Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category

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I’m Going Greek.

Sunday, October 19th, 2008

Hi Bev.

I’ve been researching this month’s Myths & Legends theme and have been pulled back to the Greek mythology that captivated me as young girl. I love the the stories of the gods and their powers. I had forgotten that Athena was the goddess of crafts and domestic arts because it seems she was more widely regarded a guardian of those in battle and the goddess of wisdom. It rocks that there’s a goddess of craft! I think she will be appearing in my next quilt. Now I just have to figure out how.

How did it get to be Oct. 19 already?!

Cheers,

Jennifer

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Posted in Inspiration, Themes | 1 Comment »

I drew a mythical village…

Friday, October 17th, 2008

Doodling some houses last night, and these ones look like they might come from a myth or a folk tale:

Folk tale village

Sort of Swiss-German, with Regency British touches around the doors. Hmmm. An architect I am not.

Bev

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Posted in Design Phase, Inspiration | 27,922 Comments »

Inspiration for myths and legends

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Hi!

This month, I’m reading on the theme, for inspiration. Myths and legends, folk and fairytales. I could read all month and not set a stitch. (Never fear, I’ll start sewing soon!)

What I\'m reading

Historian Michael Wood takes the premise that some myths might have a kernel of fact buried in their centre. He’s explored these themes for years: Was there a king of Britain called Arthur? Who was Alexander the Great? Did the Trojan War really happen? I’m a big fan of his eclectic approach to archaeology and ancient history, chasing any echoes of ancient literary references in the real world.

If you ever get a chance to see his TV programs, have a go! They are fascinating and a thankful antidote to those cheap ‘torches and swords’ re-enactment ‘history’ programs we get all the time (gack.) This particular book and program, In Search of Myths and Heroes, looks for evidence of Arthur, Jason and the Golden Fleece, the Queen of Sheba and the kingdom of Shangri-La.

Printmaking has caught my eye recently, due to the effect of my recent screenprinting class at ThreadDen, which was wonderful! And there’s been a bit of a stencil-along going around in the Aussie and online crafty scene – as you know from last month’s quilt. I got some easy-cut lino blocks, tools, and a basic printmaking book for my birthday this week, and I am now all set to go!

When I came along for the ride on this challenge, little did I know that it was going to turn into an exploration of applying paint and ink to fabric. But that’s what’s happened.

So, what’s sketching? So far, I drew random images that remind me of myths: red apples, flowering trees, a white stag, mistletoe and a harp. Green will feature. I think I’m a celt at heart.(smile)

Bev

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Posted in Design Phase, Inspiration | 2,269 Comments »

Crafty city

Thursday, September 25th, 2008

Hi Jennifer,

I’m gearing up for a big visit this weekend to the Open Day at the Textile Fibre Forum here in Australia, at Geelong, on the coast near Melbourne.Textile Arts Forum

Several crafty ladies are jumping in the car for an early-morning start tomorrow to get there when the action starts! Some of our group have been in residence all week stitching up a storm – I greatly envy them. At the Open Day, I anticipate lots of exciting textile art displays, and of course, tables of loot. I hope to be back with lots of great photos!

There’s a huge amount of crafting going on in Melbourne at the moment: our arty city is quietly getting on with creative life in all corners! There’s a cool website dedicated to all things crafty and the inside scoop on the Melbourne scene for anyone who’s visiting or who lives here. Craft City Melbourne is a blog dedicated to Melbourne crafters, shops and resources, and the street art that inspires us! You can see one of my photos on their site today, under Crafty Streets – Northcote.

The Balance quilt is building well, with a few technical issues to – uh – iron out. I’ve taken some photos, check back soon for some details!

Bev

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Posted in Inspiration | 25,688 Comments »

Make a Wish

Monday, September 15th, 2008


Hi Bev.

Before I move on to discussing the task at hand this month, I want to post about side B of my August “Dreams” quilt. I dedicated this one to my daughters who seem to have inherited my love of dandelions. Many people consider them weeds, but I not-so-secretly enjoy their presence in suburbia and celebrate them in photo shoots with the girls out on the front lawn.

I’m often inspired by my children, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when I got another idea while watching them play while work on our August quilts was well underway.

We were playing with sidewalk chalk when I heard Amelia pipe up: “Look, a wish flower! I’m gonna get it!” Then she dashed across the lawn in the direction of a dandelion topped with a circle of fluffy white seeds.

So of course, big sister, Abby, took off running full blast for the fuzzy white looking flower, too. Abby got there first even though Amelia hustled as fast as her little legs could carry her.

I intervened as Abby plucked the flower from the lawn, and told her to let her sister have it. Abby complied and we watched Amelia’s repeated and unsuccessful attempts to blow the seeds off the head of this delightful little weed.

