A Little Embarrassing

A few weeks ago I got the word from the management company I rent from that there's a city ordinance requiring the flappers in toilets in rental properties to be replaced after a certain amount of time and our buildings had reached that magic number. So I was required to set up a time for the maintenance man to come by and do it to my three toilets, a quick repair, but one that made me realize I had some extra cleaning and picking up to do before he arrived. If you live alone, you understand how easy it is to let some housework slide and boy had I let it slide lately, what with the issues with my back. Plus two of the bathrooms are on the second floor with the stairs and landing having served as a dumping ground for things that needed to go upstairs or into the studio but not right away. Yeah, I even procrastinate on that and now I needed to make that stuff disappear to where it was intended. What's more, one of the upstairs bathrooms I don't really use as a bathroom since it is off the master bedroom which I use as a studio. I've delegated it for my paints and stamping supplies and boy, did I have stuff stacked all over the floor and on the toilet seat and tank where he needed to get in to work. While I've had years to hone my storage system for my quilting things, I've failed to get a handle on organizing these newer mixed media supplies. Thus, picking up and putting things out of sight in there was not unlike the archeological digs I encounter whenever I clear my work table. Oh...THAT'S where that went to. Hmm - forgot I saved those things. Oh yeah, here's something I set aside to be stenciled. And when I opened the cupboard under the sink to put away the organizer that holds among other things my paint brushes, I was dumbfounded to see a very large bottle of matte medium! I have no recollection of buying it, obviously, since I recently related to you how I gave in and bought some to try with my collage since everyone raves about it. Yeah, a little embarrassing!

Also a little embarrassing is the way I continue to drag my feet over finishing the fat quarter quilt. To be honest, I'm letting that piping intimidate me unnecessarily - not like the first time I've ever done it. But at least like the binding, it is pieced and pressed in half, ready to go. But the real foot dragging has been because of the terrible cigarette smoke smell that arose from the quilt after I dampened it in preparation for trimming. It had to go out into the garage to air for quite a bit before I could bring it back in and square it up. I'm still a little stumped about the smell, although I know it was picked up in that quilt shop where I taught the class so many years ago. The shop was next door to a bar, and even though the owner had air filters going, anything that stayed in that shop long soon picked up the smell. I know I washed all the fabrics before construction and no doubt used a little steam from the iron now and then when pressing that should have alerted me to any lingering smell. All I can figure is that it must have absorbed some of the odor while hanging in the shop, but not such that one would smell it until dampened. What a shock. Once I get the binding on, you can bet I'll be doing a deep soaking with vinegar and thorough washing before this goes on my bed.

Easter Greetings

To those of you who celebrate, a blessed Easter. I also understand it's Ramadan and Passover, three major religions celebrating their individual major events at the same time (it doesn't happen that often). To everyone else, happy spring! Still doesn't look like spring in my neck of the woods (just south of us about an hour away they got up to a foot of snow the other day, and even more as you continue further south down the Idaho panhandle). But the arrival of these tulips from my niece, Vanessa, brought instant brightness to my days.

She sent chocolate too - how cute are these handcrafted hand-painted "eggs"? Worthy of the calories!

The tulips arrived just as this spring bouquet from my cousin Laura was starting to fade. I've been enjoying them for several weeks and they were the perfect tonic to my not quite winter not quite spring blues.

Wishing you beauty and brightness and the promise of hope and new life wherever you may be.

An Unusual Approach

Monstera Delisioso by Heidi Jung - sumi ink & charcoal on Mylar on Panel

Don't have anything to show for the week save getting my taxes finalized and making my way through a few more of a backlog of magazines. A January/February 1921 issue of Artists Magazine introduced me to Heidi Jung, and I doubt I have to tell you why I am drawn to her work.

"When we meet a work of art, there’s something about that encounter that isn’t fixed in time, but rather, it unfixes time: the shaft opens. The past and present exist in the same moment, and we know, as beings, that we are connected. All the people who lived before us, all who will come after us, are connected in this moment." Ali Smith

I guess that is a little what happened to me as I paged through her work featured in the article "Giving Nature Her Due", unfortunately not available on line. And her interpretation of different plants, often without color, took my breath away. Doesn't happen all that often. But then I needed to know how she did it and found she is using sumi ink and charcoal on Mylar in a process that hearkens back to her earlier work developing film in a darkroom. If you check out her website, I suggest you look at "installations" under the Portfolio menu where you can see her art hanging in situ as well as in exhibitions. Then take a look at Gallery 1 for more of these sumi ink on Mylar works. She also does acrylic on panel which can be seen in the other Galleries - all ethereal and beautiful to my eyes.

