Workshop in Progress - February 10

We have some new additions to the Workshop group this week. Make sure you keep an eye on Katie's Salt Marsh Path and Cindy at Around the Block Designs. They will also be participating in our weekly round-up of the creative process.


If you've been following along you've seen Elle's work on those turquoise, green, and block blocks for an interesting wall hanging. Well, she may have found her answers, check it out. And in her frenzy of creativity she has a question for you regarding a bargello. Thoughts?


There has been no creating on my end since I finished my pillow. Sigh. The machine is in the shop for a little tune-up. And sadly my knees aren't getting much better. But the ideas are churning and one of these days I'll be ready to hit the ground running!

A Pillow

My latest little hand project is complete. A week in my chair and this sweet pillow is now propping up my knees and their ice packs.

Made with a little fusible applique, outlined with a simple black running stitch. The background was actually a sarong that someone gave me a long time ago. I hand quilted the whole thing, and backed it with some Amy Butler Full Moon Dots in Tangerine.

The inspiration for the project came directly from Marisa at Creative Thursday. Really, the inspiration was two fold.  One, she is such a positive spirit, even in the face of struggles and challenges. When I took her e-course she commented that she is generally a happy person and that she refuses to apologize for that. Good for her. And eye-opening for me. I've been accused of being negative (cynical?) by some pretty important people to me. But one can easily choose to be happy and live happy. It is still a challenge for me, but it is working.

Besides, if I let all the crap that happens to us get me down I would never get out of bed in the morning!

The second point of inspiration was the composition of the piece.  Marisa makes the sweetest paintings, sculpture, and books. Make sure you take a look through her Etsy site. It is guaranteed to make you happy. While I would never want to copy her work, I'd like to think that this pillow is truly an 'inspired by' piece. It doesn't hurt that it simply makes me happy to look at it.

(And immediately after filling it and putting it on the couch the Monster curled up next to it for an impromptu nap. Now that makes me happy.)

Workshop in Progress - February 3

It's time for another Workshop update. What do we have going on today? There isn't much to report from my studio, other than my machine going in for some love. It finally occurred to me to take it now, since I can't use it anyway. Let's check on the rest of the group.

Cristin is now working on Side B of her special baby quilt. Visit Sew This is My Life and take a look. What do you think?

Over at Pickle Dish Lesly is contemplating block designs for bee participation. She is using that lovely Anna Maria Horner Voile. How can she show it off the best?

How would you go about choosing fabrics for a scrappy blocks? That's the question asked at Nichole in Real Life. She has a neat project on the go, make sure to check it out.

An ongoing project over at Elle in Da Coop has her puzzled. And if you know Elle she has her hands in a million different pots at once. Maybe we can help her finish off this project.

The ongoing colour saga at What KT Made Next might be over. What do you think?

One last thing. Many of us who receive comments are often met with a noreply-comment@blogger.com response. That means we can't get back to you, even if it is just to say thanks. If you feel like you've been ignored lately after leaving comments, make sure you check your settings. If you are on Blogger, check out this post and make sure you have your settings the way you want them to be.

Workshop in Progress - Jan 27

It's time for Workshop in Progress. I've got a few questions myself about a project, but I want to highlight a few of the other projects out there where the creators are asking for your input. Check out the links and see what you can lend to the creative process. Remember, keep your comments constructive and polite.

Tackling a Dear Jane quilt is a brave and slightly crazy venture. What KT Made Next is getting set to start one of these traditional quilts, with a modern twist.  She is looking for some colour and layout input before she starts. She is also the second person I've seen who uses Excel to work on layouts.  I love this idea!

Making your own baby's quilt is one of the most difficult projects I can think of. Cristin at Sew This is my Life is expecting her first baby and has made a great start on her own baby quilt. She is looking for some quilting advice and any name suggestions (for the quilt), can you help her out?

Beth at Love Laugh Quilt is working on a fantastic, modern basket quilt. She has a couple of different options. I love the idea of combining all the stripes and baskets together, personally, but what do you think?

Over at Blueberry Gabs Jody is looking for some input on the jump to Etsy. She has some gorgeous handknit hats that certainly tempt me.

Jenny from Puddle Jumping Designs and On the Creative Path has quite the challenge facing her with the redecoration of her kids' room. So many crafty and creative possibilities.  What can you recommend to her? Visit her at Puddle Jumping today to help her out.

This is an older post, but another good one for the Workshop.  Jacquie at Tallgrass Prairie Studio is always working on an armful of projects.  On this one she isn't totally happy with the layout. Any suggestions for her?

