It's Been A Week on Off the Wall Friday

Dorothea Lange, Seeing People Exhibit

 Okay so here is this week's tip....don't think you can take a quick 2-day trip to Washington DC and not come home exhausted and your mind a big creative blur.  We only saw 2 museums, The National Gallery and the National Museum of American History and it still was stimuli overload. It wasn't just the museums which were amazing in themselves, but also the whole National Mall area.  We took the metro in from Arlington, VA, and popped up in the Federal Triangle station which is the middle of 10 neoclassial HUGE buildings.  I truly could have gone and toured the architecture of the buildings you hear every day - IRS, EPA, etc.  

The Dorothea Lange exhibit was just as amazing as advertised.  The thing about the National Gallery is that they own so much art, that you never quite know what they are going to have up on view.  Not to mention, I keep getting lost in their galleries!  One of these trips, I'm going to take the map and just mark galleries off as I go through them.  

The American History Museum added the Entertainment Nation exhibit on the 3rd floor.  It's a mass of pop media culture with lights and music to match.  It truly was crazy!

So I came home with my creative soul full and my Fitbit happy.  And it got me thinking....the National Gallery is a free-use museum with all of Lange's work stored at the Library Congress....and it so happens they have a very useable website.....andddddd

Down the rabbit hole, I went!

I am suggesting you take time to look at all the amazing stuff the Library of Congress has put online BUT don't blame me if you end up looking for three days straight.    

I do have a very cool idea for my next series...but I promised my husband I would not start another until I finished my Calendar Cows.  To that end, August Vacation Cow is officially sewn!

Seven down ....Five to go....On to finishing up June Bride Cow!

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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Designing a Calendar Cow on Off the Wall Friday

 I was looking back at previous posts (and when I say "back" I mean wayyyyyy back) and I realized that

I hadn't shown how I designed the Calendar Cow blocks.  So I thought it was a good idea to, since so many times I hear from people who see my work, "I wish I could draw."  I always smile and answer, "Me, too!"

So here is how to design a representational block when you can't draw but you know how to use a laptop, pencil and tracing paper.

1.  Come up with an Idea.  Since these blocks are in series, it makes it pretty easy.  The next month up is June and with that June Brides.  I mean what cow doesn't want to have a June wedding?  So then I started brainstorming the things I wanted in it - I came up with a Cow (duh!) - a veil - an old-fashioned church.

2.  Steal the Elements.  It's amazing how many places have royalty-free photos now online.  Today I used Unsplashed.  I chose this amazing cow photo done by Luke Stackpoole who graciously put his work up to be downloaded freely.

After looking at many, many church photos I chose one by Michelle Tresemer because it was simple and it looked like someplace a cow could have an old-fashioned wedding.

As for the viel, I thought I would work out the composition and figure that out at the end.

3.  Composition of the Block.  So now I'm being brave here and showing you my pathetic line drawing.  But truly that's all you need to get your basic composition down...a pathetic line drawing!  I normally use this step to work out what scale I want the elements.  Also, this is where I get a better idea of the main lines in the composition.  Since this is part of a series, I'm using the previous blocks as a guide.  Notice....big cow in the foreground and the church in the background with the horizon shown.  This block though will have a stone fence rather than a wooden one.  I love stone fences.  

4.  Edit the photos.  I edit the photos using a black and white high contrast filter.  I print them out in a nice workable size.  They don't need to be the exact size just something big enough to trace.   I  trace the photo with tracing paper because at this stage I can add lines and take lines away that I don't find pleasing using the original photo to help guide me.  I am never super careful with the lines.  Once the pattern is to my liking, I trace it onto overhead projector film sheets.  (I use expo  vis a vis markers ... I know my 10 years of teaching is showing but they are washable and won't rub off)

5.  Create the pattern.  Now I drag out the WW II overhead projector I bought on eBay 25 years ago for 20 bucks.  I mean do they even still make these?  I draw out the 16" block and then using the overhead projector, I then move my cow and church to a scale and location I like.  The line sketch from Step 3 gives me an idea of where, but I also trust my eye,  As you can see here, once I got the pictures up on the block, I really liked the idea of the church scaled larger, bringing forward.  Plus you gotta keep in mind this is part of a series, and this layout will look great next to July Cow and his 4th of July Barn.

With the final pattern trace, I can go back and put in a few details.  They will be the veil, the horizon line and hopefully the stone fence.  But it's getting late and I've learned never to make design decisions when you're tired.  

I know it might seem like a lot, but it really isn't.  It took me about 3 hrs.  It does help that I have all the supplies I like to use right at my fingertips.  The nice thing about this method is that its super versatile and cheap and low tech.  I know I'm still using the same box of 100 overhead projector sheets I bought back in the late 90's.

