a fusion of textiles & smiles
This is a quick follow up to my post from earlier this week: In Progress: Ohio.
My new recycled silk garment scrap piece is done and ready to go to Betty Anne Guadalupe to work her art quilting magic. It measures approximately 24″ x 14″.
I have not decide if I want the piece to orientate this way:
Or this way:
I welcome any thoughts and comments you have on the orientation – thanks!
Congratulations to Beth T. who won the free copy of Creative Quilt Challenges from the random drawing of names from those who left comments on my Creative Quilt Challenges Blog Tour post – BLOG TOUR DAY 4: Unlikely Materials. Thank you to every who visited the tierneycreates blog for Day 4 of the tour and thank you to those who commented. I so enjoyed reading the comments and they got me inspired to keep experimenting with “unlikely materials”!
What’s on the…Table: “Ohio”
This post is a continuation of my ongoing series: What’s on the Design Wall.
However, this time I am going to share what is laid out on the table in my Studio, instead of up on my Design Wall. This post also demonstrates another example of using “Unlikely Materials” (recycled silk garment scraps) discussed in my Blog Tour post on 03/31/16.
Yesterday I posted about being inspired to create after a walk on a beautiful Spring day and inhaling the delightful fragrances of neighborhood Dogwood trees (Creative Inspiration: The Scents of Spring). Well later that day I pulled out the piece had I started a month or so ago (see post What’s on the Design Wall: Silk Squares) and got creating!
Here is the piece in progress, I am going to name it “Ohio“:
What do a bunch of miniature log cabin style patches (2″x2″ and 2.5″ x 2.5″) have to do with the State of Ohio? Absolutely nothing, but they are part of a story. An ongoing story. Here is a visual summary of that story:
1) The piece started out as my attempt to create an Ohio Star (a traditional quilt block) from recycled silk
2) I was very unhappy with the accuracy of the points on the star (although I interfaced the back of the silks, I had some challenges with accurately piecing the points). So I attempted to save the piece by reimagining the piece, slicing up the Ohio Star and sewing it into a new configuration. I was still not pleased with it.
3) I gave the piece and the coordinated recycled silk pieces I have selected to a friend. She reimagined it into a completely new piece, while integrating all the elements from the original Ohio Star into the piece.
4) My friend gave me the leftover scraps from this piece which included scraps from my original piecing and new scraps from additional recycled silks she used in the piece. She challenged me to make something from those scraps!
5) So, I started working on this piece over a month ago, and I am calling it “Ohio”
Right now I am just continuing to make tiny blocks (2″ x 2″ and 2.5″ x 2.5″) and enjoying the challenging of using up small pieces of recycled silk. I find it to be meditative to quietly work on small slow piecing.
Will post about this piece again when it is nearly complete.
Welcome to Day 4 of the Blog Tour in support of Pat Pease & Wendy Hill’s new book Creative Quilt Challenges (C&T Publishing, 2016).
If you are just joining the tour today on my blog, you can see the full list of the 10 participating blogs on this tour at the C&T Publishing blog post: Creative Quilt Challenges Blog Tour Kickoff.
At the end of this post I will pose a discussion question, please post a comment to automatically enter a drawing for a copy of Creative Quilt Challenges. The random winner will be selected and notified around 04/07/16.
CHALLENGE #3 – UNLIKELY MATERIALS
In Creative Challenges, Pat Pease and Wendy Hill invite readers to flex their quilt-making creative muscles by experimenting with different “Challenges”. In Challenge #3 – Unlikely Materials, Pat and Wendy invite readers to stretch their creative muscles by working with materials other than traditional quilting cottons!
Transitioning from Cotton Material to “Unlikely Materials”
Four years ago, I would have looked at you as if you were insane if you suggested I use anything other than high quality quilting cottons, purchased from a quilt shop, for my quilt-making. Then in 2012 my friend and mentor, Betty Anne Guadalupe of Guadalupe Designs invited me to work on a collaborative project involving making art quilts out of recycled silks and linen samples from garment manufacturing. These samples had been saved from the trash heap by someone working for an Italian silk manufacturer in the 1990s and stored away since then.
At first I was terrified of working with anything but cotton for quilting. Cotton is so crisp and stable. Silk is slippery, delicate, and…well…terrifying!
One of the first skills I learned when working with silk was how to back delicate silks with interfacing. The best interfacing I have used for backing silk is “French-Fuse“. I learned about French-Fuse from Betty Anne, who learned about it from another art quilter, Grace. This interfacing provides much needed stability to delicate silks and makes them easier to rotary cut and to piece.
