Well, let me amend that: I thought it was done until just a minute ago when I read the guidelines for submission, and now I see that it must be bound, so I'll be taking little miss Losing Track back to the sewing room for one more session!
All in all, though, I am very pleased with the outcome of my little art quilt. Thanks to everyone who offered support and comments throughout this long ordeal. Gerrie has been very patient and gentle with suggestions, and yesterday Terry emailed that she thought the curve of the track would be more effective if it was in the shape of an 's' rather than a 'c' (go here for more info on that)......so here you have it:
I affixed the tracks with some hand-dyed perle cotton, hoping to make the tracks appear a bit distressed. I borrowed that technique from Gerrie as well!
Yesterday afternoon was cool and lovely for studio work, so I did some more deconstructed screen printing with my mimosa screen. Rayna suggested that I go over the original pulls with more thickened print paste and dyes, positioning the screens every which way, so I did:
I've gotta admit, that is waaaaay out of my comfort zone, but for some reason, the piece is growing on me.PEACE
I am still working on Losing Track, but thankfully I am no longer losing any sleep over it. I am learning, through very constructive comments from so many of you, plus reading more about color and composition. Here is where it stands right now (and probably where it will stay):
I spent a terrific afternoon with Dr Sock yesterday and came home filled with inspiration! My friend Roberta is truly a treasure. I learn so much from her just by being with her. She energizes me and yet calms me.......are the two possible at the same time?
We have been to the local Farmers Market this morning and come home laden with fresh, local corn, beans, 'maters, melons, okra, sweet onions and peppers, eggplant, blueberries and of course Georgia peaches. YUMMMMMM! PEACE
Yes, I am:
Thanks to my good friend Barbara for the gift of the wonderful bumper sticker. My car is proudly illustrating my political flavor.
What's in my knitting basket these days:
Isn't that a yummy color combo! I'll show you more when I get it finished.
I did stop by Knitch the other day to do a bit of shopping. I LOVE Knitch in Virginia Highlands:
I love everything about it: the funky and inviting entryway, the wonderfully helpful and friendly staff, the calm while at the same time exciting atmosphere, and of course the beautiful yarns! I bought this pattern and some beautiful Rowan cotton yarn for a Christmas surprise for my Mom. SHHHHH: don't tell her! I am hoping that one of my next knitting projects will be this for MOI! Perhaps you'd like to get me one of these!
Saw this beautiful Hibiscus while I was walking through the Highlands:
and this morning, I spotted these Lobelia blooming against my garden fence, where my Sweet Autumn Clematis is also blooming:
Remember last summer when my garden and fence were all being redone? It was worth all of the deconstruction, I say now, in retrospect!
And here's what you've undoubtedly been waiting for, more on the progress of 'Losing Track': Here's where I left it last evening:
Gerrie had suggested that I put a focal point in the center, and I had been thinking the same thing all along, but I just didn't know what. It struck me that my underlying point is fleeting time and losing family, so I was tending towards the photos being hours on the face of a clock. I had removed the one clock face photo, and thought that it belonged in the center.
This morning while Barker and I walked the golf course, I began to think that perhaps a swirl of the tracks would be more appealing:
Still unsure. One thing I am certain of however: this art quilt business is very difficult for me!
I'll leave you with one last photo from the weekend. We went to see Hallelujah St Blues at the Horizon Theater in Little Five Points on Sunday evening. It's a great show and a 'must see' if you are in the area! This lovely old home sits next to the theater:
This is just a side view, but I wanted you to see the lovely upper windows. I have admired that home for years and years, and the folks who live there keep making it better all the time! Yeah!
Have a great day!
PEACE
"Losing Track" has become an obsession, so I am taking a break from it for the weekend. Well, it's a physical break, as mentally and emotionally I'm still under its spell. Here is how I left it yesterday:
I have made a few more minor adjustments since I snapped this last pic, but I'm tellin' you, this art quilt business does not come easily to me right now! All that said, I find that photographing the piece makes it easier to step back and critique it. Already I can see another spot where the placement needs changing!
I took about a half hour out of my day on Thursday to stick a couple of pieces of charmeuse in the dye pot. It was such a good feeling, after being away from the dye studio for a few weeks. This is a part of one of the large pieces I dyed:
It almost looks like sky, doesn't it?
