Applying "Refresh" To Studio

It may be March but that doesn't mean we're done with snow. This was the view out my studio window yesterday, after several hours of very wet snowfall. It was supposed to have arrived overnight, and I figured it would all be cleaned up by the time I was ready to run my Friday errands. Instead, I proved myself a true native northern Idahoan, making my way through slush and slick streets in my Subaru Outback while the big flakes snowed down on me! I was happy to arrive home safely and equally happy to settle in my studio for the rest of the afternoon.

Two things I've noticed about the way I've been approaching and feeling about the time I've spent in the studio since I established my "refresh" resolution word. I've always struggled putting into practice the idea that I don't have to wait until I have a big chunk of time before going in there to work. Not sure where this all-or-nothing mentality comes from, but it is my default thinking when getting ready to tackle anything, creative or everyday. To my delight, I've noticed a reversal in my thinking from "not enough time to really do anything" to "just enough time to do a little bit." I know, it is such an obvious thing, and I've tried before to make this change in thinking without much success. Maybe this time it will stick, my "refresh" reminding me that every little bit of progress adds up over time whereas doing nothing gets you nothing.

The other thing I've noticed is how relaxed I've been as I've worked on various things. I'm generally pretty wound up, stressing over design decisions, deadlines, a pile of things I want to get to but have to prioritize. It often makes me physically tense while working and can certainly take the enjoyment out of the process. I'm not sure why I've decided to work calmly with more pleasure, but it is a good refresh to the studio practice.

But deadlines still exist and here it is March, with me facing the same March madness of the last few years - 3 time-consuming projects barely started (two art related and the other taxes), all with mid-April deadlines! It was keeping me awake the other night, when I realized I'd done that to myself again, perhaps being a bit TOO relaxed about working in the studio and failing to factor in the unexpected like a week sick on the couch. Ok, I think I can still work calmly AND ramp things up a bit. Time to stop thinking and planning and dive into the actual work of the bridge slice quilt.

Plans are important, especially here where some design elements need to be in the right place to match those of the surrounding slices. That would primarily be the bridge, which we are all realizing has very small pieces. I'm still not 100% sure how I will carry it out but I do know that I will be stitching the outlines of it from the back of the muslin that the applique will be built up on. So step one is to turn the grayscale photocopy of my slice over and trace that bridge as well as its reflection in the water. I taped it to the window to do this.

Transferring bridge design onto back of muslin

Then I placed the muslin over it to transfer the bridge onto it. I have to say that the structure of the bridge was a jumble when viewed from the front and the color photo supplied. But in making the tracing, it finally started to make sense and I could see better in what order the pieces would be rendered. I also found myself hearing Lynne Chapman's admonition to not try to capture every detail - I knew something from my Sketchbook Skool course would carry over to my quilting! After tracing, I flipped the photocopy back over and taped it to my cutting mat, then flipped over the muslin and taped it over the photocopy, thinking I could make out the bigger sections of the design through it.

Masking off my section which is second (of four) from the left

Speaking of the color photo, I decided to tape strips of paper on either side of my part of it so I could more easily see what I was dealing with. I can flip them up if need be to study what will be on either side of my slice. I think I'm glad I'm not on an end again.

And then I hit my stash. I'd already picked out a sky fabric and several possibilities for water. Now I found something for the hill behind the bridge.

Tracing large areas of the design onto quilter's paper

Unfortunately, I simply couldn't see my "pattern" well enough through the muslin so today I tried plan B (always good to have a backup plan). I removed the muslin and traced the design elements I needed to see onto Golden Threads Quilting Paper.

The quilting paper tracing flipped down to check applique positioning

Now my pattern is no longer hidden under the muslin but available for reference. The muslin was taped back down and the top edge of the new tracing "hinged" with tape along the top of the muslin so that it can be flipped out of the way when placing a piece of applique on the muslin base, then flipped back down to check that the placement is correct. I can also see better the shapes I need to cut. Tackling the water is next, trying out a bit of collaging to utilize a too narrow piece of fabric.