Exceptionalism Art Journal Spread

 

I think I'm done fiddling with this art journal spread. Here it is with the two things I used to help "blend" the collage elements and text: Inktense colored pencils and water soluble graphite pencil, two things I don't play with often enough. I'd been thinking a lot lately about the idea of "exceptionalism", and that while most would envy someone thought to be exceptional in some way, the person who is seen as exceptional often experiences an isolation not to be envied and difficult to break out of. Speaking from experience here although what I've noted people have thought exceptional about me is really not that exceptional.

And then I ran across an article in Smithsonian Magazine about Brunhilde of Wagner's Valkyrie fame and her sister-in-law Fredegund who were not just Norse legend but actual queens ("The Medieval Queens Whose Daring, Murderous Reigns Were Quickly Forgotten" January 2022 issue). As I read through their history and drank in that fabulous opening illustration, I had my beginnings of a spread on exceptionalism using two very strong women as examples. "A queen had to dodge assassins, and employ some of her own, while combating the open misogyny of her advisers and nobles—the early medieval equivalent of doing it all backwards and in heels." And ruling through a male relative. The yellow you see around Brunhild is Inktense pencil.

With Randy Newman's "It's Lonely At The Top" lyrics playing in my head, I built upon this idea of the exceptional being placed on a pedestal, either being adored or hated. Fredegund was in such a precarious position at the top; her predecessor was strangled after catching Fredegund,a slave girl, in bed with the King and going off in a huff. Ahh, palace life. By now strains of another song about popularity were coming to mind. These I inked in various open places on the spread.

I added these disapproving and one approving heads and used the water soluble graphite to outline them and then a damp paint brush to spread the graphite into a dark background cloud. "Some of them want to use you. Some of them want to be used by you."

A final touch - adding some small characters along the paths - the "little people" who take little notice of those above as they simply try to eke out an existence and hope the rulers don't do anything rash to upset it.

Either way, always a separation that is difficult to close. As for our queens after they died, "With their accomplishments cut from official histories, the queens took root in legends and myths," a different kind of exceptionalism but no less lonely I suspect. Do read the article; it is full of interesting twists and turns. 

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A Challenging Week

I had hoped to get farther along in the studio this week, but I have some ongoing health issues that make some days more challenging than others and some weeks just disappear altogether. I used to try to fight through these difficult days, refusing to succumb to them, but keep on working on my projects, but over time I've learned this is not always the best tact for either my body or my studio work. For example, I kept looking at those fabric strips meant for piping and didn't think I had it in me to deal with them. Each day I'd peek in at the fabric needing cutting into binding, think about the process of adding piping and said no, no, no, I don't have the energy to fuss with it. Turning those strips into fabric coiled baskets sounded more appealing. Then Friday I suddenly had a good day and the piping no longer looked so daunting as I lay it at the edge of the quilt and covered all but that 1/8th inch that would show next to the binding. I didn't get much at all done this week, but I did get my binding strips cut and found my resolve to add the piping. We'll see if that holds!

And then there are things that I simply get tired of looking at that are waiting for me to take the next step. Not to mention I'd like to clear these things off the table so I can square up my big quilt for binding. I'd been auditioning placement of some pieces on this art journal spread as well as looking for some additional things to add. It was time to trim everything and stick them down. As I used the X-acto knife to cut interior sections and small outer curves too difficult for scissors to do well, I mused about the first time I'd been introduced to this type of cutting. It was in the 6th grade and our teacher gave each of us a single edge razor blade with lots of threats about using it carefully as to NOT cut ourselves with it. I remember this so well; we were to cut out from black construction paper an old-fashioned train engine pulling cars which meant there were many windows to cut out as well as the spaces between spokes. I really took to the challenge and loved all that careful cutting. And I still do.

