Post No. 2 about Landscapes

There are two secrets, I think, to landscapes. One is the adherence to a good composition. Without a good composition, the work won't be as interesting as it should be. There are books which describe classic types of composition; if you become committed to making landscapes, you'll need to study those.

Another secret to good landscapes or any piece of art is called the Golden Mean. There is a mathematical calculation, I believe, that goes with it, but I have a simpler description. If you put a large "plus" sign in the middle of your piece, the center of interest or focus point should fall somewhere in one of the corners created.

Once you have studied these concepts and gotten them into your head, they will come naturally to your thinking as you design landscapes. You will find yourself checking for them intuitively.

The other concept, which I found by trial and error, is the presence of light and shadow, or light and dark (the Masters called it chiaroscuro). Ignoring shadows isn't true to life and will make a work flat and two-dimensional. The best landscape artists make good use of this concept! Light and dark can be implemented first in the fabrics you choose, but can also be added through fabric pens, dye, or paint, and see-through fabrics such as tulle.

To start your first landscape and implement these concepts, try drawing the major lines of your inspiration picture on a sketch pad, and with your pen (you can use a Sharpie) jaggedly fill in the shadows you see. See how you have implemented these two concepts. Is your picture interesting? Then make changes as you need to.

Remember, it all comes with practice, so let loose and just have a good time with your work.

Post No. 1 about Making Landscapes

Friends ask me about how I make landscapes. First I have to say that I have studied everyone out there who has specialized in making landscapes. Second, I have followed those that seem to fit my personality! I'm not into intricate piecing like Cynthia England or Ruth McDowell, although they do wonderful pieces. I'm much too impatient and I work kind of intuitively as I go.

Specifically, I fell in love with the work of Natalie Sewell of Wisconsin because her technique uses raw edges, ragged cutting, and intuitive designing. Her work gave me confirmation that my way was ok! (See http://www.nataliesewell.com/)

So if you want to do landscapes, first I would say--assess how you like to work. Do you like to plan and do intricate piecing or designs, or are you more impatient? You may do like I have done--that is, try some of each and let time determine what you like to do.

My best suggestion for starting is: get something for your inspiration. In the quilt above, my inspiration was the background batik forming the sky. I really liked the combination of the cool and warm colors in it. Deliberately, I put it on my planning wall and looked at it for two weeks, thinking what I could do with it. I almost took it down, but told myself, no, this is a challenge to myself and I'm going to figure out something to do with it. It wasn't long after that that I had the concept of a cool morning in a marsh when you have the bright sun coming up but still all the dark colors in contrast. It was kind of that yin/yang thing. It's amazing what your subconscious will come up with, when you give it an order. This piece wound up winning 1st in the Miniature Category in the South Bay Quilt Guild Show in 1999.

Your inspiration could be a picture that you want to create, a fabric that you love, or maybe a pattern that you purchase. With a pattern, you will learn some specific techniques that the author has perfected. There are a variety of techniques you can use in making landscapes and learning a few of them will help you along the way.

Everyone starts somewhere so make the decision: "I'm going to make a landscape."

Sewing Outside--and other stuff

On Sunday, we took it easy and it was a nice fall day--a little overcast with a breeze. I decided to get out my sewing machine to work on the project I brought along. And where better to sew than outside!

I love to sew outside! There was a picnic table beside the coach and with a pillow on the seat, and an extension cord for the plug, I was in business. My project is a very easy one called the Honeycomb pattern. It's a colored square on the right top, a light background square on the bottom right, and a matching colored rectangle on the full left side. Two seams and a block is made! I got two of the color groups done--the yellows and greens.

Then Sunday night we went to the Mickey Gilley Show. That man still looks g-o-o-o-o-d! And he is 72! It was an entertaining show and he sang some of his No. 1 hits.

On the way here, at a truck stop, I found a book that I really love and would recommend. The title is A Treasury of Christian Prayer, selected by Oliven Turchetta, copyright 2006, by Lion Hudson. It is a compilation of beautiful prayers through the ages and I have found it to be a wonderful resource for a daily meditation. I don't know about you, but the older I get, the more I need to pray! (Maybe that's because the older I get, the more I worry.)

Living Large in Branson!

We are in Branson, MO, where we are with an RV group we have joined. Very nice people and some live close to Jackson.

Our sites are up on a hill and at night we can see the lights from the "strip." It is a beautiful day with temperatures in the 70's, sun, and a light breeze.

