Working in the background :)

I have been doing a lot of stuff, but not saying a word. In between working on the house, I have quilted two small pieces and this one is basted and ready to quilt on too. I have another in the to-be-appliqued stage, too.
The work on this Trillium was interesting - as I have recently given myself permission (don'tcha hate to have to do that) to use my inks and paints to enhance the colors. It has been lots of fun and has incorporated my painting and drawing with fabric. The best of all worlds!

Lately it feels very spring like and I have spring fever and want to be OUT since there aren't any bugs to bite me. I do like this in between season best. I get to walk around in the woods and check on what lives where and pick up nice rocks for the garden - stuff like that.

I continuously lurk and keep my eyes on everyone too! My BF has just stopped working all the time and I am looking forward to some good quilting/creating time soon.

Off with his head, off with his head!

Ok, so that may sound a bit overboard, but yesterday I went a little too far when working on my Grackle's beak and he ended up looking like Cyrano de Bergerac.
So I did the next best thing a girl could do and cut out his head! Like completely out - then I had a hole in my piece and thought it was a complete loss. While pondering my situation, (I walked around with crabby face for 30 minutes or so,) I came to another conclusion and a solution to my dilemma.
Lucky for me, I had more of the background fabric, so I pieced in a large triangle and then covered the seams with more reeds. Now I am working away at the repair and will baste a new head and beak today :) Voila! Happiness again.

Holiday Greetings and Salutations!

Happy Holidays to ALL those wonderful people I know and Love!

Now, on to this mornings fun/play time. I changed and arranged, cut more and discarded little pieces of colors and assembled them back into the Grackle. I added some ink lightener and I think I am happy with this guy now.

I just have to sew him down, add another reed and I'm off and running with the machine quilting.

After Christmas Day..............................

Recovery is slow but steady

So, the other day I said I was trying to sew................well I did. I still seem to still need a thumb.
Ironing and holding the work down with my left hand - do I choose something large and easy.............no, not me! I decide I need to make thin stems. Very hot iron, up close and personal, lots of ouches and aws, but got one side of each stem done. Then proceeded to baste and ran out of steam. (my steam, not the iron)

Yesterday I drove for the first time and went up to Concord, Headquarters specifically. I bought two sets of large displays aka: two hollow core doors with hinges that are painted. I plan on repainting them and using for my booth display in October. I will pick them up at the end of the month. I need to decide on a neutral color to go with my dark green booth walls and olive accents. I am still working on this (in my head) and would like to be ready by then.

In a new splint and looking forward :)

I got a new splint the other day and it is so much more comfortable..........made just for me  too! :)
Today I got an evaluation at PT and the therapist said I could use my fingers to sew. SO, guess what I am doing right now besides typing? YES, sewing and waiting for the iron to heat up.

I'm making Marsh Marigolds.............small but a good step forward.

This one is ready to fly!

Blue Bird, process shot

So, after a bit of procrastination and a small argument with my sewing machine, I finally finished the Blue Bird. He still has his basting, but I usually put the piece on the wall and take a photo so that I can see on the computer what the camera sees. It's pretty amazing how differently we vs. the camera sees things.
I came to the conclusion that this one is done.
Now I start framing/hanging the pieces in readiness to show Monday afternoon. They actually don't hang, just have to be ready to hang = finished work.

To those of you that don't know how an art jury works, I will run you through the process...............
(This pertains to my upcoming jury.)
First off, you have to apply to the organization for whatever you want to jury. This application is like any other application, ie: requires statements from you, photos of your work, things like that.
Then you are contacted by the Chairman of Jury. A date and time is set for you to come into the headquarters.
Once you arrive, you tell the receptionist that you are here. All this is easy, right? So while you wait, you get to admire the latest exhibit.
The Jury Chairman comes to get you and escorts you to the jury room. You are introduced to your jurors and present you work. You discuss your work with the jurors. Then the hard part..........you are asked to leave while your work is discussed and decided upon.
You are then asked to return to the jury room. Your work is then discussed with you and the decision is presented to you. (conditionally accepted, deferred, or rejected) All work is subjected to a set of standards for that particular medium. These standards are a guideline for the jurors and for you to go by.
Some work is more emotional than other work. By that I mean, I have more of "me" in my fabric work than I do in my other work. I express myself openly and freely with fabric and really enjoy it.
So, now you see where the scarry part comes in........opening oneself to criticism and judgement.
I have a lot of confidence in my work, but that fails me when I am up against a situation like this.
I will take heart though..........one of my pieces sold as soon as it was seen by another artist I know and respect.........so it must be pretty good :)

Design Wall - Monday

I finally made it! After a couple of weeks of doing lots, but nothing to show for it...............well this week, I have my Evening Grosbeak. He is all stitched and there is more to do in the trees and background, but I think he came out pretty good.

(and I fixed the right hand corner.....drooping too much)

I also have a new smaller piece, Snow Drop. I saw one a week ago and thought it so sweet, so I got my books out  and here it is:)

They are coming along as well as two others............heading towards the fabric stitchery jury, so trying to finish up and put it all together.

Nothing on the design wall this Monday

I have lots to finish, so no designing right now. Three pieces were basted and are ready to be quilted. I had to take a day out and play with my Car Geek Husband. Now that I have a new car, he needed me to play with all the gadgets and buttons, wash it (yes, it had tire black on the wheels which make a greasy mess) and then we went over to the school and took some pictures. This was all good as I ended up having lobster for dinner :) Patience wins sometimes.

Working on pricing my quilt work. I have no idea............stabbing in the dark to come up with something I would be happy with. These take a long time to make, as most know, so pricing to the market fairly and well is the key.
So the next question is: "Who is my market?" I don't have an answer for that yet.