struggles

I've got an opportunity to make a "memory" quilt with t-shirts that isn't the standard look of a memory quilt. Soooooo you see the dilemma! I'm a huge fan of Gwen Marston's quilting style -- liberated. Using this method with the t-shirts incorporated into the overall design as just one element. I'll be posting some ideas on that soon.

Well, I'm winding down on my assignment for work (the one that took me to the UK again) and I'm headed to spend some time this afternoon/evening with my best friends. While I'm physically exhausted and I badly twisted my knee on this three week trip, I've gotten a ton of inspiration including a new book of photography of the colors of Sicily -- everything on the island photographed and categorized by color. The textures! WOW! I cannot wait to translate that....

Then I just got a glimpse of Lyric Kinard's new book coming out in September "Art+Quilt: Design Principles and Creativity Exercises". It is EXACTLY what I need to see right now! I've missed quilting severely -- actually creating! I have my creativity journal with me.

I've combined my regular journal with the creativity one -- just too many books to carry. And my colored pencils are with me too!

A few days of R&R the home to my new hubbie!

The wall in my sewing room/husband's office..... The hanging pieces are finished.....

OKay one more thing.... this isn't finished... but I'm planning to "float" it in a frame or "shadow" box. Not sure ... just need to take it to the frame shop and get it done. It's about 24" square and while this photo isn't the best ... I'll get a better one... promise..... you can see how I've used scrapbooking brads to "quilt" this piece as well as beaded yarn, free motion quilting. The base fabric is from a series titled "Mirror Ball". One of my favorites.....

Inspiration

With work being so ridiculously busy, little space is left in my head to fit in design or planning the next quilt or project. That being said.... :) Inspiration is striking everywhere! The picture at right is from the Benziger Vineyards in Sonoma County - where we spent our honeymoon. The spots of colors and the texture of the different plants (I love the lavender plants) are phenomenal!

Other inspirations include photos of simple flowers and new stamps I've found for one project I've gotten stuck in my head -- a French travel quilt - written post cards to a friend with photos and specific stamps. I have a fusible postcard back (on fabric with antique script) that I can use the photos of Paris and stickers as well. I'd call it a souvenir quilt as I'm an obsessed Francophile and have spent several different vacations and a semester abroad in France and am always ready to go back!

So off I go to my design journal to figure some of this out! The real job AKA the mortgage payin gone will take me out of town for three weeks so no actual work at home but I'm putting together a couple "take along" projects... Who knows what I may come up with when I return.... I'll keep sharing! Promise......

Here are the cakes! The wording around the logo is "When Sox Fans Grow Up"......

Well, it's 16 May and we survived our wedding! IT was a mad dash somewhat for the final details and I'm talking more at work that for the wedding but with the help of my sister, mom, cousin and others I made it without misshap!

It was gorgeous and fun and full of twirling little girls! The cross town feud was alive and well with the groom's cake (we're Chicago Cubs baseball fans -- Mike's family favors the Chicago White Sox) and all in good fun!

The florist did amazing work as did the hotel! WOW! I loved it and it was exactly what I had always wanted (not sure about Mike).

Work has me travelling 5 weeks out of 8 until the end of May (off tomorrow for the UK) but then I'm back in to the art work.... I really want to be doing it!! Keep grabbing my design journal to add things in or tweak a design or glue fabric or test paint or a stamp or or or. All is waiting for my time!!!

Later.....

Time is ticking down to my wedding and trying to find time to create! ....something that isn't for the wedding....But I'm seeing lots of new things in the recent issue of Cloth Paper Scissors that intrigue me. But of course I did spend some time making some purchases from Joggles.com..... vintage postcard stickers/labels and stamps and various items for my next travelogue quilt/wall hanging. Can't wait to work on it... but we'll see when I get to that!

Time time time - who has time....

Well -- nothing to add to the blog lately! Time is my enemy -- isn't all of ours. Between real work planning meetings and planning my wedding next month is taking all of my time. Or so it seems, logging reply cards, dress fittings, accessories, bridesmaids gifts, thank you cards, rehearsal dinner arrangements, seating arrangements, finalizing flowers, finalizing menues, etc. I know it's normal bride stuff. You'd think it's easier for me as I plan meetings for 1500 -20,000 persons every day! But...it's not as cut and dried when it's your wedding is it?

In the midst of this I'm getting mini brainstorms for more things to make and really wanting to sit down and do some sewing or designing or finishing or or or. Well you all know the drill!

Really I'm not truly stressed out. It's more about finding the time to satisfy everyone's demands on my time!

Ciao for now....

Well, the long and short of it is that while we've not exactly done any public relations on this blog - I'm always looking for something to post about! Life for those of us trying to fit time for art in with the myriad of regular life occurrences is complicated (okay yes major understatement). I recently found at the library a book from Rice Freeman-Zachary "Living the Creative LIfe: Ideas and inspirations from working artist" which I'm reading cover to cover. The insights and methodology they all share is inspiring and a little daunting. Of course there is time for all of the wonders of our art in our schedules, it's the percentage of time devoted to it that I struggle with.

I find that right now I'm stretched a bit thin (oh were that true) with my full-time job and it's demanding travel schedule (just returned from two weeks abroad in Australia and Thailand) and planning my wedding in late April. Yes too much to do but I can't stop thinking about the quilt I have in progress and my creativity journal keeps calling me -- so much that I'm going to have to start carrying it with me daily.

That seems to be a common topic among artists yet we crave this time in our schedules as is feeds our souls! I know it feeds mine significantly. More later... hopefully some time to work on stuff this week!....