Still working, still changing, still sewing and unsewing— slow progress!

The redbud tree fabric was in my stash, purchased a few years ago because it reminded me of our back pasture in the springtime.

Harriers are here year around, but using this fabric sets the season as Spring and the piece eligible for “Celebrate Spring”.

I worked most of the day on the Harrier with a little time off to prepare a dish to take to a Christmas party/potluck last night which was great fun! The party – not the prep! The weather reports were daunting, didn’t know if I would be able to go, but as it turned out it was not bad at all. A few snow flakes on the way home.

Yesterday’s progress:

I’m seeing things that need to be changed, it’s an on-going challenge. The underwings are white, but there are nuances and shadings to keep it from looking flat, so it’s tricky.

The People’s Choice voting for the Inspirations show at The Classic Bean in Topeka is over and Tammy and I won again this year with her Rocky Mountain Elk photograph and my rendition of it in fabric, “Majesty”. Click on elk in the sidebar to see that one! We also won the Staff’s Choice award once again. Her wonderful photographs make it easy!

We so enjoyed the visit with our daughter from AZ, had a family gathering on Sunday so she could spend some time with everyone and meet the newest members. Fun! She departed Monday (a week ago) and I got back to work. Spent much of that Monday finishing the transparency, preparing the freezer paper and projecting the image so the finished piece will be at least 40″ tall. Then making all of the tic marks took a long time, there are so many small pieces! When that was done it was starting to get dark but I was itching to cut some fabric – that’s when I realized that I had neglected to reverse the transparency to get he mirror image!!!!! What a bummer. I can’t believe I did that and didn’t even notice til after all those tic marks were done! If I used the pattern as is, the hawk would be flying in the opposite direction, which is not what I wanted. I was too “done for the day” to go on.

Tuesday, I prepared more freezer paper and was able to trace all of the lines in reverse, make MORE tic marks and finally be to the place where I could start to sew. I pinned the “mistake” up on the design wall to act as a base to pin the sewed pieces to. This is a very helpful step, one that I don’t always take the time to do, but is a real time saver when I do. Such a waste though, to have all those tic marks in it! I sewed a few seams to get the eye in, I always like to start with the eye, if there is one.

Very little sewing getting done for the rest of the week as I had to go to town a couple of times for various things including Christmas shopping. Other things that take me away from the sewing are knitting – trying to finish a project before Christmas, doing the cards, late as usual, and a jigsaw puzzle that I have no business working on at this time!!  Oh, yes! And that new Stephen King book on the Nook……..

Yesterday though, I sewed all afternoon – it doesn’t look like much yet, but there’s a lot work there!

Oh, goody! Tangerine Tango is Pantone’s new color of the year, and it is IN my new Seasonal Palette top! How’s that for luck and serendipity!

Our daughter from the Phoenix area came for a quick visit so I have not been doing any sewing lately. Yesterday I finished up the drawing for the Harrier piece and started to transfer it to the transparency film for projection to enlarge for the pattern. Then I got sidetracked and had to go to town.

Cindy is an avid reader and had brought with her a Nook. I had dismissed the idea for a book reading device but after her demo, decided that it was going on my Christmas wish list. My husband decided what’s the point of waiting, therefore, the trip to town and now I own the Nook Color and  a download of the newest Stephen King book which I started last night. It has many settings for text color and brightness so I am able to read in bed with no lights on to disturb the husband! I was amazed at the vast possibilities of reasonable, even free, books available and things it can do that I don’t even know about yet!  There will be classes after Christmas.

new color of the year

This lovely piece was started in one of my “Coneflowers” workshops in the Atlanta, GA area by Pat Kilmark! She recently sent me the photos along with a report that she had entered it in the fair where it won! Congratulations, Pat! Very nice. I am always happy to see the finished works.

She is planning to enter it in an AQS show next and I wish her luck!!

It’s been a crazy week around here, my husband had surgery on Tuesday. He’s home now and going a bit stir crazy I think. He usually does the cooking so I am having to do that now, so all in all not a whole lot of sewing getting done.

My next project is going to be for “Celebrate Spring”. I have a nice fabric in my stash of redbuds blooming just like up in our back pasture in the springtime. So thinking about how to use that, I remembered seeing a Norther Harrier last spring. A very striking bird that is pretty unmistakable, a ground nesting low flying hawk with an owly face. I googled for research pictures and found this amazing bird photographer and was so taken with one of his photos, I wrote and asked permission to use it and he graciously consented! So Ashok Khosia will be credited for the inspiration photo. I am in the process of plotting out the sewing lines now and have pulled fabrics that I think may work. It’s always exciting to start something new!

Last week on one of the quilting lists someone posted that she was being sued by a fabric designer for having used that person’s design in a piece that was published in a book. She wouldn’t elaborate or name the designer. Since what I do is all wrapped up in using commercial prints, this was pretty scary! Especially since this piece I am currently working on features the use of a printed panel cut up and rearranged. One has to wonder why they would produce quilting fabric and then sue you for using it, but crazier things have happened. I didn’t even want to work on it! I wrote the designer and explained what I was doing and asked for written permission to proceed. It took a couple of days for the answer, during which time I imagined worse case scenarios, like “Now she knows what I’m doing and will be watching and waiting to sue me” But no. she granted permission. Monday I finished up the last of the seams and the top is finished. I think now it will be set aside since it has an April deadline and I’ll concentrate on something for Celebrate Spring which had a January deadline.