pattern process

I've never really done this sort of thing before. As I mentioned in the last post, I usually like to work in a little more free form way. It is a learning experience. I thought I'd show a little more of my process and progress.
 This is my way to commemorate the place where my husband and his father both worked.  First, I started with several pictures of the mill which is now in the final stages of being torn down.

I used a rectangular viewfinder to zero in on certain areas that interested me with both color and design elements. Once I chose a section, I took it to the copier and enlarged it to the approximate desired finished size.

Then I simplified the drawing somewhat by tracing with a black pen around the important elements and transferred it to tracing paper. From there I've started to make(with a little help form a friend) paper piecing patterns for each section. Today, I made a couple more and got them sewn together. The finished size should be somewhere between 8 by 10 and 10 by 12 inches , but I may mount it on a larger canvas. It doesn't look like much, but it really is quite an achievement for me!

a quick note

I've been a little lax lately in writing-- a combination of health issues and appointments. I won't get into details except to say that I have been dealing with these specific health problems for just over a year and I've not gotten very far. The medical system is a slow machine. The endocrine system is complicated and the family doctor is overwhelmed. I have an appointment booked only for  November 2011 with a new endocrinologist. I called to see if they had a cancellation list and they don't, so I have to wait.
When I have the energy,I have started working on a little project I've been wanting to do for the last 5 years since our local paper mill closed. It's a bit of a departure for me because it involves pre-planning and drawing up a pattern for paper piecing. My process is usually a little more laid  back, kind of a let's see where it goes sort of thing.. While I'm fairly experienced at paper piecing, I have problems doing the patterns. My friend, Glenda helped me with that.
I started with a photograph of one view of the mill. I zeroed in on one interesting section which I then enlarged. I copied it to tracing paper with color notes. From there we made the paper pieceing sections. Yesterday I put these 2 together. I'll show more later.

Today, I'm going to the pool for my swim and we'll see how I feel this afternoon.

a few low days

I've spent the last several days in a lethargic state due to a small medication adjustment. I'm very sensitive and it takes me a bit of time to get going again. I'm back today to as close to normal as I'm going to get.
One thing that got me quite excited to day was that I got my orange zigzag quilt back from the machine quilter. I love the pattern she used for the edge to edge quilting! Now I just have to cut and sew the binding which I haven't chosen yet.

Anytime I come across something new (to me), I like to share. Recently, I read an article about the cancer causing chemicals that are present on the lining of microwave popcorn bags. A suggestion for an alternative was to buy bulk popcorn kernels, add a small bit of olive oil, perhaps some salt, and put it into a regular brown bag to pop in the microwave. I had my doubts, as I could picture the bag opening and the popcorn going everywhere, but it did not and it popped perfectly. I simply folded the bag over a few times. I used to have a hot air popper but haven't found another one. This is a pretty good alternative, and it is cheaper than the store bought version too.

I'm almost finished my little truck hanging, but in the meantime I have finished knitting these yoga socks and tried them out a few times. They work very well. Now my husband wants  a pair.

Last but not least, is this quilted bag that I purchased from
Wanda at Exuberant Color.I love it. She also very generously stuffed it with
some Kaffe Fassett fabric bits that I can use in my Cobblestones blocks.
Quilters and artists are so generous!

a quick note

My swimming friend is back home after being away for a few weeks, so we went to the spa pool this morning. We haven't had lunch together for a while either. At the Auberge, there is a nice little restaurant where we ate and caught up on things. I usually have to rest up after ward which is why I have just a little bit to show today.
Here is a close up where I did some free motion quilting in black. There is more stitching to do, but at this point I need to let it rest, in order to allow the paint stick color  that I applied to cure and to prevent smudging. It's just as well because I need to take a break and then get dinner started. It is to be a turnip and greens curry with basmati rice today.

back in my studio

I didn't accomplish a lot in my studio the last few days as it has been just beautiful outside. I was very excited on Sunday when I figured out how to put bookmarks and footnotes into the books I'm reading on my Kindle! I usually spend Sunday with husband and family, which I did, and yesterday, although it's usually a stay at home day, I had several errands to do. (tax time)
This morning a friend visited, and we sat at the computer and made a fabric order from Quilternity  This is the link to the  blog and her shop is on her sidebar.
Then today after lunch, I went for a very short walk as my blood sugars were a little high. Afterward, I took a few minutes to get this little piece bordered and sandwiched for quilting. As I usual, I will be doing some embellishing.

