recapture

As 2014 began, I took a look back, trying to figure out what has made it so hard for me to try to work on larger projects. Its not that I’m not sewing! I’ve enjoyed many projects over the last several years. However, whenever I try to be creative on a larger scale, I’m finding myself challenged.

So, in the spirit of scientific research, lets look back to when things were working well on a small scale.

I took a class on creating art quilts with Sue Holdaway-Heys maybe 10 years ago now. Sue is a great encourager and I began to sew for fun, just for me! My mom and my grandma were both excellent seamstresses and I never really had the urge. My sister took sewing classes, but not me. The precision required for sewing clothing? Not me. (image my terror when my daughters both decided they enjoyed this kind of sewing and kept asking for help … needless to say, many phone calls to grandma were in order when things went awry).

I started doing “quilts of the week” in 2006 to give myself an excuse to try out all sorts of techniques. The beach scene at the lower center was one I did with my mom. Some of these are simply lovely – so why couldn’t I take these concepts are translate them?

One of my daughters said to me over Christmas “Your larger quilts have a lot going on.” She was right. I’m losing an elegant simplicity that I love as I change scale.

So, my challenge this spring is to start with basics. I’m going to focus on dyeing a set of fabrics with designs at a larger scale. Then I’m going to quilt. Simply. With bold swaths of fabric and color. Can’t wait!