quilt blog – Page 5 – tierneycreates

Do you remember the cheesy TV specials on the Fox Network in the 1990s (and maybe early 2000s) with titles like “When Animals Attack”, “When Good Pets go Bad”, and other ridiculous titles?

I am not sure if the Fox Network will ever revive these TV specials, but I do have an idea to pitch to them for a future special: “When Good Studios Go Bad”…

When You Do Not Want to Enter the Room

Early this year I posted photos of where I do my “tierney-creating”, in the posts Inside the Studio and Inside the Closet (these titles sound like TV Specials themselves, but I think there would need to be a bit more spicy drama in these stories for a TV Network to want to air them.)

My studio space is approximately 10 feet by 12 feet and I try to keep it tightly organized at all times, as I have a small space to work in.

Yesterday after a crazy day of my healthcare-industry-pay-the-bills-job, I went to our monthly Central Oregon Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) meeting and then to dinner with friends. I also picked up two completed quilts from my long-arm quilter. Prior to leaving for the SAQA meeting, I was frantically busily sewing last minutes labels on the quilts for a collaborative show which openings Friday 3/25/16 (they had to be delivered to the gallery ASAP).

When I got home it was late, and I was very tired mentally and physically. I placed the quilts from the long-arm quilter in my studio; visited for awhile with Terry the Quilting Husband, Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer, and Mike (also a miniature schnauzer but not as highly opinionated); and then headed to bed.

I had decided to take Friday off from work (today) and to take a class at a local quilt shop. However, I was too tired last night to do the required pre-class cutting before bed and figured I would deal with it in the morning… (are those not the famous last words of a procrastinator?!?!)

I overslept this morning, got up in a panic, stumbled into my studio to deal with all the pre-cutting before my 10:00 am class, and found this scene:

Now to many people, this does not look too bad. To me – this was like a terrifying Fox Network TV Special about something attacking something it should not, or some thing going very very very bad. I seriously did not want to walk into the room.

I could not even locate the instructions for the class of what I needed to pre-cut. I had actually sort through most of the stuff lying on top of other stuff to find what I needed. The photo does not look as bad as it looked in person.

We all have different ways we deal with clutter, and many are comfortable with clutter. Clutter freaks me out. It shuts down my creative process and makes me not even want to enter a room.

I made it on time to the class today and had most of my fabric pre-cut. When I returned home, I cleaned up the studio and promised myself to not let my studio become a Fox TV Network Special again!

Library Adventures

The Library Stack

March 16, 2016March 16, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my new ongoing series with a snapshot of what crafting, quilting, cooking, gardening, decorating, self-improvement, etc. books I currently have on loan from my local library.

Here is the stack (soon to be returned though, I have finished with them and it’s time to get a new stack!):

I took this photo a week ago and there is one book that was in the stack, but not in the photo, that I have just finished and I highly enjoyed: Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed (2015).

Cheryl Strayed is the author of the book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (2013), a wonderful book and a wonderful film (even Terry the Quilting Husband enjoyed the film and he dislikes films about “finding yourself”.)

Her latest book Brave Enough is a collection of quotes from her other writings.A couple quotes really stayed with me after reading them and I wanted to share:

“You can’t ride to the fair unless you get on the pony”

“Hello, fear. Thank you for being here. You’re my indication that I’m doing that I need to do.”

“Forgiveness doesn’t just sit there like a pretty boy in a bar. Forgiveness is the old fat guy you have to haul up the hill.”

Creative Inspiration

Creative Inspiration: Books I Own

March 14, 2016September 16, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my series on sources of my creative inspiration, today I explore a couple of books in my personal collection that inspire me to create.

Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar 1950-2000 (Roderick Kiracofe, 2014)

512wLhSFv7L._SX434_BO1,204,203,200_ — Photo credit: Amazon.com

This inspirational book was a gift from a quilting colleague. I have read it cover to cover and refer to it when I need inspiration. I even keep it on display at my house at the top of one of my bookshelves, to remind me that everyday people have beautiful art inside of them.

This excerpt from an Amazon.com review, summarizes how I feel about this book:

Artistic, joyful, visually and emotionally awakening

Beautifully designed and written from cover to cover, Unconventional and Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar 1950-2000 is a piece of art in and of itself. The collection of quilts in the book look like modern paintings and poetry created through stitches. Each quilt is made for personal use with most humble materials; it makes you wonder about the personal story of its maker. Like any other form of modern art, it allows you to make your own interpretation through the fabrics they used or the pattern they followed.

