Well here’s what I’m supposed to be working on today:
Reality
Here’s what I’m actually working on today:
It’s so cold and snowy today all I want to do is sit around under a quilt and knit.
I am almost to my favorite part of knitting a hat – switching to the double pointed needles. I love finishing off the top part of a hat – it’s kind of challenging but fun! (Plus I like being silly and walking around the house with my nearly completed hat and double pointed needles sticking out of the top – ha!)
Well back to watching the snow fall outside my front window…
Continuing my ongoing series of posts on my latest stack of books borrowed from my local public library, I realized a couple of stacks have come and gone and I did not post them (they were smaller stacks). This time I went a little crazy the other day at my local library. A couple of the books in the stack below I had reserved but many were “impulse borrowings“!
I had a little wander in my favorite “Dewey Decimal System” sections of 745 – 747 (and a little jaunt into section 700 – 702) and I wanted to take 1/2 the section home (even if I have read them before). My thinking was – it is a holiday weekend (New Years) and it is time to nest with some books!
As you can see below, this morning, I started nesting in my favorite chair with the books and a pot of tea:
So far I am really enjoying the book by Danny Gregory – Art Before Breakfast: A Zillions Ways to Be More Creative No Matter How Busy You Are (2015). Gregory discusses the benefits of making art and one benefit that captured my attention is that: “Art stops time”. Making art makes you be in the present moment – “Be here. Now” – it makes you observe the world around you instead of obsessing on all the busy thoughts in your head!
One of the books in the stack, Ted Koppel’s Lights Out was recommended on a blog I follow, Dewey Hop|Feisty Froggy Reads Through The Library. And yes, as the blog’s title implies, the blogger is reading through the library, one section at a time and sharing the interesting finds!
The book Reinventing IKEA by Isabelle Bruno and Christine Baillet, I discovered in the New Releases: Nonfiction section (this is always my first stop when I am browsing the library). We are thinking of re-modeling our living room someday and adding built in bookcases and I am the hunt for inexpensive ideas.
As far as Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, I had tried to listen to the audiobook but got lost and grew disinterested. I am going to try and read the actual book and see if that helps as the book has gotten such great reviews. Also I want to watch the movie someday and want to read the book first (as movies rarely capture all the delicious details in a book).
Well back to nesting with the books, perhaps I will also do some sewing later on this cold snowy winter day!
Postscript
Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer is getting impatient with me. She is waiting for me to help her finish transferring the posts on her tierneycreates blog’s SchnauzerSnips page to her new very own blog – Schnauzer Snips (schnauzer snips.wordpress.com). Do not follow her yet or you will hate me for the endless notifications of “new posts”, which are old posts being added 🙂
Sassy is getting impatient
I have made it to 2015 in the transfer and I did not realize she had so many “posts”. Once it is done, she and I will share an announcement. Eventually I will remove her Schnauzer Snips page from the tierneycreates blog.
Comment to my fellow WordPress bloggers out there: This will free more space on my tierneycreates blog which is a good thing as I was going to have to eventually upgrade my plan for additional storage (thank goodness I have learned to resize my photos to take up less of my allotted storage space).
Every Spring my Quilt Sisters and I have our annual quilting retreat in May at sewNgo Quilting Retreat Center in Vancouver, Washington. Nancy, the host, makes delicious food and has recently published the Quilter’s Delight Cookbook featuring recipes her wonderful quilt retreat menu!
Today for lunch I made the Vegetarian Kale Soup from the cookbook and it was delicious! The recipe made a large batch and I have lunch for a couple days plus enough to freeze for a future lunch.
Nancy, the retreat host, is very sensitive to the dietary needs of her quilt retreaters and this recipe was actually Vegan in addition to being vegetarian! (No, I am not a Vegan or a Vegetarian as I could not live without bacon, but I do appreciate meat free dishes)
Postscript
I do love attending quilt retreats (even if I get sleep deprived at times from them). Someday when I retire I want to regularly attend quilt retreats!
If you would like to read a couple of my past blog posts on my quilt retreat adventures, they are linked below:
As I mentioned in a previous post, I am on five-day holiday from work and I planned to spend time working on my project backlog.
One of my backlogged projects, was deciding what to do with a small (baby or doll sized) quilt top I made from a collection of 2″ inch squares. I decided this weekend to recover the stool I keep under my computer desk in my studio with it!
Here is what I started with – a lovely stool given to me by a friend (who originally bought it second hand):
The butterfly fabric was nice but the fabric was dated, had a weird velour-like feeling and did not bring me joy.
So – on top of the current cover, with a layer of batting placed underneath, I recovered it with my 2″ squares (aka “postage stamp”) quilt top:
It fits my studio better and goes with the general studio theme of quilting and creating.
Postscript
Here is my next project in queue from my backlog – Tango Stripe, a pattern I bought in 2011 or 2012 by Jean Wells of the Stitchin’ Post:
I am very excited about this quilt, I fell in love with the store sample at the Stitchin’ Post (see list on my blog of “Central Oregon Quilt Shops” for links to my local shops).
I won’t pretend I do not shop on Amazon.com for book deals or that I do not go to our local Barnes & Noble bookstore, but today I was reminded just how wonderful and magical Independent Bookstores are to have in one’s community. I plan to spend more time at indie bookshops!
Today we went for a wander around and hot beverage at downtown Bend’s Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe.
As the sign upstairs at Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe reads:
Independent Bookstores are wonderful & magical places because each book will have been hand selected, you know all of them are jewels just waiting to be discovered…
After the friendly shopkeepers filled darling ceramic mugs with our hot cocoa (for me) and mocha (for Terry the Quilting Husband), we had a leisurely and delicious wander about the shop browsing and their well curated selections.
Come wander the shop with us for a moment…
Downstairs, where you enter Dudley’s bookshop and immediately think – “well this would be a fine place to nest for awhile”:
People were nesting – they have WiFi and some were on their laptops and some were sipping their hot beverages and reading a book (or previewing a book!).
Among the shelves of books are fun things and objects to look at, including this wickedly funny sign:
Now head upstairs (carefully carry your mug of hot beverage with you!) and check out the painted stairs celebrating books:
(I love the step that reads: “Fifty Shades of Dudley’s)
At the top of the landing you will find a shelf of books (in case it was too long a journey to go without being able to browse any books from the bottom of the stairs to the top).
Now, turn the corner…and…WOW: Here is the cozy reading nook you might have searched for while browsing any bookstore (and maybe dreamed about in your own home):
The secret OCD person inside of me wanted to go and fix the left side of the curtain, but I was here to browse books, not adjust decor so I left it alone – ha!
After walking by the cozy reading nook, you come upon the upstairs room with more books to browse – how about a Art/Film/Music book to add to your collection?
Even the bathroom was delightful and had this great poster called A Plotting of Fiction Genres:
If you would like to know more about this poster, I did find it online at Pop Chart Lab. I did not want to spend too long in the bathroom reading it, but I was very impressed with it in my brief time with it! Here is a better overall photo from the seller’s website.
