Gratitude

Finished Quilt Top

2008-07-01T18:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I pushed ahead yesterday and got the top finished. This is good because we are leaving a a couple of days for a short trip, and there wont be any quilt making going on.

I am pleased with this design, the pattern worked out great. But I think I may add a little embellishment in the form of fabric sprinkles in the background somehow. I have decided not to embroider on this quilt. Doesn't seem to want it.

Here is another view:

My husband thinks this looks like my hand. It should! This quilt also marks the first in a very long time since I used commercial fabrics. The black with white polka dots worked out great!

Not A Sketch

2008-06-30T17:32:00.001-07:00

My daughter was doing some watercolor paintings yesterday while I worked on the quilt. For her last painting, she used a straw and blew blobs of paint around on the paper. It got me thinking about doing that with ink, a project I did in high school. One inspiration led to another, and I wound up with this:

I stopped coloring on it because I didn't want to anymore, not because I felt like it was finished. But it was fun. I was doing the coloring after the ink had dried, after dinner, actually, and my husband and daughter kept seeing things in the blobs and in the spaces between the blobs.

And we are now into the yellows. Almost done, actually. I'm liking it!

Pepper Mill

2008-06-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

I am enjoying making these sketches. I like the place my mind goes to when I'm drawing. But I'm finding it difficult to find things I want to draw.

I think I might just be too picky. I thought this pepper mill would be boring to draw, but I really like how it turned out. So maybe there are more things than I think that would good make subjects for future sketches.

Now I need to work on getting the photo right so that when I adjust the levels, the background totally drops out.

Close Value

2008-06-25T05:01:00.001-07:00

As I begin laying the background down under my hand, I am feeling that the colors are too close in value. Does this stop me? No.

There are many things I can do to fix this: I can rip out the background and use different valued colors, which I do not own, so that isn't really an option.

I could use a bleach pen and draw lines on the background pieces, thus reducing their value. I haven't ruled this out, altho it's risky: I've never tried this before.

Or I could try to lighten the background with the color thread I use to quilt it. I would have to quilt a lot to make the background seem lighter. That's ok with me; it seems like I'm into a lot of quilting these days.

But as I add more pieces to the background, I'm feeling like the best course is to just wait and see what happens. I may wind up with a different solution altogether.

Isn't being creative fun?

Trip to Ikea

2008-06-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

Monday was Go To Ikea Day. Since this takes over an hour on the bus, we don't make the trip frivolously. Nor spontaneously. My main objective was a new laundry drying rack, as you will see, but I also got a trash can for my living room, a tree for my daughter to hang her necklaces on, some trivets which will be covered in fabric and mounted to the wall in my daughter's room so she can use pushpins to put up stuff, and some light bulbs. We also met with Dad to have lunch together.

This is my old drying rack. It's sufficient, but it wont fit on my little balcony. So, we have to look at drying clothes in my dining room, which can be uncomfortable for my daughter's 14 year old friend-who-is-a-boy. Also, it's a little cramped in there!

Here is the new one. Taadaa! It is about 2 feet square and 5 feet tall, and is adjustable as far as the shelves go. It holds tons of laundry, and best of all - it can sit outside and be out of the way.

Here are the before and after shots of the cork trivets turned into a decorative item for a teenage girl's room.

This is the tree I mentioned for displaying necklaces. It's not necessarily sold for that purpose, but what do we care? It works.

We had to hire a 7-seater taxi to get us home since the drying rack was so big. But it only cost us half of what having Ikea deliver it would have cost, plus we didn't have to wait.

Isn't Ikea the best?

The Sketching Continues

2008-06-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I continue to be surprised by the final result of the day's sketch. Working in marker is really challenging, and I usually am not real happy with the contours. But once I fill in the shadows, things start to look better and better. Both yesterday's and today's sketches are a bit awkward and wont be going into a frame anytime soon, but I'm still pleased.

My goal is to do this quickly, even tho I know my drawing classes were 4 hours long. I don't want to spend half the day, I just want to have a small success, do something that requires me to see more than I usually do, and have something to blog about. Ok, that last one isn't a priority. But it is a bonus! And I know it's common knowledge that this type of discipline opens up creativity in many ways.