Okay, my turn. I'm still doing nothing but handwork these days. My lovely nanny helped me get this project started yesterday while the girls were napping. I've fused on the shapes and done some outline stitching in black thread, to mimic a line drawing effect, a la Syko. 

Those orange and yellow circles are balloons.  Well, they will look like balloons once I sew/embroider strings from the little creature's hand to the balloons.  That's where I'm stuck. I'm not entirely sure what to do, as I am not an embroidery person. I don't think I want to use floss though because I don't want the strings to pop out more than the balloons or creature. Or is that just silly? So, stitch and colour recommendations? 

I will be handquilting in the background and turning this whole thing into a pillow. Piping or no piping, that will be a decision for another day.

Thanks for participating in the Workshop today!

Relaunching the Workshop in Progress

The new year is a perfect time to tackle projects that got pushed aside in the hectic holiday season. For me, that means bringing back the Workshop in Progress.

Workshop in Progress is about encouraging those of us with an on-line presence to open up and share the details, challenges, and a ha moments of our creative process.  This can include everything from the struggle to pick just the right binding, to sharing tips on space set-up. The whole point is that we are being open about the process and not holding on to our work so tight until that last stitch goes in the binding. Use the resources and opinions of those around who share your creative passion. Many of the participants have said how useful the process has been for them, both in receiving comments and providing them.

Every Wednesday will now be Workshop Wednesday.  Not only will I share some more of my projects (once I can sew again) but I will also do a weekly round-up of posts out there.  If you are posting something particularly to get opinion, please send me an email in case I miss the post. I will do my best to catch the posts, but I'm only a working mom with two blogs and may miss some.

As for the above picture, well, it's hard to post without a picture.  This was a fun moment with Smilosaurus, all captured with dots. And thank-you for all your kind words with my injury. I'm still killing time on the couch and I have indeed started a hand project.

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.)

Refreshed and Recharged

Hubby and I had a fantastic weekend away sans kids and dogs. I am ready to take on the world now! Of course, I can only do that after feeding the family, cleaning house, working on my second and third careers, and maybe just maybe getting some quilting in. And a little exercise.

The above image was taken on our trip, a Food and Wine Writer's Workshop in the Okanagan. Now you know why I need the exercise. For more details of the trip, follow me over to Backseat Gourmet. And while you're there, learn more about my TV experience this week.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I totally know what I'm doing with the water quilt now. I just need to find the time to get it done!

Thoroughly Confused

I thought I had it all figured out.  Then you guys had to go and weigh in.  Gee thanks a lot. Actually, I am really grateful for the opinions because it has helped, but it has also made things very confusing.  I am really torn now on this water quilt.

When I first did the layouts v4 was my favourite.  It immediately stood out as the best option, as the one that represented where I felt I should go with a water theme. And even as I reviewed the comments and contemplated other layouts it still stood out for me. Then I started playing with other layouts.

Because I love v4 so much I tried v6.  From the get go I saw that it was a big fat NO.  It didn't work for me at all. No harm done, nothing was sewn.  Then I remembered comments from Dillpickle about making it all "higgly piggly" with the breaks. That's where v7 came from.  I fell in love immediately.  I imagined making some more strips and even how I would construct the whole thing. I think I would use some of the softer blues to make these breaks, to bring out more blue overall in the quilt.  Hmmm.

Then I did v8.  Oh, v8. It was like I was some cheesy player in the bar who moved on from one potential conquest to the next with complete disregard to the girl he was just talking to. But this girl was hot.  The layout worked right away, and I knew it right away. Thanks to Marielle and Christine for making comments about going on the diagonal.  I don't know if I did what they suggested, but I think it worked out well.

But.

You knew there was going to be a but, right? It doesn't say water to me anymore.  The design works on so many levels, except for the original inspiration. Is that a problem?  Well, not a problem, but for some reason is does concern me. AmandaJean told me to just sew it up already and stop fretting, but I can't help but obsess over it.

I don't know what to do!  Good thing I'm going on a little vacation in a few days.  I'll have some time to contemplate design and water. Or just drink, eat, read, write, and enjoy a getaway with my Hubby. 

Water Version 8

Some of you asked for diagonals, well, here they are. This is a departure from all the previous layouts. I find it both dynamic and calm at the same time.  Is it just me?

Of course, to do this I will end up with a whole bunch of offcuts, so I think I would make more as I'm hoping to make this a larger quilt. Not a big deal, just something for me to consider.  It also means there is potential for longer runs in the design.

Here is it flipped 90 degrees. (And without the use of flash photography.)