So Abby stepped in.

“Let me do it, Amelia,” she said grabbing the dandelion.

Before I decided whether or not to intervene again, Abby said: “I wish for a castle with both of us in it.” Then she blew all the seeds away.

I’m pretty sure my heart skipped a beat, but it was clear that Amelia didn’t hear Abby wish. Amelia looked like she had just been robbed.

I stayed quiet and let Abby explain.

“A-me-ya, (that’s how she says Amelia when she’s exasperated) I wished for both of us, for a castle we can both share.

And this is why I won’t ever put weed killer on my lawn. I live for dandelion moments like these.

When I saw what I thought closely resembled a “wish flower” on one of the prints you sent, Bev, I knew I had to make something to celebrate this awesome and under-rated flower I love so much.

I started by embroidering a stem onto the “flower” then, ended up cutting just a single flower from the print and adding strips of muslin to build a quilt block up to our 10-inch standard size.

At one point I used a fabric pen to write out the wish flower story around the flower and I seriously considered trying to embroider the whole story in green thread, but realized the text would not accomplish the grass effect I was going for.

So I got out my fabric scraps and got to work cutting blades of grass to top stitch in place.

This quilt celebrates the flowers that bring my family incredible joy. These weeds rock.

Okay, now moving on to September.

I hope your next quilt is going well.

Cheers,

Jennifer

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Posted in Finished Quilts, Inspiration | 26,189 Comments »

Stitchin’ Up A Dream

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Hi Bev.

It looks like you’re making some nice progress on your quilt and even finding time for illicit stitching, too. Good for you!

I skipped my usual pre-planning and child-like sketching this time around and decided to design my quilt by moving the fabric around and let it tell me where it wanted to go. I’m finding this is actually a more freeing approach for me because I’m no longer restricted by my inability to sketch the images I see in my head. I just cut shapes and move them around until something it looks right. I know this is a pretty random method, but it seems to work for me, so I’ll likely stick with it.

My first two quilts involved appliques with finished edges. This time I decided to include some embellishments with unfinished edges to achieve a different look I’m actually considering the possibility of not binding this quilt, but even as I type this sentence, I realize I’d never be able to consider the quilt completed if it didn’t have a binding. So, this quilt will very well end up with a binding when it’s all said and done.

I’m surprised at where this quilt has led me. I originally was planning to make a quilt based on a dream, as in the that R.E.M. state people experience while sleeping. But then, when I opened the parcel of fabric you sent I decided to go in a completely new direction. And I like this direction much better. This underscores once again the challenge and benefit of creating art with supplies selected by someone else. I have incorporated bits of fabric from my stash, but I think I will use at least a bit of all the fabrics this month.

And I have to tell you that I’m having a great time working the beads into the piece. A few of the beads you sent will have a very prominent role in this months quilt. What a kick it is to spread out all the materials and see where each element fits. But it’s challenging, too, like putting together a puzzle without the picture of how it’s supposed to look.
I’ve made more progress than what I’m revealing here, but I don’t want to give it all away before the big reveal. It will come as no surprise to you that I’m also working on what I thought was going to be the back of this quilt. However, I think I might have to let it stand alone. I can’t really decide on that yet. I’m just going to keep stitching and see what happens.

I think I’ll be happy with this month’s quilt, but for now I’m just enjoying the creative journey. Thanks again for agreeing to share in this experience.

Happy stitching!

Jennifer

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Posted in Design Phase, Inspiration, Techniques | 25,043 Comments »

Illicit stitching

Sunday, August 24th, 2008

Hi Posted Stitches

Don’t tell Jennifer, but I’ve been engaging in some illicit unfaithful Posted Stitches stitching….

Shh!

Applique in progress

It all started innocently enough. Drawing, as usual, onto fabric and looking at the results. I quite liked what had happened, so out came the sketchbook. The colours of the fabric worked well as an underlay to drawings, so I drew a bunch of these shapes on the pages of my sketchbook and had a lovely time doodling on top of them.

Oh, if only it had stopped there!

Fabric will always be my downfall. “Hmm” I thought, “I’ve got some nice fabric that would make great fused applique shapes just like that..” And off she toddles to the front room (aka trashed guest room, aka sewing lair).

So, er, I have to confess that at yesterday’s stitching group, I spent the whole crafternoon applique-ing shapes to the foundation for a 10 x 10 quilt that is not made from Posted Stitches posted fabrics. So it will be a tangential Posted Stitches play piece. “Daughter of Posted Stitches”?

Ooh, the illicit pleasure.

Did I mention that my first plan for this month’s challenge (Dreams) might need a mechanical engineer? That’s my excuse for running off to play with my new idea: I’m just not mechanically-minded….