The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters: A Guide to Creating, Quilting, and Living Courageously (Sherri L. Wood, 2015)

61hHBZn9RuL._SY498_BO1,204,203,200_ — Photo credit: Amazon.com

I originally borrowed this book from our local library in Spring 2015. After an hour or two with this book, I had to purchase it and add it to my collection.

“Improve Is…Setting Limits to Expand Horizons” – Sherri L. Wood

I think this book is the seminal guide on quilting improvisation. It is not a pattern to follow quilt book, but a guide on strategies to allow yourself permission to be free and initiative in your quilt design. The author provides wonderful exercises to try out your improvisational skills. These “Scores” are intended to help art quilters gain confidence in their “improv” skills.

This also features work by other art quilters (in addition to the author) to include a very talented Oregon Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) colleague of mine, Marion Shimoda.

Hope you have a creative and inspirational week!

A Crafter's Life

Terry the Quilting Husband Update

March 12, 2016December 2, 2019 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

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

Five (5) of Terry the Quilting Husband’s quilts have been accepted into the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) for the 2016 show on Saturday July 9, 2016. He will be in the special exhibit, ManMade featuring quilts made by men.

One of the quilts he will be showing at SOQS is named Cozy Flannel Snuggle and has a special story.

Cozy Flannel Snuggle : The Story

Terry was very determined and ambitious as a new quilter that he could “mass produce quilts”. He thought why make blocks for one quilt, when you can make blocks for THREE quilts? He took my flannel scraps and did just that – chain pieced (for days and days it seemed) enough blocks for 3 large lap size flannel quilts.

Terry is the youngest of 7 kids and his Mom and two sisters are quilters. When we told his Mom and sisters in 2014 that Terry had become a quilter, I think they thought we were “pulling their legs”. We suspect they thought he was just helping me with a couple tasks here and there on my quilts, not actually making his own quilts!

So in early 2015, Terry surprised his Mom for her 96th birthday, with a quilt made by her youngest son!

She and Terry’s quilting sisters were very surprised and impressed. One of his sisters sent us a wonderful photo of Mom Hogan snuggled with her Terry quilt and her newly adopted little rescue dog (Terry’s sisters adopted for their Mom a senior rescued shelter dog for companionship).

Terry’s Mom received the first quilt he ever made on his own. He figured, since she brought him into the world, she should be the recipient of his first quilt!

The photo of Terry’s Mom and her dog all snuggled in the quilt, inspired the name of the quilt “Cozy Flannel Snuggle”. In addition to the one Terry gave to his Mom, we kept one of the three quilts ourselves and the last of the three Terry is showing (and selling) at the SOQS so someone else can have the snuggle experience! (Perhaps Terry was right about “why make one quilt, when you can make three?”)

(NOTE: This story was originally very briefly mentioned in the first post about Terry the Quilting Husband – This is the Story of a Quilting Husband)

Screen Shot 2016-03-11 at 10.27.40 PM.png — Cozy Flannel Snuggle (2014). Designed and pieced by Terry Hogan. Quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe.

Postscript

I will have four (4) of my quilts in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this year, but mine will be mingled in the “general population” of quilts at the show (smile).

tierneycreates

Why Etsy?

March 11, 2016March 11, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Why do I have the tierneycreates Etsy shop? In this post I share what motivated me to originally open the tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles Etsy shop; and what motivates me now.

2016-03-11_9-49-54

Original Motivations

I originally opened the shop as a part-time business in December 2013 to:

Justify all the money I had spent over the years on fabric and sewing/quilting supplies.
Motivate myself to spend more consistent time creating and sewing with the fabric and supplies I own (to decrease my fabric stash).
Provide support (and justification) for future fabric and supplies purchases.

As you will see later in this post, my current motivations for having an Etsy shop now expand beyond those original reasons.

I selected Etsy over selling on eBay as a selling venue, as Etsy appeared to be a friendly venue and forum for connecting those who have handmade items to sell with individuals who are seeking handmade items!

Etsy Shop Challenges

One of the challenges I faced when opening the shop, was that I work full-time.

