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| Azalea Mosaic II: Garden Path |
For all my good intentions to focus on the 5 Day Book Challenge last week, it turned into a week of diversions and distractions instead. The routine car servicing of the week before turned up a "sooner than later" need for a 3 hour repair that got scheduled for Wednesday - another hour each way run into the somewhat big city. Time was spent on Thursday digging out a couple of quilts to hang at University of Idaho Sandpoint Organic Ag. Center with this new charity group I've joined - see photo above and below. Both were exercises in matching colors from the garden with my hand-dyes. It's an absolutely gorgeous building with lots of wall space for quilts and I was happy to have a place for these two to be out again. In fact, I didn't realize just how long they'd been in the closet - both made during the time I lived by the lake prior to a move in 2012. And if you've ever had a quilt in an exhibit, you know it's more than steaming out any wrinkles and running a lint roller over them. There's paperwork to fill out and photos to attach and yes, all those things that are not my favorite part. Then Friday it was out to the location to drop off my quilts, but not just drop them off, hang them and help with hanging some others. Just like old times.
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| Poppies and Peonies |
Ah but now it's the holiday weekend and surely I can make time to work on the challenge. But I mostly watched not just the instructional videos but also the daily hour long recorded morning and afternoon community zoom sessions where questions were answered and featured artists interviewed. Let's face it, I did my usual freeze up after making the signatures for two of the three little books in this challenge early in the week. Making life more difficult than it needed to be as I decided to use different kinds of paper for each book and possibly altering one of them to a book with more signatures. Plus we are encouraged to use leather for the covers and the leather from my 99 cent bargain jackets is too thin to use on its own - it needs fabric fused to it which means one more decision to make. So I went plant shopping instead. It's time and I'm getting pretty tired of viewing the dead plants in my deck pots.
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| It's a start. And there's a purple (!) geranium in there |
Ok, yesterday was the day surely when I could make real progress if not finish at least two of the books. (The third is still waiting for me to decide on paper and if I want to paint a Kraft Tex cover.) Then my brother called to catch up. Nice of him to help with my procrastination - lol. But once off the phone, it was time to decide on fabric, find the few I have that are a little heavier than quilting cotton, match them up to the leather which in itself slows me down as I ponder just where to cut. And then this happened.
I'd briefly considered fusing felt to the leather like I've done with the blank journals I make for myself from fabric. I opened that closet door, shifted various small stacks of felt (I'd forgotten that I had more than just the eco felt I buy by the yard) and cracked opened a small bin, only to find these small marbled pieces I'd totally forgotten about. Done in the early days of experimenting with dyeing fabric, I was never very happy with my marbling but did manage some smaller pieces I felt good enough to sell along with Judi and my hand-dyes. My eyes were dazzled and a quick measurement told me these were big enough for the covers and some even on a heavier weight fabric. Now I only have to decide which ones to use . . . freezing up again.
No need to rush I guess. Rushing leads to disappointed results sometimes, and I've had time to think about my choices and how to approach the next step. More confident now to proceed. But first, it's a lovely day, and I have not been on the Bay Trail for too long. It's my maiden voyage as it were back out on a trail since my surgery. My stamina still needs some shoring up, and I couldn't keep myself from walking farther than intended, but it was oh so good to get that walk in. The book project isn't going anywhere.
3 comments:
Your quilts are stunning! I keep going back to the mosaic one, especially! The 'tiles' are perfect! You certainly had a busy week & an extended walk on the trail was a nice way to wind down a bit. Those projects will still be there when the weather isn't as inviting. Jan in WY
That's good to hear that you're exhibiting and hiking again!
Thanks Jan and Sherrie! I didn't explain but maybe you figured out, Jan, that all those squares were cut from fabric with fusible on the back, then arranged on the background fabric and fused down. I was surprised how quickly my slant went askew as I worked but piecing something like this would have been a nightmare!
As for the hike, I paid a bit of a price. The trail gently undulates with a steep incline at the trailhead to get back to the parking lot. I know that right after the surgery I was told not to walk up inclines (and couldn't figure out why) but I would have thought by now it wouldn't be an issue, but boy, did my lower back hurt the next day! I am continually amazed by how many actions the back is involved in; it's not just bending and lifting! Grateful for an ice pack - lol
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