Here is one of the early pieces I made with recycled silks – Silk Landscape:
The Wardrobe Meets the Wall
Betty Anne and I both became hooked on using the recycled silks and linens to create art quilts. We formed a collaboration which eventually became The Wardrobe Meets the Wall: A collection of art quilts created from recycled garments, manufacturing remnants, and samples.
We have a blog, The Wardrobe Meets the Wall (we are working on evolving this into a a website, “Art Quilts by Guadalupe & Hogan”). See our page The Collection if you would like to see a samples of art quilts all made with “Unlikely Materials”.
Our collection includes quilts made from mens ties, recycled silk and linen samples, scrap wool from clothing or blanket manufacturing, recycled denim, and general recycled clothing.
Once You Start Experimenting with Unlikely Materials, You Might Get Hooked!
Betty Anne already had many years experience working with “Unlikely Materials” and before I knew it, she had me experimenting with using recycled wools and denims to create art quilts.
Here is my first experiment with working with recycled wools (from wool mens suiting manufacturing scraps and wool blanket manufacturing scraps) and denims (recycled jeans) – He Dresses Up, He Dresses Down:
Basically – if you can sew with it, we will now try and make an art quilt with it. There are so many unlikely materials we have yet to try out. We enjoy recycling.
I was intrigued that in the Creative Quilt Challenge book, Pat Pease makes an adventurous art quilt with “hair canvas interfacing“. I bow my head to that level of creativity with “unlikely materials”!
(Disclaimer: We still love and support our local quilt shops and still make many quilts with traditional cottons. There are so many beautiful fabric collections to choose from and our new fabric stashes mysteriously continue to grow despite our obsession with recycled materials.)
Tips for Working with Unlikely Materials
I will not deny it – working with “unlikely materials” for the first time is scary. Here are some tips I have learned over the past 4 years. I am still learning and growing in my knowledge and comfort with using “unlikely materials”.
Working on My Latest Piece with Unlikely Materials
The timing of this blog tour post is great, as I am currently working on a new piece for a group exhibit I am participating in, called “Doors” for the local SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) group I belong.
Designing the piece: Selecting the “Unlikely Materials”
I decided to use a photo of a door for inspiration, and located a wonderful collection of unique door photos on an Australian door and window manufacturer’s website Brisbane Timber .
I wanted to created a semi-realistic version of one of their doors, using recycled textiles (“unlikely materials”) and name the piece Recycled Door.
Here are the materials I selected:
(List clockwise from top)
The Piece in Progress
Below is a photo of Recycled Door in progress. If you like, for fun, you can go to the Australian door and window manufacturer’s website Brisbane Timber and see if you can figure out which door inspired this piece.
Are You Ready to Experiment or Have You Already Experimented?
Now it is time for you to weigh in on your experience with using “Unlikely Materials” or whether you are interested in experimenting with “Unlikely Materials” in the future in your quilting projects.
Please comment below and all comments will be automatically entered into a drawing for a copy of Creative Quilt Challenges.
The random winner will be selected and notified around 04/07/16.
The Creative Quilt Challenges Blog Tour continues tomorrow, Friday April 1, at BOLT Fabric Boutique, boltneighborhood.com. Thanks for joining me on the blog tour today!
“When you are scared but still do it anyway, that’s BRAVE.” – Neil Gaiman
Tomorrow the tierneycreates blog is a stop on the “Blog Tour” for Pat Pease and Wendy Hill’s new book Creative Quilt Challenges (2016).
When I join the tour on 3/31/16, I will discuss Challenge #3: Unlikely Materials from this wonderful book.
The Blog Tour opened on Monday 3/28/16 and here are the other “blog tour stops” posts to date (if you would like to read them prior to the tierneycreates Blog Tour stop tomorrow 3/31/16).
Blog Tour Stops to Date:
C&T Publishing – Creative Challenges Blog Tour Kick Off
Tales of a Stitcher – Creative Quilt Challenges by Pat Pease and Wendy Hill
Sandra Clemons – Book Review Creative Quilt Challenges
Upcoming Posts:
Thursday, March 31: Tierney Hogan, tierneycreates.wordpress.com
Friday, April 1: Gina at BOLT Fabric Boutique, boltneighborhood.com
Monday, April 4: Yvonne, quiltingjetgirl.com
Tuesday, April 5: Kristin Shields, kristinshieldsart.com/blog
Wednesday, April 6: Paula Marie, paulamariedaughter.com
Thursday, April 7: Teri Lucas, generationqmagazine.com
Friday, April 8: Wendy Hill, wendyhill.net/blog
You can enter to win a free copy of Creative Quilt Challenges at the C&T Publishing blog (a Rafflecopter giveaway)! Giveaway ends 4/4, and winner will be announced on the C&T Publishing blog.