A Lightbulb Moment

2008-06-18T19:17:00.001-07:00

I used to not like sketching without a pencil, because I couldn't erase. If I had a pencil when I started this sketch, I would have erased. Lots. But, I made a discovery: the more detail I added, the better the lightbulb started to look. Instead of subtracting, I added, and it got better. Weird.

Another discovery: if I fool with the levels of my drawing in my photo program, I can make the background disappear. It looks better than the last sketch, no?

No Sketch

2008-06-18T18:42:00.001-07:00

Well, there seems to be something deep down in my DNA that keeps me from being consistent. No sketch yesterday. But I did finish the hand!

I'm only half happy with this part. The colors were chosen because it had been suggested that I not use black as a contrast to the spectrum. So, I went with purple and gold. I also was interested in getting more earth tones in my quilts, so that's why the golds and browns are there. But I think the thing I really want to see is the lines I drew.

I'm coming back to the lines again. I know. But once I draw a line, I get so infatuated with it that I don't like to see it turn into a shape.

There are some fixes for this. I could cut thin black lines and curves and outline the colors - like a stained glass. Or I could quilt the outlines in black thread. This second idea is appealing to me. I would go around each shape many times, so it would look like a doodled or scribbled outline. But that will have to wait until the rest of the background is filled in. I have all that time to talk myself out of it, if I'm gonna.

The quilt has a life of its own now. I will have to see what it says.

Inconsistent Blogging

2008-06-17T17:31:00.001-07:00

Well, further to my goal of making a sketch everyday, it was suggested that I could post my sketch everyday.

Don't count on it.

But I decided to give this one a try. It's so blue! That's because my windows in my studio are tinted blue.

I'm not really trying to accomplish any big thing with these sketches. I just suspect that if I keep drawing, it will open up new windows of inspiration and creativity for me. Plus, I like to draw. Especially when I know no one has to see it but me. So, that's why I'm making no promises about posting the drawings. This one isn't any masterpiece, and I felt ok about posting it, so we'll see....

Thumbs Up

2008-06-16T17:40:00.001-07:00

Well, late in the afternoon I found time to get into my studio and do some work. First I had to dig out my work area - cluttered again. Story of my life.

I had previously chosen the colors and cut out the pattern pieces for the palm of my hand, but after almost two weeks of not looking at this project, I realized I needed to change two of the pieces. So I replaced them and was happier.

After working with patterns for several months now, I have determined that it's best to overlay the fabric on the drawn pattern, and to actually do some light fusing right onto the pattern, in order to stay within the lines, as it were. Since I use the release paper from the Wonder Under as my pattern paper, anyway, this is not a problem. I just need to be careful not to transfer the drawn lines onto the back of the fabric while I'm pressing them, because they can be seen through the lighter fabrics. But this doesn't happen if I just use a light touch with the iron. ( See the original pattern here.)

In this case, no lines were transferred, but I maintained the original shape that I started with. It's amazing how far off one can get with fabric that stretches just a little.

In the few minutes I had before I needed to get dinner started, I went ahead and did the thumb. The notch at the top will be filled in with fabric later to give a transparency effect. Kinda hard to explain.

Actually, showing my work in progress reminds me of those While You Were Out programs, where the home owner can't see the designer's vision and feels anxious. I can't explain my vision to everybody. Well, I guess I could, but it's more fun to just let things unfold. Besides, sometimes my vision changes mid-stream, and sometimes it's just hard to articulate. I guess you'll just have to hang in there.

Back in the Saddle

2008-06-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

I've not been posting this past week because I was out of the country. I didn't want to announce that we were going to go to Malaysia for church camp, just in case somebody might be watching (I'm paranoid, right?). But that's where I was: Port Dickson, Malaysia for a week-long church camp. Our speaker was Dr. Richard Blackaby, and I had a nice chat with him Tuesday night before he spoke. Nice guy, great speaker.
As soon as he was done speaking that night, I was stricken with Montezuma's Revenge, and that was the last time I heard him speak. Spent the next 3 days mostly in bed. Grrreat.