I also wanted to try using matte medium as the adhesive to stick down my pieces cut from magazines. Honestly, I've gotten a little tired of the ubiquitous suggestion of using matte medium as the cure-all for all your mixed media needs. So many actual glues on the market, many developed for specific uses, that it's almost irritating that few people mention them. Need to glue down a piece of paper? Do it with matte medium. Need to protect your collage or other piece of art? Slather matte medium over it. Need to adhere a button or piece of metal to a flat surface like a book cover? Use matte medium. I have tried it to adhere things like tissue but let's just say it has never been my go-to answer for everything like it seems to be for so many. But I decided maybe I should give it another go, bought the recommended Liquitex brand and used a paint brush to add it to the backs of these pieces now added to the spread. I have to admit it worked pretty well, not wrinkling up the paper as some glues will, and was even forgiving enough to allow me to reposition pieces if I moved quickly enough. I didn't add any over the top of the pieces as I see most artists do but maybe I'll get to that too eventually. In the meantime, a day later I am still peeling off medium that got on my fingers. I haven't had that problem with acrylic paint. It reminds me of that liquid bandaid stuff.

Now I think it's ready for some text. I've jotted down a few things I'd like to find room for that will help explain where I'm going with this. I started with a concept that was really bugging me that I wanted to rant about, and where better than on an art journal page? To my surprise, even before I get to the ranting in words, I am feeling better about what was driving my emotions. That's kind of the point of any kind of journaling. Art journaling is not making mixed media art, although mixed media plays a part, any more than written journaling is creating a novel or essay, although relating stories may be a part. Art journaling might lead to a finished piece of art just like journaling might lead to writing a short story. At least that's my take on it. With this in mind, I really appreciated Laly Mille's blog post where she shares step by step how her art journal spreads evolve. You might find it interesting. She titles it "All I Have To Bring."

If you take a look at that post, you will see the final steps I'll be taking on my own spread, the "tricks" that help bring it visually together. We'll see how well I can do that.

Just What Was I Thinking

"The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life—the life God is sending one day by day: what one calls one’s ‘real life’ is a phantom of one’s own imagination."  C.S. Lewis

This quotation was on my mind as I prepared myself for a possible week of jury duty. I overheard someone in the jury pool lament during a lengthy pause in procedure that all she could think of was all the things she could be doing at home. I, on the other hand, had cleared the decks in anticipation of not having much time for anything else and could focus on this new experience. As it turned out, the trial I was chosen for went more quickly than anticipated and we, the jury, were a bit surprised at how in agreement we were about the verdict when it was time to deliberate. Very little to discuss and we felt good about our collective decision. A few days later I came across this fact I'd never heard before, regarding a 17th century trial with similarities to ours where the female witness "testified as cords were tightened around her fingers; the theory was that torture would insure the veracity of a witness's account." Hmmm - no torturing of witnesses in our trial; I think having to testify at all was torture enough.

So settled back into my normal routine and catching up a bit on things, time to take the final steps on the fat quarter quilt, especially since today is National Quilting Day and in fact, it is also International Quilting Weekend. I pulled from the closet a bundle that I was sure had the leftovers of this project waiting for these final steps. That's not all that was in the bundle (some machine quilting samples and the leftovers from another quilt top needing quilting and binding), but in the above picture, this is what presented itself to me: 3 fairly large pieces of fabric from the quilt top, a few strips left from cutting the fat quarters, the book containing the quilt pattern and a documentation sheet where I'd pasted in fabric swatches on the back. On the front I'd filled in the name I planned to give this but to my chagrin, no start date.

Here's the book which has a copyright date of 2002, and I'm pretty sure I bought it soon after it came out. So I think I probably made this for the class sample around 2003 or 04 - I can go back through old engagement calendars and track down the date if I really want to. I remember really liking this method of using fat quarters (and I have a ton of them from when I belonged to a Reproduction Fabric Collection of the month club), and there are two patterns in it that I still like enough to think about making, including the quilt on the cover.

This is what was squirreled away inside the book - more scraps of fabric and some pieced odds and ends, possibly demo pieces for the class. Also, three copies of the photo I took while the finished top was up on my design wall. I'm pretty sure these weren't taken with a digital camera, not sure exactly when I got my first one. Lots of notes in pencil all over the pages of directions which pertained to teaching the class as I wanted to do this alternate on-point arrangement.

So nearly 20 years on, just what was I thinking about finishing this up? I don't think there was very much if any of that dark blue fabric pieced into the backing left, and if so, I don't know where I would have put it if not with this bundle. I measured the quilt as it lay on the floor drying from some pre-squaring up spritzing so I could figure how many binding strips to cut and how much fabric that would take and decided that I must have meant for the border fabric to also be used for the binding - there's plenty. But all those narrow strips cut from the gold fabrics, what were they for? certainly not binding since they are only 3/4 of an inch wide. A real puzzle.