See you tomorrow for the tour stop at tierneycreates!
Here is a little something lovely I found in the garden today: my first opened tulip (Spring arrives a little later in Central Oregon)!
This post is a follow up to my February 2016 post Surrendering My Piece to “Rescue” in which I shared my frustration with an “Ohio Star” type block I was piecing with recycled silks. I abandoned the piece due to “major creative blockage” and my friend adopted it.
Betty Anne Guadalupe, who adopted my abandoned piece, took it apart and completely reimagined it!
I gasped (and nearly fainted) when I saw the wonderful reinvention she did with my humble beginnings!
Here is what I gave her:
Here is what she created:
The piece measures 18” x 23” and is made with recycled silks and wools. If you look closely you can see sections of my original piecing. Betty Anne integrated all of my original piece in her piece! This piece will be in our show at Twigs Gallery this Friday (see my post The Collaboration for more details on this show).
I think this is a very successful rescue!
As I discussed in the post What’s on the Design Wall: Silk Squares, I am now working on a piece made from her leftovers from her piece! More to come as this new piece develops…
This post continues my ongoing series on “What’s on the Design Wall”?
In my previous post We Will Not Be Discarded’s Debut, I shared:
Also debuting in this show will be the piece that Betty Anne created from my abandoned recycled silk Ohio Star project she rescued (see post Surrendering My Piece to “Rescue”).The piece is amazing – she used all my original piecing and reworked it, with additional recycled silks and linens, into a completely new and deliciously intuitive design. I will post a photo after it debuts at the show. We were so inspired by this “handing off of the start of a piece” to another person to reimagine the piece, that Betty Anne gave me her start of another piece based on the same group of recycled silk and linens scraps. This will be a new challenge – I will create a piece based on her leftovers from her work on my piece that I abandoned …but that is another post…
Well, I have started on the piece inspired by the scraps my friend Betty Anne gave me (from her reworking of a piece I had started and then abandoned). She also gave me a small “square within a square log cabin style block” she had made from the scraps. I used this block as the starting point for my challenge.
It is now in progress on the Design Wall.
Here is the story of it’s evolution to date, in photos:
The stash of recycled silk and linen scraps that Betty Anne gave me from her silk piece (which was a reworking of a piece I started, then abandoned)
I made approximately 56 – 58, 2 x 2 inch and 2.5 x 2.5 inch free form “log cabin” style blocks. (I do not remember exactly which one of the blocks is the one Betty Anne originally gave me to start the challenge; but I know it is one of the black silk blocks with a bright center.)
I played around with potential layouts (like floating them in a solid silk like you see above photo) and I am leaning towards grouping them all together. I love the intensity of all the colors together.
Here is a close up of one of my favorite 2.5 x 2.5 inch blocks – I am having so much fun coming up with combinations from the limited fabric options I was given. I enjoyed the tiny piecing challenge and many of the silks had to be backed with interfacing to stabilize their delicate weaves.
Now the blocks are on the Design Wall.
Now I can decide, from the remaining fabrics, what additional blocks I need to add and their color combinations.
It is a work in progress!
(Be sure to check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s Schnauzer Snips page for her latest adventures and musing)
But First, More on “Trees of Winter”
Before I continue my series on sources of creative inspiration, let’s talk about winter trees a little more. I am still musing over the Winter Trees I discussed in yesterday’s blog post by the same name.
This morning, during our daily 2 mile am dog walk, I was struck again by the beauty of winter trees against an impossibly clear blue winter sky. Living in the “High Desert” of Central Oregon our winters have many days of clear blue skies. Compared, say to when we lived in Seattle, WA. (A fun town to live in, but blue skies were not that common; grey skies were considerably more popular there!)
So here is one more winter tree that captured my attention this morning, and then I will stop with the “Winter Trees” for a while (perhaps):
Creative Inspiration: Public Library Books
Since I was a child, I have been in love with the public library.
I remember a summer in my 10th or 11th year that I spent many days of my summer vacation at my small town’s public library. Books are magical. To have free access to all those magical books is even more magical.
For a time in my life I wanted to become a librarian, so I could spend a career among the books. I did not pursue a career in library science as an adult, but I kept my intense love of public libraries and of books.
I frequently patronize our local public library and I find their shelves filled with sources of creative inspiration. It would be very expense to buy all the books I would love to have in my personal library, and if you have read my post Craft Book Hoarder?!?!? it appears that I once tried to do that!
Embracing the minimalist, “scale back your life”, “living with less” movement, I borrow from the library, books that inspire me creatively. If the book turns out to be a “must, must, must have” then I will purchase it, but rarely.
