Thursday, August 30, 2012

Plugging along on the Collaboration quilt

Lint and threads hanging everywhere.

I just realized that I missed a spot.
I hope this turns out the way that I have planned.

Those sampler blocks have been there for at least 2 years.

My design wall is more like a bulletin board.

Four, count them, four projects pinned to the wall to be dealt with.


I am plugging away at the quilting on the collaboration quilt. It is slow going. I need to take frequent breaks. I really need to get this guy finished up. I can send in the paperwork (due September 1st) because it just needs a photo, but I would like to get it turned in at the board meeting on the 10th.

I decided that this week for Off the Wall I would show what is on my design wall. There is a big blank space where the collaboration piece used to be pinned and I did not take a photograph of that. I have a couple of quilts pinned up, one is a group quilt that my friends made for my 50th birthday. The one halfway under it is from my friend, Lisa B.  Next to the quilts is a partial set of blocks from a block of the month that the Wales group did a couple of years ago.  I have 5 finished and the 6th partly there.  I don't know if I will even try to get the other six made.  Beneath that is a bunch of debris.  I pin things to the wall to remind me that I need to deal with them.  Then something else gets pinned on top of it and so on.  There are layers of crap there.  Like on the other side of the wall I have a piece started from a class in 2008, then 2 pieces of dyed fabric that will be a series on trees, then another quilt top (from a class taken in 2006, although, it has only been pinned to the wall for a couple of months). These are all pieces that I had wanted to work on.  And they are now all layered and who knows?...  there could be another project lurking underneath it all.  I am frightened to look!

I have had a major case of artist block this year.  I have had a difficult time dealing with the death of my only brother.  About the only thing I was able to do is knit.  Knitting is calming.  The last 3 months I have been actively working to get myself out of the deep hole of grief and move on.  It is a slow process, but I feel that I am moving in the right direction.



9 comments:

  1. You are moving in a great direction! Keep up the good work. I LOVE piece at the top of the pile in the last photo. Is that something you made recently? I don't remember seeing it before.

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    1. It has been in a box in the basement for a while. Large box of ufo's. I brought it up thinking it was time to finish him up.

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  2. OMG!! You just described my design wall! LOL

    I must put my most difficult pieces up there because they just sit and sit there. Or rather, hang there. I just don't know where to go from that point with any of them. Maybe this Off The Wall will move me off my duff with them and get me to take a chance I would normally not do.

    Smile, you do beautiful work.

    glen

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    1. Thank you Glen! I have really only completed 2 quilts this year, a small piece that was also from the same class as the small fused garden piece and a t-shirt quilt for my nephew. But I have knit 6 lace shawls!

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  3. I don't know how you all do it! I have to have my design wall free and unencumbered or I could never concentrate on the piece that I'm working on. I do keep inspirational little messages up in the corner - hand made cards - scripture but I don't like to keep other pieces.

    Hey I have one Paula Nadlestern block from 2000 which took me 23 hrs too! We were her first class she ever taught it in! Needless to say I only have the one LOL!! Maybe we could get a bunch of people who have only one snowflake block done and make a snowflake quilt!!

    Thanks so much for the peek - very cool! Hope this blog link party helps inspire you!

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    1. Nina, my Paula Nadlestern Snowflake is from a WEEK long class at Asilomar, probably 2003. It was a good class, but not the kind of piecing that works well for me. Recently I had to set up my studio as a guest bedroom and my SIL said that he thought that snowflake was the most awesome piece he had seen. I may try to make a couple more, or just use it as a focal point in another piece.

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  4. My design wall are also covered with so many in progress pieces that I have every intention of finishing, if I could just quit starting new ones. I have a few pieces that have been up there for going on 5 years.

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  5. Well, shoot. I don't even have a design wall! (But that doesn't mean I don't have more things started than I can say grace over.) Love looking at your pieces.

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  6. I only have three layers on my design wall!! =-) You are way overshadowing me, but I love what I see on your wall. Maybe your black and white snowflake can be a neutral emphasis in another quilt. Keep showing up on Fridays. We want to see your progress! Come back into the sunshine with us!

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