Out of curiosity, I studied the penciled notes around the page with the top diagram and noted two things. First, I'd measured the top and noted its dimensions, and with all that dense quilting I did, my new measurements show I lost 3 inches in both directions. Second, I found a note about piping - how many inches needed of 3/4 inch wide strips for 1/8" piping. Truly a detail I not only forgot but am having a hard time remembering at all. After some thought, I must have thought of inserting it in the binding, but for some reason my memory was thinking I was going to use leftover strips from all the different fabrics in the binding itself. Well, it's actually a relief to figure all this out, know the multi-fabric binding was never an option and that the border fabric was always meant to be the binding fabric as well.

And to think there was a time when I remember all details of everything I worked on or had set aside to work on later. So not the case anymore, so best to get with it and finish things in a more timely fashion for sure. At least I kept everything together!

 

Not Error Free

The slow and steady tortoise finished the last bit of quilting on the final border of the fat quarter quilt today - hooray! I set a goal of one border a week (bearing in mind I wouldn't be able to quilt every day and when I did, limiting my time to 40 minutes to an hour), and I am so pleased I was able to keep to that. I tossed it on the bed to take a few pics for you - not the best lighting but hopefully you can see why I like this quilt so much.

Now to dig out the leftover fabric from the piecing to piece together a colorful binding once this is squared up. click on any photo for a larger view of the quilting.

Although I have to say, looking at that dark blue turned from the back to the front, I'm wondering if I wouldn't like a single fabric blue border instead.

Here's a pretty good shot of the "row by row" paisley quilting I did over the inside of the quilt.

As for the "not error free", on the last border, I was so into following the designs in the fabric, having memorized the best path around them, that I didn't notice I was coming close to a safety pin as I sewed backward. I don't know how I managed not to hit the pin with the needle but suddenly, there it was under my presser foot with a single stitch holding it in place! Took some maneuvering get it off the foot and to open it to pull it free without having to break a thread. So now you would think I would quilt more aware, removing pins in plenty of time but no, I did it twice more! The third time I actually did strike the pin with the needle and had to replace it.

Not to mention that I also managed to quilt a bit of the excess turned over the batting to the back of the quilt. The whole reason for leaving as much extra backing and batting as I do at the edge of the quilt is so I can neatly fold the backing over the quilt so this sort of thing doesn't happen and I have plenty to grip as I move the quilt around. I definitely was not paying attention and making sure the edge was smoothed out, not folded under. It only caught in two short places and I was determined not to take out stitches and re-quilt those short runs. So I cut very closely to the stitching on either side to release the part that got caught up in the quilting and then teased out the threads of the bits of fabric left under the stitching on the back of the quilt. The arrows point to the cutaway part on the edge of the turnover.

So glad I got this finished today as I don't know how much time jury duty might take up next week. I've been lucky so far with the trials of the first two weeks of the month being canceled, but now they are requiring us to sign in early on Monday for a trial. The last time I got called in for jury duty, they filled all the spots long before I got a chance to be questioned. Maybe I'll be that lucky again, although I actually think it would be interesting to go through a trial. 

Gathering and Thinking

Quilting progresses on the fat quarter quilt, working my way up a side border. To my surprise, and perhaps, dismay, I soon realized that the easy rhythm I'd developed making my way around the paisleys on the top and bottom border no long applied. The design runs a different direction, flipped as it were, and this orientation is giving me more problems in finding routes that make sense and let me work fairly continuously over longer areas. Ah well, I suppose you could say it is keeping me on my toes as these repeats can become monotonous. And provide me with nothing to show you, my readers. The best I can come up with is this shot of what's taking up space on my table, although I'm not spending much time on it at the moment.

It's another spread in my altered book/art journal. I've journaled some thoughts in pencil across the page (I'm seeing the value of that now even though it will mostly be covered up), working with a theme of exceptionalism. I've laid down some paint, not successfully considering what I was going for. I've decided my frustration lies in the fact that most of my acrylic paints are of a dark value when my mind's eye sees me laying down lighter values. I don't think to mix in a little white paint to lighten things up. I thought sponging it on would lesson the impact but I was wrong. But a lot of it will be covered up it looks like, if I continue with this idea I've settled on using illustrations from an article about Brunhilde and her sister. I'm getting more comfortable now with the idea that these spreads do not have to be finished all at once, that there is an idea stage followed by a gathering stage, followed by more steps that sometimes need a breather in between. Takes the pressure off and lets my thoughts flow. 