I'd like to say I had a nice time, but that would be pushing it. In any case, it was great to get back home and sleep in my own bed. All of our pets survived our absence without incident. And now I'm ready to start our summer activities.

Here's the list:
My daughter and I both want to learn to play new songs this summer; her on the piano, me on the guitar.

We will be reading the Seven Habits book for teenagers together, as well as trying to implement those habits.

I'm going to be giving her some more instruction in the kitchen.

With the purchase of my new quadline roller skates (Yahoo!!) I will be skating at least three times a week.

I will be making a sketch every day - just for practice and to prime the pump.

We (both my daughter and I) will be making more time for devotional activities. Not sure how that will work out yet.

I will be blogging more consistently.

I will be working on my art more consistently.

Pretty ambitious, no? It's all a ploy to keep us from wasting time watching movies or playing video games. And to keep us doing things together.

Bring on the summer!

Birds of a Feather

2008-06-05T01:16:00.001-07:00

My friend, Akiko, is moving away from Singapore in just a few days. She has been like a sister to me, we connected on so many levels, and it's sad to see her go. But since we got so close, it feels like we will have to see each other again. So, I'm trying to be cheerful.

To celebrate our friendship, I made these for her.

I found the pattern for them online, but I adjusted it by adding the legs.

Farewell, Akiko, my sister-friend. I'll see you soon, Lord willing.

And now you know why I haven't posted about the hand quilt. I'll do that soon.

Having a Blast

2008-06-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday after church my family went down to East Coast Park and rented skates. My daughter got roller blades, but I got these ginormous things.

They're called quadline skates, and they strap onto your own shoes, which is a benefit for me, as my arches are falling and most skates don't really have arch support. My Keen shoes do, though.

These skates have huge wheels, and the wheel base is extra wide for better stability. I had such a blast on these. We skated for an hour and a half, over a kilometer, with plenty of rest stops along the way. My husband jogged alongside us or ran off taking pictures.

Start of New Project

2008-05-27T01:42:00.001-07:00

Well, instead of working on another colorway for the last piece, I have moved on to this new piece. I don't know if scale is discernable from this photo, but this is large. Larger than the last piece, anyway. Almost a square yard.

Hey - that's big for me!

The theme of this quilt is release. Letting go. Still thinking about what colors I wanna use...I'll keep you posted.

Daytime Pictures

2008-05-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

Here is the view from my sewing machine. Unfortunately, this window faces due west, so the afternoons are a little less interesting as all I get to look at are the curtains.
That factory there, or office building - whatever it is. I think I'm seeing more birds enter through the broken and open windows than I see people going in. Weird.

You didn't really need to see that my stash is safe and sound, but I really needed to show it off...Ain't it inspiring?

And speaking of showing off:

Art Werk #2
Completed 24 May 2008
15 3/8" X 13"
For purchasing information, please email me

Detail

A Tour Of The Studio

2008-05-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the studio is all unpacked now, and with the exception of some quilts that I don't have a home for, it is done. Here is the tour:

We'll start with the door, which is set at an angle to the room. I have my fused fabric stored on the back of the door here. To the right is my cutting table.

The wall behind my cutting table is where I plan to install my pin-up wall.

This shelf in the corner used to be in my daughter's room, but it didn't work in the new house. So, now it houses my fabric scrap bins.

The futon chair used to be in my daughter's room, too, but it's so comfortable I didn't want to part with it. It doesn't really fit in my studio well, and is currently storing all the quilts I couldn't fit elsewhere. Must sell these or get them up on the walls...

Here is the bookshelf from the previous studio, and my sewing table. Took these pictures at night. It's a nice view. I'll post it tomorrow.

This dresser was given to me, along with its twin, by my friend Akiko. Since this room has no built in closet (honestly, where would it go?), this seemed like a good solution for all the stuff I had put away at the other place.

And back to where we started from. You can tell, I think, that this room is very small compared to the last place. It's been a challenge to find space for everything, and we've had to get rid of some things. That's always a good thing, isn't it? Should make our return to the states go a little easier if we have fewer possessions.
So that's all for the tour today. There will be more to see tomorrow.