I read in one or two of the Etsy Seller Forums, that you need to have an adequate selection of items in your shop to attract and interest customers. For example – if you only have like 10 items in your shop, potential customers will look briefly at your shop and move on.

So I decided that until I could find the time to make more handmade items, I would supplement my handmade items with selling a small selection of fabric yardage and pre-cut fabrics (like “jelly rolls” and “fat quarters”). Then plan was to “bulk up” my Etsy shop with additional offerings, so potential customers would not just pass me by (as a sad empty looking shop, ha!)

Well, If you want to see why I would never open a quilt shop (much respect to those who do) see my post from June 2015 – Adventures in Retail. I could not believe how cumbersome and stressful it is to try and cut fabric yardage for a customer; or to create sets of fat quarters.

I always panic that I will “short” a customer on yardage, so I have been very generous in my cutting. I would likely have very low profit margins as a quilt shop owner – ha!

Additionally, I never fully appreciated those sweet little sets of fat quarters I see in quilt shops, until I tried to make them myself. I now bow in respect to those who work in quilt shops!

Learning to properly package and ship items when they sold was another learning curve I had as a new Etsy shop owner. I can now package and ship items in my sleep (I did develop a process and have a section of my laundry room set up for packaging). Eventually I taught “Terry the Quilting Husband” how to handle packaging and shipping and he helps with the least fun part about an Etsy sale.

Current Motivations & Inspirations

It is now 2016, and my motivations for having the tierneycreates Etsy shop are different from my original motivations.

One of my primary reasons I continue to manage my shop on Etsy (as it is still not a “quit your day job” kind of business) are the CONNECTIONS I have with customers. I have enjoyed many Etsy conversations with fellow quilters who have purchased fabric and with customers who have purchased my handmade items.

It is very exciting to me that fabric I sold someone gets to go into their project, or that something I made is going into someone’s home or as a gift to someone they care about. As a bonus, a positive review on Etsy from a customer is such a huge treat! I feel like I am living my tierneycreates tagline, “fusing textiles and smiles”.

I have considered from time to time – “why continue with the Etsy shop, it is extra work and you already work many hours in your full-time health care job?” Then I remind myself it is a fun hobby and the non-monetary rewards I receive from having the shop.

Speaking of customers – I met this wonderful woman through an Etsy transaction and I now follow her blog and consider her a new long distance friend – Martha’s Blog.

Here is the fabric she purchased from my shop (the entire remaining bolt, it is now sold out):

Screen Shot 2016-03-11 at 7.01.10 AM.png

AND – here is what she did with it (which blows my mind and makes me so glad I had the fabric available to sell her!):

Screen Shot 2016-03-11 at 7.01.38 AM.png

Here is a link to the post about this amazing quilt which was part of a her quilting guild challenge – Shapely Challenge Revealed.

I would have never imagined using that fabric in such a creative way. I am very inspired!

The Future

I am debating if in the future, once my current selection of fabrics are sold from my shop, whether to keep selling special fabrics.

On one hand, I really enjoy seeing what people make with the fabric they purchase from my shop and connecting with other crafters. On the other hand I am too small an operation to purchase fabric at the wholesale rates that a quilt shop would and there is a very small profit margin on the fabric I sell (it covers the gas to get it to the post office to ship, ha!).

However buying fabric to resell, does help finance any fabric I keep for myself from a beautiful bolt of fabric. If I do continue to sell fabric, I will only sell fabrics I want to use in my own projects.

Another option would be to sell fabric already in my personal fabric stash, but I have worked hard over the past couple of years to donate to charity thrift shops any fabric I do not absolutely love or do not have planned for any future project (see my post The Fabric Purge).

Also, I would not want to sell on my Etsy shop any fabric that I would now pause and think: “what the heck was I planning when I bought that?!!?!” I bet all quilters have fabrics in their stash that look like they were on hallucinogens (or other mind altering substances) when making their original purchase.

So that is the current story on this Etsy shop journey, thanks for reading. So far being an Etsy shop owner has been a fun, challenging and wonderful experience!

tierneycreates

The Collaboration

March 6, 2016March 6, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

My collaborative art quilt partner, Betty Anne Guadalupe and I will have a show, “The Collaboration”, opening at Twigs Gallery during the 4th Friday Art Walk, in Sisters, Oregon on Friday, March 25, 2016. The show will run through April 2016 and will feature art quilts we created from “rescued” quilt blocks (projects discarded by other quilters and reinvented/reimagined by us), and recycled materials.

