Morning Make September 2020

Another month of painting. More focus this time.

With the kids returning to school I really, really needed something both a bit quicker than my doodles of last month but also still meditative. I decided to draw and paint a series of quilt blocks and turned them into cards.

My knowledge of traditional quilt blocks is not terribly deep so I pulled some classics off the book shelf for inspiration. I still used my quilting ruler, but wielding a pencil instead of a rotary cutter. My trusty watercolours and a black marker for outlining rounding out the supplies.

For the most part I limited myself to just a single block in the painting. Sometimes, however, you need a few repeats for good effect. With each block I played with colour in my paint choices, but not really anything fancy. I am no watercolour artist, but I am definitely improving. At the very least I am capturing what I want and that makes me happy.

Now I have a collection of 30 cards!

Which really means, now I have a collection of letters and notes to write. Would you like one? We could all use some happy mail these days.

The first 25 people to send me an email to cheryl@cherylarkison.com with a return mailing address and a short request will get a card. Please include a bit about yourself or your online presence so I can truly personalize these.

Quarantine Quilt 1

Quarantine Quilt 1

60” x 72”

Back in the early days of Covid the month switched and as I looked for Morning Make ideas I decided I needed sewing in my life right then and there. The kids were home and our days had a somewhat leisurely start to them as we navigated school at home. It meant I could putter in the sewing room a little, even if they woke up while I was at it. It meant I could finish what I started each day.

Originally, I chose the low volume X Plus blocks because I had some left over from when I filmed and promoted my Creative Live class on Quilting with Low Volume Fabrics. I thought that they could all play together in a big quilt, because you know I almost never make a small quilt! As the month went on and the reality of our times sunk in I decided that I wanted this quilt to be a specific monthly marker, with no additions. April has 30 days, so 30 quilt blocks.

The kids helped me baste the quilt. I clearly remember we cleaned the floors together, put on the Taylor Swift album (the only time I listened to it but people were raving so!) and ended up having a long conversation about Black Lives Matter and white privilege. The quilt really is a product on its time. To be clear though, it’s just a quilt.

The quilting is nothing fancy, a topstitch instead of a ditch stitch on all the seams of the blocks. Pretty blue Aurifil thread that happens to match the binding. In between the blocks I used the all purpose dove grey. Together, they give the quilt definition more than texture.

The binding, incidentally, is the only fabric I purchased for the entire quilt. Everything else I had in the stash or scrap bins. Yes, my collection of low volume fabrics is that deep. I was ordering the batting and saw the fabric on the site for one of my favourite local shops, My Sewing Room. It was fate. Especially because I already knew what I was using for the backing.

I’ve had this fabric in my stash for years! To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know what I would ever use it for, but I loved it so. It seems very, very appropriate for a quarantine inspired quilt. Doesn’t it just evoke HOME? With all apologies to my Mother-In-Law who also likes the fabric, I used everything I had to make the backing.

No fancy quilt picture for this project. It was made at home, inspired by home, and will be used at home. Although, not yet. We are having a gorgeous month so no extra quilts needed yet.

Oh look! That Quilting with Low Volume Fabrics class is on sale!

Morning Make August 2020

At the start of the month I knew I needed something slow and meditative to start my days. Something that wasn’t pushing or pulling, something that could be interrupted, something pretty. I had a couple of ideas for doodles so just ran with that.

Really, that’s all these are: doodles. Playing with markers and sometimes a ruler, I doodled my way through the month. Some are intricate and detailed, many play with scale, and almost all are an experiment. Not once did I plan, sketch, or try an idea first. Like improv quilting for me, it was about making it work once I got started. It’s easy to see that some are more striking than others. You can’t win them all. Then again, it was all about the process, not the product. Just like improv quilting.

Speaking of fabric… As I posted these on IG daily I got quite a bit of feedback about turning them into fabric. Never was that my intention, but I can also see the potential. It could go a few ways and maybe that will be something I can play with if time allows or interest dictates.

I can say that this was one of my favourites of the year. It was so soothing to work on all of these. I could get lost in making the marks, filling the page, seeing the idea through to fill. And it was exactly what my mental health needed at the time.

So, if these were to develop into something like fabric, which ones do you like the best?

Morning Make July 2020

How has your creativity been during Covid? Creative action is fantastic, but true bursts of inventive creativity? In full force or nowhere to be found?

A lot of what I’ve been doing in the past 5 months is forced action. Most definitely creative actions - painting, sewing, fabric play, sketching - but little of it is true creativity. The kind of creativity where your brain and body get excited by new ideas has not been happening. There is little space or energy for it in dealing with the day to day these past months, and still.

That being said, sometimes it is good to force the issue a little.

So for July that is exactly what I did. I haven’t been writing much at all this year. I want to, but the energy and inspiration are just not there. My friend Kate says that sometimes you just have to get your butt in the seat and do it. I wasn’t going to be able to tackle the essays or novel I started, that I knew, but I decided to force the creativity by writing down story ideas each and every day. None of these were anything that I’d thought of before. Instead, each morning, I would take my pen and my book and stare at the abyss (or my desk artwork courtesy of Bari J Ackerman, Andrea Tsang Jackson, Tim Johnston, Marissa Cummings, and my daughter) and extract something from my brain. It wasn’t easy and it definitely isn’t pretty. But it was absolutely worth it.

At the end of the month I had some good ideas there. Some not so good, but some well worth pursuing. I also had motivation again for writing. I got two articles done and started a picture book manuscript. I’ve also been able to brainstorm some new things not even related to writing. But the juices are flowing a little and that makes a world of difference.

More than I once I’ve said that creativity begets creativity. There are times when the movements of a creative action are enough. Other times you have to grab the wand and grudgingly pull the ideas out of your head. Once you do though? Magic!