After the Move

2008-05-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

Of course, we're still unpacking and finding homes for things. We had to put everything on hold for about a week as we all got sick. I'm finally feeling better, symptom-free but I tire easily. Unfortunately, both my daughter and husband aren't feeling well, again! He's stayed home from work today, and the doctor prescribed antibiotics. She's just too sick to feel well, but not sick enough to warrant staying home from school or a trip to the doctor. Yet. When will it end?

I spend the majority of my day today unpacking and arranging my studio.

Yea!

But, it's not done yet...

On another note, I was totally blessed and thrilled to pieces to be able to meet Timothy Bottslast weekend.

I have been a big fan of his work for nearly 20 years now and when I found out he was going to be in Singapore, I jumped at the chance to meet him. Such a nice, generous guy. And I got the chance to take a workshop with him while he was here, too. It was a dream come true.
Here is what I made in the workshop.

Getting Professional

2008-04-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Help.

Get it? Getting professional help. Ok. Not funny.

Well, I finally broke down and had some name cards made. That's what they call them here in Singapore - not business cards. I had 100 made, and I'm so thrilled with them. Of course, 99 out of every 100 name cards you see here in Singapore have the horizontal format. But not mine, no. I'm too tricky for that.

And don't I have so many .coms? Actually, the bethanystudios.com isn't up yet. I just registered the domain last week, and am not yet ready to put my website up. But it's in the not too distant future. Of course, I'll post about it, and I'll make links and all that.

And here is the latest werk, with the edges trimmed.
Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep, I came to the conclusion that I really have to stop working on this quilt and pack my studio. We only have 2 weeks to pack and clean and all that. Panic! But, of course I'll finish this quilt at the new place. Actually, I'm doing a little hand embroidery on it now, and that's quite portable, so maybe it will go into my purse instead of into a box.
This too shall pass...

Color Fill

2008-04-16T17:39:00.001-07:00

Well, here is the top completed. I've left plenty of fabric off the edges for the seam I will sew when I bind it. But, I'm thinking that since the design is running off the edges, anyway, I might as well just trim it down, so it is a square again. Or at least squared off.

My sense of this design is that it's all about color, and the color choices I made don't correspond to any recognizable pattern. They're just random. I like this effect, but I would also like to see the color choices more controlled. So, I will make another one and limit my colors.

That will be the first thing I make after the move. So I will have plenty of time to dream about what colors to make it.

Six Days Later...

2008-04-13T20:06:00.003-07:00

...and I've only added one measley gear to the quilt! What's going on??

Well, the good news is that we've found a new place. The bad news is, now we have to move.

The good news is, it's only across the street and down the block from our old place. The bad news is, now we have to move.

There's lots of blessings in this new condo. But, of course, the first thing that gets packed is the last thing to get unpacked, and it's the thing the family can live without the easiest: my studio. Before I start packing, tho, I intend to finish this quilt up. But for the past six days I have been very busily employed in the particulars (doesn't that sound official?).

Hey - I would love to know your favorite tips for packing, moving, and cleaning. Feel free to post or email me.

Coloring Inside the Lines

2008-04-08T19:40:00.001-07:00

Here we see some of the colors being added to the pattern I posted yesterday. The orange to red piece in the lower left corner is extending past the gear so that I have some material with which to bind the quilt when I am done.

And here I've finished the upper left hand corner. Do you see how differently you relate to this once it's no longer a line drawing? You're soaking up the color and the shapes, aren't you? I know I am.

Ursula left a comment on yesterday's post asking about color choice and how do I do that? I guess when I approach a quilt, either I'm thinking of a very limited color scheme, or I'm thinking in terms of warm colors vs. cool colors or light vs. dark.

In this quilt, it's about warm vs. cool and light vs. dark. I knew I wanted to have red at the center of the quilt, and actually it's a red orange I've used as the background of the dark blue gear. I think as I'm building this up, I'm looking for the color that would contrast the most with the back ground and the colors surrounding, but I don't want to be too repetitive.

And now that I have this much of it built up, the high color contrast is a little kiddish or whimsical, and I think I'd better add some brown to tone it down. And I think I would also like to see this pattern made with a more limited color scheme, too.

