When I started the 100 Day Challenge, life was like any other January although there were hints of a growing epidemic. Today as we learn to live in the shadow of this COVID19 pandemic with masks, sanitizers, social distancing, etc. , it makes me wonder how this has affected our creativity. Are you creating more? Finding road blocks and blank canvasses? Going in different directions?
The 100 Day challenge finished in mid May (I added an extra 10 days to the project to Include our 50th Anniversary) And I’ve been trying to focus on quilting the final artwork and binding it. It may take longer to do that than all the little quilts put together! Inspiration only comes in spurts these days and I’m all over the place in doing things Around the house (refinishing tables, painting walls, potting plants, etc). What can I say? Life still keeps going and getting busier, doesn’t it? Have to go . . . It’s another ZOOM meeting coming up . . .
Suddenly with the onset of COVID19 we’ve come up with a whole new set of words to describe what is going on haven’t we? Before, “flattening the curve” was an easy fix: lay your newly sewn curve piece and press well thereby flattening it. That was easy! Now, it’s not so easy to fix the curve with mask wearing, confinement to homes, social distancing and the like trying to slow the progression of this new virus. So how did this affect us as art quilters?
As I ponder this, I’ve been busily sewing functional but aesthetic masks using up pieces I’ve loved from my stash in hopes that they will help someone else. I’m struggling with current challenges that seem remote from the immediate concerns and yet trying to find a way to express my feelings on all this. Are you in the same boat creatively??
Thank goodness I am working through the 100Day Project so I can add elements that remind me of these dramatic changes and issues. While only 3” mini quilts done daily, they now include faces with masks, images of people at computers and always a small section of gray mesh heavily beaded that indicates this Pandemic Cloud we are under. The project finishes at the end of this month but I feel like continuing to show the progression into summer. Going past the 100 days? Why not? What artist hasn’t tried breaking the “rules”? So check out these latest images: . .
72nd Day of the !00 Day Project. Note that there is gray mesh with beads denoting the COVID19 confinement haze but spring is coming. The Kitty is wearing a mask.
Set the background and design by day and bling by night is the name of the game for these tiny quilted gems. Each day, I head to the computer to check out the low temperature of the previous day which sets the background for that day’s project. This morning, I missed moving into the teal family by 1degree! It’s getting warmer slowly but surely. This is actually an interesting way to see one move into spring (besides seeing the daffodils begin to open and crocus in bloom). As we began the confinement period due to the COVID19 pandemic, I began to realize that I wanted to have these blocks represent what was happening in the homes. As you look inside the windows of each, most show people doing things from getting dressed to pondering the world outside. We are all finding ways to adjust.
As the 100DayProject continues, the skies are taking on a blue purple hue due to the colder temperatures at night. Am I the only one in the Midwest who is hoping for the subzero weather to return? I’m looking forward to using purples in the art pieces 😁. This one is based on buildings in downtown Port Byron using an abstracted fused style of Ellen Linder. You can also see some of the other art quilts that have been created this last week.
And the 100day project continues with four more little art quilts. They’ve been fun to create as I start them quickly each morning then finish the handwork and embellishment in the evening. It’s been a surprisingly warm January and the start to February so the backgrounds have been in the blue ranges for a good while. No purple in sight!
My theme is set for the 100 Day project and I’m using the idea of houses and windows, secret places we find in the village of Port Byron. Clustering a few of my tiny quilts to share with you might reduce the time of posting but still be a way to work through the creative thought process. I have a feeling that this will morph as it goes along, right? So far, the low temperature of the day that determines the color background of the piece, has moved from purple to blue as we warm up. These last two artworks are based on businesses in our village: the veterinarian who takes care of Theo, our cockapoo, and the bank plus assorted others with black windows. What goes on inside them?? How much do we know about our neighbors? What goes on in our community?
Have been waiting for this day so I could start my projects and now, Day 1 little gem is finished and up on the design wall! Hooray!! Secret Places is the official theme so I thought I would do something with windows, windows in all kinds of habitats and houses. What do we see through them that frames a special spot? What do we see looking in that makes us wonder? Not content to do anything simple of course, I’m using 3” muslin squares that can be put into a quilt maybe in the end. Oh yes, and the background color is based on the low temperature for the preceding day. In the years to come, I’ll remember that January had lots of purples since these are used for subzero and lower teens. I thought the idea might be called “It Takes whole town to get through a Port Byron Winter”. Or a Midwest winter or a village . . . .