Don't forget to take a look at the other participants in the Workshop in Progress.  Some of them are already posted projects.  Elle is looking for opinions on salvaging an old project with a favourite fabric.  And Kate is hoping for some additional thoughts as she designs a baby quilt.

And me?  Well, it's been a long week with Hubby out of town and breaking in the new nanny. Tonight I am settling in with my newly arrived copy of Bend The Rules With Fabric, courtesy of Amy Karol at Angry Chicken. I won a contest a few weeks back and I can already feel the need for some uninterrupted creativity time!

Water Version 7

Okay, I really need a design wall! It wasn't until I sorted through this last batch of photos that I realized how hard it is to get a decent photo off my bed. I can't get it flat and the light sucks. If I don't use the flash the whole thing looks yellow and when I do use it the blues really stand out. My apologies.

I'm too tired to go through the previous comments on the first go around, but something someone said struck me and gave me this idea. Just little breaks in the flow of the horizontal strips. I could play with the colours more, make some softer than these.

What do you think?

Water Version 6

Continuing on with my Water quilt, I present v6.  When I did the initial layouts v4 was my favourite.  This is a bit of a change on that one.  I added the long strips of blue to separate the calm and the crazy sections.  And I made the center portion a little more hectic.

This layout initially struck me because it reminded me of my days as a competitive swimmer. 12 years in a pool will have an influence on you! Now, I'm only kind of meh about it.  Your thoughts?

(Apologies for the crappy photos this week.  The weather went from a late summer heat wave to decidedly fall and overcast yesterday.  Between that and Hubby mowing the lawn I was forced to use our king sized bed as a design wall.)

Thanks for the response to the Workshop in Progress! I'm hoping that the end of the long weekend here in North America will bring some more participants.  The first group is up there on the right.  Please take the time to post if you are participating and to visit and leave comments for the rest of you.  Your honest opinion delivered kindly is valued!

Workshop Launch

Asking for your opinions on the Water quilt layouts turned out to be a bit of an experiment. When the idea came into my head to share the design process with you I merely hoped to share with you my own thoughts and design development. To be honest, after playing with the layouts I was pretty sure what I wanted to do, or at least the direction I wanted to go (v4 was my favourite at that time). But by the middle of the week I was getting quite excited to read your opinions and insights. Fresh eyes on my work made me see things very differently.  Thank-you for that. I had new ideas to test out and I took a step back to evaluate my goals with the project as a whole.

Some people commented that I either had a thick skin or that I was brave.  Interestingly, I didn’t see it either way.  I saw it as an opportunity to get some input on a design struggle. Quilting can be such an insular activity these days – despite blogging and on-line quilt bees. Sharing my designs was a way to share a bit of me and hopefully solicit the opinions of other creative folks.  You know, two heads are better than one.

With such a positive experience I want to encourage you to open up your creative process to the rest of the blog world.  I'm launching Workshop in Progress today.

Workshop is Progress is merely you committing to being open to other people's opinions. Maybe you are stuck on a fabric choice or layout?  Maybe you ran out of the perfect border fabric and need ideas to help you finish the quilt?  Maybe you are stuck for ideas on quilting patterns?  There are an amazing number of talented quilters, artists, crafters, and designers out there who could help you out. All you have to do is ask. Welcome to the on-line version of a workshop.

Open up your process – pick one project, or all of them.  And instead of providing snippets or glimpes of the work, show it all.  The fabric choices, the pattern intent, the construction process, the mistakes, the struggles, the finished top, the backing choice, quilting, binding decisions, and finishing.

Once you've gathered the courage to open up, all you have to do is grab the button below by right clicking on the image, saving it somewhere on your computer where you can find it, and add a widget (if you are on Blogger or whatever it is on Typepad or Wordpress) where you can post the image and link back to this post. Then send me an email so I can add your blog to a running list here. 

This will only work if you also visit the other blogs and share your opinion there.  It takes a lot for many of us to open ourselves to potential criticism or simply to open up, so have the courtesy to share your opinion as well as ask for others.

A couple of basic rules for this, more matters of respect than guidelines.

1. Let me know by email (mamaark (at) gmail (dot) com) that you are participating so I can add you to the list here.

2. Be honest with your choices and your own thoughts about what you are sharing.  For example, if you are in love with some fabrics and will not entertain the idea of them not in the project then say that.

3. Be kind with your opinions, but be honest. You should say that something doesn't work for you in a design, but don't just say you hate it and run. Explain your opinion and be nice about it.

4. Be open to what people tell you.  It is amazing how it can change the way you see your work. 

5.  But don't feel like you need to change what you've done/are doing because of what someone else says if you really like it. This isn't high-pressure quilting.

6. Have fun, explore, create.