Now what?

Turns out I have tendinitis in my right hand and wrist. Usually when I do too much it hurts a little and it quits hurting when I stop and take a break. This time it’s not getting better. I’ve already been to the orthopedist and he told me to see him in 2 weeks if it doesn’t get better. I’m trying not to use it too much. Lots of ice to deal with the inflammation. It’s not even really from the quilting that I’ve been doing lately. I blame it on bread making and cleaning. And I absolutely hate cleaning.

So what do I write about this week? I think I will talk about how I got to this point of my creative life.

Childhood and high school 

As a child I always was drawing and painting. Nothing was better than a new box of crayons. When I was in 8th grade I was recommended by my teacher to go to Saturday art classes at Carnegie museum in Pittsburgh for free. I attended those classes for 3 years and then went one year to a Saturday class at Carnegie Mellon. I really did not do that great in that class. I think it was about design and I was not really ready for it. I think I got a C in the class. I wish I could take it now!

When I was in high school my mom sent me into a department store in Pittsburgh to take a week of sewing classes. That’s where my sewing started. My graduation gift from high school was a Singer sewing machine. I had that machine for about 12 years.

College

You might think that I majored in art, but you would be wrong. I loved math and majored in math and then eventually physics and math. I was preparing to be a high school teacher. I wanted to teach since I was in grade school. 

While in college I continued to do art and sew clothing. I never stopped being creative. 

After my undergraduate degree in physics and math I taught for a year at a school south of Pittsburgh. Then I went to grad school for a masters in Physics in Arizona.. 

After college

My masters in Physics lead to a teaching position at a community college in Wyoming. It was only a one year position so I had to move on from there. I decided to move back east and get a masters in Meteorology at Penn State. That’s where I met my husband. We moved to New Jersey after grad school where I taught physics, math, astronomy, and meteorology for more than 30 years. I still continued to do art. So if you ever wondered about the title of my blog it’s because I taught Astronomy.

Finding quilting

Before I found quilting I did all kinds of art and crafts….sketching, painting, metal punch, stained glass, basket weaving, embroidery. I also sewed a lot of my clothing as well as my daughter’s. 

Other crafts that I have done. https://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/2014/04/other-crafts-i-have-tried.html

I made lots of Halloween costumes and Christmas ornaments. Most of the ornaments on our tree are hand made.  https://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/p/cloth-ornaments.html 

Once I found quilting more than 30 years ago I was hooked. Initially I did traditional pieced quilts. I pretty much learned how to quilt from library books although I did take a class on creating a double wedding ring quilt at a local quilt shop. I mainly machine pieced and hand quilted my early quilts. A lot of those quilts can be seen under the miscellaneous quilt tab above. https://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/p/misc.html

At that point in my quilting I only bought fabric for one project at a time. I did not have a stash of fabric. Boy that changed along the way. Now I have a huge stash of fabric.

Finding art quilting

In 2004 I made my first art quilt. Or maybe I should say I started my first art quilt. I finished it in 2011. I kept it on the back burner for too many years.

It’s called “Over the Sea to Skye.” You can see my other landscape quilts on the tab above. https://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/p/landscape-quilts_12.html

I’ve taken a lot of quilt classes online. That is how I ended up creating art quits with buildings in them. https://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/p/architectural-quilts.html

In 2014 I took a master class with Elizabeth Barton. That was a turning point in how I designed art quilts. It was a big improvement in my work. https://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/2014/12/this-years-master-class.html

Finding how to use recycled materials in quilts

A few years ago I found my way to creating art with recycled materials. This came about from taking classes with Natalya Khorover . I’ve mainly used plastic bags to create small quilts. I enter these recycled pieces in a local recycle show and have one several prizes. I won an honorable mention, a viewers choice, and a first place prize.  https://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/p/recycled-art.html

So where do I go from here?

I will keep creating. I still love buildings so I’m sure they are in my future. I have a few inspiration photos stashed away to use for future quilts.  I just have to get my hand to heal.

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Out of the slump

As soon as I posted last week that I was unmotivated to work on the Halloween quilt I started working on it. I guess posting that I was in a slump got me out of the slump. I worked on the path this week and I think it’s nearly done. And yes I lifted the one pumpkin that has the pin in it and moved it. Where it was originally located bothered me. I ripped out the zigzag stitches and lifted it up carefully since it was fused in place. It lifted fairly easily.

Here’s the old path and the new path.

Old path

New path

I’ve decided to do a block of the month next year. I need some less challenging think to do.

Here’s the quilt.. 

Linking to Nina-Marie. https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading.

Chris

In a slump

This year was crazy with quilting projects. So now even thought I still have things to do I’ve hit a slump.

These are the projects I’ve completed this year.

I made a king size quilt for our daughter. I did not quilt it, but I did piece and bind it. That’s her cat on the quilt.

I made a gnome for my sister.

I made a gnome for my girlfriend.

I made my recycle piece and won first place. The piece finally made it back home to me. The person that returned it is a portrait artist and she was still raving over my piece. I take that as quite a compliment.

From the Inner Mind to the Outer Limits

I made my piece for the word challenge at a local art museum. My word was wonder and it sold.

I finished my city collage quilt. It’s 45 by 66.

I made a portrait of my sister’s house for her birthday. 

So mentally I’m pretty shot in terms of motivation to work on the Halloween quilt. I know I will get going on it soon, but I needed a break.

I’ve been playing with some AI images. The one with the Raven is for the recycle show next year. The theme is “on the books.” I will put the either Poe titles on the books or scary story titles like Sleepy Hollow or the Shining. I have several variations of this. Here’s two of them.

I’ve also created a few other AI images for quilt ideas. I like the first one because it’s weird and scary. I like the city scene in the rain in the second one.

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Still thinking…..

Now I know why I was never great at going to quilt classes and creating on demand. I have to spend a lot of time thinking about and analyzing what I’m going to do. Improv is not something I’m good at.

I’ve been thinking about how to break up the path on the Halloween quilt. 

This is the quilt.

I’ve been planning and sketching on my iPad. This is what I’m thinking about doing. And yes there are 3 black cats in the quilt. Now I just have to get motivated to do it. 

Some other things I’ve thought about is that I need to darken the bottoms of the pumpkins that touch the dark fabric. I will do that with Inktense  pencils. I will also darken the path as it gets closer to the haunted house. Nothing creative will happen today because I will be washing floors. 

Thanks for reading.

Chris