Here is a recent stack of public library books filled with inspiration:
I have e-mailed our public library’s material purchasing department and thanked them for the wonderful selection of crafting, gardening, and home decorating books. I think it is important to let them know a patron really appreciates their well curated collection!
Postscript
In future posts I will share an update on “craft book hoarding” (yes, I actually let go of a large amount of craft books); and discuss one of the recent crafting books I borrowed from the public library that I absolutely had to own (The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters: A Guide to Creating, Quilting, and Living Courageously by Sherri L. Wood).
This continues my series of posts on my sources of creative inspiration…
Two Journals, Two Different Purposes
I keep two journals. One journal for art quilting ideas and inspirations; and another journal for tierneycreates business, blogging and life in general ideas and inspirations.
The journal on the left, used for art quilting ideas and inspiration, has a handmade cover that I made during an intuitive design piecing class homework assignment. The lime green “sketchbook” on the right is what I use for tierneycreates, blogging ideas and life inspiration.
I got the idea of keep an art quilt ideas/inspiration journal from Jean Wells Keenan‘s brilliant books Intuitive Color and Design: Adventures in Art Quilting and Journey to Inspired Art Quilting. I was also fortunate enough to take her series of classes, Journey to Art Inspired Quilting, twice and see in person her wonderful inspirational art quilting journal.
In my art quilting journal I keep clippings from magazines and photos from my travels and nature that are future inspirations for art quilts. At first I had planned to use my art quilting journal for blogging ideas and tierneycreates business ideas. I discovered I wanted to keep the art quilting journal for quilt ideas and development. So I started a second journal.
I love both my journals, but I use the second journal (which I will refer to as the “tierneycreates journal”) more frequently.
The “tierneycreates journal” is where I write down ideas I get from listening to home-based business related audiobooks; books from the library on small business development and growth; quotes I find in magazines, books or hear on the media (radio, TED Talks, television, etc.); and any notes from searches on the internet (for example: What are the standard sizes for table runners that I should use for my tierneycreates Etsy shop table runners?).
I also use the”tierneycreates journal” to map out my future blog posts or blog post ideas. Sometimes I will spontaneously write a blog post, and sometimes I will write a post about a topic I have been thinking about for a couple of weeks and already fleshed out in my journal what I want to write about that topic.
I find it challenging to keep sudden ideas and inspiration stored in my mind. It seems that inspiration and ideas can come to you at any time. My journals provide a way to record them, even if they are only a skeleton of an idea that will need its internal organs and flesh added at a later date!
Postscript
As mentioned in my series of posts on Nonfiction Audiobooks, I continue to enjoy listening to audiobooks while I work on quilting projects.
I recently finished a wonderful and inspirational audiobook by Anne Lamott – Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moment of Grace (Riverhead Books, 2014). The audiobook was read by the author which is always a treat for me – you get to experience what the author feels should be emphasized in the reading of a book based on their vocal inflections.
This book is basically a collection of personal biographical essays on the author’s experiences. Anne Lamott tells these stories with raw, relatable, and passionate language from a deeply spiritual yet deeply irreverent perspective! So far one of my favorite nonfiction audiobooks of all time.
This is technically Part II of yesterday’s post “Inside the Studio“. A friend suggested I share what is inside the closet in my studio.
Here are photos of the left and right side of the closet, which has sliding doors so I cannot fully open the closet to expose both sides at once.
The Left Side
The Right Side
I like to think I am organized. I know I am more organized than I used to be and I can find things fairly quickly. I bought a label maker a couple of years ago and have fully embraced its use!
Postscript
A friend shared a wonderful quote with me today that I have been mulling it over the entire day:
(Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s latest musing on her Schnauzer Snips page)
The title of this post makes it sound like a thrilling exposé of what really goes on behind the scenes at tierneycreates: drama, intrigue, maybe even a little scandal…
No not that exciting – just recent photos of my studio where I do my tierney-creating!
The back wall where I keep my fabric scraps by color, and my cutting table where I hide underneath those things that-are-not-finished (that brightly colored batik quilt it meant to distract the viewer from what is beneath…).
To the lower right of the photo you will see my mini design wall. I learned from a quilting friend that it is handy to have a smaller portable design wall.
My sewing machine and ironing board (two very essential items!) I got the idea from another quilter to cover my ironing board with a towel to make ironing smoother and easier. Sometimes I also use a cotton dishtowel to iron small pieces on.
My wonderful brother gave me the sewing table for my birthday last year and the leaf folds down and the table becomes a small cabinet if I need more room).
