Additional Work in Street Life Series

These are two more in the Street Life Series using image transfer. If you set the camera on the setting for cyanotype and make colour laser photocopies you get a grey and pink cast over the transfer#2. Using the vivid colour setting the transfer will have a range and intensity of colour choices depending the number of prints that you take off of each copy#1. These are 12x24 and 10x30. The series subtitle will be In Your Own Back Yard. The photos were taken in the nearby village of Ste Anne de Bellevue and in the east end of Montreal on Mont Royal Street.

2011 Journal quilts

I've finally finished my 2011 journal quilts for the Contemporary Quilt group here in the UK. This year they all had to be 10 inches square, with circles on the first four, text on the next four, and a button, or buttons, on the final four. My idea this year was to do a series which fitted together at the end of the year, so I cheated rather on the text and button parts, and just used fabrics which had printed text and buttons on them.

Here's what the final set of journals looks like. I did the overall design of interlocking circles at the beginning of the year, picked a set of fabrics, then each month made my predetermined design, adding extra detail with fused fabrics and quilting. My rule (which I relaxed for the final few) was not to look at what I had done on a previous month so that the fabrics were distributed across the whole piece randomly.

I'm quite pleased with the final result, and I loved the technique of joining the curved sections using machine applique from the top, but now I'm faced with the question of whether, and if so, how, should I join them together??

A little me time!

I had the dyes out as I needed some colours for my own personal challenge and before I tucked them away for another day I took some time out to splash some colour around ..... quite yummy , have nothing specific in mind, but they will be used down the line.

This is half of a longer piece

These next two are fat quarter size.

If I am honest with myself I am probably using distractions as I am still between two with my 'steps' piece. ....  animal ...political ??????  Need to make a decision. Take steps ! 

Steps: Just Teasin'

David Hockney, art and iPads

For those of you interested in art and artists and how they might be adapting to the modern world here's an interview with David Hockney and how excited he is with his iPad as an art tool.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16545771

Hilary

A question

As I mentioned in a comment on Heather's post, I've been asked to look at a group website, and I was wondering if I could get some opinions from you all.

When you go to the web site of a small quilting group - what are you interested in? What is the information you would like to get from the site - in short, why did you go to the site in the first place? Having got to the site, what would you like to know about the group and what would you like to see? Any comments would be most welcome.

On another matter, I'm still nowhere with my 'Steps'. The one photo I had in my mind as being a suitable source of inspiration turns out to be a view of a staircase, but looking up - and no steps are visible at all. Back to the drawing board for me!

Steps

Aagh!  that's two of you who have finished your steps.  How cruel that I had an idea and a window of opportunity that turned out to be only long enough to make the trial piece.  I am now bogged down in a mire of other things I must do...  Well done Heather and Colleen.

 Here's a taster of what I'm working with.

Hilary

Decisions, decisions...

My website is badly in need of an overhaul. I have outsourced the design and maintenance of the site, and because there is always a charge for adding and deleting information, images, etc., I don't do a good job of keeping it up to date.

I think I have two choices, and I would appreciate your advice on the matter.

Option #1: Go to an on-line site that will give me a template for doing my own website. The advantage of this is that I get to keep my domain name. The disadvantage is that there will be a steep learning curve for me. Because I would want it to be bilingual, I would be limited to the few templates that allow for this. (I understand the WordPress is one of them.)

Option #2: I start my own blog. My son says that blogs are livelier, more immediate than websites. On the plus side, I am somewhat familiar with the blog format. Also, I could include little galleries of my work, as we do for past challenges. I am pretty sure I could do at least a weekly posting. Downside: I will have to reprint my business cards.

If I choose Option #2, I could pay a small annual fee to retain ownership of my domain name. (Who else would want it? A pornographer?) When you are asked to list your website on submissions, etc., is a blog site as readily accepted?

I hope some of you will weigh in with your experiences and advise me.

P.S. I'm not on Facebook and would prefer not to be, if that is even a factor in the decision.

Artisit's statements

Someone came across this on the internet, and I couldn't stop laughing at the outcome.

http://www.playdamage.org/market-o-matic/

How to write a meaningless artist's statement that someone might almost take seriously.

How I Spent my Christmas Vacation

I offered to make a cuddle quilt for my daughter and boyfriend, and had a great time making it with the help of my 2 girls. We set up a "sweatshop" and they cut strips and I sewed. They ironed and I quilted. Kathryn wanted it long and narrow for her huge couch, so it ended up being 128" x 75"! Fortunately it was a breeze to quilt on my new Handiquilter Sweet 16. Kathryn even made the binding which I applied by machine. The whole thing was finished in 2 days.

A light bulb moment

How often these flashes come when you are least expecting them!  I was slowly coming to this morning in that dreamy time when you are neither really awake or asleep and I now have my steps - trouble is I have two.  How greedy is that?!  And better still - I have a window of opportunity before the next lot of fabric arrives from Makower.

This is going to be a big year for Britain what with the Olympics and the Queens Diamond Jubilee and Makower have come up with some patriotic fabrics in red, white and blue - naturally.  And the pressure will be on because the projects have to be presented at the big trade show here in the UK in February.  Situation normal then!

Off to do a couple of trials - will it be summer or winter...?

Hilary