Outdoor Cafe

This is Lesson 2 of Pamela Allen's Think Like an Artist class. Similar to last week, the assignment is to create a still life, except this time we're to use two colors - either analogous or complementary - and try to avoid using the true color itself. I chose the colors by figuring out what's in my stash. I'm afraid like many quilters I have lots of "mediums" with very few lights or darks. Or mostly darks with a handful of lights/mediums. Or maybe the problem was that I knew I wanted to create this little courtyard scene and I should've done something different.

I'm hoping that once more of the details are added I'll like it more. In case you can't make it out, that's a wall fountain on the left (needs water added), with a lamppost behind the table. The wall around the fountain will be stone. The tablecloth has tulle on the bottom to delineate the table top from the part that hangs down, but didn't come out very well in the picture. Two cafe chairs (the wrought-iron swirly kind) will be added, along with espresso cups, maybe a plate of lemons, and some flowers.

The other thing that I'm just not comfortable with is free-hand cutting. I like my nice hard lines. I know that from a distance no one is going to be able to notice, but I think in order to continue working on the piece I need to refine the shapes a bit.

Should I just ditch it and start again or continue on? Lesson 3 will be here in a day or two ...

Sumptuous Surfaces

... is the title of another online class I'm currently taking - this one with Sharon Boggan. I've been familiar with Sharon's work for a long time, particularly her online stitch dictionary - an essential resource for anyone doing Crazy Quilting/embroidery. In Pamela Allen's class we're supposed to work quickly, intuitively. Conversely, for the first week, Sharon is leading us through the design process, thinking about concept development and making sketches, thinking about form.

One of the ideas I've been kicking around is that of "portals" - you can see my first sketch above. I haven't done any shading or noting various stitches/densities to be used yet but I can "see" it in my head. Now I just need to translate all that to the sketch itself.

That sketch is very loosely based on a photograph - my own attempts at design were underwhelming to say the least. I thought it better that I move on than never get past lesson 1.

Any and all suggestions welcome!

Cafe Au Lait - Part 3

Based on some feedback and a continuation of my plans for this piece, you can now see the following:

• a bottle of cream - made from silk organza
• cream in the bottle - made from satin
• a small placemat - made from embroidered silk dupioni (thanks to Pamela for the suggestion!)
• outline stitching around the cup and saucer and the line between the tablecloth and the wallpaper
• a real demitasse spoon (although Pamela suggested one made from fabric)

Lots more stitching to be done, and then to add the beans somehow.

I'm hoping to get this and a companion piece finished before Pamela posts the next lesson. I haven't decided yet - black coffee? cappuccino? One with latte art is also in my head, but I'm waiting until we can use color for that one!

Cafe Au Lait - Part 2

The restaurant was fairly busy today, but spotty - meaning I was able to steal a few moments here and there to do some of the running stitches on the quiltlet. I'm happy with the outcome so far, but I need to get a couple more elements added. One is some coffee beans - I'm not sure how I'll accomplish that. I did think of using real beans, but only for a moment.

I have to say that I've been working with ArtFabrik perle cotton 12 for a long time and I absolutely love it. I needed white thread for the running stitch, and was happy to find some Caron Wildflowers (perle cotton 12) in opal. I wasn't happy, however, with the thread itself. It seemed much more fragile and not as smooth. I guess I need to order some Shadows from Laura!

Cafe Au Lait

I'm taking an online class with Pamela Allen - Thinking Like an Artist. Class just started and lesson 1 was to create a black and white still life. My husband has been after me to put some quilts up again in the restaurant and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make something for the class that could also hang in the cafe. I have a few black and white fabrics, but they're exactly that - as opposed to a gradation from white to black with lots of grays in between. I'm planning on the usual stitching and embellishing which will bring coffee cup and plate into better focus. I do love that background "wallpaper" fabric - I had ordered it to use for one of the Christmas purses, but I'm glad I didn't! I'm really liking this piece. Click on the image for a larger view.

The two main fabrics are cotton; the cup and saucer are made out of two different japanese fabrics - they have a much looser weave. The "steam" is a piece of silk dupioni. Amazingly, not a single piece of hand-dyed fabric is used in this quilt!

Stay tuned - I'll keep you updated on its progress.

San Francisco and back again

On Monday morning I left for San Francisco and proceeded to spend three days in meetings. My daughter flew out on Tuesday to meet up with one of her friends and take advantage of the free hotel room. Late Thursday afternoon, before our red-eye flight back to Boston, we made it into the city to have an early dinner at The Stinking Rose (a restaurant dedicated to all things garlic) followed by coffee and pastries at Caffe Roma. We drove up Telegraph Hill to see Coit Tower which was bathed in fog - she got a couple of great pictures. We discovered the Embarcadero district on the drive back to the airport. While we've both "done" Fisherman's Wharf, neither of us had ever explored the Embarcadero district before so this is on the list for our next visit, most likely in late April.

Alas, no time for Britex this trip.

We could've spent another couple of hours in the city had we known our flight was delayed due to the poor weather in SF, but there will be other opportunities.

Color Wheel 2.0

It was ever so nicely pointed out to me that I messed up - I was using RGB (Red, Green, Blue - the primary colors of the internet) rather than RBY (Red, Blue, Yellow - the primary colors of painters/artists). There's yet another set - CMY(K) which is used by printers (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK) I thought the colors seemed a bit "off" but I just figured it was my monitor. Finding the right RGB values to equate to primary RBY is simple, but it got trickier with the secondaries and tertiaries. I think I've gotten it right this time. I actually did a google search to see if I could find RGB settings that would equate to RBY secondaries and tertiaries but came up emtpy-handed. I think this is turning into a bigger mathematical challenge than anticipated!

Playways, Illustrator, and a Color Wheel

Cool, huh?

So, first, I've been working on Playways Module 1 since the dawn of time, or so it seems. Dale Rollerson of The Thread Studio put a 5-module course together and it's amazing to see the work produced by some of the participants. I've started module 1 at least three times now, but I'm hoping this time I actually get through and make it to Module 2!

I'm also determined to learn how to use Illustrator to do some drawing for use with my art quilts. I thought it would be neat to try to complete the first set of "paper" exercises using Illustrator. One of the things I had discovered is a set of swirls that I would love to replicate in fabric. The artist has several Illustrator "files" that you can download and copy bits and pieces; she also created a set of "brushes" so you can actually "draw" your own swirls.

So, what you see above (click for a larger image) is a color wheel that started as a 12-point star with swirl "brush strokes" that were then straightened and the color set by adjusting RGB values equating to the primary, secondary and tertiary colors.

On to the next set of color exercises! Of course most of the course has to do with fabric and fiber, but a solid understanding of color is key. By jove ... I think I've got it!