Flowers of the Sun

Sunflowers are my favorite flower and they actually spark a sense of joy inside me when I see them. Currently I am waiting for the sunflower seeds I planted in my yard to mature into sunflowers.

So far I have sunflower plant stems sprouted from the ground with their leaves and hopefully soon I will have the flowers themselves. I’ve spotted a few sunflowers in full bloom in around the neighborhoods I walk and bike. The feature photo on this post is from such a flower.

Sunflower Obsession

I think my obsession began with a lovely gift I was given by a friend many years ago – an artificial potted plant of sunflowers (that looked quite real). That potted plant began my collection of sunflower related items.

My sunroom is decorated in a sunflower theme (I tried not to overdo it and it keep it semi subtle) and here is the plant that started it all along with a couple other sunflower themed items in the corner of my sunroom:

Here is the sunflower themed quilt in my sunroom – it has sunflower themed flannel on the back! (You can read posts about this quilt – Ugly Sunflower Fabric Challenge and Ugly Sunflower Fabric Challenge” Part II):

Cozy Sunflower Quilt – designed/pieced by Tierney Hogan, quilted by Guadalupe Designs

I also have sunflower art around the house. Here is a sunflower vintage style piece of art in my sunroom:

And a sunflower wallhanging which I made from a painted fabric sunflower panel which I machine quilted:

If You Plant Them, They will Come

I am thinking of the line from the movie Field of Dreams (1989): “If you build it, he will come”. I am patiently awaiting the arrival of the sunflowers I have planted including those I planted in the raised beds that surround the outside of my sunroom!

I will have sunflowers peeking into my sunroom and not just sunflower themed items around the sunroom!

Postscript

I was luckily enough to discover the blog of a talented painter who has a lot of sunflower themed art: Brush of Dawn Oil Paintings. Her sunflower paintings make me smile whenever I see them.

Here is a bonus sunflower, from an old post, in an unusual color!

Of course I could not refuse sharing a quote about sunflowers:

I don’t think there’s anything on this planet that more trumpets life that the sunflower. For me that’s because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that’s such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life.

– Helen Mirren

Studio, tierneycreates

Embracing Orange

July 20, 2016May 21, 2024 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

MORE KIMONOS (Loaded with Orange!)

I have accepted the color Orange is part of my creative life, as I discussed in my July 3rd post, Orange. As a matter of fact, I have done more than accepted Orange, I am embracing Orange!

This weekend I worked on restocking my tierneycreates Etsy shop. It is still far from the days when I had 90 items in my shop. My miniature kimonos continue to be popular and I recently sold 4 to a lovely person in Canada as well as 4 to various friends (I continue to fleece my friends in person, making them purchase my handmade items, ha! See the end of the post Quilt Retreat Weekend: The Projects)

Many of the miniature kimonos in the new batch I made feature the color Orange:

I have been building a nice button collection and I enjoyed selecting a button for each kimono.

My friend Dana gave me some wonderful buttons in May at our annual Jelly Rollers Quilting Retreat (she was my Secret Quilting Sister). Additionally I used a couple of the buttons from my recent antique button acquisition during the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (see post 2016 Sisters Outdoor Show Part I).

Now it is time to get each miniature kimono with its hanging chopstick and coordinating embroidery floss for hanging (though some people have put them in shadowboxes instead of hanging). Then it is time for their individual “photo shoots” for their Etsy shop listings.

Figuring in the cost of materials, time to make them, and Etsy seller fees, I figure I make like $3 – $4 per kimono. But my Etsy shop is a fun hobby and I enjoy knowing that my handmade creations are in peoples’ homes around the country (and Canada!).

If I tried to live off my Etsy shop I really would be foraging for free neighborhood fruit (like in prior post) for sustenance – ha!

MORE ORANGE (Orange Labels!)

Recently I decided I wanted my Etsy shop items to look a little more polished by adding a professional label to some items. I will not add the label to the miniature kimonos but I will to future art pillow and table runner creations.

I purchased the labels from another Etsy shop (Wunderlabel) and guess what color they are in? ORANGE!

POSTSCRIPT

Speaking of color, I have been following a wonderful blog by a painter, Laura’s Create art every day. A couple years ago while taking a Jean Wells class on art quilting, she suggested that we also seek inspiration from the work of other artists outside of fiber/textile arts – like painters. I have started following the blogs of several painters and I am so inspired by their use of color and their creatively (oh no I see a future “Creative Inspiration” series blog post coming…)

Here is a post from createarteveryday.com with some seriously inspirational use of my new color best friend, Orange:

MY FIRST 8 X 10″ ! (FOR D)

A Crafter Needs to Eat, Outside Adventures!

The Fruits of My Neighborhood

July 18, 2016September 16, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This a blog about my quilting and crafting adventures, but it is also about a Quilter’s Life and quilters have to eat! (If we did not eat we would be gaunt and wasted, face down on our sewing machines or lying across our piles of fabric…)

So this post is about food. A most wonderful food in particular – pie – Apple Pie!

As I mentioned in prior posts, I ditched hiking Pilot Butte for a while and instead I have been going on bike rides – at least 3 – 4 times a week. On my bike rides I would pass by a huge Granny Smith apple tree (or a tree with very “Granny Smith” looking green apples). The tree was in a neglected yard; in a house that looked like either the occupants moved out or were on a long vacation.

It became clear that the apples were all going to just fall to the ground and go to waste. I was torn between “apple theft” and watching perfectly good apples all go to waste.

I chose…(let’s not use the word “theft”)…Apple Liberation!

During several bike trips, I freed enough apples for a pie for myself and a pie for my neighbor (who is quite the baker).

During my second round of picking apples, a neighborhood resident on a walk sauntered by, and I felt obligated to explain what I was doing. He confirmed that it was the right thing to do and he grabbed an apple for himself and continued on his walk!

I would like to think when/if the occupants return to the house they will be happy that the apples did not go to waste.

Apples saved from rotting on the ground unappreciated

And now I have pie:

Apples are really happy when they are in pie!

And life is always better with pie!

More neighborhood fruit to come: I have spotted two neglected pear trees with fruit getting close to ripening!

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

Return to Sisters (Oregon)

July 17, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

The feature photo was snapped on my phone and is a section of the Three Sisters Mountains – I captured in the photo the “Middle Sister” and the “North Sister” mountain. Below is a snapshot from the information at the Three Sisters Viewpoint (you can stop here for a wonderful view of the Sisters Mountains, part of the Cascade Mountain Range on your way heading to Sisters or leaving Sisters, Oregon).