My IKEA Billy Bookcase of fabric! This organization came out of my massive fabric purge in 2015 (see post The Fabric Purge!). The curtains in the room are made from a sari my friend Jenny brought back from her trip to India for me.
My storage closet with custom made sliding doors which I first discussed in the post Rethinking a Closet. One door has sheet metal mounted to serve as a magnetic idea board. The other has batting attached to serve as a design wall (refer to all my posts on “What’s on the Design Wall).
I am not sure why I selected the color yellow when I painted this room 8 or so years ago. Somedays I think: “I am going to paint it white or some other neutral color”. Yellow can be overstimulating, but I simply embrace the over stimulation and decorate the room with brightly colored things – like this lovely quilt my friend Judy made me and several silk screen prints from an artist friend in my youth (the other silk screen is in the first photo).
I like to watch “quilting movies” (movies you don’t really have to pay close attention to) and documentaries while I am quilting on the screen below.
Another brightly colored piece of art in my studio – a wallhanging from my friend Betty Anne.
Well back to creating in the tierneycreates Studio – I better not keep that Design Wall empty for too long!
I am a member of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Quilt Associates), and in the most recent edition of the SAQA Journal there was a separate insert/form included in the mailing, inviting SAQA members to fill out (what I thought was a survey) a form related to their “Wild About SAQA” campaign and e-mail a photo of yourself, your completed form, and a photo of your artwork.
I thought it was part of a SAQA member registry where other SAQA members could see your survey responses, your photos and a sample of your quilt art. I e-mailed the completed and scanned form; the Tierney photo I use on my blog; and a recent piece Archaeological Dig: The Vessel.
A couple weeks after e-mailing the form and photos, I received an e-mail from a SAQA media representative informing me that my photo, responses and quilt would be featured in the December 2015 issues of Fiber Art Now magazine as an ad for SAQA. She included the pdf mock up of the ad already sent to the magazine for publication.
I am surprised and excited to be featured in an ad in Fiber Art Now.
(Fiber Art Now is a quarterly magazine for contemporary fiber arts and textiles. The ad is on page 30 of the Winter 2015, Vol. 5., Issue 2 edition of Fiber Art Now)
We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we where we started and know the place for the first time.
– T.S. Elliot
This post continues my series of posts on Sources of Creative Inspiration.
I was wandering a thrift shop today with some friends, and came across the first official quilting book I ever owned: Diana McClun and Laura Nownes’ book Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! The Complete Guide to Quiltmaking (1998). I bought this book in the late 1990s, I still have this book in my personal collection, but I have not looked at it for years.
I have been struggling to find a new source of inspiration for my next art quilt made from recycled clothing scraps/manufacturing samples for The Wardrobe Meets the Wall Collection. Since completing Abandoned Structure, I have been “bereft of creative inspiration” for my next piece (and if you see my previous post Terry the *Not* Quilting Husband, I am thinking about letting the sewing machine rest awhile and working on paper craft projects!)
Seeing the book Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! The Complete Guide to Quiltmaking (1998) suddenly creatively inspired me!
IDEA: I am going to do a series of small quilts made from recycled clothing based on patterns from this book.
I am going to return where I started for awhile, traditional quilt making, but with my art quilting medium: recycled clothing and silk samples from garment manufacturing (which is ironically, the true traditional medium: utilitarian quilts were made from worn clothing in the old days!)
I will post pieces from this series, more to come…
Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s Schnauzer Snips page for her updates…
Thought I would debut this piece at a local show to start…
Here is the completed piece, Abandoned Structure, that I discussed is several What’s on the Design Wall, posts.
The Invitation to Speak
I was invited to speak on Blogging for Art Quilters at our October SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) meeting, as the featured presenter.
In my “pay the bills” career in the health care industry, for the past 20+ years I have done numerous training and workshops for those in staff and in leadership positions. So my first thought when accepting the invitation to speak was: “No problem, I have done like a zillion presentations and I can give any group ‘Death by PowerPoint'”.
I once even did a presentation for “the dead”. Or people I thought were dead (I mean a long time dead, they just hadn’t started to smell yet). I was the head of Medical Management for a Worker’s Compensation carrier and I had to do a presentation for the management group of a large retail organization.
When I got up to the podium and saw a sea of very blank and disengaged faces (basically they all looked “dead inside”), instead of having stage fright, I thought “Screw it, I am going to have fun”!
I removed the microphone from the podium, walked into the glassy-eyed audience and began to work the crowd with my presentation like I was a nightclub act. They suddenly came back to life and I had a blast (and maybe they did too) giving the presentation!