Let’s hope Jennifer doesn’t notice this post!

Little dog (Do you think the dog can keep a secret?)

Bev

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Posted in Inspiration | 30,817 Comments »

Do you dream in black and white?

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

Some fabrics

I’ve started the August challenge. As usual (!), I’ve spent the last week or two thinking about it, before the sketching begins in earnest and the ideas start to emerge. At first, I wasn’t sure what I would do. The parcel of fabric you sent me was just so wacky, it DEMANDED that I change my idea about what sort of dreams I was going to stitch.

I had been thinking dreams as aspirations – blue sky thinking, that sort of thing.

Instead, what you sent me was bizarre. There’s no two ways about it. And what you wrote in your card was: “Do you dream in black and white or in colour?” (Colour, definitely. And scent).

Actually, what you wrote is:

Do you dream in black and white or in color?

<<Aside: I’m Canadian, so I write colour with a U. Pedantic? – ME?? >

The funny thing was the arrival of your parcel. You said by email that your next parcel should arrive at about the time we got home. Well, I didn’t say at the time, but these little old houses in Melbourne’s north don’t have any front gardens, and so occasionally, just occasionally, parcels left on the doorstep go missing. Too tempting, within reach of the street. I was quietly hoping that parcel would not arrive a few days early so that Posted Stitches would not become Missing Stitches this month…

Well, Tuesday we opened the door and lugged our bags in, home from the airport. The house feels strange. Someone shrunk all the rooms. Man, it’s cold, and damp in here (we don’t do central heating ’round here)Opening the new parcel. Gosh, it’s gloomy. I’ll just open the front door and sit here on MY home step in MY house in the sunshine and bask and NOT be on an airplane…

With my eyes closed, I am listening to the sounds of the neighbourhood, and it’s so good to be home. ‘Brap-pap-pap’ – someone’s coming down the street on a moped bike – it’s the postie. And he’s got…. A parcel for me…

For ME?

“Posted Stitches, Ma’am, right on time.”

I’m sure the postie – all wrapped up in his glo-vis yellow and red jacket – chuckled to himself at my big-eyed jetlagged, excited grab at the parcel.

- Or maybe it’s just a part of his job and this happens every day.

How did you time it so well?

(P.S. The postie didn’t say that. But I wish he had. With a ‘Dragnet‘ accent.)

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Posted in Inspiration, Themes | 24,078 Comments »

Talkin ’bout a home

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

Morning Jennifer!

That’s the name of a song sung by Chris Isaak, and I’ve got it going through my head as I work on the July piece. I’ve got a main idea now, which is to show the sunshine-y, breezy goodness which is waking up in my bed at home in Melbourne, with the window open and the smells of the garden coming in.

Of course, when we left for our around-the-world trip, it was autumn in the Southern hemisphere – so that means we came home last week to find winter. No lovely smells and soft breezes for me! It’s chilly. Closed window, covers over head, hot water bottle: the works.

But the idea was strong and as we’ve been on the road I’ve been thinking of home a lot. This is the one moment that sums up good feelings about being there, and some of my longing for comfort and familiarity. Three months of moving on every 2-3 nights, and I dream of my own bed.

The view out my window in the morning.

I’ve been wanting to try different ways of putting my drawings onto fabric, but it had to be something I could do while travelling, living out of a suitcase.

So I used a fabric pen and drew directly onto the fabrics. I drew all of the images that came to mind when I think of home: comfy chair, coffee and time to craft; myself in the kitchen, cooking up a storm; the orange tree in a big pot in the yard, next to the bench where I like to sew. QuailAnd I drew a little quail, which is a reminder of an everyday visitor to my parents’ home, in Canada – a non-cliche Canada reference just for me. Because anyone who moves around has more than one home, right?

Once the drawings were done, I cut up the pieces and moved them around endlessly until I thought they ‘fit’. I wanted to keep it simple enough that it wasn’t cluttered, and I wanted areas for the eye to rest on the brown and cream muslin. I hope that’s what I have achieved!

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Posted in Design Phase, Inspiration | 25,677 Comments »

Home: The Design Phase

Monday, July 21st, 2008

Hi Bev.

I brought my camera to the pool today and snapped some shots of my home away from home. This is where I go to burn calories and blow off steam. This is the place I’m going to try to represent in my next quilt. Wish me luck!

This is the drawing I’m working with:

I know, it’s looks like my daughter drew it, but I’m going with it. The proportions are off and I didn’t fuss with it because I’m not trying to make a realistic, perfectly proportioned fabric likeness. Instead, my goal is to achieve a whimsical likeness of a place I enjoy spending time.

We’ll see how it all shakes out.

- Jennifer

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Posted in Design Phase, Inspiration | 24,471 Comments »

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