REUNITED

Last week in a series of posts I shared my adventures at the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS), held Saturday July 9, 2016. Friday, I took off from work and returned to Sisters, Oregon to pick up my favorite hat and vest I had left at the Stitchin’ Post during a class I attended at the end of May (see post Adventures in Appliqué).

So now you are thinking: “Tierney, why are you just now picking up your favorite knit hat and vest in the third week of July when the class was the end of May?” You are starting to suspect that the hat and vest are not really that dear to me, right?

Wrong. I did not realize the hat and vest were gone until a couple weeks ago. I did not connect/remember needing a hat and vest at the end of May 2016 (I forgot we had a cold snap at the end of May before it heated up nice and toasty in Central Oregon). When I realized they were gone a couple of weeks ago, I thought I had lost them during the late winter or early Spring, I grieved their lost (the hat was knitted by a friend of mine) and moved on.

While I was at the Men Behind the Quilts: Quilt Auction and Calendar Preview (see post Countdown to Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show) I ran into my teacher from the appliqué class and she asked me if I had picked up the hat and vest I left at the end of May. I was overjoyed!

I tried to pick up the hat and vest on Saturday July 9th when I stopped by the Stitchin’ Post during SOQS, but it was a mad house there and one of the lovely staff members pleaded with me to try back the following week.

When we returned to Sisters on Friday July 15th and I was finally reunited with with my hat and vest (imagine a scene from a Disney or Hallmark movie where the animated hat and vest are running in slow motion into my open arms and I give them a loving embrace – queue sappy music and closing credits…).

A LITTLE MORE ON THE SOQS

I follow a wonderful blog Woolie Mammoth which focuses on “quilting happenings” in Central Oregon. It’s blogger Anna, also has a YouTube channel where she shares her adventures on the road quilting. Recently she posted a video of what it is like to drive down Cascade Ave (Highway 20 as it runs through the town of Sisters) before the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and then what it is like to walk around the show:

2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

Here are a couple random photos I wanted to share, that I do not think were included in the links I provided in previous posts to the Stitchin’ Post Facebook and the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Facebook pages.

First my blogger buddy Claire of the wonderful blog knitnkwilt.wordpress.com had one of her modern improv quilts in the show. It was fun to watch the progress of this quilt on her blog:

Without Orange There Would Be No Blue (2016) by Claire of knitnkwilt

Here is another quilt I loved at the show of Our Lady of Guadalupe, it was tucked away in a sweet garden spot at the beginning of the SOQS. I thought the colors were so wonderful:

At the SOQS we parked in one of the neighborhood in Sisters, Oregon and here is a wonderful stained glass insert a Sisters resident had in their fence:

Here are the cute furry creatures we took with us on a day trip to Sisters, Oregon on Friday:

While in Sisters, we stopped at the beautiful Sisters Coffee Company which looks like a mountain lodge. In the Fall and Winter (and in early Spring) it is nice to sit around the roaring fire in the stone fire place, sip your tea or coffee and read a book. They do not care how long you stay!

And finally, here is another photo of the quilt I shared in my post Adventures in Appliqué. This quilt was made by women in Uganda in collaborations with the Sisters of the Heart Foundation which was run by my appliqué instructor, Janet Storten. This quilt along with other quilts by women in Uganda were hung around the Sisters Coffee Company.

Okay, that is enough on Sisters, Oregon for now. It is a pretty special place to me!

A Crafter's Life

Live. Love. Laugh.

July 15, 2016July 15, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniatures Schnauzer’s latest musing on her blog page SchnauzerSnips.

It seems like a week (or even a day) does not go by without hearing of some new atrocity in the news. There seems like there is so much sadness in the world.

What gives me a sense of peace is remembering that there is ALSO so much happiness and kindness in the world. It is important to focus my energy and attention on stories of people doing good in the world.

During my days of garage sale-ing with my friend Pam, years ago, I came across the cutest little “knick-knack” that made me smile. I think I bought it for 50 cents at the garage sale.

I keep it on my desk in my studio, however I posed it in my backyard for the photo. I always keep one of my little schnauzer figurines with it (because schnauzers are part of what make me “live, love, and laugh”). My 50 cent investment has brought me priceless amounts of smiles.

I will keep sending my thought and prayers to those affected by all the terrible recent tragedies in this country and around the world.

I think though it is okay, for our own psychological and emotional well being, to take a break from the news (and social media like Facebook) for a while and just focus on our loved ones, our friends and our community; as well as sewing, quilting, or other crafting project.

It is also okay to keep on living, loving and laughing, despite what is going on in the world.

(Photo credit for featured photo – by Magnus Skarstedt, Duck, Duck, Goose Statue | White River State Park, Indianapolis, freeimages.com)

What's on the Design Wall

What’s on the Design Wall

July 14, 2016July 14, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my series on What’s on the Design Wall: Projects in Progress…

Terry the Quilting Husband, fresh from his sale of two of his quilts during the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, is eagerly working on a new piece (maybe for the 2017 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show?).

Terry is using our new temporary “giant design wall” that I discuss in the post Whole House Crafting. Until we get the interior walls of our house repainted (someday) we are just using a package of Warm & Natural batting on one of our hallway walls. A future house project is to build a nice large design wall on this side of the one hallway in our little home.

Terry likes to work from parameters I start him off with and he does not like quilt patterns of any kind. I tried to help him learn how to follow quilt patterns, but he strongly prefers to work intuitively.

I had a stack of 2.5 inch strips from an old kit (for a very ugly table runner) that I was never going to make. After sewing sections of the strips together, he is going to inset denim between them some how. All his concept – I only gave him the strips.

Here is my stash of recycle denim he is looking through to complete his design:

The chair in my studio with my stash of denim scraps

Can’t wait to see how it comes out!

Quilt Shop Tours, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Part IV

July 13, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This will be the last post in my series of posts about the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS). Here are the links to the previous posts if you are just visiting my blog for the first time today (welcome!):

2016 Sisters Outdoor Show Part I

2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Part II

2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Part III

A Taste of the Stitchin’ Post

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show began in 1975 when it’s founder, Jean Well Keenan, owner of the Stitchin’ Post, hung her quilts around town. It has significantly grown until then and you can read its history on the About Us page of the SOQS website. If you are not familiar with Jean Wells Keenan, check out her website – jeanwellsquilts.com – she is an internationally renown art quilter, author, teacher and a very accessible and friendly individual. She has cultivated the Central Oregon Art Quilting community (please see my post Creative Inspiration: Quilting Mentors)

We have many awesome quilt shops in Central Oregon, but no shop compares to (or attempts to compare to) the Stitchin’ Post. It has the finest selection of unique quilting fabrics in the area and specializes in fabrics that appeal to art quilters. It also has art quilting supplies and a wonderful collection of books. It offers classes (in the “Textile Education Center”) that are geared towards the individual wanting to expand their quilting skills or the experienced art quilter desiring to develop new techniques.

