"It Might As Well Be Spring"

"It Might As Well Be Spring"  ©2012   Diane Evans

I learned a new word a few weeks ago while working on the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle: “grok,” a synonym for “see,” “get,” or “understand.”  I love this word – it sounds like the name of a character from “The Lord of the Rings.”  Say it three times fast; it makes you giggle.

I decided that I would use an altered version of my new favorite word as an acronym – in my little world, G.R.O.C. now stands for Get Rid Of Clutter.  You could let the “c” stand for “chaos” or “calories” or “cellulite” – whatever your heart desires on any particular day (actually, my heart desires getting rid of all three of those things, but that’s another post entirely).

Notice that my desire to GROC meshes nicely with my goal of changing my “To Do” list into a “Ta Da!” list, since I will undoubtedly be “GROC-ing” as I finish up my languishing projects.

The design was traced onto fabric from an original sketch I had done many moons ago; the piece was then outline-quilted with black rayon thread and stippled with green rayon thread.

I gathered together my Derwent watercolor pencils and Plaid Folk Art Textile Medium.

The medium was painted onto one section at a time; pencil was added while the fabric was still wet.  I learned to apply the color heavily to the edges of the motif first and then to fill in the design with a light touch to achieve a shaded look (my inner child was unleashed at this point -- gosh, how I love to color things . . .).

After completing the coloring . . .

. . . I fused the composition to Timtex and backing fabric, zigzagged the edges with more rayon thread . . .

. . . and inserted it into a mat, suitable for framing.  (This piece is now available in my Etsy shop; click here for more details.)

And, in keeping with the spirit of GROC-ing, I’ve added a few more books to my page of “Books For Sale.”  Click on this link and see if you can find a great bargain for yourself – or for someone else who doesn’t currently have the need to GROC . . .

Diane

Ta Da!

I recently read an article which stated that this is the time of year when many of our New Year's resolutions begin to fade and dissolve into the universe.  The article suggested that we gently prod ourselves with smaller goals on our way to reaching the ultimate goal that we had set for ourselves way back in January (seems like years ago, doesn't it??).  So, I went to the Land of Unfinished Pieces and Percolating Ideas and decided to choose just one of them to bring to life; my plan is to slowly complete a "To Do" project and turn it into a "Ta Da!" piece.

I will begin by stating that I am being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century; our son, Sean, teases me because I still use a phone book to look up telephone numbers.  Therefore, it should not surprise you to see that my first "Ta Da!" project is a legal pad cover; in this age of electronic note-taking devices,  I'm hoping that some of you will remember legal pads.  Please humor me.

Thank goodness there is a company out there who makes a pattern for these covers; this one is designed by Cotton Dreams and was purchased through Fabrics 'N' Quilts.

I chose a Jane Sassaman fabric for the outside cover and coordinated it with other fabrics for the lining, pockets, and binding.  After fusing the cover pieces together with Timtex, I used one of Jane's ideas and created a cardboard template to use in quilting a wavy design over the entire cover (I actually drew a sine curve onto graph paper to use as the shape -- math teachers never completely retire . . .).

After inserting the pockets, the binding was added by machine and hand-stitched to the inside.

And because I wanted to make the folded cover lie a little flatter, I found an even better use for the phone book; Sean should be pleased.

Diane

What To Do During A 12-Hour Hospital Wait . . .

You may remember that our son, Sean, suffered a broken arm (among other injuries) in an accident over a year ago.  Two surgeries weren't able to repair it correctly, so we finally found a third doctor in NYC who operated on him four weeks ago (he's doing extremely well as I write this -- we're hoping that the third time was the charm).  

Needless to say, husband Fran and I had a looooong period of waiting at the hospital before, during, and after the surgery, so I brought lots of play things with me to occupy the time, including the book, "Zen Mandalas," by Suzanne McNeill; this is an exciting collection of Zentangle®-filled, circular designs by several talented artists, complete with guidelines for creating your own mandelas.  Since they're basically round and divided into 5, 6, 8, or 12 equal segments, it's easier to design one if you have a compass, a protractor, and a ruler.  I had brought exactly none of these with me, so I followed the suggestion given in the book: I made a snowflake.

I folded a piece of paper into eighths and made a few holes in the folds by tearing away the paper, since I also didn't have scissors.  Then I traced the cut areas onto my art paper and used them as guidelines.  I followed some of the examples in the book, and the mandala pictured at the top emerged. 

