Hello!

This past week I didn’t struggle with my creativity per se but productivity I think was a little lacking. I’m trying not to dwell on it and compare my current productivity with how productive I was in January and February but it’s hard.

The past week or two I’ve started to now notice that I feel like I’m carrying around another body with me. As I get farther along in the pregnancy things are starting to be more difficult or I just noticed, I can’t move like I did before. I’ve never been a small person but I’ve usually had full range of mobility. Now it’s getting hard to bend over and by the way, I can’t stand up too fast or I might get dizzy putting on my shoes. lol.

I did a little bit of secret sewing at open sew this week and I can’t show you what I made or say what it’s for yet. I don’t have huge readership on my blog and I know that but I don’t want to risk the recipient finding out what the blocks are for. I made four wonky star blocks on Wednesday for a group quilt.

I also went to a craft supply sale this past Saturday in a nearby town. A friend happened to mention it a week or so ago and it just stuck in my mind and it fit into my schedule to go so I went to check it out. I steered clear of the fabric just because I wasn’t really looking to add to my stash but I did see a lady had picked up a piece of fabric that I already had in my stash. I got a little chuckle out of it and wanted to yell out “hey, i have that too!” and I know they had good quality cottons. At these types of sales, I usually head for the books. I have a short list of books that I’m looking for that are out of print and hard to get and I’d like to add to my library. There are a couple quilters that I covet their books and find them a huge source of inspiration. I also have a tendency to pick up books on Amish quilting. Going back to the roots can be very inspiring. It may just be a book of pictures instead of the techniques but that can stir something in you too.

I have lots of ideas for art quilts but not a lot of confidence in myself to execute. I have two hang ups. My machine quilting skills need some work and alternately, I don’t know how to hand quilt so I’d like to add that skill. I also don’t know how to execute some of the ideas I have in my head. Lucky for me my LQS is offering a hand quilting class in October and I plan to take it so I can check that off my list. I like hand quilting but am also interested in big stitch quilting for adding texture to quilts. As for executing my ideas, I just have to get some scrap fabric out and start playing. Easier said than done.

Anyway, I picked up a book called Art + Quilt. Design Principles and Creativity Exercises by Lyric Kinard at the craft supply sale. This book looks like it will be a good starting point for all those art quilts I’d like to make. It doesn’t tell you how to make an art quilt, it gives you the tools to get started. I took drawing and basic design classes in college but that was so long ago a little refresher will probably do me some good. It’s also good to experiment on a small scale. The author suggests an 8″x10″ drawing pad and/or background fabric to experiment on. I like that she says you can just flip the page and start over if you don’t like where things are going. Setting a timer can also be helpful because then you’re on a deadline to quickly create and not be too precious about what you’re doing each time. I don’t draw perfectly, never have, but I think getting basic shapes and ideas on paper can be very valuable. You can pull elements from different drawings and combine them to create one piece or a series of pieces.

My mind has been going with ideas the last couple days so I’m ready to start slowly working on some art quilts. Getting stuff down on paper and going through some of the exercises in the book to help further develop those ideas. I still have plenty of projects to work on but I’m going to work in some art quilt development time each day so I don’t feel like I’m denying the creative spirit and what my soul wants to do. I love making quilts from patterns, there’s so many to choose from but sometimes I want to do something original and all my own.

This is a long post devoid of pictures so I hope you read through to the end 🙂

Happy Quilting!

Camille