I wanted to share some photos of what the Stitchin’ Post is like during SOQS – packed and crazy – and awesome! It is filled with the excited energy of out of town (and international) quilters, hungry to add beautiful new fabrics to their collections or plan a new project. You can barely walk around the shop and there are long lines of happy quilters smiling with their new finds in hand, visiting and making new friends while waiting on line.

I assume people I do not know, do not want their photos on my blog, so below I attempt to focus the photos on fabric displays with limited human subjects. Believe me this was difficult as the place was very packed!

Photos from the Show

I took a ridiculous amount of photos from the 2016 SOQS and I have not yet mastered using Smilebox to create a slideshow to post to my blog, so instead I will provide links from the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Facebook page and the Stitchin’s Post’s Facebook page which are filled with images from the 2016 SOQS – enjoy!

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Facebook page

Stitchin’ Post Facebook page

And finally, here are some photos I had to post – an empty restaurant building in Sisters got an recycled-denim-jeans quilt makeover in honor of the 2016 SOQS with a “cowboy” stuck upside down in his jeans and boots in the building chimney!

Central Oregon is infused with creative people!

Books, Music, Podcasts, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Part III

July 12, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my series of blog posts of photos and experiences from attending the annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on Saturday July 9, 2016.

Tierney’s SOQS Quilts

Part of the fun (or challenge) of putting quilts in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) is finding where they are hung in the show.

In addition to the quilt, Recycled Doors, I had in the Central Oregon SAQA Doors Exhibit (see post 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Part II) I had 5 other quilts. I was only able to locate 2 of the 5 other quilts at the show.

Terry the Quilting Husband and I stumbled upon one of my quilts in an awesome location – in front of The Nest Design Studio. The aesthetic of my quilt hung outside a home design studio was exquisite. I am honored that the SOQS staff selected that location to hang my quilt.

Modern Bedtime – designed and pieced by Tierney Davis Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

I discovered a crowd of people looking at the quilt and I could not resist: I introduced myself as as “the artist”, answered questions and posed for photos with the quilt.

I also loitered around the quilt for about 5 minutes to introduce myself again to the next group of people admiring the quilt. I got to chat with several lovely individuals, posed for a couple more photos with the quilt, and got some new tierneycreates blog readers!

Alas, the quilt did not sell. I might have priced it too high and it was not bed size as I had originally intended (for that story, please see the 5/1/16 post The Downsized Quilt). However, I am happy to have it back at home. It now rests on the back of the chair in my cozy reading nook.

Terry the Quilting Husband’s SOQS Quilts

The 2016 SOQS was Terry’s first time showing his quilts. He was part of the Special Exhibit: Made by Men. Here is a link to the Bend Bulletin article on the Made by Men Exhibit, which featured 27 quilts made by male quilters from 4 different states:

Sisters quilt show highlights men’s quilts

Terry tried to play it off but I could tell he was pretty proud having his five (5) quilts hanging in the special exhibit.

I dragged him over to several groups of people who were admiring his quilts and introduced him as “the quilter”. It was very endearing to listen to him answer questions on how a quilt was made and his design process!

DSCN3459 — Colorful Modern Squares – designed & pieced by Terry Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

DSCN3455 — Charming You – pieced by Terry Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

DSCN3457 — Cozy Flannel Shirts – designed and pieced by Terry Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

DSCN3456 — Squares Gone Wild – designed and pieced by Terry Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

DSCN3463 — Cozy Flannel Snuggle – designed and pieced by Terry Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

Two (2) of his quilts sold – Cozy Flannel Shirts and Charming You. He already has two quilts in queue for the 2017 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show!

POSTSCRIPT

I continue to listen to and enjoy the excellent audiobook – Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth (2016), read by the author, first mentioned in my 07/02/16 post Grit.

The author discusses the famous “Bricklayer Parable” in regards to “job” vs. “career” vs. “calling“. Here is a paraphrasing of that parable:

A man comes upon three men laying bricks for a church being built.

He asks the first man: ‘What are you doing?’ The first man replies: ‘I am taking bricks and piling them one on top of the other and putting cement in between them.’

He asks the second man: ‘What are you doing?’ The second man replies: ‘I’m building a wall that will form the outside structure of a large building.’

Finally he asked the third man: ‘What are you doing?’ The third man replies: ‘I am building a house of God.’

All three men are performing the same job but they all have different perspectives on that task – “a job” vs. “a career” vs. “a calling”.

So far (and I am over 1/2 way through) this is, in my opinion, a truly inspirational five (5) star audiobook.

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Part II

July 11, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my series of blog posts of photos and experiences from attending the annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on Saturday July 9, 2016.

OUR QUILTS

Yesterday I had planned to continue my series of posts on the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) that I began on Saturday’s post 2016 Sisters Outdoor Show Part I. Then something happened – Sunday sleepiness!

I was so sleepy on Sunday (maybe due to all that walking around the quilt show on Saturday) and I was involved in several spontaneous naps (i.e. falling asleep in a book you are sitting in a chair reading).

It is Monday and I am fully awake so in this post I will begin to share (I think it will take 2 posts) what happened with the quilts Terry the “Quilting Husband” and I put in the SOQS.

We had 11 quilts total in the show – 5 by Terry and 6 by myself. Betty Anne Guadalupe quilted all our quilts. Please see the post “P” is for Persistence and Breaking the Law! (Update on Recycled Door) for info on those quilts.

Terry the Quilting Husband did sell two quilts at the SOQS (more on that later)! I did not sell any but it was great to have them in the show.

Photos of our quilts in the show will be shared over two posts, starting with the Central Oregon SAQA Door Exhibit.

Central Oregon SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) Doors Exhibit – We were challenged with making an 18″ x 40″ art quilt/wallhanging that represented our interpretation of a door. You can find the story behind my piece Recycled Door in the post Update: Recycled Door.

The exhibit was displayed during the SOQS in the courtyard of The Open Door Restaurant in Sisters (a lovely place to eat with delicious food and excellent service).

My photo montage below does not do justice to the beauty and talent that went into these pieces by my fellow Central Oregon SAQA members:

It was very crowded around this exhibit and I had to take photos whenever there was a break in the crowd so some pieces may only be partially photographed.

Next post will continue “Our Quilts” with photos of Terry the Quilting Husband’s quilts and my other quilts from SOQS.