I really love this piece:
Here is another one:
I don't know how those little wavey lines on the right happened. They weren't there when I left the piece to dry, and I didn't return to it for over 24 hours, so the little elves must have been tampering with my goods!
Here's another part of the same piece:
I just love this one.....very exciting piece!
It's a lovely day here in Atlanta. We walked Barker early when the temps were still in the mid 60s.......I almost wanted a light jacket! We ran into our friend John and his two Standard Poodles Luna and Hillary, over on Myrtle, and then Bobbie met up with us for coffee at Caribou after which we went to the Saturday Soup Sale at MetroFresh. MMMMMMM! We also did some much-needed shopping at Trader Joes, went to a birthday brunch for our friend Ashley, and soon we'll be off to see Up the Yangtze at Midtown Arts.
I played around with Losing Track to the point that it was absolutely and tea-totally ruined a couple of weeks ago. Being a newbie to the art quilt world, I found my disaster so disturbing that I retreated to sewing (the Barcelona Skirt) and dyeing more tees. I know my comfort zone and it feels oh so good being there! But Losing Track was calling my name, so I revisited it again on Sunday when it was raining and my studio was under flood warnings. Here's where I'm at:
I haven't sewed a single stitch on it, but I think I may just go begin to piece those background blocks this morning. Pat and his crew are putting the new roof on the studio, and the drilling and hammering is enough to drive me crazy, so the sewing room is a much calmer and more tranquil place to hang. Losing Track is basically my feelings about how life flies by when we are covered up with our daily routines. I have printed old photographs of my mother as a child, my grandparents, and great grandmother plus a few old clock faces, and a marvelous quote about time. I spent much of yesterday with my amazing 91 year old mother, and days like that make me oh so aware of how we simply lose track of time. Where does it go? It simply flies by! Do you feel that way too? I am trying so hard to cherish each and every day: every moment. As I ate my breakfast this morning, a doe ambled through the backyard between the house and the lake: what a treat!
Have a good one!PEACE
I never finished showing you what I worked on yesterday, so I snapped a few pics this morning to share with you.
Here are some of the discharged samples:
I like them all, but I think the last one is my favorite.
And here is the scarf I told you about:
I ADORE this scarf, even if it is in jewel tones!!! This colorway is a first for me, and came after a request for jewel tones from my cousin Virginia.
In lieu of an after lunch nap, I puttered around with 'Losing Track'. While swimming this morning, I got a little wonkier vision of the tracks running through my brain and so I have attempted to duplicate it here:
Not sure about the trees. But nothing is glued or sewn in place. I've got some ideas for the upper left hand corner, but ran out of time today.
My knitting buddies are coming here tomorrow, so I've been doing a bit of spiffing up. We are having absolutely gorgeous weather: highs in the low 80s, low temp last night in the 50s, and the humidity is low. You gotta love it!!!
And here are a few more shots of my, shall I say, 'orgasmic' scarf:
PEACE
While walking through our livingroom this morning, I noticed something odd about the trunk of our River Birch:
Taking a closer look, I could see a kitty cat nestled in the middle of the trunks, almost perfectly camouflaged! Not fair! Look what that kitty is looking at:
I know it's only natural, but I can't just sit back and let a cat nab an innocent bird at one of my feeders! So, Barker and I came to the rescue of the unsuspecting birdies and scared the kitty cat away...for now, at least.
I've been working on "Losing Track", a piece that I like very much:
It's time to cut up some discharged fabrics and make something of them! Initially I liked the top 'track' placement best, but now I'm undecided. This was a second choice:
But I think I like this one now:
There's lots more to be done to it, but I'm having fun just moving the tracks around and thinking about what I will quilt into it, and perhaps a few images that I may transfer into it. Stay tuned!
I spent a couple of blissful hours discharging more fabric, working on some yummy samples for a t-shirt client, and finishing up a scarf that I am now madly in love with. By the time C called me in for dinner, it was too late to get any pics.........maybe tomorrow?PEACE
I affixed the tracks with some hand-dyed perle cotton, hoping to make the tracks appear a bit distressed. I borrowed that technique from Gerrie as well!
I've gotta admit, that is waaaaay out of my comfort zone, but for some reason, the piece is growing on me.
