IN THE STUDIO THIS WEEK: REGINA'S QUILT

It's a longarm day ... Regina's quilt is up first. A simple edge-to-edge for a comfy throw size quilt to be cozy during the cold winter months here in New England is the order of the day.

Regina pieced this quilt at a Winter Retreat for "just us gals." Everyone helped me test the patchwork pattern giving me good feedback and encouragement while we kept our sewing machines humming along the seams. 

We chose a quilting design in keeping with the soft vintage floral prints found in the fabrics and I'm using Signature Praline Pink for the thread on top and in the bobbin.

The pattern we're using is 1548 DAISY SWIRL E2E. The pattern is designed at a little larger than 12" for pattern height and width. I increased the size to about 15" to provide for a more open quilting design ... more fitting with Regina's plans for it to be used as a snuggle piece. Regina chose to us a batting from The Warm Company - Warm and Natural which will shrink up after it's first wash for a lovely antique look and get softer and softer with every washing after that.

... and to see the pattern stitch-out with the machine running ...

... and for a closer look at the quilting design ...

... visit Mountaintop Quilting to see more longarm quilting designs formated to all computerized longarm machines (cqp hqf iqp pat plt qli ssd txt)

CHALLENGES: WHITE ON BLACK

 They say practice makes perfect but I don't know. This has been a real challenge becoming comfortable with white ink on black paper. I want the white pens/ink to be more sketchy like my other gel pens or my pencils. I think it must be the nature of the white gel ink. Maybe to get the degree of opacity I love - that clearly bright white line in stark contrast with the black paper - there is a degree of heaviness that is required in the ink. 

I have several different gel pens and there are clear differences in the opacity of each. My favorite

white pens are the Uni-ball Signo UM-153 and the Gelly Roll from Sakura. When I want a broader line I use my Sharpie Poster Paint Pen but find myself needing to do more than one coat to get the coverage I'm looking for. Nine times out of ten, you'll see me reaching for the Gelly Roll pen first which makes me happy since I can find them locally and so I can keep a ready supply on hand easily.

When I start a drawing, I find myself doing some light white pencil drawing first to give me some guidelines, to block out the lettering, and MOST OF ALL, to get up my nerve to try to draw something those nasty inner critics are telling me loud and clear that I'm crazy thinking I could ever draw something like that. Shhhhhh you nasty old "negative-nellies!"

There are times I do some practice drawing in the moleskine with pencil just as a way of warm up. But enough with the words, let's get a progress update - and yes, practice every day is working. I think the skills are improving!

... the prompt: NO WORRIES ... 

... working with lettering (and that Sharpie Paint Pen) and trying to become more 

comfortable with drawing a whole figure ...

... the prompt: OVERCOME A FEAR ...

... faces are becoming easier so pushing it to the next level with a change in angle ...

... oh let's be honest, I added the doodling to her hair in hopes you wouldn't

look to closely at the facial elements ...

... the prompt: YOU ARE LOVED ...

... let's play some more with the Sharpie and some lettering ...

... the prompt: IT'S SIMPLE ...

... I saw the painting (don't know the artist) but had to jump in with both feet ...

... the prompt: THE MOVIES ... 

I simply can NOT go into the theater and walk past the concessions without buying popcorn ... butter??? yes, please ...

Want to know more about the challenge: go here ... AT THE END OF MY PEN 2

NOTHING MORE NOTHING LESS 14

... a way to document/share my week ...

... learning to see with my heart 

as well as my mind and my eyes ... 

... practicing practicing practicing ...  

... capturing snippets of everyday life ... 

... memories recorded ... 

... being present each day ... 

... answering the question: what are you noticing ...

... easy storage solution ...

... purple - fall color love ...

... designing this week at Mountaintop Quilting Studio ...

1655 DIAMONDS & PEARLS BLK 3

1657 ROSIE POSIE CUTAWAY BLOCK

... mid-week dinner out at favorite local spot ...