POSTSCRIPT

I am experimenting with Smilebox, a way to add slide shows to blog posts. I created slideshow of the above photos but could not figure out how to imbed directly into this post. If you would like to see the slideshow (well my attempts at my first Smilebox slideshow) the link is below:

Central Oregon SAQA Doors Slideshow

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

2016 Sisters Outdoor Show Part I

July 9, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In the next series of blog posts I will share photos and experiences from attending the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

Terry the Quilting Husband and I went to the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show today! We arrived in Sisters, Oregon before the show opened (as traffic gets crazier and crazier towards 9:00 am when the show starts). Once parked, we went to Angeline’s Bakery for a delicious vegan cinnamon roll, coffee and tea. The feature photo on this post is the sign in the backyard dining area of Angeline’s Bakery. Sisters has several awesome bakeries and we selected Angeline’s as it was further away from the entry and figured the tourists wouldn’t find it until later in the show.

Imagine a sweet small town (population around 2500), surrounded by beautiful Cascade Mountains, a downtown area in old Western town style architecture, and lots of friendly and happy people. Now imagine every inch of that downtown area covered with QUILTS! That is what the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show is like.

If you are a quilter or love quilts, you should at least once in your life attend the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in Sisters, Oregon. Photos you see online do not do justice to the experience of attending the show.

BUTTON BLISS

While at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show today we stopped at the used bookstore on Cascade Avenue so Terry could look for a new military history book to add to his collection (at home, our two bookcases side by side are hysterical – one filled with crafting books and the other filled with military history and military strategy/wargaming books).

In addition to used books, the bookstore also sold – BUTTONS! Antique Buttons! I am always on the look out for cool buttons for the miniature kimonos I make for my tierneycreates Etsy shop. I found a rack of “Button Sample Cards” and picked up two cards of antique button samples (that were used by button salesmen to sale to garment makers).

Here it is – “button porn”:

I have button bliss!

More later on the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, I have to return to gazing at my buttons! I am in the mood to make more miniature kimonos now!

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

Countdown to Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

July 7, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It’s Thursday July 7th, just one more day to get through until the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on Saturday July 9th! It will be the 41st annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show!

Last night I attended the Men Behind the Quilts: Quilt Auction and Calendar Preview in Sisters, Oregon. My friend Susan made the quilt on the cover of the calendar (and my friend Betty Anne quilted it) and I joined them for the charity fundraiser dinner and to see how well Susan’s quilt would sell at the fundraiser auction.

The annual calendar, Men Behind the Quilts, is for sale online and in person at the Stitchin’ Post. This calendar features local attractive men from a wide range of age groups posing with beautifully crafted quilts in beautiful settings.

Many of the men are “scantily clad” in the photos but all “special parts” are covered up with a quilt – hence the name of the calendar “Men Behind the Quilts”!

It is a great fundraiser to support the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (the show director shared at the auction event last night examples from the huge price ticket just to put on this non-profit event each year – who knew it cost so much for closing off streets, advertising and port-a-pottys?)

During the event last night I got a formal introduction to the brilliant and dedicated blogger, Anna Bates of Woolie Mammoth. I consider her blog one of the premiere blogs of the Pacific NW! She has a huge following and posts excellent stories, interviews and videos. I am sort of a “fan girl” so it was so great to meet her!

Speaking of videos on Anna’s blog, if you want to get a feel of what it is like in Sisters, Oregon during Quilters Affair week (the week before the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show) and during the show, check out her blog at wooliemammoth.blogspot.com and watch the her videos and interviews with the nationally known teachers that teach during Quilters Affair Week as well as the happenings during Quilters Affair Week. She also has a YouTube Channel – Quilt Roadies with videos of RV adventures and quilting!

Terry “the Quilting Husband” and I are excited to see our 10 quilts (5 by him and 5 by me) in the show. Here is photo from the post Putting the “P” in Procrastination of our stack of quilts for the show:

Another fellow blogger buddy, Claire of knitNkwilt will have an art quilt in the show and I am looking forward to finding it and taking photos for her.

Sigh, I feel like a kid before Christmas …waiting…

Books, Music, Podcasts, tierneycreates

Getting Gritty (Coasting with the Coasters)

July 7, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s blog on her SchnauzerSnips page for her latest musings…

Showing Some “Grit”

After posting on Saturday about having “Grit” (powerful motivation to achieve an objective) I figured I better get “Gritty” and work on getting my tierneycreates Etsy shop restocked.

So I had a “power crafting holiday weekend” and made 17 sets of vintage beer coasters.

Tied up with a beer ribbon and ready to gift to the craft beer enthusiast

They are now listed on my tierneycreates Etsy shop and I am very pleased and relieved. Now onto the stack of other projects for the shop. Perhaps someday I can return to having 90+ items listed on my shop instead of my recent low of 25 items.

I have been working on better photography on my Etsy shop items. Below is an example from my “photo shoot” for the vintage beer coaster listing:

Once I get some additional smaller items onto the shop, I would like to focus on building my collection of modern quilt table runner offerings.

I have decided to no longer try to sell quilts on my Etsy shop and instead focus on offering reasonably priced smaller items. I removed all the listings for quilts made by me or by “Terry the Quilting Husband” on the tierneycreates Etsy shop. We plan to show and offer those quilts at the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Show.

It is challenging to sell quilts online. If you are a quilter you know how much work goes into making a quilt – time, effort and financial investment. It is difficult (at least for me with my questionable photography skills) to show online how lovely a quilt is in person. A great example is I sold a quilt at the 2015 Sisters Outdoor Show that I struggled for a year to sell on my Etsy shop – which was listed for quite a lower price on the Etsy shop. In person the quilt was spectacular (based on feedback I received) but you cannot always capture the specialness of a quilt with an online photo.

Interestingly potentially customers have contacted me on an Etsy quilt listings to ask me if I am willing to negotiate on the price of a quilt. It appeared they were looking for mass produced department store prices on my quilts.

Additionally, and this might be a topic for a future blog post, I am temporarily burned out on making lap and bed size quilts. I am interested in focusing on making table runners or small wall hanging size quilts instead.

Naturally I have more ideas in my mind that hours I have available to work on projects (don’t we all?) and I still have that pesky pay-the-bills full-time job in the healthcare industry (and they don’t let me quilt while working – ha!)

I continue to enjoy the audiobook Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth (2016) and I am finding lots of inspiration to keep moving forward on my goals!