So, for the first habitat, it ended up being a church with a stained glass window, bells, a cross and sitting on a hill. A good way to start the challenge. As a group, they should have lots of bright colors, uses of complementary hues, interesting imagery in the windows, lots of embellishments, some new embroidery stitches I haven’t tried before, new fabric combinations, mixed media, hand dyed fabrics and trims, photo images, or whatever hits me spontaneously that morning. So . . Here’s a picture of the first one. Anyone have any ideas to try with this project? Always love to hear because coming up with 100 mini gems will be interesting and a stretch at times I’m sure.
Have to admit that creating art quilts has consumed me these last months (along with kid and grandkids activities, helping to remodel our fixer upper, etc) so house cleaning has taken a second place. But, check out these really fun small gems! Created with fabrics and glitter netting, embellished with buttons and tyvek beads or flowers, these are attached to painted 8×8” canvas so much fun to create! Click on each piece and see my comments.
Several Canadian Geese couples are swimming outside in our backyard while the sun glistens on the swiftly moving Mississippi River. Yup! Flood season has arrived and we are gaining more waterfront access than normal. The sandbags are in place at the lower doors, all benches and the woodpile are moved to higher ground and there’s not much to do but watch the water rise and sew. Of course, did you think that my sewing machine would cool down this time of the year? It’s been pretty busy in the art studio as a Chinese baby quilt, a Floating Tile Quilt, several miscellaneous pieces, a slipcover for a couch and the Chocolate quilt shown here were under creation. I wanted to design a “count down” quilt from Ash Wednesday to Easter using chocolate in the 40 pockets but it kept saying “Valentine’s Day” with the colors and how it evolved. Used a lovely chocolate candy base fabric underneath with a dark red tulle for the pockets. The idea was to “Be Kind and Love one another every day of this time. Funny thing . . .I realized that from Epiphany (The last day of the 12 days of Christmas, January 5/6, there are actually 40 days until Valentines Day too!) Guess I can use this for two time frames, can’t I? Notice the wrapped Easter Eggs in the last row . . . The grandkids keep wanting to eat them but I remind each that those are for Easter Week and they can only have one piece of Hersheys if they promise to doing something kind. I smile when I look at this artquilt because I think of the kids but also remember that I put some of the lace from when I made our oldest daughter’s wedding dress in it as well as the youngest daughters. Along with some antique lace from my stash, an extra pocket to hold more chocolate for kind deeds, and its a fun piece for my house these days.
This month was just full of artful activities! December 1 had us hosting over 100 people as our home opened for the Traditions Christmas Tour of Homes. You can check out the slideshow with photos from it. With the house still being remodeled, it was fun to show before and after views but there’s still much to do. Jim and I had just returned from Williamsburg/Virginia Beach, Virginia for the opening of the Cherrywood Fabrics Prince exhibit (and an autograph session for the artists 😁) before Thanksgiving and then the Tour were upon us. Lots of doll clothes to sew, a quilt to create for Scott, a giant Christmas stocking and more…Jim kept busy laying foundation blocks for the new attached shed on the detached garage plus lots to do with the grandkids: concerts, programs, parties, etc. next post, I’ll share more on the quilt projects. For now, best wishes for a wonderful New Year to all of you!
Several Canadian Geese couples are swimming outside in our backyard while the sun glistens on the swiftly moving Mississippi River. Yup! Flood season has arrived and we are gaining more waterfront access than normal. The sandbags are in place at the lower doors, all benches and the woodpile are moved to higher ground and there’s not much to do but watch the water rise and sew. Of course, did you think that my sewing machine would cool down this time of the year? It’s been pretty busy in the art studio as a Chinese baby quilt, a Floating Tile Quilt, several miscellaneous pieces, a slipcover for a couch and the Chocolate quilt shown here were under creation. I wanted to design a “count down” quilt from Ash Wednesday to Easter using chocolate in the 40 pockets but it kept saying “Valentine’s Day” with the colors and how it evolved. Used a lovely chocolate candy base fabric underneath with a dark red tulle for the pockets. The idea was to “Be Kind and Love one another every day of this time. Funny thing . . .I realized that from Epiphany (The last day of the 12 days of Christmas, January 5/6, there are actually 40 days until Valentines Day too!) Guess I can use this for two time frames, can’t I? Notice the wrapped Easter Eggs in the last row . . . The grandkids keep wanting to eat them but I remind each that those are for Easter Week and they can only have one piece of Hersheys if they promise to doing something kind. I smile when I look at this artquilt because I think of the kids but also remember that I put some of the lace from when I made our oldest daughter’s wedding dress in it as well as the youngest daughters. Along with some antique lace from my stash, an extra pocket to hold more chocolate for kind deeds, and its a fun piece for my house these days.
marykayhdesigns 