I could not leave Dudley’s Bookshop without a little something. If you have followed my blog for a while, you know I love our local public library and lately I get most of my reading through borrowing from the library (as I have been very naughty at bookshops in the past and have a huge book collection). I am trying not to add more books permanently to my home but I did want a little something from the indie bookstore, so I bought a cool set of greeting cards that you color yourself!
Two of my many favorite authors, Neil Gaiman and Ann Patchett are huge advocated for preserving independent bookstores (Ann Patchett even owns her own indie bookstore, Parnassus Books) and have lauded the value of preserving these shops in their writing.
I will close this post with a Neil Gaiman quote, which is also on the Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe website, from his wonderful and magical bookAmerican Gods:
What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore it knows it’s not fooling a soul. – Neil Gaiman
Good Morning! I realized I forgot to follow up on my post from 11/9/16: Free Webinar: CREATIVE QUILT CHALLENGES and provide to those of you who did not get to attend, the link to the presentation and handouts.
My friends Pat Pease and Wendy Hill provided a wonderful presentation based on their book, Creative Quilt Challenges, published earlier this year, that will spark your creative art quilting fire. If you are not a quilter you might find something interesting it in it also. In a future post I am going to talk about how non-quilting related books and resources inspire my ideas for art quilt design.
Photo credit: Amazon.com
Ah, I am starting to ramble without providing you the link, so here you go:
In addition to the video of the slideshow and presentation and the class handout, the link above also provides the answers from the Webinar Q&A.
Postscript
Today I begin a 5-day holiday break from my pay-the-bills-job (two of those days are courtesy of my employer, one is a vacation day and two are the weekend!). I am so excited I am not sure what to do with myself…oh wait, I should probably start working on my backlog of projects…
I finished the baby quilt I was making for a friend having her first baby. She has received it, and appears to really like it, so now I can post photos!
I named the baby quilt – Little Bits of Oregon Warmth – it made from recycled flannel pieces from flannel quilts I have made or my quilting friends have made. I selected flannel scraps that evoked a feeling of my beloved adopted state of Oregon (my friend lives in Oregon).
It is very “green” – it is made from fabric that some quilters would have discarded. Instead these pieces have a new home and purpose – to keep a baby warm this Winter! (I’d like to think that this recycled quilt is part of my efforts to be environmentally friendly and try to preserve the world the baby will be growing up in…)
It is so fun to work with scraps from other quilts and remember what quilt they came from (or if they are another quilter’s scraps, wondering what quilt they went into!).
I pieced the quilt using the “Log jam” technique (free-form log cabin style piecing). If you are new to my blog, here is a link to some previous posts on Log Jam/Log Jamming.
Photos
The quilt on the design wall prior to machine quilting:
The quilt freshly machine quilted (yes the quilting would not win any awards, but it worked for a baby quilt and I did it myself…):
A close up on the quilt to see some of the flannel scraps – all of which are somehow related to our beautiful state of Oregon:
The quilt is fully machine washable and I pre-washed it before sending it to the expectant Mom so she would know it can be washed and dried as much as needed! I also made clear it was a UTILITY quilt – to be used – not hung on a wall!
Postscript
Speaking of “Oregon Warmth”, here is a gratuitous shot of my delicious cup of hot chocolate I got on Monday while running errands with my neighbor and her son (Winter errands must include a stop for a yummy hot beverage).
Technically it is not Winter yet. Not until Wednesday Dec 21, but we like to start things early in Central Oregon!
We’ve had over a foot (or two) of fluffy snow so far; and when we have one of our many sunny days with the endless impossibly blue sky, the snow looks very pretty.
Last week, after a huge snow storm, I shared photos with my coworkers at my pay-the-bills-job. I am fortunate to be a telecommuter and my coworkers also telecommute, most from warmer climes such as Seattle and Portland (yes I say that with jest as it has been fairly cold, icy and even snowy in those areas).
One of my coworkers asked about our snow in Central Oregon so I sent her and my other coworkers photos of the snow around my neighborhood. At first I was going to share those in this blog post, but those photos are BORING compared to the recent photos my friend Jenny took of our beloved Mt. Bachelor skiing area.
Photos from the Mountain
My friend Jenny went snowboarding last week and took photos from her run at the top of the mountain. She was kind enough to give me permission to share them with you:
Now that is SNOW! I think this photos are worthy of a future art quilt inspiration (oh darn, I could have made this post part of my ongoing series “Creative Inspiration“. I might someday recycle these photos on a future post about creative inspiration…
Snowshoeing in Central Oregon
I am so lucky to live a short drive from one of the largest ski resorts in the country, Mt. Bachelor. I might be making this up but I remember hearing recently that it is the 5th largest in the country.
So you are thinking – wow, Tierney, you must ski all the time.
Nope. I grew up in NY and when I was in nursing school, I went with my roommates on my first ski trip to Vermont. I discovered that I was a terrible and highly uncoordinated skier. I have no place on snow skis…ever.
I did however eventually learn to cross-country ski. However, I did not particularly like it. What I discovered I liked, and so does Terry the Quilting husband, is to go snowshoeing!
I remember when we first moved from Seattle to Central Oregon and we went snow shoeing here for the first time. We had been snowshoeing several times in Washington State in places like Snow Parks and the Snoqualmie Nordic Center, so we thought we were comfortable snowshoeing.
So we scheduled a guided snowshoeing trip our first winter in Central Oregon with Bend Parks & Recreationas we thought that would be the best way to first experience snowshoeing in a new area.
As we boarded the Bend Parks & Recreation van to take us to a day of snowshoeing at one of the Sisters Mountain, we noticed we were the youngest people getting into the van. Everyone else, except for our guide, was a Senior Citizen. We thought, wow, we hope we do have to snowshoe too slowly with this group (fearing our day would be slow and boring).
No. We were the slow ones on the mountain. As I shared in the 04/25/16 post Monday Again, about my continuing adventures hiking up Pilot Butte, Central Oregon has some seriously fit Seniors here!
There was one woman, who said she was in her 80s and was originally from Switzerland, who was especially “dusting” us. We could not begin to keep up with her pace – all I could see in the distance was this tiny woman powering along with her snowshoes and her poles. (I like to think it was because she grew up in Switzerland and maybe she lived on top of a mountain and had to snowshoe to school everyday…)
These are my old snowshoes, at the end of last season I did get some new ones which I will use this season!
This was my first exposure to how fit people are here. My goal of course is when I am a Senior, that I am going to be very fit like the role models around me!
(Just a side note/excuse for our lack of initial fitnesses – we did move from Seattle, which was at sea level to Central Oregon which is on average at 3000 – 3500 feet above sea level elevation just at the ground level when you walk around town!)
Postscript
I know, I know, this blog is called “tierneycreates” and if you are a crafter reading this you are probably wondering: “where is all the ‘creating'”. Well it is going on, I just cannot show a photo of it yet. I just finished a gift quilt and I am shipping it off to the person today and did not want photos of it on the blog until the person received it (that would take the surprise out of it!)
I did recently add to the right side of my blog a listing of and link to the websites of Central Oregon Quilt Shops, just to prove I really am a quilter (even if my blog does not show this lately) and to support the wonderful quilt shops in my area!
