Nancy created this doll for me as part of the Out of the Box Portrait Challenge for our Feb ‘09 group meeting (see my project for Gladys here). I knew it was me when I saw the colored pencils! Wow, she did such an incredible job. Thread to make the curly hair and and that wonderful pointy nose!

I definitely scored in the swap. Nancy’s detail work is amazing, I feel so lucky to own it!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

In January my Out of the Box group drew names for a swap project. Assignment: Portraits.

Wednesday night we spread the projects out on a table to see if we could guess who was who. Each ended up being recognized by the person they were made for.

I took a semi-easy way out by pulling up a photo I’d snapped of Gladys, doing a bit of Photoshop editing and printing onto White Kona cotton. I didn’t treat the cotton so the permanence of the ink is anyone’s guess. Final size is approximately 12″ x 14″.

The face was most challenging for me. Ultimately I think I gave Gladys has a few too many wrinkles! If I did a project like this again I would copy and paste the face multiple times and print them onto a piece of cloth for practicing. I ripped stitches a few times but the holes created by that process was mutilating the cloth so I just stopped.

I found some absolutely spectacular portrait quilts (one and two) during my research. I’d really like to understand the process for creating the black, cut-out version. If you know of a book or an online tutorial for doing that please let me know!

The one I received is absolutely fabulous. My goal today is to take one picture so you you guys can see it!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

The December Out of the Box challenge was to ‘Make a Real Woman of Your Choice!’ It was also a gift exchange. The perfect opportunity to work up this fabulous Sublime Stitching Roller Derby pattern.

I’ve been hoarding a series of these patterns for several years. Always with the best of intentions. The challenge finally motivated some action. A few Flickr searches later I had some very good inspiration. Photos of real Roller Derby gals inspired the addition of the fishnet stockings, my absolute FAVORITE part.

The stitching began without a plan for the final presentation. I decided to use it as an embellishment on my latest tote bag design. As I work through a design I always look for opportunities to make yet another version that won’t totally burn me out on the process.

I debated about the best way to attach the piece to the bag. It was embroidered on Ivory Aiden Linen. I was nervous to just sew it onto the surface of the tote bag pocket. Cleaning would be a problem. I had some of this plastic on hand. Usually sold for covering tables. I layered the stitching between the plastic and the pocket. Next time I’ll take pictures before making the sandwich!

My thinking was that the tote bag would mostly like wear out before the embroidery. The pocket could be easily cut off and saved for another use.

A point of advice on the plastic: I had a yard of this stuff in my stash and it had been stored for over a year folded up. Really bad idea. The creases appear to be permanent. Most corners where the folds rested contained tiny little tears in the plastic. I was able to selvage a piece that was free from both and still large enough to cover the embroidery.

I’ve already started on my next one. This one I’m keeping for myself.

(Here’s the original post where I explained how the Out of the Box group works. Click on the Out of the Box category in the side bar to see all the posts related to the group.)

Kendra Allen created these fabulous birch bark prayer flags for last month’s Out of the Box challenge. Kendra was the one who submitted this challenge idea, at the meeting she spoke further about her inspiration for the idea and a discussion about Andy Goldsworthy ensued.

When I got home from the meeting I reserved some books, Hand to Earth and A Collaboration with Nature, and a movie, Rivers & Tides, from the library. The girls and I watched the film on Saturday, WOW. It’s an extremely powerful film on a number of levels. We were all struck by the mental aspects of creating art that you know will disappear back into the environment, sometimes within minutes and hours. The artist’s patience and discipline is captured in the film as well as his devotion to pursuing his craft. I would say to an obsessive extent, another discussion provoking aspect of the movie. Leil wondered how his wife and children felt while he was off making art by himself. Caitlin commented that he is the ultimate re-cycled materials artist! We were all amazed and awed by the pure beauty of his art.

After the film was over the book pages started turning. Each go around through the images would reveal new observations, subtle uses of materials and composition that were missed on the first look. Our play in the garden, the woods, and the beach will never be the same.