Everything that has been said about Zentangles was true for me that day: I felt an amazing sense of well being; the process helped to both calm me and foster my creative spirit; and I experienced a much-needed feeling of timelessness.  This was just what the doctor ordered.
Diane

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

I absolutely love Christmas.  I know it's because of the wonderful Christmases my mom and dad gave to me while I was growing up.  My mother was the consummate baker; she created hundreds of beautiful cookies every year in her tiny kitchen -- our neighbors and relatives eagerly looked forward to the boxes filled with delicious treasures that Mary would take to their homes during the holidays.  My dad and I were in charge of picking out the tree from the grocer's lot next door and hauling it back to the house for decorating with hand-made ornaments.  I remember helping Mom wrap the presents when I was very young and then taking over the whole job when she convinced me that I was better at making bows than she was (clever woman).  I loved doing it, though -- it was my favorite part of our annual preparations.

Over the past few years, I've been continually making decorations to place in every part of our home that space will allow, including the garland on our bannister.  Some of these ornaments came from patterns, and others were my own creations.

The balls are styrofoam shapes covered in gingham and dotted Swiss fabric and trimmed in rick rack, ribbon, and buttons.

There are stuffed ornaments in different shapes (heart, stocking, bird, star, and bell) made with more of the dotted Swiss fabric and rick rack and trimmed in gingham.

The mice are egg-shaped styrofoam pieces, cut in half, and covered with felt, then trimmed with button eyes, beaded noses, and curled-wire tails.

The mushrooms are wooden spools and half-spheres, painted and glue together . . .

and it's all accented with a hand-made gingham bow.

There's a warm, comfortable feeling that seems to arrive in our home this time of year,  made even more special for me by the presence of all things created by hand.  

May this holiday season bring that same warmth to you and to your home.

Diane

A Haiku For Doyle

Recently, I purchased a most inspiring book by artist Quinn McDonald, entitled "Raw Art Journaling: Making Meaning, Making Art."  One of her many ideas to help bring forth the creative juices involves composing a haiku (a Japanese form of poetry consisting of three lines, each of which contains 5, 7, and 5 syllables) and doodling imaginatively around the perimeter of it.  

On an unusually warm October day, I sat on the front porch with our dog, Doyle, and this little tribute spilled out in a matter of minutes.  (The second line is a phrase borrowed from my dear friend, Ellen.)  Adding Zentangles around the poem turned into a meditative endeavor that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Some of you already know that Doyle was diagnosed with lymphoma back in January, and about two weeks ago we said "goodbye" to our beloved friend and constant companion.  We have consoled ourselves with the belief that he had a great life while he was here; he brought us boundless joy and unconditional love, and we will be forever grateful that he came into our lives.

And I will miss him more than I can say.

Diane

It's the Bloggers' Quilt Festival!

"Pieces of Dreams"  57" by 57"  ©2008 Diane Evans
Once again, Amy from Amy's Creative Side is sponsoring the semi-annual Bloggers' Quilt Festival, and it promises to be a visual delight, as always.  We quilters have the opportunity to view each others' favorite creations and to share one of our own.

This time around, I've chosen "Pieces of Dreams." This is the second in a series of medallion-style quilts, using Ricky Tims' method of drawing a motif on a piece of paper that has been folded into eighths and then reflecting that motif eight times to create what is known mathematically as radial symmetry – a pattern of design that appeals to my left-brained sense of order. 

Hand-dyed fabrics from Joy's Fabrics were used in this quilt; it is both machine-pieced and machine appliquéd, and the original quilting designs were completed with Sulky 40-weight rayon and metallic threads.

The quilt was named for a much-loved song written by Michel LeGrand, particularly fitting since the sketch was drawn in the middle of a sleepless night.

Do head on over to Amy's blog and enjoy the treats on display -- how perfect for this time of year!

Diane

Love Letters: Amaryllis

Once upon a time, in a small kingdom far away, a self-professed art quilt blogger wrote about a terrific new book she had purchased, titled “Appliqué Art,” by Stewart Merrett.  This book was a visual feast, with beautiful projects created from sumptuous velvets, silks, and moiré fabrics.  The little blogger promised herself that she would one day tackle one of these enticing projects, and, finally, after a LONG, LONG time, she did.

She gathered together a collection of decorator fabrics . . .

and, using instructions from the beautiful book, she designed a letter “E” to place behind the lovely floral pattern.  She used a satin stitch and 40-weight Sulky rayon thread to appliqué the pieces to the velvet background.   The piece was then outline-quilted with 30-weight rayon . . .

She trimmed it with a velvet border . . .

"Love Letters: Amaryllis"  ©2011 Diane Evans

and brought it to her local A.C. Moore shop to have them place it in a gilded frame.

Her husband (a prince of a man) was so pleased with the little wall quilt that he hung it in a place of honor in the castle, which pleased the blogger very much, since it had taken her SO LONG to finish the piece that she was certain it would languish in her pile of QuIPs (“Quilts In Progress”).

The moral of this tale?  You can finish anything you set out to do if you have enough determination and a 65%-off coupon from your local frame shop.

Diane