Several of the pieces I have discussed on the tierneycreates blog, including We Will Not Be Discarded! and Tree Outside My Window, will debut at this show.

Below are images from the March 2016 issues of Cascade A&E Magazine (Central Oregon’s Arts & Entertainment Magazine):

Books, Music, Podcasts, Library Adventures

The Library Stack

March 3, 2016April 11, 2024 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

If you have read my blog in the past, you know I am in love with the public library. I thought it would be fun to start a new occasional series on the tierneycreates blog called “Library Adventures”, where I would share a photo of the stack of books, of my latest borrowings from my local library.

I love to browse the crafting, quilting, cooking, gardening and home decor sections. I will also take a run through the entire non-fiction section just for fun and to see if anything catches my eye.

I recently started following a blog, Dewey Hop, in which the blogger is documenting their journey of reading through their entire local library! I secretly dreamed of doing this someday; and even tried to do it as a kid, attempting to make it through the entire Children’s section! However, I am going to stick my my favorite dewey decimal section of 700 – “Arts & Recreation”!

Every time I think I have borrowed all the books that are worth borrowing – POW – there is a fresh new group of books to borrow! Additionally my local library has a Non-Fiction New Release section, which I love to browse every time I visit it (it is the first place to head when I enter the library!).

So here is my current stack:

One of my great pleasures in life is to sit with a pot of tea and my library stack!

Postscript

More library related stuff – this is a follow up to the post Good Listens (and other stuff). In this post I shared I was currently listening to an audiobook I borrowed from the library – SuperBetter by Jane McGonigal.

This audiobook is fantastic and I had to renew it to finish it up (it is rather long, but packed with great information and inspiration). This audiobook is about using gaming concepts to improve things that challenge you in life, and to achieve goals. The author has a TED talk and it is fantastic – Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life. (Thanks to my friend Torben suggesting the TED Talk!).

Also here is the author’s website: www.superbetter.com

Here book goes WAY beyond the TED Talk. One of my favorite concepts in the book is “Cognitive Reframing”, which is defined in Wikipedia as “…a psychological technique that consists of identifying and then disputing irrational or maladaptive thoughts. Reframing is a way of viewing and experiencing events, ideas, concepts and emotions to find more positive alternatives…”. I have already started applying the concepts I picked up from this audiobook and I am very pleased!

I am enjoying this book so much I might go buy the hardcover version to keep as a reference!

Studio, What's on the Design Wall

What’s on the Design Wall: Silk Squares

March 1, 2016July 13, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

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!

Studio

Ultimate Studio Fabric Organization

February 29, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Welcome to the “Quilt Shop” in My House

This past weekend I witnessed the ultimate in “home studio fabric organization”!

I visited the home of a quilter friend of mine for the first time and she showed me her quilting studio. As I turned the corner to enter her studio, my jaw dropped when I saw her extremely well organized fabric stash: It looked like I had stepped into a quilt shop!

How She Did It

My friend collected empty cardboard fabric bolts from quilt shops and cut them in half. She wrapped her fabric stash fabrics around the half bolts and then organized the fabrics by theme/category in a large wide bookcase.

If she had more than a certain yardage of fabric (I forgot her threshold), she would organize the fabric on a full size cardboard bolt (bottom left of the bookcase).

Advantages

I think the advantages of this type of fabric stash organization are as follows:

Her fabric organization and display feels like she is shopping directly from a quilt shop every time she goes to select a fabric in her stash – AMAZING!
She can clearly see what is in her stash.
This may reduce her need to actually go to a quilt shop, and spend money on fabric that she does not actually need.

(I know, I know, right now all quilters reading this are rolling their eyes. Buying fabric is not about needing it – it is about wanting it!)

Studio, tierneycreates

We Will Not Be Discarded’s Debut

February 22, 2016September 16, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Last month in the post What’s on the Design Wall: “We Will Not Be Discarded!” I shared a piece in progress made from discards (destined for the trash) from another quilter’s quilt. It was a fun challenge. I used nearly every trimmed section/discard in this piece, setting them in a solid copper cotton fabric.

The long arm quilter, Guadalupe Designs, has finished quilting the piece and it is awaiting facing (a type of finishing/binding for art quilts where the binding does not show on the front).