So I have little fear of public speaking as I have overcome some challenging audiences…that is, little fear in the health care industry…
Fear Creeps In…
So our local SAQA group contains nationally and internationally known quilters, teachers, published book authors, and some seriously talented (like mind blowing-ly talented) art quilters. This was my first time ever presenting/speaking in the art quilting industry (I am usually thinking at each SAQA meeting “so what I am doing here with these people?”).
One of my friends in the health care industry said to me when I told her about the upcoming presentation: “Well Tierney, if you lose them you during your talk on blogging for art quilters, you could always start wowing them with your knowledge of medical cost management!”
Additionally I am no expert on blogging. I started in 2013 and I have been learning as I go and continually reading tips from other bloggers. My only saving grace was I knew I could put together a nice “Death by PowerPoint” for the group!
The Actual Speaking Engagement
The SAQA group was wonderful and it was easy to engage them, I had no need to be worried.
Highlights from my presentation “Blogging for Art Quilters”:
WHY BLOG? To have an online presence; to showcase your art; to connect with other quilters & artists; to connect with potential customers.
COMMON BLOGGING PLATFORMS: WordPress.com; Blogger.com; and Typepad.com
Kristin Shields (kristinshieldsart.com) introduced the group to an incredible website and blog option for art quilters: Square Space, This platform also allows artists to directly sell their art to customers (www.squarespace.com).
WRTING BLOGGING CONTENT: Engage your readers and get them coming back with interesting posts, “cliff-hangers”, and ongoing series; learn the blog hosting platform’s tips to make navigate your site easy for readers; brainstorm on ideas for posts and keep a journal of ideas; find your own voice and be true to yourself.
BLOGGING ETIQUETTE: (adapted from Idiot’s Guide Blogging Rules & Etiquette): Respond to and appreciate your readers they took the time to read your posts and comment; stay away from “hard sales” and controversial topics (religion, politics, etc.) unless that is the purpose of your blog; respect copyright laws.
SPELL CHECKING IS IMPORTANT (okay so sometimes I fail at this…but it is still important…): A tip I use (or try to use) is to read aloud my posts before posting to see if they are close to resembling standard English usage! (So Tierney, are you actually a “native English speaker” or did you just recently learn via online instruction?)
PUBLICATIONS: Before I started blogging or starting my tierneycreates Etsy shop I did a lot of reading. Here are some of my favorites and I thank all the wonderful authors who wrote either the books or articles I enjoyed!
• Artful Blogging Magazine, Stampington
The Real Reason I Blog
At the end of my presentation, I shared why personally I blog: Connection.
At first my blog was to be a vehicle to gain potential customers for my Etsy shop, but then it became more than that – it became a vehicle to connect with other individuals with shared interests and discover other blogger and their blogs.
I so appreciate my readers and I now follow many blogs myself (trying to keep up with them all as best I can). I love reading the life adventures of other individuals and the experiences and lessons their share!
Yesterday the long-arm quilter, Guadalupe Designs, unveiled the quilting done on my piece Abandoned Structure, which is based on an abandoned power plant in Central Oregon that I photographed many years ago.
For more on the development of this piece, the story behind it, and the original photo that inspired it, please see the post What’s On the Design Wall: Working Through a New Art Quilt Piece.
Once I got it home I stuck it up on the Design Wall (a sort of homecoming from where it originally was born). I have not yet trimmed the batting from the edges or put the finish on the edges, but I am enjoying just looking at the piece as it came off the long-arm quilting machine.
I am excited to add it to my collection of art quilts made from recycled clothing and garment manufacturing scraps.
This is a follow up to the post: What’s on the Design Wall: The Tree Outside My Window.
I found an organic branch-like/wood grain-like tone on tone fabric from my collection of Marcia Derse fabrics and placed it between the columns and then as the border.
So now the quilt top is done!
I am looking forward to seeing what it looks like once the machine quilter works her magic!
Some photos below…
NOTE: In the last photo, the quilt top looks a little askew, that is just because The Quilting Husband is trying to hold it still for the photo while the wind is blowing.
Continuing my series “What’s On The Design Wall” with an update on where I am in my design and piecing of a new piece that I first introduced in the post: “What’s on the Design Wall: Rescued Blocks II“.
I provided an update on my progress in the post “What’s on the Design Wall: Making Progress?“.
Recently, the name for this piece came to me – “The Tree Outside My Window” as I completed 15 blocks to create this art quilt.
As you will see in the photos below, this piece has FIVE images of trees in it (the post “What’s on the Design Wall: Fabric Surface Design Experimentation” discusses how these trees were created) but “The Trees Outside My Window” did not sound right on my tongue. I believe when naming a piece, it has to sound right to you when you say the name aloud.