The Week's Progress

What started as feeling like a slow crawl of quilting on the fat quarter quilt borders has sped up some as I got into a rhythm of following the paisley designs in the fabric. It's not particularly straight forward with one paisley leading to the next, and there are times when I quilt myself into a corner or miss going into an area, requiring a stop or start in an odd place. Just keep reminding myself of the "aha" moment I had early in my learning to free motion quilt: Just because you are working on a "continuous" design doesn't mean that you have to stitch continuously and can't stop to reposition your hands or assess where to go next or even to backstitch and cut threads to start again in another spot. The beauty of this quilting is that it literally cannot be seen (except on the back) and thus I don't really need to worry about quilting exactly along the line of a paisley or those times when my stitches get uneven. I'm just going for the texture here and to highlight those paisley shapes. I know that when I first started quilting on the first border, I was pretty obsessed with going around every shape, even the small ones and that was making things slow going. But as I worked along the top border this week, I simply couldn't stop myself from continuing that somewhat, even though I want to go faster. As I finished the top border, I just rationalized that the borders may as well be densely quilted because the rest of the quilt is densely quilted as well.

I wasn't sure I'd get the whole border done by the end of the week so I was much pleased when I did. Side borders are a little longer I think but it would be nice to see each one finished in a week as well. I have to say, I still love the colors and the fabrics in this quilt, 20 years after I bought them. While I'll admit to having fabric in my stash who's colors and/or prints look dated, none of these in this quilt strike me that way. Good thing, huh?

Discoveries of the Week

Nothing "finished" this week but at least I got things set up so I could proceed with the quilting on this fat quarter quilt. After clearing the ironing board and deciding to let the wool pressing mat remain, it was easy to slide the board next to the machine I use for machine quilting and plop the folded quilt on it to see if it would rest there and make quilting on those borders less of the push and pull that I remembered. The wool pressing mat has more grip to it than the smoother ironing board cover which I hoped would help keep the bulk of the quilt on the board.

And oh my goodness, this is working like a charm! The border area is totally free to be moved around as I quilt the paisleys in the fabric print. It's still slow going, as slow as I remember it, which puzzles me, but I think it is partly because of quilting around the many shapes in the fabric rather than choosing a larger overall motif to quilt. I may switch when I get to the side borders. As for why the ironing board is working better than I remember, I think it is because before I lowered it to be even with the table surround of the machine. Leaving it up higher is definitely giving more freedom of movement. And I am so glad I have not had to move the machine with all the unhooking of cords and removing of the table surround required to set it up where my other machine resides as you see in the first photo.

I doubt that I've mentioned that, after I'd pin basted the baby quilt, my screwdriver that I use exclusively to loosen and tighten screws holding needles and feet on my machines disappeared. I don't remember where it originally came from but I have had it for decades and through many machine changes. Those short ones that come with your machine are more irritating than useful, I've found. Just not enough length to hold on to it well and give leverage like a full size screwdriver. And now mine was no where to be found. And I looked everywhere I could think of, be it logical or not. I finally decided that perhaps it fell from the spot near the machine where I always keep it into the wastebasket next to the table and thus had gone out with the trash. Sigh and much angst over this as I struggled changing needles and feet with the little screwdriver.

And then, as I was setting up to start quilting on this quilt, I got out the Almond Roca tin where I keep my basting safety pins to set by the machine. I popped the lid and was stunned to see my screwdriver in there! I really have no recollection of putting it there, would have no reason to put it there. It's a mystery but I am so happy to have my screwdriver back!

I can't remember the last quilt book I bought but it's been awhile; I think it was one on a certain type of machine quilting. I'm at that point where there's not much new out there that I don't already have a book on or a magazine article that covers it. Instead, I've veered off into the lesser known region of handmade books, seeing how-to book recommendations popping up on the club Facebook page. One title in particular keeps getting mentioned, and I knew my library had it, in fact, I'd copied a few things out of it at one time. I decided with my new-found knowledge, it was time to check out all the books on the subject my library has and peruse. I decided that the two books above were ones with enough info in them that I wanted to add them to the two I already own. The great discovery while tracking down used copies was an alternate site to the Better World Books which I use often because they do more than just sell books; they have raised millions of dollars for literacy and donate a book to someone in need for every book you purchase. But this time they didn't have these books. The alternate site I discovered during a google search is Alibris and I was thrilled to find both books and at prices under $10 dollars. And they look brand new. I really do try to stay off Amazon and buy more directly from other sources.