Have you made a T-shirt quilt? They are a great way to recycle old T-shirts.
Our Collection
I realized yesterday that we have three (3) T-shirt Quilts in our home:
A king-size T-shirt quilt made from 49 of Terry the Quilting Husband’s old t-shirts and a couple of mine. It is super warm (it has flannel shirt flannel fabric on back) so we use it in the winter:
Terry Birthday T-Shirt Quilt, pieced by Tierney Hogan, quilted by Guadalupe Designs
A lap-size T-shirt quilt made from our collection of Schnauzer-themed t-shirts (and yes many of the t-shirts below were worn by Terry – he is a man who unabashedly loves dogs!). We have it as a wall-hanging in our bedroom:
Schnauzer T-shirt Quilt, pieced by Terry Hogan, quilted by Guadalupe Designs
Several of the schnauzer T-shirts are from when we used to attend the annual “Schnauzer Walk” in Portland Oregon, which we fondly call “Schnauzer Fest” as a huge group of miniature, standard and giant schnauzers take over one of the parks in the Portland area for a day!
A T-shirt quilt made from our collection of microbrewery themed T-shirts (primarily Terry’s except for the “Central Oregon Beer Angels” one). Terry keeps this one in his sewing studio/guest room area:
Microbrew Aficionado T-shirt, pieced by Terry Hogan, quilted by Guadalupe Designs
Resources
The two books I own that I use as resources on T-shirt quilts are Memory Quilts: Using T-Shirts, Autographs, and photos by Meredith Corporation (2007); and T-Shirt Quilts Made Easyby Martha Deleonardis (2012)
Photo credit: Amazon.com
Photo credit: Amazon.com
Postscript
We have a stash of more T-shirts to make eventually into another quilt. I love the idea of T-shirt quilts and the recycling of old T-shirts.
When my father passed, I made my brother and sister each a T-shirt quilt of his old T-shirts (our father loved his collection of humorous T-shirts, I got my quirky sense of humor from my Dad). Now my brother and sister have a piece/memory of my Dad to wrap around them!
Terry the Quilting Husband, also has a very quirky sense of humor. One of his favorite t-shirts, which I incorporated into the king-size bed quilt, is from when we lived in Texas from the late 1980s to late 1990s. The humor in Terry wearing this t-shirt is that we are originally from NY and except for NE England, you can’t get more “Yankee” than that!
As you can see above, with 16 votes of the 28 total votes, Option #1 was the winner of the poll.
The Decision
Option #1 won the poll, but alas, it was not the winner of my heart. As much as I loved the graphics on card #1 it kept feeling like that business card for a tailor or seamstress.
I so appreciated all the comments and votes, but I really connected with several comments in regards to Option #3 and decided to go with the vertical business card.
I am only ordering the smallest order (100 cards) as I love the idea from several comments to eventually go with a business card that features my art.
2017 I am going to focus on creating more of my textile art so I have a large selection of works to choose from someday – ha!
Postscript
I am currently listening to the audiobook Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck (2006).
Although some of the material seems dated (the book was published in 2006), I am really enjoying the audiobook. A lot of it reminds me of the audiobook, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseveranceby Angela Duckworth (2016) that I discussed in several posts, most recently in the 7/22/2016 post A “Gritty Bad#ss”?
Photo credit: Amazon.com
The book focuses on a discussion of the “Fixed Mindset” vs. the “Growth Mindset”.
I am about a 1/3rd way through listening to the audiobook and I came across a great quote by the author on how some people need to feel praised, “worshipped”, and admired by others:
If you feel a need to be surrounded by worshippers, go to church. – Carol S. Dweck
I must admit at times in my life I sought praise from others, a lot. I cannot change how I behaved in the past but it is giving me a lot to think about for the future!
As sort of a follow up to yesterday’s post Terry the Quilting Husband – Update – as I mentioned – Terry the Quilting Husband is hogging the design wall in the hallway.
I like one of my blogging buddies, Claire of knitNkwilt, I had to use the “Design Bed”, and lay out my latest quilt on our bed.
Another quilter was cleaning out her UFOs (if you are not a quilter, please see the post Lexicon of Quilters’ Acronyms) and gave me 12 – 12.5 x 12.5 inch blocks she pieced with beautiful Kaffe Fassett fabrics. They were from a “Block-of-the-Month” club this quilt belonged to and was not interested in making them into a quilt.
example of one of the 12 blocks I was gifted, on the background fabric they were to be set in
At first I put these block in my “UFO” pile but yesterday I felt suddenly motivated to just make them into a quilt.
I used one of the sampler quilt layouts in the book The Quilt Block Cookbookby Amy Gibson (yep, this was one of the books from my posting The Library (Mega) Stack, I returned the book to the library but borrowed it again…when I can justify another book purchase, I am probably going to buy it…)
Photo credit: amazon.com
Here are the 12 blocks on the “Design Bed” waiting for me to sew the rows together.
all bad photography/bad lighting disclaimers apply
I used to sell 8 beautiful fabric selections from this line in my tierneycreates Etsy shop. However, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to stop selling fabric and pulled the yardage, fat quarter sets and jelly rolls from my Etsy shop.
My decision was based on that I did not enjoy cutting yardage for people (I will never own a quilt shop) and I do not want to compete with quilt shops. (You can read from the tierneycreates archives, my first attempt to cut “fat quarter sets” – Adventures in Retail).
So, no judgement on people who sell fabric online, it was just not something I wanted to do any longer.
My plan is to focus my Etsy shop on handmade items. It is called “tierneycreates” after all. Recently, however, Tierney has not been doing any creating for the Etsy shop but has some ideas for 2017 and beyond.
For now Tierney will keep working through her personal UFO backlog (and obviously accept donations from other quilters’ UFO backlogs, ha!).
This update could be part of my ongoing series – What’s on the Design Wall, but it is more like “Guess Who is Hogging the Design Wall?!?!”
The answer is – Terry the Quilting Husband!
I have not posted an update in a long time on what Terry has been working on. He took a little break from quilting projects to work on house projects.
Last time I posted on his project, it was back in July in the 07/26/16 post What’s on the Design Wall. In this post, Terry was working on a “stacked coins” type quilt.
If you are wondering what became of that quilt..well..it is “on hold” right now. It was not working design wise and Terry discovered some technical errors in his sewing that made the quilt “wavy” when it was assembled. Something went awry in the piece of the denim setting strips.
So we decided that I would take it apart (and down from the design wall) and work on reimagining it at a future date. Terry was fine with that and knew the quilt was just not working. Even as a new quilter, he realizes that sometimes you have to just put something aside for later, and maybe take it apart and start over.
But he did not give up on quilting and has a new piece up on the design wall now (hogging the large design wall in our hallway!).
It’s a Flannel “Half-Square Triangle” Party!
I think Terry really enjoys making “half-square” triangles. I think he finds it mediative.
Terry selected the fabric for this quilt from a collection of Woolies flannel fat quarters we purchased during a road trip.
He promises to work on sewing the quilt together Thanksgiving week so I can have the design wall back!