... new neighbors moved in ... quiet and docile ... 

GOOD COOKIN' 21: SAVORY BLACK BEAN CAKES

Today, a treat from my daughter. Her bean cakes are such  a treat and a dietary staple when I go to visit her. I've begged her several times to put this little cooking video together so I could attempt making bean cakes in my own kitchen ... at last!!! Thank you Eryn for such a great tutorial.

WHICH WAY?

... which way today ... 

... to cross or not to cross ...

... to stay or move on ...

NOTHING MORE NOGHTING LESS 13

... a way to document/share my week ...

... learning to see with my heart 

as well as my mind and my eyes ... 

... practicing practicing practicing ...  

... capturing snippets of everyday life ... 

... memories recorded ... 

... being present each day ... 

... answering the question: what are you noticing ...

... Harvest Festival at Berkshire Botanical Gardens ...

... enjoying the view at Olivia's Outlook ...

... sneaking peeking Shiba Inu, "whatcha' doin' Mom?" ...

... designing at Mountaintop Quilting Studio ... 1652 SNOWFLAKE SWIRL E2E ... 

... how to capture the sound of the wind in the treetops ...

... and what are you noticin' ...

FOUND ON THE TRAIL

It was a perfect day - a perfect day for a hike in the woods. I've always seen the trails leading away from the outlook view spot but it just seems like life always got in the way and I hurried on to the next thing on the list after a brief respite.

Not today.

Today I took time to take in the view ... the gray of the water and the heavy clouds overhead contrasting with the vibrant firey colors - so beautiful this year. And the spot of sun peaking through across the hills.

... sigh ...

Bundle up Miso. We're taking a walk on the trail and see where it leads!

... fun exploring and sharing an adventure ...

JOURNAL PEEKS: AT THE END OF MY PEN II

a 31 day challenge to use a black base and a white pen and to draw of sketch for 10 minutes every day ...

I started out first just exploring all the different white mark-making tools I had in my pen box at the time.

At first I was going to use what I had on hand as a background paper no matter what the color as long as it was dark. I had a cardstock pad with several different solids that would work. But then, shortly after deciding this was the way to go, I found myself in Michaels and the black cardstock pad had enough pages to last me a lifetime and it was on sale. I caved!

My next decision was how I would keep these little sketches together. Last spring I started a moleskine hard-bound journal (about 5x7) for practicing my lettering and playing with some listing journaling. I continued in the same journal combining my September #30daysoflists challenge and At the End of My Pen 1. It seemed only right that I continue with At the End of My Pen II in the same journal even though the pages were graph paper and not black. I decided to use some as tip-ins and to just glue the black page in for others.

The result: I found myself roughing out the sketch idea on the graph-paper page kind of like a practice drawing before committing with the white pen. It's a little intimidating to just start sketching with the white pen on the black. Not very forgiving or erasable! But I've learned a lot about my white pens and how to control the ink and to make the drawings a little more sketchy when that is the effect I'm going for.

Enjoy the little bit of a sneak peek and come back for a final wrap-up at the end of the month.

AT THE END OF MY PEN

The journey began September 10th. The quest: to draw every day for 21 days. Why 21 days? Research says that's how long it takes to develop a habit. I saw an opportunity to foster my drawing skills, work on my lettering skills and typography, and maybe, even successfully combine this challenge with another that started at the beginning of the month ... completing 30 lists in 30 days. And so under the careful guidance of Tangie Baxter and the encouragement of my fellow classmates, the journey began.

I honestly do believe this is this first time I've actually completed two - yes, count them - TWO challenges from beginning to end. Most of the time my creative endeavors tend to spend many years as works in progress. So lets celebrate this day and shout "Hooray!"

Enjoy the video documentation of the journey AT THE END OF MY PEN. 

Like what you see? Want to join us for Round 2?

Click on the link to sign up now for AT THE END OF MY PEN II with Tangie Baxter. Hurry and get the good deal while there is still a sale price on the board. This time: white ink on black paper!