Saturday, January 5, 2008

Projects for the New Year



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Projects for the New Year

Now that the holiday festivities are over and the family is getting back to their respective jobs and routine, it has given me the opportunity to decide what my projects and goals for the new year will be. I belong to a group of quilters that have been working on creating denim jackets. I finished my jacket by recycling black denim jeans, a silk scarf that I layered quilted and then appliqued onto the jacket pieces. For the lining of the jacket I took old silk ties that my husband gave to me (he has a rather large fabric collection just in his tie collection). I wove the ties together without opening them up, fused them to fusible interfacing and then machine quilted them to hold them together. Then I cut out the pattern pieces and put the jacket all together. I really enjoyed recycling these items into something fabulous.

So for the New Year my goals are:
1. to use what I have and
2. to try to recycle as many pieces that I can that just aren't working as they are.
3. to finish up projects that I have.

These may sound overly simplified but many times that is what it takes. Make a few very simple changes that you know that you can do and do them until they become a habit and don't require any thought and then go to the next level. I have made many New Years Resolutions years past and they are abandoned before 2 weeks are past. Do you remember the movie "What About Bob?" with Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfeus? Baby steps. We all learned to walk one baby step at a time, and with any task that is before us that appears to be overwhelming if we can look at it and break it down into baby steps we can make progress.

This year I want to start the transition from being a full time nurse and a part time quilt artist to a full time quilt artist and a part time nurse. I need to do the work that is needed to develop a body of work that will distinguish my signature style and to develop the work habits at home in my design studio that I have at work.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Opening Post

Hello everyone! I am new to blogging but this is one of the things that I wanted to do/learn in the new year. I have been quilting for 14 years or so. I love to make art quilts and have been exploring developing my own style. I have been also exploring dyeing fabric which I find so much fun and I want to spend some more time developing my skills in that area. I now need to create some quilts with the fabrics that I am creating. I have also been creating purses and totebags. I am setting out to be more purposeful with my work and learning new techniques that will enhance that work. I want to be able to share the things that I have learned here to help encourage others and to also be encouraged by others. Thanks for checking out my blog!