Postscript
If you would like to read more about Terry the Quilting Husband and his adventures, check out the other posts in the Category – Terry the Quilting Husband.
Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s blog page Schnauzer Snips, for her later musings.
A Day of Fun!
I took yesterday (Thursday) off from work as I wanted to attend a class that our SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) group was having at a local gallery that started at 2:30 pm (I normally work until 4:30 pm or later at my healthcare industry pay-the-bills-job).
I have a couple of friends who are retired or self-employed and have a lot more freedom in their day, so I invited them to meet me for lunch and then wander around downtown Bend, Oregon until our class at 2:30 pm.
So began my lovely Thursday of crafting, thrifting and laughing.
Crafting
Our art quilting group, met up at A6 Studio & Gallery in Bend. The A6 Studio & Gallery hosted a private Bookmaking Class and Tour in honor of their OPENING JAPAN: THREE CENTURIES OF JAPANESE PRINTS exhibit.
The class, held in the back of the studio/gallery, was taught by a professional bookmaking artist. We made an origami folded little booklet called the “Blizzard Book”. A renown origami artist had created the book and the pattern during a blizzard when she needed a paper folding project to distract her from the weather outside.
Here are photos from my first origami mini book making experience:
During the class I learned the importance of the “bone folder” tool to get crisp folds and markings during origami paper folding.
Thrifting
After the class, before heading home, I thought it would be fun to take a peek at a couple local thrift stores near the gallery. As discussed in previous posts, I’ve found some wonderful fabric treasures at my local thrift stores. (My all time greatest find was a couple of years ago at the Brightside Animal Shelter Thrift Store. I found several yards of brand new Maywood Woolies Flannel, in brown check, for $1. Yes one dollar for like $30 + in new flannel. I ended up giving an extra donation to the animal shelter as it felt like pure stealing to only pay $1, so I paid $5!).
So here was my treasure I found on this thrifting trip – nearly a yard and a half of Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric – for $1.50!
Laughing
The day filled with laughter began around 11:30 am when I met my friends for lunch, walked around downtown Bend and through the origami bookmaking class. We have a fun SAQA group of extremely talented art quilters (some of them super famous…but I finally learned to stop being intimidated) who were completely new to origami and were very able to laugh at themselves as they completely bungled paper folding.
When I returned home, the laughter continued, as I took the dogs on a walk and I continued to listen my my latest audiobook from the library: The Girl with the Lower Back Tattooby Amy Schumer.
Photo credit: Amazon.com
Now this book is not for everyone. It is very irreverent and it is filled with profanity and some graphic stories from her love life. But, Amy is brilliant in it.
She narrates her own audiobook and her comic delivery is flawless. She shares (and maybe overshares) her vulnerabilities, mistakes and accomplishments in life is a warm-hearted, extremely humorous manner.
I love the relationship has with her younger sister; and I love the sections where she shares excerpts from her teenage journals with footnotes/comments from her current views on life.
In this book, Amy shares her flaws and her genuine desire that young women learn from some of the errors in judgement she has made related to relationships.
She also has a brutally honest story about her scary experience with domestic violence.
After listening to Tina Fey’s wonderful audiobook Bossypants and Jesse Klein’s nearly brilliant audiobook, You’ll Grow Out of It, I thought I was done with female comic’s memoirs.
I am so glad I borrowed this one from the library – numerous times on walks I stopped for a moment because I was laughing so hard. I was also glad my bladder was empty before listening!
Well the weekend is upon us. I hope you have some crafting (if you are a crafter), perhaps a little thrifting, and of course bountiful laughter!
Gratuitous photo of beautiful Central Oregon, from one of my walks
I am re-posting a blog post from April 2016 from my ongoing series on on my sources of Creative Inspiration. I am dealing with the “strife” that fills the television news and social media by remembering the inspirational stories my father told me as a child.
His stories, words and lessons keep me centered and focused.
Friday Night at Barnes & Noble Bookstore: A Discovery (April 2016)
Life is filled with serendipitous events. Several Fridays ago such an event occurred.
A wild Friday night in Central Oregon involves hanging out at the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. I love browsing in bookstores. I love bookstores, period. They are nearly as magical as libraries (except the discoveries at bookstores are not free to take home!)
While browsing the magazine section of Barnes & Noble, I came across a magazine I had not seen before – American Craft Magazine (and I thought I knew all the magazines in the “crafting” magazine section). This magazine is published by the American Craft Council.
Flipping through this magazine I found an article on an exhibit by the WCQN (Women of Color Quilting Network). I did not know, as a woman of color, that there was a Women of Color Quilting Network! I made a mental note of the acronym and immediately upon returning home I googled the WCQN.
The WCQN, according to their website “is a non-profit organization founded in 1985 by Carolyn L. Mazloomi, a nationally-acclaimed quilt artist and lecturer, to foster and preserve the art of quilt making among women of color.”
Wow. What a discovery for me!
I contacted the Director of WCQN, Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi, to find out how I could join.
WCQN Inspiration
After several wonderful exchanges with Dr. Mazloomi, I am now a member of the WCQN. I had the opportunity to view her website, www.carolynlmazloomi.comand view her amazing art. I also spent a considerable amount of time looking at the the WCQN website, www.wcqn.org, and viewing their past exhibitions (www.wcqn.org/exhibit.html).
I was overwhelmed with inspiration to explore an additional direction in my art quilting – telling stories with my art quilt.
The WCQN art quilts poignantly share stories from a people of color’s perspective and shared experience.
Wanting to explore this theme in the future, I am inspired to create a future series of art quilts called Stories My Father Told Me.
Stories My Father Told Me
My father, Raoul A. Davis, Sr. was an amazing man. He passed in 2008, and left behind a legacy of stories and inspiration.
Born of the 4th of July, he was the son of two teachers and grew up the segregated South (Charleston, West Virginia) in the 1930s. He faced many hardships and challenges but always forged ahead to achieve his goals and dreams. He was the first black to attend Kiski School in Pennsylvania, received a bachelor’s degree from Central State University, and obtained his master’s degree from Columbia University. He also served his country in the US Army.
He served as a leader in the nonprofit sector for over 40 years. His service included working with gangs and underprivileged youth as a Social Worker in NYC; founding the Urban League of Long Island, NY; and creating the first Empire State Black Arts and Cultural Festival (today known as the African American Family Day Art Festival).
He retired as the Deputy Commissioner for the Office of General Services for the State of NY. In his retirement he volunteered and consulted for local nonprofits and community agencies.
His resume was impressive, but what I remember most about him is his stories.
Starting from my earliest memories as a child, I remember him telling me stories of his challenges growing up in the segregated South, stories of his athletic pursuits (he was an accomplished multi-sport athlete), stories about the intense hazing he received as the first black to attend Kiski Prep School, stories of overcoming shocking physical and psychological abuse in the US Army in the 1950 by his drill sergeant, and many other inspirational stories from his life.
A couple of years before he passed he decided to write his autobiography and I offered to help him by transcribing his handwritten notes and pulling them into a rough draft. It was so wonderful to read the stories I knew well from hearing in my youth; and I was honored to help him with this project.