Here is a sneak peek of the piece (to follow up on the post from last month):

IMG_1450 (1).jpg — Detail: *We Will Not Be Discarded!* (2016). Designed & pieced by Tierney Davis Hogan; quilted by Guadalupe Designs.

The piece measures 51″ x 17″ and will debut in March 2016 at the show at Twigs Gallery in Sisters, OR. The show opens on the Sisters 4th Friday Art Walk on 3/25/16 (After it debuts at the show I will post a photo of We Will Not Be Discarded!).

I will have 4 pieces in the show and all my pieces will feature “Recycled” Blocks, rescued from either discards of other quilters or donated abandoned projects. I love the idea of working to create something of beauty from something that was once abandoned. I love the idea of shared creative energy (see my post What’s on the Design Wall: “Ohio Star” (a taste of “Big Magic”) – “When an Idea is ready to be born, it will visit numerous people to find someone who going to bring it into existence” – Elizabeth Gilbert).

I am working on the hanging sleeves and labels for some of the piece which are unlabeled. I am feeling honored and excited about being in the show – more later!

My Minimalism Journey, Quality of Life

If it brings me joy, I will keep it in view

February 18, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is an addendum to my 12/30/15 post Quilts for the Quilter (and Crafts for the Crafter), recently I came across a very special homemade gift…

As part of my ongoing journey towards living with less and keeping only those things that are useful and bring me joy, I am working on dealing with mementos and keepsakes. I had three boxes of keepsakes – old postcards, cards from old friends and co-workers, newspaper clippings, holiday photo cards, etc. I now have one small box. I have let go of that which does not bring me a deep sense of joy.

During the process of working through my keepsakes, I re-discovered a quilt that my staff had made me when I was a manager at a health plan in Seattle in the late 1990s to early 2000s. I do not remember if I was a quilter yet, so it likely was not a “Quilt for the Quilter” but it is something very special that was just sitting around in a box put away.

My friend Judy, who originally got me into quilting and was a member of my work team in the late 1990s, organized a team quilt project as a holiday gift for me. Each team member made a block and Judy assembled the blocks into a wallhanging quilt. I was deeply touched and surprised with the gift, which I believe was given to me around 1998 or 1999.

This wonderful gift is no longer tucked away, I have placed it on the wall to remind me that I was that loved (because QUILT ARE LOVE, and do not let anyone tell you otherwise!) so much as a leader that a team took the time to make me a quilt!

Below is a photo of the quilt. The center of the quilt features a photo of the entire team, so I have taken a low resolution photo at a bad angle to respect the privacy of former team members who I have lost touch with and may not want their photo published on the web. (And you likely thought it was just another one of my bad photos!)

I have included a couple close ups of some of the blocks. The “Chocolate Chip Cookies” block, by one of my former team members, was made to honor the fact that I brought the team homemade chocolate chip cookies when I interviewed with them! After I was hired I continued to make the team homemade cookies.

It is wonderful to have such a special memory visible to enjoy everyday, rather tucked away, only to look at every couple of years (or longer, when you remember it is there).

As far as the other keepsakes, as I mentioned earlier I took them down from 3 boxes to 1 small box. I love what Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (2014), states in her wonderful book:

“The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.”

I realize many memories can be held inside my heart rather than my hand. I do not need to hold onto all those physical items to honor those memories (like all postcards I ever received – I have downsized them only a small stack of very special postcards).

And as far as the person I am becoming, I hope it is someone who is filled with gratitude for all the special moments in her life. This quilt reminds me to continue my feelings of gratitude each day.

Studio, tierneycreates

“They’re Baaaack”

February 15, 2016July 3, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Do you remember that iconic line from the preview to that great film of the 1980s – Poltergeist II?

So, I posted a while back in the post The End of an Era: Goodbye to Making Miniature Kimonos that I was done with making miniature kimonos.

Let’s just say it is a person’s prerogative to be able to change their minds…

If you never change your mind, why have one? – Edward de Bono

A couple weeks ago, one of my wonderful tierneycreates Etsy shop customers, who has been very supportive of my miniature kimonos, asked for some new kimono color and fabric options. She was so enthusiastic about my miniature kimonos, I got enthusiastic about them again and made a fresh new batch:

23 new kimonos in total. Currently I am busy adding buttons and finishing details, eventually they will get posted to my tierneycreates Etsy shop.