I made my second (this is becoming a habit) trip to the Quilts, Quilts Country Store this morning. It's a pretty large shop, lots of traditional quilting stuff, but lots of everything basically--books, patterns, fabrics (although not newest collections), and embroidery transfers (the biggest selection I have ever seen, not that I use them). Anyway, yesterday I bought a Layer Cake group from Moda of all bright 30's prints. Very cute. Then I decided to make it easy and go back and get one of the books they had for them as well. Luckily, I got out with only that as my second purchase.

I then drove "downtown" as well--think Gatlinburg. It was full of people and had all the typical shops like fudge, souvenirs, t-shirts, etc.

Tonight, some of the guys are cooking catfish! Ye-ha. This bunch loves to eat, which is good and bad news! Tomorrow night, some of us are going to the Mickey Gilley Theater.

A Neat Trick I Learned on the Blueberry Hill Quilt

After I had finished the blocks for the Blueberry Hill quilt top, Michele G. from my guild gave me this tip! It would have been brilliant if I'd used it.

Whenever you sew squares onto corners of another square, before you cut those triangles off behind, sew another seam 1/2" outside the first one (toward the point), then cut in-between them. That way, you have assembled half-square triangles when you cut them off! Isn't that smart! Too bad I didn't know to do it, but I did save all those triangles for sure.

Our Japanese Quilted Bag Class

This past Saturday, I taught this Japanese Quilted Bag at our Guild here in Jackson. The Library has a nice room they let us use once a quarter or so. We had about 19 people who made the bag and this many got them done pretty much. They all turned out very pretty!

I'm in the right front. My bag has pics of lighthouses on it and the inside is yellow with small white sandpipers on it. I love it. We had a good time and I enjoyed teaching again.

My Grass Valley Civil War Fabrics Quilt Top

Here's my story on this quilt. In April, we arrived in Grass Valley, CA (a gold rush town--very charming) where we were going to trade our RV. During a break, my husband and I were out driving and of course, I had surveyed where the local shops might be! We found one, but I knew my opportunities were limited with him waiting in the car!

When I went in, they asked me if I was there for "Gold Rush Day" (like our Shop Hop) and I said no, I was just visiting. But they very nicely gave me a door prize too. (Well, I was in a rush due to him waiting). I went blasting through that shop quickly snatching things I liked because they really had a unique selection of fabrics. And I picked up one of the Strip Club books.

Then, I actually went back later when my husband was busy (I snuck out actually) and bought this great selection of Civil War fabrics. I'm not usually into them, but this year I am, I guess. This group was really neat because there are some pretty, modern-looking ones, like the black/yellow polka dot on the outside border AND that great strawberry pink. So this top is "A Touch of Pink."

Did I say I went back the third time? Once I decided what I was going to do, I went back for a background fabric. They were really neat ladies there--very friendly--and they sure had a good laugh at me skirting around my husband to get to the quilt shop.

Plus I used a new diamond-shaped ruler to cut the blocks on this top. Loved it.

Blueberry Hill Quilt Top Finished

Before we left for our trip to FL, I had finished two quilt tops. Unfortunately, I have had trouble with my new printer reading my card and transferring my pics (this after working perfectly for a week or two!) so there's been a delay getting them on here.

This one is the "Blueberry Hill" pattern from a mag. That's in a previous posting so you can look for it in the list. I really like it. I made it a little brighter than the one in the mag. Those lights really are beiges and tans but they look almost white in this pic.

I liked the "sew a square on the corners" technique for the making the flying geese. And this pattern was easy, easy! (Sew a neutral square on one corner of four squares, then sew the four squares together with the neutrals in the center.)

(I guess I will show my age if I say that it reminds me of "I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill." My Aunt Linnie had that on the juke box in her cafe as I grew up.)

And Life Goes On. . . .

The last post described the condition of my mother-in-law, Elizabeth Stewart. It got worse with gangrene setting up in her right foot and leg and her right hip (which was repaired in June) coming out of joint. With her multiple issues, the end result would be that she would a total complete invalid (and in FL in a nursing home). The dr. did not recommend continuing, and, she also had a living will stating her wishes. Thus the decision had to be made to let her go as painlessly as possible. The guys said their goodbyes and she passed away almost 3 days later on September 2, 1008. Due to impending hurricanes, we returned home quickly.

It's always hard to lose your mother . . . .