Final discovery of the week - that there is a book about dyeing using Hawaiian plants! My well-traveled cousin who likes to pick up souvenirs for me found this one and thought I might find it interesting. I honestly thought, who knew???

Will I actually try out any of these recipes, provided I could source the plant material needed? Probably not, but it is a lovely book to page through. I'm so taken with the illustrations within, so many of the plants unknown to me. A whole new world!

 

Journaling and Tidying

I've journaled since high school - not daily and sometimes with huge gaps in time between writing my thoughts in various kinds of journal books. Last year I had earmarked several suggestions of journal prompts that looked to go well with the other kinds of "deep dives" I was doing through my reading and some webinars. I've always found writing to unearth feelings, answers and truths that don't seem to occur to me any other way. Art journaling, I have found, does a similar thing, but with fewer words and the addition of images and marks. It can be quite therapeutic! As Laly Mille notes after finishing her most recent spread:

"I often feel that it’s not just me playing and writing in my journal, but rather that my inner soul is writing to me on the page, telling me something I need to hear, providing gentle guidance and support from deep within."

So I knew working with these prompts was something I wanted to add to my "finish more" list, and that is what I've been working through this week, both in a blank journal and my altered book. All very personal so not much to show, but I did want to show you part of a page where I am experimenting with drawing right on the page in the discarded library book I am using for my art journaling. I've seen this done many times by some Urban Sketchers, usually using a black brush pen or marker, but I've also seen art journal pages done like I've done here, where the medium used in not opaque, yet somehow, the eye ignores the text in the background, it does not have to be covered over or blacked out in any way. I was surprised at how well it worked with my different colors of Sharpies.

I had lunch with a quilting friend this week, sharing that I was bound and determined to finish the large quilt just needing its borders quilted and had decided that it was up next. In the course of describing the issues with my machine stations when machine quilting a larger piece, it became clear that I might have to bite the bullet and move my machine to a different table, something I'd rather not mess with. But it would make my life easier in that everything to the left of the machine would be supported with a wall keeping it from dropping off the edge. Not so with where that machine is now, residing in a plexiglass table with a drop off to the floor. The quilt will need something to rest on, and I have vague memories of using my ironing board for that. Either way, I cannot proceed without clearing things off of either that other sewing station or the ironing board which I'd stacked with various bookmaking items. So I've also spent some time this week organizing directions for future bookmaking projects with suitable signature papers and putting away odds and ends, book board and the many pads of paper I now own and often use as weights along with coffee table books. In the picture, you can see them stacked on top of a tall box which holds my batting. I'd put my first pad of watercolor paper there back when I was using the thick paper to sew art quilts to before popping them in a frame. It was the only flat surface large enough to accommodate it. It's amazing how many more smaller-dimension pads of various kinds of paper I've accumulated thanks to my increasing interest in sketching, mixed media and bookmaking. Reminds me of my stacks of fabrics . . . 

Lady Liberty catching some rays

I also took a stroll down at City Beach the other day. We may still have piles of snow but the temps have been in the low 40's with the sun gaining some warmth. With no breeze it was a very pleasant place to be and as always, did a bit to restore my soul.

Indeed a Challenge

I got behind this week, partly because of what you see above. It should look familiar, something we quilters do all the time, dig out more than enough options from our stashes in order to find the "perfect" one for our needs. In this case, I was just looking for a bit of blue fabric for the straps attached to the covers that wrap around the spine. I was originally going to use a piece of teal leather, but talked myself out of it as being "not quite right" and then did the deep dive into my batiks. 

Over 3 days while I tended to an out-of-town medical procedure and my usual Thursday commitments, I kept coming into the studio and changing my mind until I finally said the heck with it, I'm choosing this bubble one, convincing myself that it "coordinated" with the stamped bubbles on the inside spacers. I glued the covers to the text block flaps (not without some drama), fused two pieces together, cut them to size and sewed them with a long wrapped stitch. No sooner had I completed that step than I decided I didn't really like them, nor the thread choice for the stitching but too late!

Here's another thing that got me behind: the soft opening of a new yarn shop in my little town on Saturday. The owners have been having "supply issues" but didn't want to delay any longer. So with limited stock and offering a 20% discount on all purchases, they partied on and I joined in!. Like I need more yarn, but goodness, what an array of interesting textures and colors hung on one wall and promises of even more to come. And 20% off!!! These are mostly merino wools which I usually don't buy but oh, how luscious they are. And no, I don't know what I will make with them. But I DO know this is very dangerous, being situated about equal distance and under a mile from both a yarn shop and a quilt shop.