I have been negligent with my Etsy shop for a couple months now due to work and other life related things. I am working on new offerings and refreshing current offerings.

I do not expect my tierneycreates Etsy shop to ever become a “quit your day job” kind of thing (it is more of a fun hobby) but I really enjoy connecting with people across North America (I have Canadian customers too!) and adding a little “fusion of textiles & smiles” to peoples’ lives!

A Crafter's Life

Time to Give (for real)

February 9, 2016February 13, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

As I continue on my journey to scale back my material possessions and focus on the important things in life, I realize I have donated a lot of stuff I no longer need to charity organizations but I have not given any of my handmade items.

It feels like I have not been really giving, as I have only given purchased items I no longer want in my life.

Giving seems more like true giving, if you give something that is not as easy to part with – like a quilt (or two)!

So I decided to donate a couple small flannel quilts/baby quilts to Project Linus. I had them listed on my tierneycreates Etsy shop and I am taking down their listings and giving them away instead.

If you are not familiar with Project Linus is a non-profit organization that provides homemade “blankets” to children in need. I am getting together with a couple of friends at the end of this month that have worked with Project Linus in the past and they are going to help me donate my quilts.

It feels like this donation is more meaningful donation than a load of unused kitchen gadgets to Goodwill.

Studio

Surrendering My Piece to “Rescue”

February 3, 2016February 4, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is a follow up to the post What’s on the Design Wall: “Ohio Star” (a taste of “Big Magic”).

Starting out with a strong idea and good intentions…

In this previous post, I shared my excitement over my sudden inspiration to create a traditional pattern quilt from nontraditional fabrics (recycled garment silks and linens). I knew it would be an experiment and in this first experiment, I created a traditional Ohio Star block from my collection of recycled silk and linen samples from garment manufacturing.

If you are not a quilter, an Ohio Star block is a “nine patch” block made from quarter square triangles around a central square. This block is a very traditional quilt block and was used in early pioneer and Amish quilts in the 19th century. The pattern I used was for a “Star-within-a-star” Ohio Star.

The plan was to make a small wallhanging. I pieced the Ohio Star block, and as I auditioned fabrics to use in the border, I grew more and more unhappy with the Ohio Star block.

At first I could not figure out what specifically was bothering me, as I was pleased with the color combinations/palette.

I realized what was bothering me – the piecing itself. My prior work with recycled silks involved intuitive free-form designs for art quilts. This was my first attempt at making a traditionally pieced structured quilt block from recycled garment silks and linens.

When I used to make traditional quilt pattern quilt blocks I would use crisp quilting cottons – this fabric was easier to manipulate to achieve accurate piecing and star points.

Working with silk and linen samples intended for garment making can be challenging, especially when attempting to accurately piece shapes such as star points. In order to work with the delicate silks, you need to put a backing/stabilizer material on the back of each silk section. Silk backed with a fusible stabilized can be cumbersome to cut into small accurate sections. Silk also frays.

So…to shorten what could grow into a very long and tedious story of my explanation why the Ohio Star was not working for me (and to avoid putting my non quilter readers to sleep), let’s just say: I was quite unhappy with the imprecise piecing of the block.

For a moment, I started to – just throw it away (gasp) ! Then I thought: let me try reimagining it – into some sort of “fractured” Ohio Star, where the accuracy of the piecing would not be as much an issue.

I sliced up the Ohio Star and sewed it back together into a new configuration. I revisited my stash of recycled silks and linens to audition other combinations to try to build some sort of abstract wall hanging art quilt piece around the “fractured star”.

Frustrated and drained of inspiration, I put the piece and its potential coordinating fabric away. I did not know where to go next with them.

Time to let someone else “rescue” the piece

I have several previous posts about working with “rescued” and “recycled” quilt blocks. Another quilter started a piece/making quilt blocks and abandoned the project; I then “adopted” the project and created a new piece based on the original blocks and my imagination.

While sharing my dilemma with an art quilting friend (that I was going no where with my Ohio Star silk and linen experiment), my friend offered to “adopt” the piece and create an art quilt with it.

I was delighted! Not only was I delighted but I felt a great sense of relief! I realize a textile project is not a living being but I felt as if I had recklessly abandoned a piece in progress, filled with creative energy, to the lonely “Projects on Hold” box in the back of my closet.

