It is working!

Happy to report that I’ve finished another table “runner” this weekend. These were the left-over blocks from Kelsey’s super potholder, and I sashed it with white, used a lovely teal Marcia Derse fabric on the back, and bound it with a stripe from Bits and Pieces. Had my quilting design all picked out and then realized it would make the back simply ugly, so instead I quilted following the back which gave me a nice non-uniform grid.  

Finished!

I’ve been enjoying the process of laying out, sewing, and quilting this table runner, and it is finally finished! Yeah! I was aiming for a contemporary, beachy feel and I think it works. The first quilting was about 1/2″ apart, and the shadows were too strong, so I doubled the stitching, and now the shadows simply become an overall pattern. Early summer at the beach, just looking at it makes me smile.

Can’t you imagine the cool sand between your toes, the icy water teasing your footsteps, and the dune grass twisting in the breeze?

Doing art everyday

Everyone has a challenge to face when being creative – I tend to be too critical of my process and never finish anything. So – I’m working at finishing things regularly so I can continue to learn and grow. Made this “super potholder” in colors that might match Kelsey’s aqua plates and red accents in her apartment kitchen. I finished it! While fun colors and bold, it looks somewhat like Christmas. However, I love the simple angled quilting – so, I learned something.

Some late Christmas cheer

I finished this Christmas project back in February (just a little bit late for donating for 2011), and finally got around to downsizing the image so that I could post it. Found a great technique for a finished lining and love the “stone” binding on the top. Hope to donate it for 2012 to the Cancer Center project.

Listen to your voices

Cleaning up our studio, I also finished these two quilts for Ann Arbor Christian School as rememberances for teachers and staff on special anniversaries. I wasn’t being inspired with how things were going, so I trusted my instincts and kept working with the quilts until I feel as if they work much better. 
The take home? Listen to your voices!

Wisdom

Wisdom: AACRC Fall 2011: In working toward a design for this installation, we the members of the Worship and Art interim class considered the passages of Proverbs 8 and Ecclesiastes 3.
There were many images that came to mind as a result of these passages. As a group, certain things stood out–one of them was the perception of Lady Wisdom who predominantly figured in our corporate minds in white flowing garb which has led to the back drop of white that you see in this piece.
We also looked at the description in Proverbs 8 of Wisdom’s presence everywhere–in the city and in nature as well as at home.
The depiction of a colorful globe represents this inclusiveness and the beauty of life with Wisdom in the times of abundance and the times of need.
Finally, the door way is the reminder that Wisdom is waiting at the door for our response and gives a sense of the security of being at home there.

Old basics

Another way to free up creativity is small pieces. Cleaning up the studio I put away a collection of fabric and fused plastic from this palette from summer of 2011.

Back to basics

Bottled-up creativity remains quiescent until an outlet is created. Returning to the basics frees the muscles to remember paths once followed and frees the mind to imagine new ones. A stash in need of cleaning, fingers in need of freeing, and a gift not needed combine to form these simple table centers, ready for hospitality.

Hands and imagination shaking off the accumulated rust of doing what is needed, to do it just for fun!