But I digress. Shopping spree over and I return to the studio to find my journal has sprung very open. Ack!

I'm pretty sure it is because I pulled the straps too tight around the spine, having miscalculated how long they needed to be. Ideally they are supposed to gap a bit but instead, mine are pulling the covers open I think. I have an idea of how I might be able to fix that, but for now, I just want to get the final steps done.

I'd not put much thought into a closure but now I needed to since the book would not stay closed on its own. Frustrated and out of patience, I did the quickest thing I could think of: just add a piece of elastic to wrap around the front edge vertically. Part of me wishing I'd taken the time to do something more decorative, part of me just wanting to finish. It can always be changed.

And lastly, using more of Sylvia's paste papers for the end papers, covering where the cover attaches to the spine tab and the thread stitches.

Just to remind you, the point of the signatures being sewn into an accordion spine is to create space for adding things to the pages (like cards or collage) without causing the book to bulge. With nothing in the book, the spine edge will be thicker than the fore edge.

But it is NOT supposed to do this on its own! Fortunately, the elastic closure is keeping those edges of the cover in check.

And here's what one of those spine tabs between signatures looks like. The whole thing came out a bit wonky and I'm not sure I actually like the structure as much as I thought I would. It strikes me as something that will be difficult to work in.

I had planned to make a larger version of this journal but I struggled so much with these last steps of attaching the covers and straps that I need a break from it. Not sure what project is up next for the coming week, but I don't think it will be a handmade book.

 

Another 5-Day Book Challenge

Examples of participants' books, my signatures & spine paper

I'm pretty pleased that I've kept to some of those things I wrote on my resolution word art journal page that I was sure would increase my productivity and keep me on track to do "more". This week it was the "dive into things I've been curious about but keep procrastinating giving them a try. When I watched the videos associated with Ali Manning's 5 Day Mixed Media Journal Challenge back in November, I wanted to try some kind of surface design technique on the watercolor paper that would be used to create spacers between signatures which I'd already prepared. Using bubble wrap painted with acrylic paint to transfer dots to the paper was high on my list. I've seen it done so effectively by others, but I was disappointed in my own efforts. I think I was in too big of a hurry and didn't put enough paint on the bubble wrap, and not evenly enough either for a clear stamping. Or maybe my bubble wrap had lost some air in those bubbles. I know the first piece I tried had big bubbles that flattened down quite a bit. The second transfer was done with a piece that had smaller bubbles but I had similar problems with not enough paint on the wrap I think. But I decided it was good enough because only small portions of the paper would be seen at any one time which you will soon see.

The spine which is cut the same height as the signatures is folded accordion style into 1 inch folds. Very handy that I have this 1 x 6 inch ruler to use as I guide for marking score lines for the folding.

Then the signatures are sewn into the valleys of the accordion using a 5-hole pamphlet stitch. You can see the "mountain" of the painted spine as it creates a spacer between signatures. This space will keep the book from bulging as collage elements or other things are added to the pages.

I alternated dark blue and teal green thread when sewing in the signatures to go with the blue and green paint on the part of the spine showing in the book. Not sure if you can tell that in this photo. This went under weights so it would be more manageable for the next step with it. 

Sylvia Weir's interesting paste papers

Day 4 of directions included the cutting of bookboard followed by gluing on cover papers. There aren't many, if any, people in the book club who enjoy cutting bookboard, not even Ali! It is very tough to cut and takes multiple passes with a knife to get through.  I was rewarded with perfectly square boards which hasn't always been the case. Then I got a bit too cocky and cut and glued my cover paper without rewatching the instruction video. After all, this isn't my first, or even my second time covering boards. The paste paper, the result of Sylvia Weir's experiments and passed along to me when I asked for more details when she blogged about it (not sure if this is something I want to try myself), is a little heavier than the cover paper I've used before and I didn't leave enough on the corners when I trimmed it for the turn to the back. Oh, the dreaded miter gap! But Ali has shown us how to fix this literal shortcoming and I will know better next time. The covers are sitting on another piece of Sylvia's paste papers which I will use for end papers after having spent time under weights.

