Beginnings – Thursday September 1, 2011

It is the start of a new month and the beginning of fall. Or at least I feel that way. Thirty six years of teaching school and this time of year always makes me feel like new beginnings. The beginning of the year feeling comes from really from a teaching point of view. I spent time this week getting two of the grand kids ready for the start by shopping and getting hair cuts with them. I always like this sort of prep work when one can be so very positive about the potential for new experiences and resolutions to do better. I did a lot of business work this week. I signed up to be a part of the Iron Quilter event for the Ithaca quilt show on Oct 1. That included sending digital photos and I was successful. So I will try to get them on to this surface too. It is a little mini challenge of my own. I think it will be a fun event and I am not at all worried about the time limit of three and a half hours to produce a quilt. I got a speeding ticket from my home economics teacher, Mrs Webster in high school for driving my sewing machine too fast, so I a not worried.  I put in a little time working away on getting contracts composed and written for workshops and trunk shows this week too. I think it was good to do them before I make contact with the gals who want me to do the work. I intend to email them on Monday. By doing the composition this week I have had some time to think and make additions to what I want to say. I am now struggling with the class descriptions. Thank goodness I saved all that stuff from my work with Barbara’s group over the last few years. I feel very fortunate to have done my first quilt teaching in a friendly environment were I got lots of good feed back on what was successful and what was not.

Purple plastic screen circles that were removed from the original

My other concern this week has been hurricane Irene. We did not experience much in the way of destruction, but I really feel for the people who did. Having traveled down the Grand Canyon I really respect the power of water! But to have lost everything…I really cannot imagine how bad that could be.

Closeup of the revised version with purple organza and dotted swiss in the openings

Progress Report:

Orange Openings got attention this week. I made some new openings of pink dotted swiz circles with a layer of dark purple nylon net and then a layer of lavender nylon net on top of that to soften it. I think this build up creates a softer feel and all the line patterns of the netting makes for a surface that relates more to the cloth of the piece.

This is Orange slices with the addition of fillers in the spaces. I did a layer of organza, then orange nylon net then a layer of hat netting that

was white with silver and white pom poms on it and then three yellow pom poms in two sizes on top of that with a second layer of organza to top the sandwich. Then that will all be added to the back and be in the opening of the slice.

Yellow, orange, green quilt before 3D additions

Keep creating

Hugs

Carol