Unfortunately my father passed before finishing his autobiography. I did take what I had and make it into a book for my sister and brother (two incredible individuals who continue my father’s legacy and inspire me daily); and for his grandchildren (one of which he did not get to meet before he passed).
I am still left with all his stories in my head and in my heart, and I think I want to share them in another medium beyond the verbal and written word: in my art quilts.
His Stories into My Quilts
I am in the early stages of thinking of how I want to translate some of my favorite stories into a textile story – will I do something abstract, or will I do a pictorial quilt (time to brush up my appliqué skills!).
An ongoing theme in all his stories is: Here is a challenge, it may seem impossible, but you can overcome it!
One of my favorite stories that my father told me, is a story from his growing up in the segregated South and a bus ride experience that embodied his outlook on dealing with racial prejudices:
As a teenage in the 1940s, I was riding on the bus and a white guy was forced to sit next to me because no other seats were available. He turned to me and growled – “I hate you, you #%%$%%!”
I calmly replied to him “Well, you would like me if you got to know me”.
We ended up having a great conversation and when we got to his bus stop, he exclaimed as he exited the bus: “Raoul, you are alright”.
My father likely did not change this man’s racist outlook on people of color, but he may have left an imprint in this man’s mind and heart to evaluate people based on their character not their color.
My father, who was also active in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s and fortunate to have met Martin Luther King, Jr., believed in focusing on getting to know each other as individuals and not judging an entire group or population.
He believed change came through dialogue not violence. He taught his three children to be brave, no matter what adversity life threw at them; and to as Mahatma Gandhi said “…be the change you wish to see in the world”.
He also taught us to be proud of who we are as individuals, as a people and of our heritage, and not to listen to those who tell you otherwise.
“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” – Gandhi
I would be honored to share his stories through my quilts.
Postscript (11/16/16)
In Spring 2016, I begin the Stories My Father Told Me series with quilt #1 – The Lesson & The Equation, discussed in the post Stories My Father Told Me: Quilt #1
The Lesson & The Equation (2016) by Tierney Davis Hogan
This quilt is now with the curator for a future exhibit (not yet announced, so more later…and in the future I will include a photo of the entire quilt, this is a partial photo)
Right now I am sketching out the next quilt in the series.
In my 11/6/16 post Pinwheel Piecing Party, I shared how I started making small pinwheels from a friend’s collection of trimmed triangles, that have otherwise been destined for the trash.
Here was my first load of pinwheels:
For the past week, as a way to escape from all the hate and unhappiness that seems to be seeping out of every corner of my country, I have been focusing on, during any spare moments, making more scrappy pinwheels.
In order to distract myself for awhile, I created a goal that I had to empty out the bag of pieced triangle scraps my friend gave me.
So I was busy at work “chain” sewing, or “chaining” little half square triangle blocks together. I was quite meditative.
As a result, I now have approximately (I counted quickly) – 72 pinwheel blocks, each measuring approximately 2.5 inches x 2.5 inches!
Also have two “oops” blocks, which I guess you might call – pieced “square within a square” blocks. My “pinwheeling” went awry during my piecing of these blocks!
So what am I going to do with 72 (or more) 2.5 inch x 2.5 inch pinwheel blocks? Well your guess is as good as mine!
For now I am going to put them into my new “Parts Department” I created in my stash after seeing a trunk show and presentation by the Australian quilt designer, Jen Kingwell (see my post Revisiting Traditional Piecing). During her trunk show presentation she talked about using blocks from her “Parts Department” (leftover blocks from other projects, etc.).
Another project I worked on this past week was to go through my stash of fabric scraps and pull out all the scrap triangles and scrap small squares. I put them in separate bags to use for future improvisational quilting projects.
A dear old friend in NYC, who has also being feeling blue about current events, sent me this photo to cheer me up a little – a photo of her sweet rescued kitty – Chummy – on a quilt I made her.
Kitty cozy on a quilt! It is hard to resist smiling at that!
What timing ! The quilt that inspired me to start scrappy pinwheeling (which provided a therapeutic distraction) is connected to the photo a friend recently sent me to cheer me up!
Maybe the Universe at work, you never know (smile).
Continuing my ongoing series on sources of creative inspiration, I want to share my love for the colors of Fall and the beautiful fall foliage of Central Oregon.
In January 2016, I posted about the austere beauty of Winter Trees – Well, before they become “Winter Trees” first, they are beautiful “Fall Trees“!
I love the deep oranges, reds, yellow and browns of the turning leaves. I took a series of photos over the past couple weeks for future quilt palette inspiration:
And speaking of creative inspiration – I came across an interesting quote in the book Inspired: how creative people think work and find inspiration by Dorte Nielsen and Kiki Hartman:
When creativity kicks in, a large amount of resistance inevitably also comes with it.
– Carouschka Streijffert
Inspire is one of the books from my The Library (Mega) Stackthat I shared in an October 2016 post. I am about halfway through that stack of library books!
That is an interesting quote to mull over, eh? I would love to hear what you think that quote means in the Comments section.
Postscript
A couple of random follow up items…
In my post Fabulous Thrifting Fabric Find! I shared how I took down from the wall and donated a framed poster about Solitude, as I was ready to move on. Well, I did not share what I put up in its place. Business Casual (originally titled He Dresses Up, He Dresses Down is now hanging in my entryway. It is a recycled fabric art quilt made from old denim jeans, wool scraps (Pendleton® Wool clothing and blankets) and scraps from mens suiting manufacturing.
In several recent posts, I shared that I listened to the audiobook, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. The first time I listened to this audiobook it was an emotional experience as there were a lot of truths I was hearing and trying to absorb. I listened with tears running down my cheeks for several sections of this audiobook. Well I decided to listen to it again (it is only a couple hours long) and this time there were no tears, there was only a great sense of peace and deeper understanding of The Four Agreements. On my second listen, I discovered that I had not fully grasped the First Agreement: “Be Impeccable with Your Word”. I thought this agreement was focused on keeping your word, being true to your word. It is actually focused on being careful with the words that come out of your mouth and the power of words – to hurt and to heal.
In the post When all else fails, reorganize your fabric scraps I shared an interesting except from the audiobook – Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Lifeby Bill Burnett and Dave Evans on “Gravity Problems”. Later in the audiobook, the authors discuss another type of problem that gets you in the way of moving forward – “Anchor Problems“. As the authors describe – “Anchor Problems are like a physical anchor, they hold us in one place and prevent motion…” I am really enjoying this book and nearly at the end of this inspiring listen! Here is another gem (quote) from this book:
Anchor problems keep us stuck because we can only see one solution – the one we already have that doesn’t work. Anchor problems…are really about the fear that, no matter what else we try, that won’t work either…
Anchor Photo credit – Nicholas Sales, free images.com
Saturday I hung out with a quilting colleague and we had a “Pinwheel Piecing Party” in her home studio.
I was handed a bag of Moda triangle scraps that were already pieced into 1.5 inch blocks, so I could make them into pinwheel blocks.
