Just Friday

If you've seen my mojo can you please give it back?

Maybe it was the turn in weather from our snippet of fall to pretty much winter.  Generally I would enjoy that, but this has just been a week to get me down.  The one thing keeping me going is the thought of Thanksgiving this weekend. Hands down, it is my favourite holiday. And I had grand plans for sharing recipes all week for some lovely dishes. Instead, I'm going to send you off to this site for breakfast. One day I will get the chance to really enjoy that first cup of hot tea and some hand pies in quiet contemplation of the last issue of Gourmet.  For now I'll scarf the pies, burn my tongue on the tea, and read a paragraph or two in the midst of screaming, Super Why, and dirty bums.

In the Workshop Today

Have you been following along with the Workshop in Progress participants?  There are some really interesting projects out there. I'll admit that I've been behind on my blog reading so I missed the initial posts, but I encourage you to still visit the blogs and gain some insight into the personal creative process of these artists.

Yes, I said artists.  Those who create are artists, even if you sew on the dining room table after the kids got to bed. Even if you never share a piece of your work.  I truly believe that process is integral to the notion of art.  I was never able to answer the debate in my History of Art class as an undergrad on whether art is about the artist and their process, the finished piece, or the audience. All I know is that there is no art without some combination of the three.  With an on-line presence you are choosing to share both yourself and your process, in addition to the finished work.  Would you still create without the blog audience?  Most likely, right?  But you must get something out of sharing the work and bits of yourself, hence the third aspect of art, the audience.

I hope you take the time to participate in the Workshop as a poster and as an commenter.  We aren't trying to replace the energy of a whole bunch of people standing in front of a design board, but we can foster the community of creativity and a supportive environment for trying out new ideas.  So please, take a look at what our fellow artists are doing.

Over at Katie's Korner she is showcasing the finished Frenchy bag.  She is ever so thankful for your tips and opinions on choosing fabric. And I love the end results. I'm not generally one for fabric bags (please don't hate me for that) but this is such a fabulous pattern.  I might be tempted to try one myself.

Cristin at Sew This is My Life is playing around with half square triangles. A few posts back she'stried out a few layouts and your comments helped her decide where she wanted to take the quilt.  Personally, I think she may have had a specific one in mind, but the feedback to confirm can be just as important as the feedback to challenge.  She's now squared up her blocks and is on to sewing.  Keep checking back with her to see the finished project.  I hope she knows how to quilt it. 

Have you seen the wonderful quilt Sue has been sharing with us at Share the Love? The lovely progress on her Snippets quilt, now finished, was insightful and showed how we quilters often fiddle over the smallest decisions. And then you do something and it just works.  And then you applique ateeny bird and the whole thing is perfect.  I can't wait to see what she does next. 

What KT Made Next has been very honest with every step along the way of designing and completing her Roses for Rosa quilt. I've really enjoyed helping her work through fabric shortages and layout options.  And because she's been teasing us by posting without pictures I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like!

Now, on to my next Workshop project. I haven't shared with you yet that I am participating in an on-line course hosted by Marisa Anne from Creative Thursday. It's been a personal challenge to not only accept the creativity inside me but to find a way to express it and share it with others, all while staying true to my family and myself. Taking the In the Fish-Bowl course is one of those things that forces you to be quietly reflective while slapping yourself across the face a la Airplane.  What's the equivalent of a man-crush for women, because that's what I have for Marisa?

This week's class was about our on-line identity. To be honest, I feel a bit schizophrenic about my on-line identity because I have all my quilting, then all my food writing. In my head they mesh together well most of the time, but as an on-line brand I struggle.  As part of my own challenges I am taking another look at both blogs.  To start, with the overall look and layout.  At the same time I am going to examine some of those larger identity issues, but that requires a lot more reflection and perhaps and shot of non-existent lottery winnings.

So, I am asking you for your opinions on what works and doesn't work on blogs.  Mine, yes, but others too.  What bugs you that people do no naming names)?  What features do you love?  How do you search through a blog?  What do you want out of a quilting blog? And anything else you want to share. Updates and changes will likely be ongoing for now.

Oh, and the pictures?  Just because I have a hard time posting without a picture, that's all. Besides Marisa encouraged us to think of our on-line space as a home or office, or even a specific room.  Immediately I thought of my dining room, where so much of my creative process gets realized, in food, in writing, in family dinners, pajama painting, tea with friends, and conversation.

(PS I am fully aware of the irony of a post about on-line presence where my formatting is completely messed up.  I'm trying, but I don't know how to fix it.)

Keep Your Eyes Open

The past few days took me out of town for my desk job.  There are worse places in the world to go for work than Banff.  Especially when you get the added luxury of staying at the famous Banff Springs Hotel.  The work stuff was okay, even interesting at times, and the food was sadly only mediocre.  But the inspiration in the Rocky Mountain Setting and this fabulous historic hotel more than make up for any disappointments.

Once upon a time I travelled quite a bit for work.  I've seen a lot of hotel ballrooms and meeting rooms.  I've stared at a lot of carpet, wallpaper, and over the top ugly mouldings.  And in that time I've doodled a lot of quilt designs. While the curlicue stuff isn't generally my cup of tea, the designs and impressions can serve as wonderful inspirations for even modern designs. So, next time you are at a boring work meeting or stuck in the speech portion of a wedding, take a look down, up, and around at your space.  See what graphic images can inspire.

The entire exterior of the hotel is covered with stone.  I adore the juxtaposition of the lines in the archways over the windows and doors and decorative spots like this.  With simple fabric choices this could be very effective on a quilt.
Oops, I just noticed my toes peeking out there.  Another candidate for the Toe Catchers group. I like the radiance of this carpet.  You could use a single fabric in the center, or some applique, with strips coming out from behind. With a bolder choice of fabric this would be a very striking quilt.
I really liked the angled panes of these chandeliers in the lobby.  It could be a very interesting take on a charm quilt.  Angle one section one way and flip it around again to still ensure a square piece. I actually did another sketch from a different chandelier, but I didn't take a picture of that one.  It was in the ballroom where half our sessions where and I didn't think people would appreciate me standing up and pointing my camera to the ceiling in the middle of a session by a Microsoft exec.
Isn't this a fantastic chair? Those perfect semi-circles!  Oh the possibilities for a circle lovin' Mama like me.
And look at the colours on this carpet. It was one of the brighter carpets in the hotel.  As I look at this picture now I know I have a fabric in those exact colours in my stash. Hmm, what to do with them?  Pick one of the inspirations above or even try something different?
This grill work was part of an extensive decorative system in the Conservatory at the hotel.  I can picture copying that design in one strip down a quilt.  Just a little to the left of center and with these exact colours.  Now that's a way to take something historical and turn it into something modern.

Lest you don't believe that I was actually there, I'm including this photo. I went for a short hike after the day's activities and snapped this by the Spray River.  I also snapped a whole bunch more photos.  I think my next nature inspired quilt will be Mountains. I think I need to go shopping for some grey fabric to round out the stash before I start that project.