My experiment is going to be adopted and go to a good and loving home, where it can grow into something wonderful!

(Yes I will share a photo when my friend completes the piece from wherever her imagination takes her!)

Life is a balance of holding on and letting go – Rumi

A Crafter's Life

Winter Trees

January 31, 2016January 31, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

After my recent post on the completion of the quilt Tree Outside My Window (see Update on “The Tree Outside My Window”), I started noticing the beauty of “Winter Trees”.

These bare (or nearly bare) trees are such a thing of understated beauty. I do not think I fully appreciated their austere structure and simple elegance.

There they stand, naked, and exposed to the winter sky.

Last week and today on my walk with the dogs (or “the fur kids” as we like to call them) I photographed several “Winter Trees” whose beauty made me pause.

Below are my photos to share with you:

Of winter’s lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer’s secret
Deep down within its heart.
~Charles G. Stater

These photos were taken with my iPhone camera and are not copyrighted. Please feel free to download them if you find them inspirational in your artistic endeavors!

Studio

Update on “The Tree Outside My Window”

January 25, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is a quick follow up to the post What’s no longer on the Design Wall: The Tree Outside My Window – the quilt has been quilted by the talented long-arm quilter, Betty Anne Guadalupe!

Close up details:

A Crafter's Life

Terry the Quilting Husband Hard at Work

January 23, 2016December 2, 2019 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s blog page Schnauzer Snips for her latest musings.

Quilt in Progress

Terry the Quilting Husband has been hard at work finishing another quilt for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in July 2016, hoping to get into the Male Quilter exhibit (in the upcoming weeks he will submit his entries to the selection committee).

Over the past couple of months he made 82 9.5 inch blocks from my flannel scraps using the log jam method (see previous posts on “log jamming”) and sewed them into 9 rows of 9 blocks each:

Rows of flannel scrap log jam blocks waiting to be sewn together

If you do the math – 9 rows with 9 block each equals a 81 block quilt. So what became of the 82nd block? I was wondering about that also and went into Terry’s “studio” (he uses the guest bedroom as his sewing studio) to discover the fate of the extra block.

Here is what I found: he kept one of the blocks that had a schnauzer in the center (from a flannel dog fabric scrap with different breeds) and displayed it in his sewing area:

Note: our guest room is extremely dog themed. You would not want to stay at our house if you do not like dogs – ha!

The Pillow

The one block displayed made me smile and I wanted to make it into something more permanent for him, so I made a quick little throw pillow for him with the block.

Now he is focused on sewing the rows together so we can get it to the long-arm quilter.

I suspect when the quilt is quilted, we are going to struggle with wanting to part with it if we decided to put it for sale at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show!

Studio, What's on the Design Wall

What’s on the Design Wall: Making Progress

January 17, 2016July 13, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This post is an update on the post What’s on the Design Wall: “We Will Not Be Discarded!”.

I have been working on assembling the blocks designed from discards, from another quilter’s block piecing, and a solid coppery-rust fabric, into a piece called “We Will Not Be Discarded”.

I am playing with the block arrangements and looking at two different arrangement options for the 15 blocks in progress:

OPTION #1 – All blocks pointing the same way:

OPTION #2 – Blocks pointing opposite ways:

I am leaning towards Option #2 as it makes the piece appear to have more “movement”. Once I finish all 15 blocks, I will play again with the final arrangement.

We Still Will Not Be Discarded!

I am playing with the idea of making a second piece (“We Still Will Not Be Discarded!”) from the discards/trimming of the original discards! (And the scraps from the solid fabric they are set in)

That would be taking recycling to the extreme, right? The challenge does seems interesting…

Trimmed discards from the “trimmed discards” in my little trash basket – tempting!

Books, Music, Podcasts, Creative Inspiration

Creative Inspiration: My Journals

January 16, 2016July 17, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

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.

A Crafter's Life, Studio, tierneycreates

Various Updates!

January 11, 2016January 11, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

QUILTED IT MYSELF

In the post The “Basted” Quilt, Dilemma, and Temptation I bemoaned about my dilemma of wanting to just let the large basting stitches on a quilt suffice as the quilting. Well I put on my “big girl panties” and made it through quilting it myself, using just straight stitches, 1/4 inch apart. So glad it is done! (BTW the whole I time I quilted it I was groaning “why didn’t I just let the long-arm quilter quilt this for me?!?!)