Sitting on the floor, I laid them out on the rug to play with:
I turned them into a Pile-o-Pinwheels!
They are kind of addicting to make and I have more in the works:
No, I do not know what I am going to do with all those pinwheels but I will have them available for when the design for the piece they would be perfect for appears in my mind!
Ohio Shifted (2016) has returned from its road trip to the Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF).
Wendy Hill and Pat Pease, authors of Creative Quilt Challenges(C&T Publishing, 2016) invited me to participate in their Shape Shifting Challenge, an exhibit-within-an-exhibit at PIQF – October 13-16, 2016, in Santa Clara, California.
Here is the piece which has now returned home and will become part of The Wardrobe Meets the Wall Collection:
Ohio Shifted (2016) – Designed, pieced and quilted by Tierney Davis Hogan
When Wendy Hill returned my piece to me, she also gave me a copy of the PIQF 2016 brochure and the placard that had my Artist Statement and an image of what the piece looked like before I “shape shifted” it!
Here is a photo of what the piece looked like before it’s makeover:
It was not bad in its original form, it just seemed very boring.
If you would like to read about the road trip adventures of Wendy Hill and Pat Pease on their road trip from Central Oregon to Santa Clara California and their PIQF experience, check out Wendy Hill’s blog at: Wendy Hill’s Blog (wendyhill.net).
Here is the description of their Special Exhibit in the 2017 PIQF Supplement: Creative Quilt Challenges – Wendy Hill & Pat Pease
Pat and Wendy have been working together for 8 years exploring color and design through a series of self-designed challenges. These quilts show their differences and similarities in personal style and fabric choices. View in-process photographic displays of their work, and also a group challenge from quilters from the USA and Canada. Their 2013 exhibit at PIQF led to their new 2016 book Creative Quilt Challenges (C&T Publishing). You’;; want to Take the Challenge Too!
I shared in my post Shameless “Thrifting” that I learned to enjoy searching thrift shops for cool donated fabric. Recently I had a fabulous thrifting fabric find, and let me share the story of how I ended up coming upon a wonderful fabric deal at a local thrift store.
Off the Wall, and Out of My Life
Mondays are my day off and this past Monday I decided to take in some donations to our local Humane SocietyThrift Shop. I wanted to donate a couple old art pieces that were no longer bringing me joy.
One of these pieces for donation was a large poster of a photograph by David Lorenz Winston called “Solitude”. This framed poster featured a solitary tree in a wintery landscape. I loved this poster for its austere beauty and how the stark palette gave the eyes a rest in my otherwise colorful walls hung with quilts.
I had this poster hanging in my entryway for years and then I took it down for awhile and put up an art quilt in its place (and stored the poster in the closet).
Then, after being hurt by the betrayal of several friends that I had treated with an open and kind heart (a couple new local friends and one old friend), I took the art quilt down and put the “Solitude” poster up again.
This time the poster was on my wall not for its austere beauty but to represent how I felt – that I needed to just draw into myself (and close my heart) as I obviously could not trust those I thought I could trust. I saw solitude as a way to protect myself.
A week ago, I decided it was time to take this poster back down and put the art quilt back up. I have had enough of feeling like I have to draw into myself and protect myself from people.
The author discusses in depth in the audiobook what this means in regards to relationships and how when someone has an issue with you, it is really about them and their issues within themselves. A quote from this book sums it up nicely:
Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves. – Don Miguel Ruiz
Although I had read this before in other “self-help” books and sort of knew this intuitively, for some reason I was ready, while listening to this audiobook to hear this message.
So the poster came down from the wall, and I have moved on.
(and I decided never to have this poster on my wall again, so it was time to donate it)
After the Donation – A Treat!
I dropped off my donation at the Donation area on the side of the Humane Society Thrift Shop and thought “I wonder if I should just take a quick peek inside…”
Wandering over to the “Crafts” section, I noticed a package of fabric bundled in an old curtain/linen package. A dull looking Christmas-like fabric surrounded a bundle of other fabric which was obscured by a sea of blah paisley Christmas colors fabric (which also appeared to be low quality fabric).
I noticed the thick package of fabric said $2.50. I tried to peek to see what was wrapped in the paisley fabric but they had the package well sealed. I put it back in the bin I found it in and walked away.
Then a little voice told me – “go back and get it, it is only $2.50 and if all the fabric is terrible you can re-donate it”. I figured a donation of $2.50 to the Humane Society was worth feeding my curiosity of what was inside. So I bought it, and the moment I got out of the thrift shop I hurried to my car to open the package.
I was pleasantly surprised! Inside was approximately a total of 8 yards of different cool fabrics in various sizes. The fabric included many high quality fabrics from lines such as Moda, Hoffman, and Alexander Henry.
What a fabulous thrifting fabric find! It sort of seemed to be my reward for letting go on the art that no longer brought me joy!
Here is my $2.50 treat of fabric joy!
Did not take a photo before I opened the package but here is the empty package with the price (you can see it was wrapped in an old curtain or linens bag)The Score! Fabulous Thrifting Fabric Find! (At the top of the photo you will see there were also some scraps to add to my scrap collection, ha!)
As I shared in previous posts, a month or so ago I was in the midst of a creative block. I first picked up English Paper Piecing and then revisited traditional quilt piecing to get myself creating again.
Before I got to this point however, I was trying to figure out a way, short of forcing myself to sew something, that I could “get my creative energies flowing”. On a whim I decided to reorganize my fabric scraps.
I first shared my fabric scrap organization in the 01/01/2016 post Inside the Studio. My fabric scraps were organized by individual color – Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Cream, Black/Gray/Black & White, Brown, and Yellow. Each color had its own bucket.
Reorganizing my fabric scraps I decided to group colors together that sometimes I have trouble telling apart and to make it easier to work with by having less individual buckets.
As you can see by the photo above, the new groupings are:
Orange & Brown
Black, Gray, and Black & White
Red & Purple
Blue & Green (interestingly this was my largest group of scraps)
White, Cream and Yellow
While I was regrouping the scraps, I got to revisit my fabric scraps and I could feel creative energies start to percolate!
Interestingly, one of the books from my latest library stack (The Library (Mega) Stack) – Living the Creative Lifeby Rice Freeman-Zachary – addresses creative block. The author interviewed a group of artists for this book and their wisdom and experiences are peppered throughout this inspiring read.
One of the artists the author interviewed, Bean Gilsdorf, an art quilter out of Portland, Oregon (www.beangildorf.com), shares the following tip for dealing with creative block:
When it starts to stress me out that I’m not doing anything in my studio, I try to make myself do something to get my hands busy again. The ideas will come back eventually…Clean out your files, rearrange your paints, or clean everything so that when you’re ready, everything is in order. – Bean Gilsdorf
I read this book after I reorganized my scraps, but this book reinforced that I was headed in the right direction!
Postscript
I am currently listening to a wonderful nonfiction audiobook – Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. In this book the authors discuss “Gravity Problems” and how we get mired in “Gravity Problems”.
What are “gravity problems”? They are problems that are not actionable to resolve.