Each time I write about my Out of the Box challenges I get questions about the group itself. I plan to start answering them along the way. Please feel free to add your questions to the comments so I can keep a running list. All these posts will be tagged with the Out of the Box category. I also went back and tagged past posts about the group (I’d missed a few!) with the category so they can be easily viewed together.

The question I get most often is “What advice do you have for starting my own group?” If I read between the lines, I think that really means “How do I meet people that would enjoy participating in a group like this with me?” I’m going to tackle that today. (As a side note, I did not start my Out of the Box group. I was asked to participate and jumped at the chance!)

Moving to Bainbridge Island 3 years ago required me to make new friends. Here is a list of things I did:

1. I took my first quilting class at Esther’s. My teacher was Margret Darrah. She is an extraordinarily talented woman and I’ve had the pleasure of becoming her friend since we first met in class. There were two other students in my class. One I’ve never seen since. The second I ran into at a drop-in knitting session at Churchmouse two weeks ago. She finished her quilt too. Margret started Out of the Box last year and invited me to join.
2. I took my second quilting class at Esther’s and learned to machine quilt. Two of the students told me about the Kitsap Quilter’s Guild and encouraged me to join. I did. The teacher and one of the students are now also Out of the Box group members.
3. I’ve been involved with the guild for two years. Last year I stepped up and took on a committee chair position for the annual quilt show. Each time I volunteer I meet new people. The majority of quilters would consider themselves traditional in their style and the average age is much older than I am. There’s always a few subversives (young and old) that show their modern quilts during show and tell, I always make a point of getting to know them.
4. I take classes that are offered through my guild. At one of these classes I sat next to a woman that told me about the American Sewing Guild. I joined that group too. It’s much smaller and more intimate than the quilt guild and I’ve made several good friends.
5. Whenever I meet new people I ask them if they sew or knit. I learned that my neighbor across the street makes quilts and so does the office secretary at school. A friend of mine that doesn’t sew told a friend of hers that sews clothes about me and ‘this clothes sewing group’ I go to every month. She joined ASG several months ago.

The point of all these examples is that none of them were an instant source of crafty friends but they were all journeys that led to meeting the talented women I’m friends with today.

-:-:-:-

The Out of the Box challenge for February was:

“Create an original work composed entirely out of organic materials. The idea is that, if need be, this item will assimilate back into nature anonymously.”

I’ve tried really hard to keep my challenge projects fiber based. My primary goal for participating in the group is to have a structured monthly task that requires a stretch of my creativity and results in the creation of at least one art related quilt every four weeks.

The winter has been very cold for a very long time and I am SO ready for Spring. That inspired the tomato plant marker idea. I’ll write in the varieties with a permanent pen once I get things planted. I envision these will deteriorate over time, similar to prayer flags.

I used the organic cottons I won from Sew, Mama, Sew via the Whip Up challenge. The dyes are all natural based, non-toxic and biodegradable. I fudged because the cotton thread, batting and linen backing obviously all have chemicals in them from the production process. I’m excited to use these in my garden this year. Come on Spring!

My Out of the Box creativity group kicked off 2008 with a New Year’s worthy bang. We actually took on two challenges, no fear as we flipped the calendar to January! The first item drawn from the box was to finish a UFO. I totally dug the symbolic timing of that entry. (I’ll share the second in my next post.)

This is a Lonni Rossi Infinity Blocks quilt kit. I pieced this top 3 years ago. It’s waited ever so patiently since, in a plastic Jumbo bag waiting its turn for finishing. I just pulled out the bag, cut a backing, cut the batting, taped, pinned, and quilted that baby. It was tempting to put aside the sandwich on the meeting’s eve but I forced myself to proceed with cutting and sewing on the binding. We all know what can happen to a quilt that’s missing the binding. I can trust myself to finish the hand work which I did in short order.

I did a quick Google for the pattern name to make sure I was spelling everything correct. How fun to find that Lonni is still selling the same kit on her website. I left off the border and used that fabric on the back. I just didn’t think it needed the border. She has a lot of VERY COOL kits on her site. As a side note on kits: what fun! I always feel like they’re little classes in a box. A fabulous opportunity to learn new techniques and absorb the fabric eye of the designer. If I had more room on my plate I’d be making this one!