Day 4 also included instructions for gluing the folds of the spine together (and why there was no point in decorating that side as it would never show.). I have had such good results in following the other thing I journaled on my resolution page - putting work in the studio first in the day - but I had a morning appointment which threw off the entire day. By the time I got to the studio, there wasn't much time left, and covering the boards took me longer than I anticipated. While the gluing process did not take much time today, I just couldn't fit it in yesterday. It too has to go back under weights to dry so I was unable to do the final steps to complete the book today as I had planned: attaching the covers to the text block, adding straps and closure and gluing on end sheets. Still mulling what I want to use for those straps anyway. I may or may not work in the studio tomorrow to complete this little journal since I often take Sundays off, but I have to add that I am pleased that I'm sticking so far to one other resolution I mentioned, that of putting away things as I go rather than waiting to the end of the project or just shoving them to one side or onto the floor. Gaining some good habits again!

A Stab At Art Journaling

I've been hanging out with Laly Mille this week, or at least the videos she provided taking us through the process of art journaling about your word of the year. I was first introduced to Laly back in 2019 when I took part in my first Sketchbook Revival (here's my spread from her class which looks better to me than this one.). I got on her mailing list and have enjoyed keeping up with her soft quiet way of enjoying life and incorporating it into her mixed media. It's just possible that she is at least partly responsible for the collection of ephemera pulled from magazines, words and phrases cut from same and the saving of other odds and ends that could be potentially used in art journaling. And if you think starting a textile project creates a mess on the worktable, I'd have to say this art journaling certainly does the same! In the above picture I've sorted through that bin on the left to pull out some things I think might be usable, and have some catalogues out too in order to find some specific items that are not already in the bin. This counts as a "finish more" project in that I am working in a discarded library book per several art journaling and altered books instructions, something I've been meaning to try for several years, the pile of usable discarded library books having gotten quite tall by now. I will keep working in it as I try another artist's journaling prompts on a specific topic.

Laly encourages thinking about your word and why you are choosing it as well as what emotions it may evoke. She was all calm and comfortable while I knew I wanted to infuse energy into my spread. I started by putting down some gesso that I added a few drops of green ink to. I too want a little calm on my page. Then we were to journal across the spread in pencil, she writing gratitude statements, me more statements about what I want to do this year and how I might achieve it.  Then I added some yellow art crayon here and there for my energy. Finally I glued down a large teabag on each side of the spread - centered because I can't seem to do otherwise. Yes, most of that journaling was covered up, just a first layer for yourself that would only peak through here and there. Then I started picking and choosing and arranging bits and pieces, basically things representing what "more" I want to do. Right side is getting all the sewing and quilting things while the left side is getting those other artsy things I like to play with. Those butterflies . . . I just loved the color and a certain energy coming off them so while they are not specific to anything, I couldn't NOT use them. Kind of the same with the hexagon over on the right. Wanting to add color and anything that reads energy to me.

Let me be the first to say I'm not very good at this sort of thing. The layering and covering up of things drives me just a little crazy, often asking what was the point if it can't be seen? I concentrated more on balance as I arranged and glued down my individual pieces, especially with the ones that read very yellow. I think I did ok with that but everything is very scattered compared to the way Laly composes her pages. That DOES evoke some energy though, although it may be a little chaotic energy! Another round of mostly unseen journaling was next and I added attitudes ("doing things that make me smile" for instance) and some what if's (such as "what if I dived into those things I'm less familiar with but curious about instead of procrastinating?). And then I made my first blunder. Wanting to bring in more of the green which was now only showing around the edges, I tried dropping some green ink in here and there between the pictures, forgetting that I had mixed it before with white gesso. I thought those drops would run (they didn't) and they were far too dark. Using a wet brush, I tried moving them about and in the end, pretty much covered up all of the teabag's brown, as well as some of the yellow art crayon I'd used around each picture. That led to more experiments to "fix" all that darkness, including dabbing some of the ink off with a paper towel, rubbing on more gesso, and adding more yellow. Also outlined many things with black ink, wrote some of my attitude words visibly in open areas, and added some spirals (more energy) with white graphite. It looks a bit of a mess to me, but all the individual reminders are there and hey, you've gotta start somewhere with a new technique.

And now I have a big mess to clean up and put away! I decided that should be a secondary resolution in order for me to truly get more done. I'm too prone to heaving a heavy sigh after completing a project and shoving the  leftovers and tools to a blank place on my worktable rather than sorting through them and putting them back where they belong or tossing some of it. Eventually I barely have any room left on the table to work. Or room on the floor to walk around it! Wish me luck with that one!