The authors share a great example (paraphrased):
A friend asks you what is wrong. You reply “I am having a hard time in life, I just cannot make it up hills as easily as I want to due to this thing called gravity. If I just did not have gravity in my life pulling me down, I would be fine and I could run up any hill I want”.
The authors humorously share that unless you are able to change how the earth spins on its axis and its rotation around the sun, you are not going to be able to resolve your “gravity problem”.
Now perhaps the real problem is you are not at your ideal fitness level and/or you need to improve your cardiovascular health, so you can more easily climb up a hill. That is an actionable problem.
Here is a wonderful quote from the book that I will leave you to ponder:
If it’s not actionable, it’s not a problem. It’s a situation, a circumstance, a fact of life. It may be a drag (so to speak), but, like gravity, it’s not a problem that can be solved. – Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
Sharing a quick follow up to the post – Revisiting Traditional Piecing: The Blocks Part Iin which I shared the first 8 blocks I made for a traditional block sampler, made with non traditional fabrics (a collection of fat quarters from Northcott’s Stonehenge fabric line) for a wedding gift.
Here are the next 8 blocks I have pieced – four (4) different blocks from the Ladies’ Art Company Block Tool by Connie Chunn, each in two versions:
This weekend I got to play with different layouts now that I have 16 blocks completed. I tried out a traditional sampler layout with sashing and corner stones; and a layout setting the blocks “on-point. I liked the “on-point” version (diamond) instead of square next to square layout.
My plan is to make a queen-sized bed quilt, so I determined I need at least 4 more blocks for a total of 20- 12 inch (finished size) blocks. I tentatively plan to do a 4 by 5 block layout and borders.
Today I completed 2 additional blocks (for a total of 18) and I will post them on the next update. I am also now looking through my quilt book collection and the web for innovative “on-point” sampler quilt settings (and of course going to make the remaining 2 blocks so the blocks can be finished).
More to come but wanted to get this update out there. Happy Stitching!
I just wanted to randomly post about one of my guilty pleasures in life – buttons!
I did not to intend to collect buttons, my button collection just sort of crept up on me…
Trying to be organized with my button collection
I am not sure how it began but I remember as a little girl playing with my grandmother’s button jar and being fascinated.
Then, many years later, my love of buttons was rekindled when I started making miniature kimono wallhangings and wanted to embellish them with interesting buttons.
Miniature Kimono with an antique button
I began picking up interesting buttons here and there – from craft shows, from shift shops, antique shops, and from a bookstore.
Card of antique buttons picked up at a used bookstore
I was even lucky enough to have a friend who let me raid her old button collection in search of cool buttons for miniature kimonos.
A couple of these buttons were raided from my friend’s antique button collection
This past May, my friend Dana, who was my “secret quilt sister” at our annual quilting retreat, surprised me with an “Vintage Button Jar” as part of my gift.
The jar contained lots of fun buttons such as the ones below:
Some cool large buttons courtesy of my friend Dana
Upon returning home from the retreat I attempted to cram my entire button collection into my new “Vintage Button Jar” but my collection was overflowing from the jar.
So now I keep the jar in my sewing studio to hold small packages and cards of special buttons.
Anyone else have an issue with buttons? Any secret (or not so secret) collectors?
Well I am working on incorporating first of the four agreements into my life:
Be impeccable with your word
I am not challenged in general of keeping my word to other and keeping my commitments to other people; but I do struggle with being on time to appointments with other people. So in essence I am not being impeccable with my word (that I will arrive at a specific time).
I am easily distracted and I struggle with getting out of the house and to appointments on time. I was very pleased with myself when on Monday I was early to meeting my friend at the coffee shop. I am tired an embarrassed that I appear to be “chronically late”.
Another area I struggle in regards to being impeccable with my word is is in keeping my word to myself! Keep my “self” commitments.
So I am starting small (like going to bed on time, being sure to get out each day and go on a walk, making healthy food choices) to work on becoming impeccable with my word to myself. I plan to build up to the bigger commitments to myself which I hope include to do some sewing each day!
In my previous post I mentioned the first set of blocks I made with the Ladies’ Art Company Block Tool by Connie Chunn (while participating in a Block-a-Month Quilt Club) were turned into a sampler quilt, Block Filmstrip, around 2008.
What I forgot to mention was that details of four (4) of the blocks in this quilt ended up in the book 1000 Quilting Inspirationsby Sandra Sider, Quarry Books (2015). It is funny that a a sampler quilt that I was not sure if I even wanted to finish around 2008 ended up as the opening series of “Quilting Inspiration” images in the book – images #0001 – 0004 of the 1000 inspirations!
Filmstrip quilt – four images 0001-0004 are featured in the book 1000 Quilt InspirationsPhoto Credit: Quarry Books
In addition to four (4) images from Block Filmstrip, the book also contains images from four (4) of my recycled silk art quilts and are part of The Wardrobe Meets the Wall Collection.
Making Blocks
Using the Ladies’ Art Company Block Tool by (2007), I have made eight (8) 12 inch blocks (finished size) using a fat quarter packet, scraps and yardage of Northcott’s Stonehenge fabric line, so far as I created a queen-sized sampler quilt to be given as a wedding gift to a young couple.
I made two (2) of four (4) different blocks from the Block Tool:
AIR CASTLE
AUNT ELIZA’S STAR
BIG DIPPER (I made 2 of the same color way)
CHURN DASH
Thinking About Settings and Borders
In case you have not figure this out yet, I plan to set the blocks “on point” that is why they are all turned on point. I originally meant to photograph them in their traditional square orientation instead of this “diamond” orientation. Also I took the photos on the design wall in the hallway where the light is not the best. Life has been busy and I figure if I took time re-doing the photos then I will never get this post up, ha!
Next set of blocks, I will take better photos (smile).
In addition to wanting to set the blocks “on point” I have already started looking at different options for settings. I am currently looking through a book I recently borrowed from the library – The Quilt Block Cookbookby Amy Gibson (2016). There is a wonderful block setting option in this book called “Point Taken”. I am leaning towards that setting.
Photo credit: Amazon.com
I am also thinking about what type of border I want and I have decided to make a pieced border. I want the quilt to be special and I think a pieced border will add a nice touch.
Looking through my collection of quilt books I came across an old book in my craft book library called The Border Workbookby Janet Kime (2006). This book has great ideas for creating lovely pieced borders.
Photo credit:Amazon.com
More blocks to come (and better photos next time)!
Postscript
Traditional piecing seems to be what I need right now. My mind feels overloaded from my non-crafting life, especially related to my job in the healthcare industry. At the end of the workday and the end of the workweek I am feeling “all thought out” and was not inspired to create any art quilts.
Creating these blocks from patterns feels mediative, centering and peaceful. All I have to do is follow the instructions, cutting the fabric to the dimensions indicated and sew the pieces together.
I am also enjoying carefully pressing the different components of each block as I assemble them and trying to ensure the back of the block is nearly as neatly pressed as the front.
The back of a carefully pieced block
While piecing the first couple of blocks I listened to a wonderful and engaging audiobook read by the actor Peter Coyote – The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz (1997).
