Sunday, November 15, 2009

How Many Projects?!

I've finally managed to get myself into some sort of routine, and am feeling better for it. I'm walking every day (we've had spectacular weather for November!) and have been trying to stay away from "Spider Solitaire". Gosh, that's habit-forming -- and a fun way to procrastinate, to avoid facing my 'fears' about making art. Fortunately, the team and members of SAQA's Visioning Project have been there with daily e-mails of art journal updates, and regular 'webinars' that are educational, interesting and fun.

The first piece of my body of work is just waiting for its finishing (facing and hanging sleeve) and the second is well underway. My sketchbook has another 1/2 dozen ideas jotted in it, which I roll around in my mind throughout each day, jotting notes next to the sketches as soon as I can get to it.

Professional development has continued with my 3 Quilt University classes. I must admit, the photography class is my least favourite. I'm a 'point and click' kind of gal, and trying to read my camera manuals just puts me to sleep. However, I've had lots of fun mucking about with thickened dyes and bleach discharges in "Screen Printing". At the same time, I've dug out scraps I'd forgotten I had (I'd even managed to colour-coordinate them for storage!), using them to perfect my piecing skills while working small (4 1/2-inch blocks) in "Jane was Nuts!" (so-called after Jane Stickle, who made an absolutely beautiful quilt out of 225 similarly tiny blocks. I don't think I'll go that far...but it's been a lovely way to assemble scrappy blocks for a sampler quilt -- or two or three.

I'm also busy making Christmas presents, which I can't talk about here (sometimes family read this blog)...

And I'm back to spinning. D, friend of my friend B gave her a large batt that had belonged to D's mother. B no longer owns a wheel, so she passed it on to me. Although we think it was originally intended to be used as a quilt batt, it's spinning up into a lovely fine single. Feels and spins rather like Shetland, and is a soft grey-brown (more brown than grey, really).

Before I could get going on the batt, though, I had to free up a bobbin for my wheel (I have only five.) To do this, I decided to ply my small amount of brown Shetland with some of my white Shetland, which has produced a rather pretty mix:

This is my very first plied yarn, so it's not all that even; nevertheless, I am rather proud of it, and liked the process so much that I might just ply up some of the 'grey' with the white, too.

Oh -- time's up! Back to knitting gifts!

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