By that I mean: all cool colors, or all blue, or maybe red, black and white. We all have our favorites, and we see them all the time. Primary colors would also work, but then it would look like an Ikea quilt. And then once I've chosen a limited color scheme, say all blue, I would do something to break it a little: like add a little orange (blue's complement) or something to just add a bit of interest and show that I was playing and not being so strict. I like kiddish and whimsical, I think it's important to give your viewers the distinct impression that you had fun making a piece. But I also want to be taken seriously. Adding in the neutrals or earth tones can do that.

Hope that answers your question, Ursula.

And here's what I woke up to as I was having my first potty break of the day yesterday morning:

This is a storage cabinet in my bathroom with colored, transparent drawers. I sit facing it. It made me laff, so I had to share it.

New Werk

2008-04-07T19:31:00.003-07:00

Here is the next pattern in the series of Art Werks that I am making. It's always interesting to me to see the transition from pattern to completed work. With the pattern, all you see is line; there is no color. With the completed work, the first thing you see is color, and then you take in the shapes. The fine line is lost, but it's still there, too. Or rather, it is suggested. Shape takes the place of line.

It's a little like my treatment of leftovers: I'm pleased with saving the food for the laughable idea that we might eat it again (the lines in the pattern), and then I'm pleased with the fastidiousness of tossing the two- or three-week old science project the food has turned into because I'm making the fridge a cleaner place (the shapes and colors). Do you see what I mean?

If I've confused (or disgusted you), please wait for the finished product.

Creativity

2008-04-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

This morning while surfing the blogs I usually look at, I found this very important video clip at BellaDia. Immediately after watching it, I knew I had to put it on my blog, too, so as to increase the possibility of more viewers. (If you can't see the whole thing on my blog, click on the link about and see at at BellaDia.)

The clip runs for a little over 20 minutes, and is often very funny. I hope you will enjoy it and it will make you think about creativity, a wonderful gift.

A Gift For a Friend

2008-04-02T01:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I will be celebrating the birthday of a dear friend of mine. Her name is Penny and she is from New Zealand. So, I saw this as an opportunity to try out that free-motion embroidery idea I blogged about days ago.

I got a picture of the New Zealand penny on line and I traced it onto Solvy - a water soluble stabilizer. I used an oil-based permanent marker for this so it wouldn't bleed or smear.

The penny I traced was dated 1957, but I changed it to 1960 - her birth year.

Then I stitched the design. This was not as easy as that sentence would imply. After I stitched the outside circle, I decided it would be prudent to put a layer of tear-away stabilizer on the back. And my sewing machine was most uncooperative. I think I must really replace it soon. I had to rethread and re-bobbin it every couple of minutes. But somehow, I managed to make it look all right.
This is sewn onto a zippered jacket, btw, in turquoise - our favorite color.

The penny had these dots interspersed along the outside edge, and they didn't stitch too well, so I decided to put a copper sequin in their place: three of them to be exact.

So, if you are reading this blog and you know Penny, please don't tip her off!

Faux Sushi

2008-04-02T01:29:00.003-07:00

For April Fool's Day I met with some friends for a time of game playing - card games and board games. This was my contribution to the snack table. Not very sushi-like sushi. They are cut-in-thirds Twiggies - a Singaporean version of Twinkies (not nearly as good, unfortunately) with a Japanese candy called Chocobabies stuffed into the frosting (these aren't like any American candy I know of, but they are good!) and wrapped with Fruit Roll-ups, in strawberry! I wanted the green roll-ups, but I was lucky to get any, so I took the red ones.

I had to explain to many people that this wasn't REAL sushi (I am not the only one who doesn't eat raw fish), and that was pretty funny because I didn't think my sushi looked like the real thing at all. Once I mentioned the ingredients, tho, people were happy to have one. What a riot!

I also made a new friend yesterday, a new mom at my daughter's school, and she's a quilter - and not only a quilter, but a FUSER for heaven's sake! I feel very blessed that God has allowed me to make her acquaintance at this point in my life, when I desperately needed to meet someone who speaks my language.