Now all I have to do is finish up the details on that pattern, choose the fabric, and sew it up!

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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A Return of the Calendar Cows on Off the Wall Friday

January, July, February, October, April, May Cows 

 

This week my husband and I got optimistic and started Spring Cleaning our spare bedroom.  This room, aka, Tessa's second bedroom has ended up storing all the odds and ends we're not quite sure what to do with.  (are we the only ones with rooms like this?) Of course, it got worse when Tessa moved out since her odds and ends are now in there too.  Included in this menagerie of stuff, are my UFOs.  A while back I did actually weed this group down to pieces I  wanted to finish but still, there is a nice pile of them....since...ya know...I'm the squirrel of quilters.  Like who wants to finish anything when there are so many great pieces to start?

Included in the pile was my husband's favorite project, the Calendar Cows.  I started this project wayyyyyy back in 2009, when my then 11-year-old was obsessed with cows.  The idea behind the project is that each block would have a monthly themed cow all designed by me.  At the time, it was the first time I had tried to design anything figuratively that complex by myself.  Each block felt like a little triumph.  Somewhere along the way, I lost steam at "August". (You can read the story behind it on that post!)  It was all designed but not sewn.  And there it sat.  For 14 years. (Yeah, I have no idea where the time goes, truly!)

August

tiny zigzags

At my husband's encouragement, the calendar cows came out into the studio.  He's right ... the project is pretty cool.  Plus now I have a better idea of what I'm doing.  For August, it's vacation cow with her cool shades and beach bungalows. In 2010, I was using a rough edge applique technique taught by Joan Colvin where she would design her piece and put pins in them, then stitch them all down with a little zig-zag stitch.  I like the technique but the pins are a pain and my old machine couldn't adjust the 

zig-zag down to where I want it.

Jump ahead 14 years, and I now can use little dots of glue baste and a proper size zig zag compliments of my Janome Horizon.  Also, a new addition is the Deco Bob for thread which makes the stitches basically disappear.  I did get some time to sew today and it's already looking great.  It's taking a while to get back into the hang of slowing down and stitching perfectly along the edge but I find that relaxing for sure!

The Thread disappears

Of course, I got to record all of this in my journal.  It's nice to have a record for this project as well as any other future rough edge applique pieces.  Plus I want to do a palette study on this piece.  When I started, I was just kinda winging it, and now I know that having a set palette will make the whole piece stronger!

my art sketchbook, ya gotta start some place!

It's weird to be this excited over a 15-year-old project but there ya go... the life of a quilter!

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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August Cow on Vacation in Australia - Design Board Monday

Well this morning around 2 am, my little foster kitten Kali, decided it was time to get up and play.  With that, I was now wide awake.  What should I do???  Well pick out the fabrics for August Cow, of course!  Over the weekend I had completed the design - well on paper at least and was eager to get after sending this cow on vacation.

As you can see August Cow wanted to be a globe trotter, so she made for the beautiful beaches of Brisbane, Australia.  There she could enjoy the gorgeous sun and fun before heading back to the meadow of home.

I was recently asked how I complete a calendar cow.  Usually, I sit and brainstorm out ideas of what that month means to my family and I.  Then I look at free images on the web depicting the subject matter but also the emotion of the month.  I'll choose two or three and either trace them or sketch them out.  I then use a WW II era overhead projector to size the image onto the standard 16" block.  I trace it out and edit the design as I see fit.  Once that is done usually I let the design sit a while while I think on fabrics and colors.  The design might go through a final edit before the whole process is done.  By no means is that first sketch a master pattern.  I usually use it as a beginning point.  I then use a rough edge applique process to get the final block.

I'm not sure if August Cow is quite finish - but its a good start - I still may add something in the bottom right hand corner - hhhhhhmmmmmmmmm or not.

For more inspirational design boards - visit Judy's Patchwork times.

Pets on Quilt Show - The Calendar Cows

Well I'm entering a half year of my Calendar Cow quilt into SewCalGal's Pets on Quilts.  These represent January, July, February, October, April and May.  I'm in the process of doing August right now.  Originally this was designed by me for daughter Tessa who asked for a cow quilt that wasn't too cartoonish but still not too realistic.  Plus I was looking for a uniquely "Us" idea and I'm sure that Calendar Cows fits the bill.

Each block is rough edged appliqued and will eventually have more thread work done on it along with machine quilting (done on a home machine).  I used free images online for inspiration but drew a lot of it myself.  I might still rework some of the blocks now that I'm in the rhythm of the quilt.

Doing this project was surprisingly rewarding since its different from most of my work but still has my voice in it - plus it always seems to make people smile and giggle a bit.  What more can you ask?