POSTSCRIPT: VARIOUS RAMBLINGS

When I ride my bike or go on a walk a million ideas seem to pop into my head of things I want to share on my blog. I thought I would do a mini “brain dump” in the “Postscript” section of this post:

In a previous post, Good Listens, I shared my favorite podcasts. Recently I have added several new favorites to my list:
- While She Naps with Abby Glassensberg – a crafter and craft business focused podcast by blogger Abby Glassenberg who has a wonderful blog by the same name. I am currently listening to podcast episode #53 which features an excellent interview with Sherri Lynn Wood (author of my beloved The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters: A Guide to Creating, Quilting, and Living Courageously).
- Let’s Know Things – an engaging podcast by Colin Wright exploring and discussing different topics. He has a very relaxing voice and his topics are well researched and presented.
- Chris Hogan’s Retire Inspired – I occasionally listen to Dave Ramsey’s podcasts on managing your finances and Chris Hogan is a protege of Dave Ramsey. Chris Hogan’s style is more appealing – he is warm and hysterically funny financial coach.

All of these podcasts are available for free on iTunes. I might discuss them in more depth in a future post.

You may wonder what become of my “Pilot Butte Walks” that I posted about in several posts in April and May. Well they are still on hold for now (first due to my knees, then due to hot days) but I am going bike riding several days a week now in the am before work. I bike ride in the back of an adjoining neighborhood where I discovered an empty block (new house construction that was halted) in which I can safely ride around and around the block listening to podcasts. I try to ride for at least the length of a 30 or 40 minutes podcast before heading home.

The Here and Now Habit by Hugh Byrne – I discussed this audiobook in several previous posts (see Listening and Reading and The Guest House). Well I felt that I got all I could get out of it and did not finish it. That of course is the beauty of free public library audiobook downloads. It grew repetitive after a while and I felt like it was time to move on.

I think that is enough “brain dump” for now. Thanks for reading my ramblings. It is time to go to bed and hope I continue to be infused with “Grit” to attack all the awaiting fiber projects!

A Crafter's Life

A “Functional” Quilt

July 4, 2016July 4, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Happy 4th of July, hope you all are enjoying your hopefully 3-day weekend.

I am re-posting a tierneycreates post from August 2014 (Properly Hung!) on a truly functional use for a quilt (besides keeping warm).

It continues to make me smile knowing something I made is being used as art and in a very creative functional way!

Properly Hung! (8/24/2014)

I received delightful news the other day from my dear friend in Austria – the quilt I made his son has now been “properly hung”.

The quilt, whimsical house blocks done in a Scandinavian palette (my friend is originally from Denmark), is not just “properly hung” on the wall of his house – it is FUNCTIONALLY HUNG!

There is an electrical panel in the hallway of their house and they creatively hung the quilt with a special frame that both disguises the electrical box and gives easy access! Brilliant, eh?

Access to the electrical panel behind the quilt!

Studio

Orange

July 3, 2016July 20, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

If you ask me: “Tierney what is your favorite color?” I would likely reply “Purple“.

There is very little purple in my recent art of utility quilts. There is very little Purple in my house. However, there is a lot of ORANGE.

I would never say that Orange is my favorite color but if you look at the background on my blog (which is a photo of a quilt I made based on an old tile floor); if you look at the quilts I have made over the past 5 – 6 years (art and utility quilts); and if you look in my fabric stash, you would think I was beholden to the color Orange.

Check out a photo of my living room area – notice a lot of “shades of orange” in the quilts on the wall?

I am not sure when my apparent and subconscious love of the color Orange began and I am not sure when it will end.

There was an article in the 2015 premiere issue of Room to Create magazine on “Color & Creativity” (page 8). In this article the publication discusses how color impacts mood. Here is an excerpt of what the article said on the color Orange:

ORANGE

Looking for excitement, energy and enthusiasm? Orange may be your soulmate.

I guess Orange is my “color soulmate”!

Do you have any color that keeps surprisingly appearing in your work?

POSTSCRIPT

I just realized that I had the quilt below on the wall of my living room for a number of years. I will be showing/selling it in this year’s Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. The ORANGE is really strong and prevalent in this quilt!

DSCN1214 — Splendid Splendor – pieced by Tierney Davis Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe. The pattern is called “Slideshow”.

Books, Music, Podcasts, tierneycreates

Grit

July 2, 2016July 17, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Just started listening to a fantastic audiobook (well fantastic so far) – Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth (2016).

The audiobook is read by the author (I love when an author reads their own audiobook) and explores the role of GRIT in the journey to success (however you define success).

51hagjiRNML._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_ — Photo credit: Amazon.com

Wikipedia describes “grit” as:

…a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual’s passion for a particular long-term goal or end state, coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve their respective objective. This perseverance of effort promotes the overcoming of obstacles or challenges that lie within a gritty individual’s path to accomplishment, and serves as a driving force in achievement realization.

Whenever I think of the word “grit”, I think of the movie True Grit (original 1969 and remake 2010).

This movie was based on a novel by Charles Portis (1968). This movie was about a teenage girl hiring a man with “true grit” to capture the man who killed her father. It is a story of dogged retribution for a wrong, as well as a story of valor and courage.

In the audiobook Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, the author does not discuss hunting down people who do you wrong (could you imagine reading a self-improvement book that focused on that topic, ha!) but explores “natural talent” vs. “hard work and perseverance”.

I am early in the audiobook but I am fascinated by the author’s anecdotal examples of individuals who society or schools wrote off as low aptitude and low achievers who went on to achieve great things due to their efforts, hard work, and perseverance. The author also shares how one teacher believing in one child that no one else believed in can make a huge impact on that child’s life and future. Teachers are higher life forms in my opinion and the lives they positively impact have an impact on society as a whole.

More later on this audiobook as I continue my listen…

Postscript

Speaking of “grit” (or my imaginary grit), I have been hard at work making items for the tierneycreates Etsy shop. I am taking a break from working on art quilts and instead focusing on making fun items for people to enjoy in their homes or give as gifts. I am working on make a bunch of the Vintage Beer Coasters (see the post Quilt Retreat Weekend: The Projects for the story of how I made 9 sets at a quilt retreat and left with retreat with 0 sets as the other quilters bought them all as gifts!)

Postscript Postscript

Do you remember the days of writing letters (on paper!) and adding a “P.S. P.S” after your initial “P.S.”? Well here is one more thought before I close this post:

I continue to enjoy all the blogs I follow by other creative individuals. I wanted to mention one blog post I recently really enjoyed from the blog Dewey Hop in which the blogger discusses interesting finds in the Economics section of the library, discussion of those finds and some wonderful humor:

Economics

The blogger, Feisty Froggy, is blogging through the entire Dewey Decimal system of the local public library in order; and shares favorite finds in each section. If you have followed my blog for a little while, you know about my love of and obsession with the public library.