After creating fifteen 12.5 inch by 12.5 inch blocks from: 1) 4 inch – 10 inch blocks originally pieced by a friend (“Rescued Blocks”): 2) scraps from my friend; and 3) five printed trees from a surface design workshop, I decided to piece the blocks into 3 columns of 5 blocks each.
Now I am deciding what I want to do next with my design. I am leaning towards putting a strip of solid (or solid like) fabric in between each row and then floating it in the same color as a border. Originally I was going to use a cream batik but it did not look right. Next I thought: “Ah a brown batik with texture would work”, but alas, I only had brown batik scraps in my stash.
Then my fabric stash spoke to me (which is good because I did not want to go out and buy more fabric as I am trying to use my stash)! I spotted the perfect fabric – mono color textured design yardage from my collection of Marcia Derse Riverwoods Collection from Troy Corporation. (At one point I was addicted to this amazing collection and tried to be a sample of all fabrics in this line from The Stitchin’ Post in Central Oregon.)
I am going to leave it a mystery for now which fabric from this beautiful collection I selected for the strips between the three rows and the border. You have to wait until the next post on this piece!
Here are photos from my design wall to include some close-ups:
As John Donne said: “No man (or woman) is an island”. I guess one could live as a hermit somewhere, locked away, working on your art, encouraging yourself creatively. That would not work for me. I appreciate and I am inspired by encouragement from others.
Continuing my series on sources of Creative Inspiration, this post is actual inspired by a surprise I found that last evening.
We all have those precious items from our past that we keep tucked away somewhere. One of my most precious items was a book of William Shakespeare’s Sonnets from my 9th Grade English teacher. I have not seen it in many years and I thought that for some reason during a move it got lost; or I accidentally donated it to a thrift shop in a stack of books for donation.
I mourned its loss.
Last night I was checking the far recesses of my nightstand cabinet, which I store books I am going to “read someday in bed each night before I fall asleep”, but never get around to reading. I was curious what I had way in the back and found my old beloved book!!! I had not opened it in 8 or more years and forgot exactly my teacher had inscribed inside the cover.
My eyes flooded with tears when I read her inscription which included the words “in recognition of her excellent writing ability”. I have always loved writing (and have written a lot in my professional pay-the-bills RN career) and I forgot how much I loved it when I was in grade school through high school. (Disclaimer: I may not have mastered grammar or proofreading but I still love to write!)
Just reading these words again from my 9th grade English teacher made me feel as inspired in that moment as I did all those years ago. Her words of encouragement from the past resonate with me now, like she is right here with me saying: “Tierney, keep writing, I believe in you“.
As far as quilting projects, I am so inspired creatively when I receive encouragement on a piece I am working on or one I have completed. I am encouraged creatively when I am uninspired to work on an art quilt and a friend encourages me to just start playing with the fabric and the inspiration with come in no time. One of my favorite silk art quilts I have made, Color Change, came out of sitting around with a friend having her throw fabric scraps at me for fun, saying “Here, why not try putting this combination together”, when I was feeling too intimidated to work on another silk scrap quilt.
Creative mentors who encourage you to do your art are important and wonderful to have in your life. See my old post Creative Inspiration: Quilting Mentors, for more on mentors.
So let’s all go out and encourage someone, you never know what lasting impression it will make.
“A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.”
– Author Unknown
Today I had a “sweet little moment of happiness”.
That instant blissful feeling that brings a smile to your face and warmth to your heart.
I stopped at my local library to pick up some items I had on hold and decided to wander the craft book section in the their non fiction book collection. While scanning the shelves I found the book that 5 of my quilts are in – Sandra Sider’s 1000 Quilt Inspirations sitting on the shelf.
I love my town library. I have loved libraries since I was a child (where I would spend most of my summers from ages to 9 – 12 in the library reading constantly). To be in a book that is in a library gave me this feeling of immortality that I cannot describe.
I am fortunate to know several incredible quilters who have nationally published books and I know this is not a book that I wrote myself, but still, can’t describe it, but it feels awesome.
(Or maybe I am just really weird…that is a more plausible explanation!)
Please see Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer blog on the Schnauzer Snips page for her latest adventures.
Today I have a huge grin on my face!
I sold my quilt, Beautiful and Bright Colorful Batik Quilt, at the July 11, 2015 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show! This is my first time selling a quilt at a quilt show. I have had quilts exhibited at quilts shows but they have not been for sale in the past (note: I have listed for sale The Wardrobe Meets the Wall art quilts at gallery shows).
I had five quilts in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this year and I am so happy that this large beautiful quilt sold to someone from California who will be enjoying it in their home!