Focus, Kathy, focus…

Update 10/20/07: I just discovered this link on Whip Up where Quilting Arts has provided the magazine article online. Have fun!

Inspiration:

Front pieced and fused to a 6 x 6 inch cut of double-sided, fusible Peltex:

Back:

Kimono scrap backed with Wonder Under, real leaf traced to paper backing, cut and fused to top:

Cut into sixteen 1 1/2 inch ‘inchies’ ready for trade:

Have an awesome autumn weekend!

I chose to create a baseline of each of the eight postcards vs. taking each one to its completion one at a time. It’s been a fun exercise because I can incorporate similarities in each layer as I noodle over them as a set. I skipped the Wonder Under this time around and used Kristin’s recommendation of Roxanne’s glue baste it to keep my pieces in place before sewing them down. I’m really happy with my initial results.

More later after I complete this puppy. I still have a couple more weeks to embellish and finalize the entry before mailing it off to meet the magazine deadline.

Ashley tagged me for the Rockin’ Girl Blogger Award along with 14 other fabulous moms (being a mom is not part of this award, you’ll have to read Ashley’s post to understand why she chose moms). That girl is too funny. She gives me a daily does of laughter, beautiful knits and rockin’ quilts. Thanks my dear. OK, so the assignment is to pass the award on to 5 others. A random round up of gals I like and I haven’t tagged before:

Jen from Chrysanthemum – This is a fairly new to me blog and I’m really enjoying it. She knits and sews, a girl after my own heart, and is a fellow Washingtonian. She’s a very good writer with a clever wit.

Kim from Dioramarama – I think this was the second craft blog I started reading right after I discovered Wee Wonderfuls. A new mommy, a very cool gal and one of the nicest people I’ve met here in blogland. Her new Amy Butler nappy bag is enough to qualify her for this award.

Katrin of Sew-Mad – A Rockin’ Girl Blogger award natural. Katrin has cool hair, a groovy style and every thing she puts her talented seamstress hands to turns out beyond hip. I’m always inspired reading about her original creations.

Kim of Something to Say – Another Washington blog pal. Sometimes I get exhausted just reading Kim’s posts. This gal is on the tip. She’s a linking queen to what’s rockin’ on the internet. Besides being a talented artist, graphic maven and clever shutterbug, she is always sharing cool discoveries in the art world.

Jan of Bemused – There are some blogs that are just plain beautiful. That’s how I feel every time I visit Jan. Her eye for color is the definition of rockin’. She has a contemporary quilt aesthetic and an accomplished technique, both things I admire beyond words. She’s also just really nice, another rockin’ trait out here in blogland.

Now back to those postcards…

The theme for my creativity group’s June meeting. This quote evoked warm and comforting thoughts for me. Nothing I like better than a good storm, a cup of tea and my sewing machine. I often imagine magical things taking place in the woods that sit behind our house.

5 1/2″ x 7 1/2″, commercial and Judy Robertson hand dyed fabrics, machine quilted, hand embroidered and beaded. Completed June 2007.

What ideas does the quote stir for you?

* If you want to be notified the minute my pattern is available sign up for my mailing list over there on the sidebar. I saw a funny website policy statement the other day: “We won’t sell your name unless we’re offered a lot of money.”

** I downloaded a 30-day trial version of PhotoFrame Pro 3.1.

This was my first attempt at a face. Creating a face is absolutely terrifying for someone who doesn’t draw. I figured it was time I get over myself on that one and give it a whirl.

I used the hand dyed fabrics I purchased from Judy Robertson at the quilt show in February. LOVED them. Definitely a habit in the making. The hair and the little yellow corners are fabric from Marbled Arts. I was fearful the marbled texture would overwhelm whatever I chose to use it for. To my delight, it took on amazing movement when overlayed with some free motion quilting.

The piece measures 8 x 6 inches. Long live minis!

I threw out the Timetex and used a thin cotton batting. Much happier with the results. Besides being easier to embroider and bead on, the batting gave me that subtle puffiness I love. Now I have to figure out how to get rid of Wonder Under. Any ideas for positioning the fabric with something less gooey?