I look forward to Feisty Froggy’s next post on the next library section!

A Crafter's Life, Books, Music, Podcasts

The Guest House

June 27, 2016July 17, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Happy Monday to you and I hope you have a wonderful week filled with Inspiration, Creativity and Joy.

As I mentioned in last’s post “Listening and Reading“, currently I am listening to the audiobook The Here and Now Habit by Hugh Byrne. This book focuses on using “mindfulness” to break unwanted habits.

During my walk on Sunday with this audiobook, I listened to the author discuss one of my favorite poems by Rumi (Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī – a 13th century Persian poet and scholar) – The Guest House.

The author discusses this poem in relation to finding peace in dealing with unwanted thoughts and feelings. What I love about the work of Rumi is that it can be interpreted in so many ways and the meaning can be personalized to what you needed to hear/read at that moment in your life.

I have shared this poem before in a previous post and wanted to share again.

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness

comes as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

-Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī

Postscript

I am off for a bike ride and to enjoy this beautiful summer day!

Sassy captures my feeling when riding around empty streets on my bike!

Books, Music, Podcasts, Creative Inspiration

Creative Inspiration: Lying in Bed

June 26, 2016July 17, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It’s Sunday, a day (like Saturday) when many people have the opportunity to sleep in (or at least sleep in a little later than on a workday).

Continuing my series on sources of my creative inspiration, I realize that lying in bed and quietly thinking can be a source of much creative inspiration!

A very creative friend of mine told me a couple of years ago that she could will herself to dream quilt designs while she sleep; and when she needed it, inspiration would arrive while she slumbered.

I do not remember many of my dreams, and those I remember are not necessarily sources of creative inspiration, but I do have moments of intense inspiration when I am laying in bed preparing for sleep or lingering in bed upon waking.

Worrying and reviewing the day used to fill my mind before going to sleep until learning to essentially “chill out” a couple of years ago. Now I can bring my mind into focus before going to sleep on a quilt design or other crafting project. It is amazing how what was a challenge to me in my studio during waking hours, now has a clear resolution as I quietly ponder it in bed.

My first experience with idea was at the end of 2014 while I was making a piece for our public library’s Novel Idea Book (all of Central Oregon is encouraged to read the same book and then the book’s author speaks at the annual Novel Idea book event). That year’s book was A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. I loved the book so much I wanted to make a small art quilt inspired by this thought provoking novel.

I was stuck for weeks on the design of this piece until one night, while lying in bed and before falling asleep, I focused all my mental energy on the what I wanted for this piece. It is difficult to put into words – I did not force myself to think about the piece, rather I relaxed and asked for inspiration to come to me.

Hope I do not sound too “New Age” or mystical here, but it was like what the piece needed to be just flowed into my mind and through me. It was a wonderful feeling – as if the Universe was telling me how I could translate what moved me in this book into textile art. When I woke in the morning, I had a clear vision of what the piece would look like and felt tremendous relief and a sense of peace.

And it all happened lying there in bed. Since that experience I have used the time lying in bed before falling asleep or upon waking to explore options in creative design. Bed can be a good place – keep those worries out of your mind and invite the creativity in!

DSCN3134 — Jiko’s Secret Robe (2015) – inspiration for this piece arrived while lying in bed

Postscript

For more on “clearing your mind of worry before you fall asleep” see my post Monday on the “Butte” in which I briefly discuss Arianna Huffington’s audiobook – The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time and share this Ralph Waldo Emerson quote:

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day and you shall begin it well and serenely. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Studio, tierneycreates

Saved by the Internet

June 25, 2016June 26, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

A friend of mine and I have an ongoing joke that we are going to write a book called “An Idiot’s Guide to Being an Idiot”. Over the years we have shared and collected humorous mistakes, miniature disasters and cosmic foibles.

Today I created a new chapter in our imaginary book. The chapter would be titled “How to screw up your iron when you really need it work”.

In addition to handmade items on my tierneycreates Etsy shop I also sell some carefully curated fabric (fabric I want to use but needed an excuse to buy the entire bolt…hey – I can share it with my customers!).

I created a fat quarter set from the collection of the solid color Peppered Cotton (“shot cotton”) yardage that I sell.

The fat quarter packs have been a great seller, and yesterday I sold another set and today I needed to prepare it to send to my customer. However, what I did not realize was that I was one set short and needed to cut new fat quarter sets.

Luckily, I recently replaced some of the yardage/bolts I ran out of (the blue, grey, green and tan were very popular). So I needed to open new bolts wrapped in plastic and cut some yardage into fat quarters (18″ x 22″ sections of fabric).

Trying to work efficiently, I warmed up the iron and put it on the floor in the corner so it would be ready for me to nicely iron each fat quarter before packaging them into sets.

The new bolts were wrapped in plastic and here is where my complete “Idiot Moment” began – I accidentally threw the plastic covers for the new bolts on top of the hot iron on the floor.

Are you ready for a huge life lesson (this will be life changing, hold onto your seats):

HOT IRONS AND PLASTIC ARE NOT FRIENDS. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MAKE THEM FRIENDS. KEEP IRONS AND PLASTIC SEPARATE AND AS FAR AWAY FROM EACH OTHER AS POSSIBLE.

So here I am needing to package up a fat quarter set to mail to an Etsy customer and my iron is now completely out of commission.

I yelled down the hall to “Terry the Quilting Husband”, and he immediately ran in (as he thought perhaps I had sewn through my hand or had rotary cut off several fingers by the way I screamed for help) and we began to troubleshoot the disaster.

I will not review the painfully ineffective steps we tried. Then I thought: it is likely that someone else has made such a silly mistake in the past and maybe there is something on the internet about how they fixed it.

Yes the internet came through for me. A brief search revealed many tips on how to remove plastic from irons (there must be whole communities of people accidentally melting plastic on their irons everyday!). We thought this one was the best resource on removing plastic from the doityourself.com website:

How to Remove Melted Plastic from a Clothes Iron

We are now at the step of placing the plate of iron in ice water (yes, of course we unplugged the iron first, we do not want to create an additional chapter to the “Idiot’s Guide”, ha!) after scraping off the plastic with a metal spatula. Wish me luck. I must now return to my disaster..

Postscript

It worked! (HAPPY DANCE). I am now ironing the fat quarters and making them into bundles.

While working on these fat quarter sets/bundles I remembered I had posted about my adventures in starting to sell fabric in 2015 in this post: Adventures in Retail. If you read that post you will wonder why I am still making up these fat quarter sets. The answer is I love this fabric and I am happy to share it at a reasonable price with my fellow crafters out there (so I can justify buying more bolts of it…).

