Head First!

To heck with UFO's...I'm diving in to my next library project head first! Yee haw!!!

I need to piece and custom-quilt this baby by the end of the month if I'm to meet my goal, and since March is packed with activities I thought I'd best get the lead out.

Here are my fabric choices for "Irish Lass" from Judy Madsen's new book, Quilting Wide Open Spaces.

The colours will float in a white background.
The pattern calls for a jelly roll, but since I didn't have one I used some of my screen printed fabrics instead.

Fabric I printed last summer in Rayna Gillman's
deconstructed screen printing class in Sisters, Oregon.
They look great cut into little pieces!

Colours are used in specific positions in each block so they will
create a certain pattern when the quilt is laid out.

It's hard to see the big picture at this point, but I have faith that things will work out beautifully.

As I worked with my screen prints I wondered if I'd taken any photos of the process. 


It turns out I do have a couple to share, and one of me with Rayna, too!
(She looks fantastic, I look like crap, but c'est la vie.)

Thickened dye mixtures ready at my work station.


Screen prepped with textured dye.

The fabulous Rayna (et moi)

Last week our local library offered a figure drawing workshop


My drawing skills could use developing, so off I went.

We started with gesture drawings, moved on to quick sketches intended to capture motion, and then spent time sketching a volunteer model (who was a great sport).


Quick "motion" sketches.
The huge nose/beak was part of a costume, not just a random scribble - ha!
I had no concept of time passing as I scribbled and scratched away. Before I knew it, the evening was over! It felt like two hours of blissful meditation.

Why do I not draw more often?

Maybe I need to sign up for more classes!

Linking up with:

Anything Goes Mondays, guest hosted by Val's Quilting Studio
Show and Tell Tuesday, at i have to say
WIP Wednesday, at Freshly Pieced
Let's Bee Social, at Sew Fresh Quilts 
Needle and Thread Thursday, at My Quilt Infatuation 

Try, Learn, Grow!
Carole

Comments are welcome. Thanks so much for looking around!


Comments

  1. Ha ha! I'm with you, honey. Love compulsive starts! Your textured dye stuff looks awfully fun.

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    1. New projects are always so exciting...who can resist? I'm glad to finally cut into the fabric I made so I can use it up and have an excuse to make more!

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  2. Your fabrics looks great! So good luck with the rest :-)

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    1. Thanks Vera. I'm well on my way to finishing the top...it's the quilting that scares me a bit, so thanks for the luck!

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  3. Your home dyed fabrics are totally awesome! And your progress looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing your sketches. I agree... Why don't we do that more often? It feels good to put pencil to paper and see what comes of it! Great post, Carole!

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    1. Thanks Lorna! Using the dyed fabrics is pleasing me on so many levels. It's fun to use fabric I altered myself. It sounds like you are a "sketchy" person, too! (Ha ha!) It seems like I need a reason to draw (like a class or a project), or it falls by the wayside. You, too?

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  4. good for you abandoning the wips, I can't help myself but abandon mine! How fab that you screen printed your own fabrics for this project!

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    1. Temporary abandonment (or so I tell myself...!)
      A gal's gotta play, right? I'm so happy to have found a way to use those fabrics. Must use them up so I have an excuse to make more!

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  5. Love your screen prints!! We just had a demo of that process at our local guild meeting monday night, very interesting!

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    1. Oh, that's so cool. I hope you dive in and give it a try - it is loads of fun. Thanks for your lovely comment.

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  6. Wow, I love the effect of your screen printed fabric!

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    1. Thanks! It is such a pleasure to use fabric that has my own stamp on it (ha!).

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  7. Sometimes you need to abandon your WIPs, so you can start something new. Then you'll go back to them refreshed and ready to dig in again. Love your screen prints and your sketches are great.

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    1. You are so right! "A change is as good as a rest" certainly applies here.Thanks, Jo!

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  8. your fabrics are so pretty, and it was cool to see a glimpse into the process of creating such cool prints!

    Thanks so much for sharing at Needle and Thread Thursday!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  9. I'm catching up on your blog posts Carole, sorry it took me this long. I was excited to see how your screen printed fabrics from our class looks when you cut them up. Fabulous and so inspiring! Hmm I'm going to pull mine out and maybe do dome cutting....

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