Also, I made up the second pillow in the gel printed pair. I think they're quite cheerful, just in time for spring!

I was surfing blogs the other night and came across the directions for these little notebooks made form recycled food boxes and the inside of security envelopes (the blue deigned paper) here. I had to try one. I haven't embellished yet. Mine has copy paper inside and is about 4" by 5". It will end up tucked into someone's gift.

I also haven't gotten around to posting pictures of my soy dyed pieces. While they didn't come out as saturated as I'd hoped, I think I know why, and the method I used with the paper as a mask worked beautifully. I will have to order the proper thickener from a dye supply shop. Even though the dyes were quite old, I think that I just need to add more dye powder to the mix as well as use the proper thickener, sodium alginate. On this one I painted the flowers freehand with the wax.

perfect day

I got up this morning with no particular intentions other than a run to the market. I did that but still could not get the sushi that I wanted as the Korean lady was not there. I think I'm going to have to learn to make it myself.
When I read an email from a friend that she had returned from a Florida trip and she was going to our UFO day I packed a little something to work on and went to the seniors room at the local arena. It was a warm sunny spring like day and the room has two sides of large windows--very uplifting. The chatter of friends and whir of the sewing machines just added to it. I did a few small things like cut borders for this gel print which I want to make into another pillow. I can't wait to get to the quilting and embellishing. I'm planning some large, kind of mod flowers for it, if it goes as planned.

I drew out a design for a new little project and stopped at Staples on the way home to enlarge it. I'll perhaps show it in the next couple of days.
I left before 2pm because I haven't been out to walk in a few days and had told my husband I'd be home in time to go before supper. We had a nice walk; it sure felt like spring.
Lately, I've been seeing these commercials on TV for the fish sandwich which I used to love to order instead of a burger at the fast food joint. I wouldn't order it now due to the fat content, but we decided to make a healthy version for supper to-night and it totally satisfied me. We did haddock dipped in a corn flake crust, baked at 425F for about 7 minutes. Before that we did oven fries. I added a home made yogurt based tartar sauce, and then a slice of cheddar cheese onto a fresh whole wheat bun. Wow, it was delicious!
I was so tired, I fell asleep after supper and I'm pretty useless now. I'm just going to have a soak.

Last but not least, I received this in the mail yesterday. I couldn't believe it when I saw the email; I actually won a giveaway here on this blog. It was my first win and oh, so exciting.

dyeing to make a mess

Yesterday, I decided that today would be the day to try some soy wax resists with dye rather than paint, as I've done before in the past. It doesn't matter how organized I think I am, I still manage to make a mess.I managed to clean most of it up except for the bits of stains left on my fingers, and yes, I did wear gloves.
I had some rather old dyes left over from a workshop, but I'm told that I should use them anyway. I'm only experimenting at this point. I wanted to thicken the dyes, but can't buy the sodium alginate anywhere remotely near, so I tried agar which is similar. It sort of worked; I'm going to order the proper thickener though.

This was my first idea-- a dove shape cut out of paper. I painted the soy wax inside the paper frame.

On this one ( you'll have to look closely to see the wax), I simple painted the flowers free hand with the wax. I'm not exactly sure how the dye will take. I did use soda soaked fabric. When I paint or do gel prints on fabric, I usually use more than one color and I can mix them as I go. Here I used only one color dye because I didn't want to mix more colors until I get the right thickener. The result might be very blah. We'll see. At least I'll have a better idea what to do next time. In the meant time I must wait.

 The hardest thing is that I have to leave them sit wrapped in plastic to 'batch'.