Books, Music, Podcasts, Library Adventures

Listening and Reading

June 22, 2016July 17, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Hope your week has gone well. It is nearly the weekend and time for “power crafting” or just relaxing. Thought I would share an update on audiobooks and physical books that I have mentioned in recent posts (all borrowed from my local library).

AUDIOBOOKS

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes – I first mentioned this audiobook in my post Embracing the “Yes”. Last week, I finished this wonderful audiobook and I highly recommend it. It is read by the author which makes the book even more wonderful. Shonda Rhimes (writer/producer of shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal) authentically shares her struggles to break from her extreme introversion and embrace life. She shares some exceptional stories, experiences, and life lessons with humor, humility and grace. The audiobook also includes the recording of the incredible commencement speech she gave at her alma mater, Dartmouth College as well as several other highly inspirational speeches. She also delves into some of the autobiographical stories weaved into the plot of her shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal. Little did the TV viewers realize she was working on her own personal struggles through the storylines of the TV characters. Only problem with listening to this audiobook while on a walk is I had to stop a let out a belly laugh – her excellent television show writing skills are apparent in her book writing skills!
The Here and Now Habit by Hugh Byrne – this is my first time mentioning this audiobook as I started listening to it after finishing Year of Yes. It is not as exciting and engaging as the audiobook I just finished but so far is has wonderful tips on incorporating mindfulness into your life. More thoughts on the book after I finish it.

Photo credit: Amazon.com

BOOKS (These books are from my 05/26/16 post The Library Stack)

The Quilter’s Practical Guide to Color by Becky Goldsmith – I have read several books that explore color and fabric selection for quilters, but I think this one of the best. Using many photo examples, the author discusses the color wheel, color schemes, value and contrast, clarity, texture and scale and other interesting and engaging topics related to quilt design. This book also includes several patterns to test out your color and design skills.
Modern Quilts from the Blogging Universe by The Patchwork Place – This book had one pattern that engaged me – Tree Quilt – which was made from scrappy free form tree shapes. The rest of the patterns did not interest me though I recognize and appreciate the efforts by the different pattern designer/bloggers that contributed to the book. What I did enjoy was reading the bio of each designer and the website addresses for their blogs! If I had my choice I would just read and look at other crafter blogs all day.

Photo credit: Amazon.com

Postscript

Sassy of Schnauzer Snips asked me to post this “public service announcement” for my human readers:

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, Studio

“P” is for Persistence

June 21, 2016September 15, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is a follow up to Sunday’s post Putting the “P” in Procrastination.

Instead of “P” being for “Procrastination” and “Panic” – “P” is now for “Persistence” and “Progress”! All 10 labels are done, thanks everyone for the encouragement. Sunday to Monday (I am off work on Mondays) I was the focused, focused, focused quilt label sewing quilter.

In case you are curious, and in case you happen to be attending the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, here are the names of the quilts we will have in the show and their measurements (I will take photos at the show and share):

Terry the Quilting Husband (he will be in the Special Exhibit “Made by Men“):

Colorful Modern Squares – 53″ x 59″
Squares Gone Wild – 48″ x 60″
Charming You – 45″ x 61″
Cozy Flannel Shirts – 53″ x 61″
Cozy Flannel Snuggle – 58″ x 67″

Tierney (tierneycreates):

Splendid Splendor – 74″ x 62″
Modern Bedtime – 63″ x 72″
Scrappy Modern Delight – 53″ x 53″
Cozy Sunflower Log Cabin – 64″ x 80″
Desert Winds – 56″ x 64″

I will also have one more quilt, “Recycled Door” in a Special Exhibit – “Central Oregon SAQA: Doors Exhibit” which I have mentioned in previous posts.

So we are ready to drop our quilts off at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Office on time!

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, Studio

Putting the “P” in Procrastination

June 19, 2016July 2, 2017 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Once upon a time there was a quilter who was also married to a quilter. The quilter and her husband-the-quilter decided to each put five (5) quilts into the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, for a total of ten (10) quilts. They finished their 10 quilts and had them all back from the magical long-arm quilter by April 2016. The quilts needed to be labeled and ready for the show by June 24, 2016.

The quilter and her husband knew they had plenty of time to get those labels on the quilts…

I think this tale will have a happy ending, but right now I am in the “moral lesson” part of the tale. Like in the “Ant and the Grasshopper ” from Aesop’s Fables (the ant spent the summer planning for winter and the grasshopper spent the summer goofing off and we know how that ended…).

We have a stack of 10 quilts needing labels (see photo above!) and Terry the Quilting Husband does not hand sew (he actually hates needles and has no desire to hand stitch anything). So I need to get all the labels on by 06/23/16 to deliver the quilts on 06/24/16 to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Office.

“P” is not just for Procrastination. “P” is for PANIC.

Studio

Breaking the Law! (Update on Recycled Door)

June 17, 2016November 15, 2023 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

There is song from the 1980s by a British heavy metal rock band Judas Priest titled “Breaking the Law” where in the song, they repeatedly sing the chorus: “Breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law.”

When I lived in Seattle a friend and I would enjoy singing choruses of this very campy 1980s song under our breath or at the top of lungs when we were not following standard rules of behavior or etiquette, etc.

This song was played my head when I made the decision to do a traditional quilt binding instead of a “facing”on the back of my art quilt Recycled Doors for the upcoming Central Oregon SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Art Quilt Associates) exhibit at the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. Please see my post Update: Recycled Door for more information on this piece.

(If you are unfamiliar with “facing a quilt”, here is a link to the Quilting Daily’s page on Finishing a Quilt with a Facing. Facing creates clean edges to the quilt with no edge binding.)

Facing the back of an art quilt to create a smooth edge appears to be the expected and acceptable standard and is what I have always done in the past on any quilt I want to be classified as an “art quilt”.

I feel feeling very rebellious after talking to my friend Wendy who suggested, as an option to finishing the quilt, a binding to bring out the orange in the center of the piece. I was reading to do some “law breaking” and did a traditional binding instead of facing the quilt.

Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being. – Albert Camus

Postscript

You may notice my new blog template – quite different from the previous one. I really enjoyed the Chalkboard Template, but after reading that article on making blog pages easy for all readers to read and the feedback you all provided, I am going to try this new format for a while.

Creative Inspiration

Advance your Art

June 14, 2016June 17, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Unlikely Artistic Inspiration in a Business Publication

There is a professional publication that arrives every month in my mailbox – Healthcare Business Monthly. It comes as part of a professional membership I have in the healthcare industry.