May Flowers Cow - Design Board Monday

So after sitting on my design board for months, May Cow is now completely sewn down.  I'm happy with it and like the perspective and depth the block has.  Also, I like that this is the 6th cow done so I'm half way through!!  Yay!  Picking up this project I had to remember what style of stitching I was doing and what my machine was set on (zigzag 1.0 1.0).  Its not my usual style to work on several projects at once, but it seems I'm trying to juggle a few this summer.
I really need to get out my sketch book and see what the next cow is.  I had them all laid out  in a traditional set.  I want to do the  quilt as you go method so we'll see how that goes.  Also I lost all my inspirational cow pictures when my computer crashed in December - so gotta sit and fill up a folder of those again - sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. 
With all that though - this project really does grow on you. I find it very satisfying to complete one 16" block at a time. 
More design walls can be seen here!

February Cow - Be Mine

Since February is love month, I thought that this block should have a loveable couple.  As this series of blocks goes on, its getting easier to design them but harder to chose the right colors.  My sewing hole is a wreck with scraps and papers every where.  I'm trying to be neat but its hard with such a diverse project.  Its been a long while since I've worked on what pretty much amounts to a sampler quilt.  Still I haven't grown tired of it yet. I had no idea that this quilt would capture my imagination and attention so totally.  Still the days are clicking closer to Christmas so I need to make sure to keep going!

With that said my mind mooooves on to May Cow.  May here means flowers and the return of the sun so hopefully that will show up in the next block.

Moo! Boo! - October Cow

Well here is October cow, all ready to go out trick or treating.  Now, that might seem totally ridiculous to some of you, but living in rural Pennsylvania, its not out of the total realm of possiblity.  I had fun making this design although I went a bit more on the cartoon side this time.  I mean, like, if you can't have fun with Halloween, when can you?

I still need to figure out what I'm going to do for his nostrils and mouth.  Also, I might add something up in the left hand corner.  I wanted some quiet space there but I'm thinking its a bit too quiet.  I'll let the idea cook in my head for a bit.  

So this means that I am now one third done and need to start thinking about Feburary Cow.  I'm doing these in order of their layout so I can think about how all the colors are going to look together.  Also, the sashing color decision is getting closer and closer and I have no idea what I'm going to do there.

July Cow - God Bless America

I'm quite please with July Cow.  I had her in my head and when I was done this morning, there she was.  Its always nice when that happens!  For this block, I made even a smaller zig zag which worked out really nice.  I think I'll use it on the rest of the blocks.  

The block is equally traditionally pieced and fabric collaged together.  Its nice to know that I remember how to draft and get the piecing done without much effort.  With all the art quilting lately, I would hate to lose touch with my roots LOL!

She uses mostly commerical fabric with a little bit of hand dyed and took 5 hours from design to finish.  Now onto October!

April Showers Cow

So today I skipped church for some much needed alone time.  Its harder than it looks trying to get a big project done under Tessa's nose.  She definately has her finger on the pulse of our family.  5 hours later though, I manage to get April Cow done.  Our springs are notoriously rainy here, so she has her umbrella all ready.  Of course, no plain umbrella will do - she needs a nice snazzy one.  

For her construction, I switched to a zig-zag stitch rough edge applique.  It went much smoother than January cow and I didn't need a stablilizer.  Still I'm sure she'll need a bit more thread work.  I won't be using any fusible for the quilt since I want it to retain its nice puffy hand.  There has been much chat lately on the quilt lists and blogs about thread work and fusible causing all our quilts to appear flat.  We'll see if puffy quilts come back into vague! 

Okay so I'm off to design July quilt.  I'm sure - being from this house - he'll be a nice patriotic cow :)!

Shhhhhhh Its a Secret! January Cow

When I was little. my mother spent one fall making all these amazing Barbie doll clothes.  She did it in the evenings when I was asleep so that on Christmas morning it was a complete surprise.  It was even more surprising since my mother doesn't really sew.  Still each piece was perfectly crafted and really quiet unique!  As an adult, I'm super impressed that she managed to keep the whole thing a secret from me since I was a very precosious child.

In that light, I thought I would surprise my daughter with her own bed quilt as a Christmas present. She's been asking me for one for quite a while.  She's also been asking for a cow art quilt.  She loves cows and everything to do with them - don't ask me why!  To make it truly Tessa's quilt, I decided on making it a Calendar Cow quilt.   That way she would have a cow for every month.

It took a while, but I manage to come up with a plan and finish the first block.  January Cow is used to our Great Lakes winters and is prepared for the snow with a new cap he got for Christmas.  He'll be finished off with some winter red berry buttons once he's quilted to balance some of that red.  I'm happy with him though - he's cool without being too funky or cartoonish!  

I'll keep you posted only if you promise not to tell!