NEW “FURNITURE” ADDED TO THE STUDIO

In my recent post Inside the Studio I shared photos of my tierneycreates studio layout. This weekend I added another item to the studio – I pulled the sad ironing board out of the room and added a workbench table from Harbor Freight Tools. This table was on sale this past weekend for an excellent price. One of my Quilt Sisters gave me a heads up on this wonderful find. Terry “The Quilting Husband” got it assembled and we made a removable wide ironing board top for the table. I love it!

My younger brother surprised me with a new cutting mat for Christmas and I discovered the cutting mat fits nicely on top of the removable ironing board. I can cut and press small pieces on the same surface area. My brother has been very supportive of my quilting adventure (and he and his family has benefited from various quilts I have made them!) Past Christmases he has surprised me with quilting books I do not have! (I suspect he has a secret inside quilting connection, ha!)

MISC UPDATES

Handmade at Amazon

I shared in several prior posts how I was looking at listing items on Amazon’s new platform for crafters to sell their handmade items –Handmade at Amazon. I was accepted to become an “artisan” on this platform but I have decided to just stick with Etsy. I love the experience of working with Etsy customers and I think I would be stretching myself too thin with my full-time healthcare job, my tierneycreates Etsy shop, and the Amazon shop.

Terry the Quilting Husband’s Future Exhibit

Terry, the Quilting Husband, is going to submit 5 quilts to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show for consideration to be in the show. They will be having a special Male Quilter Exhibit. More details later this year!

Also Terry is looking at working on Quilts of Valor quilts to be donated to local Veterans, in the future. A Veteran himself and a military history hobbyist, this would be a wonderful was to combine quilting and his deep respect/wanting to honor those who served. There is currently a local project trying to get red, white and blue quilts to the oldest of the local Veterans, primarily WWII Veterans.

Upcoming Show

My The Wardrobe Meets the Wall collaborator and beloved long-arm quilter and friend, Betty Anne, and I are having an upcoming show at Twigs Gallery in Sisters, Oregon, opening the end of March. More details in the future.

Studio

Inside the Closet

January 6, 2016January 6, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

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:

Studio

Inside the Studio

January 5, 2016January 5, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

(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!

A Crafter's Life

Quotable Quotes

January 1, 2016January 3, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Happy New Year to you all! I love the idea of the “New Year” being a clean and blank slate to fill with new adventures, experiences, insights, evolutions and accomplishments.

I also love quotes and thought for my first post of the New Year, I would share some of my favorite quotes I collected in 2015 in my journal of inspiration.

LAO TZU

If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious you living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.

LILY TOMLIN

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

JEN SICERO

Love yourself with a Kung Fu grip.

NINA SIMONE

You use up everything you got trying to to give everyone what they wanted.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.

RUMI

And still, after all this time, the Sun has never said to the Earth, “you owe me”. Look what happens with love like that. It lights up the sky.

A flower from my Summer Garden to brighten your Winter (especially if you are currently living in a snow covered frozen tundra like me…)

Creative Inspiration

Creative Inspiration: Someone Else’s Photos

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This brief post continues my series on Sources of Creative Inspiration.

I do not have the best photography skills, however occasionally take a really good photo, capturing a special moment, and I am really pleased.

I admire people who have a good photographic eye and take photos with strong composition. Sometimes I am creatively inspired by someone else’s photos.

An old friend of mine in New York took this photo and included it in a recent e-mail. I am drawn to this photo and would like to create a future art quilt inspired by this photo!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Autumn Beads November Light by Stephen Mead (2015)

I would love to hear about your sources of creative inspiration!

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. ~Thomas Merton

tierneycreates

Blogging for Quilters

October 18, 2015October 18, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

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

Blogging for Creatives: How Designers, Artists, Crafters and Writers Can Blog to Make Contacts, Win Business, and Build Success (Robin Houghton, 2012)

Writers Can Blog to Make Contacts, Win Business, and Build Success (Robin Houghton, 2012)

Blogging for Dummies (Susannah Gardner, 2011)

How to Sell Your Crafts Online(Derrick Sutton, 2011)

The Handmade Marketplace (Kari Chapin, 2010)

Grow Your Handmade Business (Kari Chapin, 2012)

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!