I appreciate all the work that goes into this publication but many times the articles are fairly dry and technical; however an article by Tara Cole in the June 2016 issue (page 58), really caught my attention.

The title of the article is “Advance to the Career You Want”. In this article the author provides tips on how to develop yourself professionally and move into the career you want.

I thought the author’s tips in this article could translate into how to “Advance to Where You Want to Go with Your Art”, “Artist Development”, “Advance Your Creative Journey” or something like that.

Here is a listing of the author’s eight (8) tips which I am going to apply to advancing my creative journey:

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
Be open to change
Be curious
Stay connected
Get technical
Challenge yourself
Be honest
Use your time wisely

I embrace all these tips! Lately I have been working on #5 – Get technical: taking classes, talking to mentors, reading up on new quilting techniques, etc. I have definitely been challenging myself (the secret quilt I am finishing for the by invitation exhibit – I have been quilting this quilt myself – gasp!)

Time for a Random Photo

And now here is a random photo: Recently I returned from a long weekend visiting a friend in the Denver, CO area (see post Creative Inspiration: Travel). During on weekend together, we went on lovely walks on nature trails. One of the trails had many gopher or prairie dog holes along the path and I was fascinated looking at the prairie dogs popping up and talking to one another.

I was not fast enough with my smartphone camera to capture the adorable prairie dog that was popped up from its hole, but here is a photo of one of the holes, right after the prairie dog seeing my camera disappeared into:

But wait – I will connect this photo to this post:

Sometimes on your creative journey you have to retreat into a metaphorical hole and focus alone on your art.
Sometimes on your creative journey you have to venture into an unknown hole to move forward in your art.
Sometimes on your creative journey, you have to follow someone into a hole and see where it leads (but I was too big to follow after the prairie dog!)

Please share any thoughts you have on how this photo could relate to an artist’s creative journey (or how you are concerned that I obviously need my “special medication” adjusted! Ha!)

tierneycreates

Request for Feedback on My Blog Template

June 13, 2016June 18, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

06/17/16 – I updated my blog template to the format you see now, thanks everyone for your input!

The blog template I use is called Chalkboard and it is sort of a tribute to my family of teachers.

Beginning with my great grandfather, I come from a line of teachers. I even got my trainer certification and used to be a trainer/teach for many years in my profession.

However, recently I was reading a publication on blogging tips and it said to NEVER use white text on a dark background – this is difficult on your readers.

I would appreciate your honest feedback on my blog format and if you would prefer dark text on a white background as is standard with most blogs.

Thanks for your input and readership!

Tierney 🙂

Studio

Whole House Crafting

June 13, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Not a Tiny House, but a Smallish House

Terry “the Quilting Husband” and I live in a relatively small house. Not as small as the houses I looked at during my “tiny-house obsession” period (oh you should have seen my Pinterest board followings) but our house is around 1300 square feet.

A small house, means a small quilting studio space. I have in previous posts, such as “I will not be discarded” & studio refresh shared photos of my quilting studio.

I do not mind the small quilting studio but I do struggle occasionally with having a small design wall. It it not really a traditional “design wall” but more of a “design wall closet door” (see post Inside the Studio to see my mini design wall mounted on a sliding closet door).

Wait a Minute, I Have Options

Last year, I moved my paper crafting supplies to our sunroom, to make my studio less cluttered. (Oh yes there are many other crafts in my life besides quilting: knitting, crochet, paper crafting, beading, etc.):

Inside the Sunroom – paper crafting table, equipment and supplies.

My rationale on this move was “why not” – why would anyone care that I have my paper crafting supplies in another room besides my studio?

Recently, the paper crafting supplies in the sunroom gave me an idea: why do I have to keep my quilting related activities confined to JUST ONE ROOM?

Whole House Crafting

We have a long hallway. In the past I have hung quilts on both side of the hallway but recently one side was empty (I burned out on all those quilts hanging everywhere in the house). Why couldn’t that become a MEGA DESIGN WALL?

I may be the only blogger in the history of blogging to post a photo of a blank hallway wall!

We have occasions in the past where Terry “the Quilting Husband” and I were battling for design wall space when working on separate quilts, and this would give us a very large space to work on quilt designs. (See the Postscript section below for the trial run I had on using this space to design a quilt).

A challenge might be that anyone coming over the house will think we are weird as we are designing quilts on our hallway wall, but then who cares – it is our house and if it disturbs them, well they can go back to their house – ha!

Ultimately I would like to have a professional made design wall/design wall sections (like my friend Betty Anne has in her lovely studio) but I need to save up for that to happen. So for now I have purchased a queen size Warm & Natural piece of pre-cut batting to mount on the wall myself.

I did not stop there with my ideas on using the whole house for crafting. I would like a bigger cutting area for working on large projects – what about using my dining room table?

So I did, I used my dining table this past weekend for a large scale quilt trimming project (see the Postscript section) and for other cutting projects such as trimming my Recycled Door quilt and creating the binding (I will discuss my finishing decisions on this piece in a future post) for the upcoming Central Oregon SAQA Doors Exhibit at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show July 2016 (see post Update: Recycled Door).

Cutting binding on the dining room table!

Note, I would not use my dining room table for everyday cutting as it is not ergonomically correct for cutting (not waist height). Also it is not convenient for when you are working on a piece and doing small batches of cutting as you progress on a piece.

I am not sure why I did not think of expanding my crafting areas before. I guess I was brainwashed by all those beautifully illustrated organizing your art studio magazines and books. These publications seem to insist that all your crafting items be confined to one highly organized space!

Now I am a rebel (or now I am just behaving like normal people who do not impose so many rules on them).

Postscript

You may have noticed, if you have been following my blog for a while, that I had not post anything related to my What’s On the Design Wall Series. So it may look like I am not doing very much actual crafting these days.

Actually I have been doing MAJOR crafting. For the past couple months I have been working on a by invitation only exhibit I was honored to be invited to participate in. I cannot reveal any specifics the exhibit curator is ready to unveil the show. I am nearly done with the piece (putting on my label) and will send it off to the exhibit soon.

The parameters of this exhibit/show were very precise and I was required to create a quilt a specific size. Also I wanted this quilt to be a story quilt. In order to accomplish these two things I needed a bigger space than my little closet door design wall. So that was my first experience in using the hallway as a design wall. It worked very well!

Also I had to trim the quilt to a specific size and my cutting table in my studio would not work, so this was my first trial run as the dining table as a large cutting table.

Here is a little peek of the piece, and as soon as I am able to reveal the details and the full piece I will: