Highs and lows, finishes and starts

It seems like it all happened in one week with Craft Napa (both as student and teacher), a virtual lecture, a few family events and Hubby had a bit of dental surgery. I hope to have a boring few weeks now!

First up, Craft Napa. I LOVED the virtual format….as a student. I’ll get to the teacher part in a minute. I took 2 days with Margarita Korioth, learning Instant Paper Cloth and Hand Applique with Paper and Fabric. Oh. What. Fun! It was like Kindergarten, only better. We were cutting out paper, playing with a new technique and just having a blast.

The supply list was simple and Margarita put a lot of time and effort into her kits. All that made the class a joy – all I had to do was cut paper, fuse and play. I learned a lot about Instant Paper Cloth (let’s just call it IPC) as well as how it evolved. Margarita spent a good deal of time figuring out how to make IPC work in a virtual class and her personal approach is pretty much the scientific method.

I know, my class project looks like others, but the point was to learn the technique. I like the serendipity of the bird on the right and the flowers lower left. I didn’t know what I was doing, it just happened. And there it is, lower right, my motto, “Onward”!

Is it possible that I have moved over to the other side, the surface design side? It’s kinda looking that way. I’m now fully immersed in Inktense pens. I know I can pick them up and use them with confidence, having had a recent Inktense class from Telene Jeffrey. I did not have a rich source of printed material to work with, so the printed material in the background carries no significance.

I’m jumping ahead in the timeline now – this is the epilogue of taking Margarita. I HAD to go out and get more printed materials to work with. She cautioned us that if you buy foreign books, make sure you know their general content. You probably don’t want a sex manual in the background or something like that:-) I hope I am on safe territory with my selections from the local Half-Price Bookstore.

Note the napkins – I HAVE to get more napkins now. That looks like a lot of fun too and there is a huge variety of cocktail napkins out there. Not that I’ve been online searching for cocktail napkins or anything….

Day two was hand applique:

It’s not finished but I am pleased with my placements and basic design. Applique on paper requires a stab stitch, one up, one down… You actually have to pre-stab what comes through the back so that you stay on your line. It is not a quick process, but very pleasantly slow and rhythmic. I am not sure I will finish up either project. I probably will, but I don’t feel compelled. I was there to learn the process.

I never would have been able to do these 2 days at the live Craft Napa, it just would have been too costly in time and money. I am thrilled to have been able to take Margarita. There were other instructors I would have taken, but either their classes were instantly full, or they taught on a day that I had another gig or was teaching myself.

I also taught a full class of Doodle Quilting, which I love! I had some technical issues that affected the class. I feel badly for my students. Teachers grieve when this happens and I did. It was not a connectivity issue nor was it lack of familiarity with my equipment. I am working with my tech guy to figure out what happened, but at this point it is a mystery. I was able to convey the material, but not in the way I planned. It is another saying I have, “No one bats a thousand”.

I WILL identify what happened. Doodle quilting is so much fun! I do enjoy teaching online and I have taught extensively. I must figure this out so that I can focus on teaching, not tech.

After Margarita’s class I was on fire, so I played with some things:

What would happen if I machine stitched? You KNEW I was going there! This is with 12 wt Aurifil. I like! I’m going to try a triple stitch with the 12 wt next.

THIS was on my mind during class. What would happen if I appliqued the paper on by machine and then outlined, to mimic a pieced quilt? The Orange Peel was my first choice. Next up is doing this with a collage of napkins, which will give an entirely different look. The paper is stiff and as a result, the area puffs up and looks trapunto-ed. I know you can’t tell that from the photo. I used Iris White’s rulers for this (Taiwan). They are marvelous!

I plan to make a smaller sample to refine my thoughts. I will use my digital cutter to cut the IPC and the rulers to free motion quilt the outer edge of of the shape. Just imagine that with napkins…

Total coincidence, I had a bit of time while Hubby was going through some dental surgery and I finished a UFO that coincidentally was from Craft Napa 2019:

You might recognize this as a Libby Williamson class, her teabag class. She provides a kit with a lot of ephemera plus the teabags. You just play in class. Preparing the teabags is quite a process. I really enjoyed the class and wanted to finish my piece.

I had fun playing with various embroidery stitches and layering on bits. I finally figured out how to finish it by fusing to a layer of felt and felted wool.

Can you imagine how fun it was to finish this up? I added a few more bits and few more stitches before layering on the wool and felt.

Back. The lines will disappear. And yeah, I know, it’s not 1.20 but 1.21. I don’t think I’ll redo the label, just put a one over the 0. It kinda reflects where I am right now anyway.

Like most of us, I don’t enjoy adding the sleeve. I had the slat from previous projects. Yes, I know, the wire part of the slat could be a little more refined. But I loved using the screening material for my sleeve! I have been working with screening on other projects, so it was in my stash. I whined to myself that I didn’t want to go through the whole process of a proper sleeve and I thought hmmm, screening material – it wouldn’t have to be hemmed or doubled. I love the way the screen worked. I think I will use it for future work. I was so fast, it’s sturdy, more light-weight and the quilt hangs better. Win. Win.

And there she is, hanging with her cousins in my hall. Artists from left to right: Doria Goocher, Sue Rasmussen, Karen Hansen and My New Addition (to be named). It feels good to have it completed and hanging. I do love the whimsy of it and it reminds me of Libby (who is delightful) and Craft Napa, all good memories.

I received some good news that I will share in my newsletter this week. If you are interested in receiving it, you can sign up here.

This week I’ll be sharing with:
Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday
and
Finished or Not Friday