Photo credit: Amazon.com
The Four Agreements are as follows:
Be impeccable with your word
Don’t take anything personally
Don’t make assumptions
Always do your best
These seem logical and on the surface very simple. What makes the audiobook so engaging is the author’s discussion and exploration of each of The Four Agreements. Powerful and centering stuff to listen to and ponder while peacefully piecing my blocks!
Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s page Schnauzer Snips for her latest musings and recent experience with the “ongoing herd”!
Creative Roadblock Stops with Returning to Traditional Piecing
A couple weeks ago I discussed an art quilt I was working on as part of the recycled materials “Make Do” challenge (Sherri Lynn Wood, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters) in the post What’s on the Design Wall.
Well I gave up on that piece for now, bundled it up and put it away for now. I was feeling burned out on creating improvisational quilts.
Around this same time I went over my friend Susan’s house who was working on the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2017 raffle quilt which has some lovely traditional block piecing in it. I found the piecing so pleasing.
I also thought about a blog I follow, Texas Quilting, in which the talented blogger does a lot of traditional block piecing including an incredible sampler she is working on.
Finally, as if the universe was telling me to take a break from improvisational quilting and return to traditional piecing for a while, I was invited to attend a trunk show and talk by Jen Kingwell, Australian quilt designer. She used traditional blocks and piecing in innovative and colorful ways – and she uses lots and lots of scraps in her work. If you would like to see highlights of her talk you can check out the post on the Woolie Mammoth blog – Jen Kingwell Australian Quilt Designer.
Here is the one bad photo I took of one of Jen Kingwell’s awesome quilts from her trunk show (look at the sweet little traditional “Churn Dash” blocks in her quilt, she uses a lot of traditional pieced and appliqué blocks in unique colors and combinations in her work):
To see more of her beautiful work, I recommend checking out the Woolie Mammoth post mentioned above or check out Jen Kingwell Designs website – Amitié Textiles; or her Facebook page Jen Kingwell Designs.
I realized I need to starting working on quilt to be a Wedding gift and wouldn’t a traditional block sampler be a timeless gift? I checked with the bride to be and found out she liked earth tones and then I found a beautiful collection of Northcott’s Stonehenge fabric line.
Now what pattern to use? Should I pull out the old quilting books filled with traditional designs? After pouring over patterns in 10 – 15 books as well as patterns I had clipped from magazines, etc. I came across my old Ladies’ Art Company Block Tool by Connie Chunn (2007).
Photo credit: Amazon.com
I first learned of this tool around 2007. I had recently moved to Central Oregon and joined the Block-a-Month Quilt Club at the Stitchin’ Post quilt shop in Sisters, OR. The goal was to make a block a month from one of the patterns in this tool and then create a sampler quilt from the blocks.
Here is are sections of the quilt I made from those traditional blocks in the Ladies’ Art Company Block Tool:
Block Filmstrip (2008?) – pieced and quilted by Tierney Davis Hogan
After making this quilt I shoved away this block tool/block pattern collection. Now, 8 – 9 years later, this tool would be my solution to my creative block! I would make traditional blocks selected from the 160 rotary-cut block patterns in this tool!
Getting Started on My Traditional Piecing Project
Here is my Block Tool and the fabrics I will be using. I only had a little of the blue you see on the right and I later decided to remove it and make the palette oranges, rusts, browns, greens, and creams. I only had one small strip of the blue in the Stonehenge line and although it would had many an interesting accent, I would need to purchase more to make it work and I am trying to work with what I have in my stash.
I also think the blue was too dark, if it had been a lighter blue that would have worked even better.
As of today, I have made 8 blocks and next post I will share my progress so far!
Recently, a friend of mine was telling me about a really cool Stephen Covey themed workshop she attended at work.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, was definitely one of my most seminal/life-changing reads; and one of my most precious books. At a previous job I led a series of workshops for the leadership team (in my former life as a manager) on the 7 Habits and at one point I was fairly “Seven Habits” obsessed.
I am re-posting my crafting inspired take on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People post, from July 2015, for you today because this recent conversation and stirring of memories of this beloved book.
Do you have a favorite inspirational book of all time? A book whose message you have woven into the core of who you are as a person?
I do – Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend that you do.
Recently revisiting this book got me thinking: “how would the habits discussed in this book apply to creativity, making handmade crafts, and creating a collection of art quilts?” Can I apply Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to the work I do on my tierneycreates business: striving to make a catalogue of handmade items infused with smiles to offer to my Etsy shop customers; and to working towards my dream of becoming a professional artist (The Wardrobe Meets the Wall)?
I came up with The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Crafters, based on Covey’s 7 Habits. If you have read Covey’s spectacular book then you know the background on each habit listed. If you have not read the book, read it, it is a life changer!
THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE CRAFTERS
Be Proactive: Those projects will not just start or finish themselves, Tierney! This habit reminds me that if I want to move forward with my goals, I have to get off the couch (and stay away from those highly addictive iPad games) and start working on projects and actions to achieve my goals.
Begin with the End in Mind: This habit helps me when working on an art quilt. When I get to the point when my intuitive and free-form design appears to have gone awry, I step back and think: “What do I want this piece to be? What do I want it to truly express and represent?” Taking a step back and thinking about what I want the end (the completed piece) to accomplish helps me refocus.
Put First Things First: I use this habit when deciding on what priorities of projects to work on. It is very attractive and fun to work on another set of log jam blocks (read about my addiction to “log jam” blocks on my post “Log Jamming”: The Sequel) but it does not move me towards my goal of becoming a professional artist. What I need to put first is working on a new art quilt to build my catalogue of art quilts. This habit is also important when there are times I need to step away from the sewing machine and focus my attending on spend time hanging out with my husband and dogs.
Think Win-Win: This has been a helpful habit on rare Etsy shop issues. Recently a customer mistakingly ordered the wrong fabric for a quilt project she was trying to complete. I did not carry in my Etsy shop the hard to find exact color she needed, only a similar color. I offered to accept a return on the fabric and I spent a bit of time researching for her where she could find the hard to find color in rare fabric line. She decided to keep the fabric she ordered by mistake and she used the links I sent her to work on locating the rare fabric for her quilt.
Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: The meaning of this habit is actually much deeper then how I am about to apply it to crafting: Sometimes you have to step back, slow down and try to understand why something is not working on a piece in progress. I get so focused on trying to complete something it is as if I am trying to force a square peg into a round hole. If I take a step back and try to understand what is really going on with the piece then I can come to solution. This habit is also an invaluable habit when working with other quilters on projects and working with my Etsy customers.
Synergize: This habit comes into play when I am consulting on designing and piecing a new quilt with my quilting friends. Their external ideas help fuel and enhance my internal ideas.
Sharpen the Saw: I am an experienced quilter but I need to continue to take quilting classes and workshops to learn new techniques and refine existing ones. I also need to continue to network with other quilters and crafters, both those doing traditional quilts and those doing art quilts and experimental art quilting techniques. Inspiration does not come to me in a vacuum.
Anyone else have an issue with buttons? Any secret (or not so secret) collectors?
