponsored by the Pfaff/Bernina dealer, a quilt shop and a radio station to generate quilts for the needy in Montery, Mexico. Prizes include cash and gift certificates, but really, the draw to entering is that your quilt will end up in the hands of someone who really needs it. Judging criteria is quite different too. The winning quilts must be durable and preferably made from fabrics that won't readily show dirt. That doesn't mean people enter "ugly" quilts by any means. But it does shift the emphasis from counting stiches per inch to will this quilt hold up to abuse. Many are tied and polyester batting is actually preferable to cotton because it dries faster. Mine will be from a Mystery quilt pattern this year - I didn't have time to participate when the series was running in the guild newsletter (except to get the strips cut), but knew I could make it work for this contest. Not much creative about this, but it will be satisfying to work on, soothing "grunt work" (or woodchopping as my friend Bill calls it - Hi Bill!). Deadline is February 11 and I don't want to wait until the last minute, so will get going on that this week.
I also feel a journal quilt coming on. If I'm a good girl this week, I will allow myself a play day to work on it. So here's what I plan to do this week:
- Revise workshop supply list and mail. (Finished today!)
- Piece WFW quilt
- Make self-portrait journal quilt
- Hand quilt main motif in side triangle of Lone Star quilt
- Transfer contest/exhibit info to calendar
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