(I secretly wish I did not have to pay the 30% commission to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on the sale – ha! However I so appreciate the hard work of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show staff and volunteers who hung my quilt and handled all the logistics of the show. The commission from quilt sales helps keep our beloved premiere Central Oregon quilt show going!)
This week I started a new schedule for my health care job (the job that keeps the lights on) – I work Tuesdays to Fridays and have Mondays off from work. Mondays are now a day to focus on tierneycreates – making handmade items for my tierneycreates Etsy shop and working on art quilts for The Wardrobe Meets the Wall.
In my previous post, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Crafters, I discuss my crafting goals in the context of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey’s habit #1 is “Be Proactive”. On my first Monday off in my new work schedule, motivated by revisiting Covey’s 7 Habits, I was actually PROACTIVE!
As I stated in my previous post: “Those projects will not just start or finish themselves, Tierney!” Today I worked on 24 new miniature kimonos for my Etsy shop. Miniature kimonos were the first items (besides my vintage Barbie collection) that I offered on the tierneycreates Etsy shop when I first opened it in late 2013. They ended up being more popular than I anticipated and I am adding a new batch. I may stop making them after this batch as I would like to focus on other small items for the shop.
I experimented with some new colors and combinations I have not tried before. I will finish them up with their own unique decorative button and possibly a tassel (if the tassel works with the button and color combination.
It felt good to be proactive and get a new load of kimonos started, even if it was tedious and tiring at times. I am still working towards to achieving my 2015 goal of having 100 items on the tierneycreates Etsy shop and the only way to achieve that is to be proactive and make stuff!
Update: If you would like to see the completed quilt top for the abstract art quilt piece I discussed in What’s on the Design Wall: Working Through a New Art Quilt Piece, check out the post on The Wardrobe Meets the Wall blog In Progress: Abandoned Structure. It is awaiting quilting mastery by Betty Anne Guadalupe my collaborator in the The Wardrobe Meets the Wall.
If you don’t want them, I will take them…
In a previous post What’s Was On the Design Wall: Rescued Blocks I discussed the pleasures of working with “abandoned blocks“. Abandoned quilt blocks are blocks that another quilter does not want and gives to you or you find at a thrift shop or garage sale and decide to adopt!
Recently a quilter friend gave me a cool stack of batik freely pieced abstract blocks that she no longer wanted to work on in addition to a pile of coordinating scraps of fabric. I love batiks and I love her combination of colors so I was very excited to adopt these blocks! As a bonus I discovered that the trees that I printed on batik fabric during a fabric surface design workshop I took in April (see post What’s On the Design Wall: Fabric Surface Design Experimentation), appear to work well with the newly adopted blocks!
Below is the piece in it’s very early stages (I threw all the adopted blocks and my tree printed blocks up on the Design Wall in a random manner) and we’ll see how the piece progresses. You know I will post updates.
My friend who also likes working with abandoned blocks (she collects them from thrift stores, garage sales and guild meetings) and I joke about someday having an exhibit of our collection of pieces made from other’s discards!
Our library has a community wide book club book once a year called A Novel Idea. In the fall, our library unveils the selected novel and everyone in the community is encouraged to read the book. In spring the book’s author is invite to town to speak for the ultimate book club meeting. As part of the Novel Idea celebration in the spring the library has an art show to feature art inspired by the community read novel.
I read the book, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki as soon as it was announced as the selected book and loved it. I was determined to enter the art show and create a piece of fiber art inspired by this wonderful novel.
But where to start…
I have a collection of pre-printed fabric panels that I have collected over the years. Some panels in the collection, that I bought long ago, I look at and go “what was I thinking?” Others I look at and think: “what am I going to do with that?” Some quilters look down on using panels and think they are cheating because you are not piecing the entire piece.
Remembered in my collection of panels I had a lovely kimono panel printed with images of the sea and sky – that seemed like the right place to start as part of the novel took place in Japan. I mirrored the palette of the panel to create a flowing extension of the panel’s scene.
Here are photos” from my design wall to completed piece just hung in the downtown branch of our library for the upcoming show
On the back of the finished piece I put a label about my inspiration:
Jiko’s Secret Robe (2015)
Quilt inspired by Ruth Ozeki’s novel A Tale for the Time Being: Nao’s great grandmother, Jiko, is a humble and wise 100+ year-old Buddhist nun who wears simple robes and lives a simple life. This quilt represents Jiko’s secret robe – a robe not visible to the eye but visible to the soul – representing the complexity and depths of Jiko’s spirit, experience, wisdom and compassion for all beings and the earth.
“For the time being, the entire earth and the boundless sky.”– Ruth Ozeki
tierneycreates 