Paper Pieces

So I thought I’d expand my horizons in quilting piecing (they are definitely not the same thing, though people tend to mix them up). I’ve been reading the Intergalactic Transport blog of Jimmy McBride, who makes pieced quilts that depict various pieces of the cosmos like wormholes and things. His quilts involve a lot of small pieces with irregular corners and edges.  I thought, “that would be neat. I wonder if I could do that?”

But first, to know what I’m talking about, you have to visit this post to see what I mean:  all cut out.

OK, are you caught up?  If you didn’t visit, I can wait. Because otherwise the rest of what I have to say won’t make any sense.

So my project is not intergalactic, it’s more terrestrial, and I don’t have all day to do this as he seems to (he’s A Real Artist with Shows and Stuff), but I’m doing trying to do a smaller scale pieced quilt in the tradition of his quilts right now. I’m not going to try to tell you it’s going perfectly, or that it’s quick, because I would be lying.

If you know how big pin heads are, you know how big these pieces are that I’m turning into fabric and sewing together. They’re all irregular shapes. Curves both concave and convex. If you’ve ever sewn before, you know that convex/concave edges don’t play very well together so they can get sewn up properly.

So I’m pretty much swimming in a sea of tiny pieces. Mr McBride makes it look almost easy, but I assure you, having tried it, that I’m thoroughly impressed with him and how tidy and neat his pieces are. I know he’s done a fair number of these, and my hat is completely off to the man. I’d like to sit and watch him in his studio one day, just to admire what he does and maybe learn a few things.

Anyway, I’ll give y’all more info later, but all I have is a sneak peak tonight. The thing is assuredly not ready for public presentation now.

Meanwhile, I saw this outside the Berkeley Public Library last night:

I read about it last Thursday on her blog, but I was quite pleased to see Streetcolor’s huge colorful work in person. I love the squiggly bike rack ones! I’m pleased Berkeley is the sort of place where people leave this type of thing alone and don’t immediately rip it up, deface it or remove it. I think it adds a lot to public spaces. I may have to yarn bomb something down here in Temescal, if only my house …

Sketchy

I’ve been working on a sketch for a week or so.
It’s the basic line drawing that will guide my next textile piece.
Well, the one after the one I’m currently working on, anyway.

This is really the background.
I can’t sketch out the actual interesting part of this one.
Because it’s three-dimensional. And elaborate.
Eventually you’ll see what I mean.
For now, though, this is what it exists as.
At least it’s to scale (30″ x 15″).

Not that you’ll see the final product soon, exactly.
The background work alone will take some serious time!
I was trying to figure out if any of it can be machine-sewn.
So far, I’m not coming up with much.

This scene is one from the 12 Dancing Princesses fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm.
I’ve been thinking about doing something based on this fairy tale for quite some time.
I just recently decided what aspect of it I’m interested in pursuing most.

Here goes!

Spring is here … achoo!

Ah, spring.

I’ve been rather uninspired the last few weeks. It might be the allergies, but I think it’s probably the pastels. 90% of the blogs I read are in love with pastels, pink, and Easter egg crafts. Since I think pastels are insipid, can’t stand pink and consider egg crafts really boring, this leaves me out for a while. During these fluffy spring months I long for the rich colors and textures of fall. Baby chicks and bunnies are cute, but I prefer harvest season and leaves.

I’m also not a spring fan because I know summer is next. I don’t like summer, and I don’t like hot. Unceasing heat gives me migraines and nasty sunburns. Plus hot weather makes many women believe they are free to wear inappropriate and inadequate clothing, which makes me cringe. So when spring arrives, I know I will soon be assaulted by illness, allergies and irritation. This does not make me more of a fan of pastels, pink or eggs.

I am hopeful about the weather here in the Bay Area, though. This morning it’s chilly and overcast with periodic drizzle. Although many people would hate this, I think having to put on a coat on April 25 is the best thing ever. I’m looking forward to a relatively chilly summer. People tell me that sundresses are fairly pointless here. In my dreams, it would be chilly and slightly cloudy all year round. There would never be a season when hot coffee and a cardigan were not reasonable options to consider.

Spring does have a few things to offer. The aforementioned chicks and bunnies, but also expanded selection at farmer’s markets. Although most Bay Area farmer’s markets are year-round, I’m a bit tired of winter greens. I did a tiny jig when I saw the giant-heads-of-cauliflower vendor a couple weeks ago. Spicy tomato sauce with cauliflower was served for dinner that night. Plus California hills are pretty right now, all vibrant green during the rainy season. Soon they’ll turn golden during the dry season.

I’ve been sketching and sewing almost daily despite my lack of inspiration. I will accomplish most of my April goals, which were (1) draft 2 new quilts, (2) complete one crochet project and (3) finish up March. I’m not feeling crochet right now, so I abandoned that. I don’t have much to show of the others because one project I’m working on is A Big Secret, and then there’s a Complicated Quilting Project that’s gone through a dozen iterations now. But I finished the last of the kitchen crafts, and will show those soon.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy my photos of Sonoma County. We had a mini road trip celebration for my husband’s birthday last weekend. Sonoma isn’t exactly what I’d expected, but there are certainly a lot of vineyards. I think some part of my brain expected France and instead got farms, northern California hills and a rather touristy downtown area in Sonoma. Ah well. It was still really nice, and I’ll be back to explore more.