While Visions of Monolines Danced In My Head

These practice sheets account for several hours

trying to master simple monoline letter forms!

PS: I just had to add back the word verification thing back on comments. I apologize, for that  but recently I have been getting robo 'anonymous' comments. I hope that you will consider leaving me a note anyway!  Hopefully, I'll be able to take it off soon!

I have been fascinated by lovely handwriting & calligraphy since I was quite young. My mother had a very distinctive hand & I've never seen any other handwriting like hers was....so I guess that she was really the reason that I became intrigued by & desirous of a 'good hand'. I've always been a pen addict - and colored pencils, markers, & paints of all varieties - and have used only fountain pens for everyday use for years. Yes, there is a large & active group of pen obsessed, ink fascinated folks. One of the places that penophiles/stylophiles can be found is at the Fountain Pen Network. They are a really great group and my association with them over the last couple of years has made me want to really learn something more about calligraphy & letterforms.

Because of where I live there have been no options for learning true calligraphy. Luckily Creative Workshops & founder Gail Schmidt,  found a great teacher in Martha Lever who is teaching two wonderful, calligraphy oriented classes. One is just plain fun. Called, aptly enough 'Calligrafun'. The other class that just began on Monday, November 11 is called 'Italic Calligraphy' and is is a more structured, formal approach to learning the Italic letterforms. I am thrilled that these classes are availble to me now!

 

This is the first page I started with. These are called monoline forms - & they are more difficult than they may appear. Just getting the right shape for the 'a' is difficult let alone the spacing issues I obviously have !

 

Getting better at the end of my "school" day. Still a long way to go.

I cannot wait to become good enough to skillfully use what I learn on my quilts!

Although It May Appear That I Fell Off the Edge Into The Great Abyss ...

I cannot believe how long it has been - and I really have no good reason to offer. Spouse, as I mentioned previously, was off until last Sunday. I have been working, but working on deadline projects - and I've had little time to post.

I made a series of "N" ATC's for a 'use the letter N' swap and, since I love the Duc DuBerry's Les Tres Riches Heures (this book of hours always rocks my boat) when I heard that we needed to use the letter N I immediately thought of DuBerry's "November". I used a miniature along with other "n" words ringing the card. The cards themselves are made from Etal metal covered materials. Etal was rather popular some time back but right now I cannot find them on a quick Google (or Bing) search I think that perhaps they are no longer. You can see and read about the stuff though on this Australian site. Too bad they are no longer popular because the metal covered material was really interesting and adds a nice heft to ATC's..... glad I bought a scrap bag of it when I did!

 

These are a few more ATC's I made as "thank-you's" & also for a 'personal' swap with Darlene Pringle from Roses On My Table's   ATC swap group. My little card "Be Peace" actually is much brighter than this photo reveals. It's copper leafed with a green mottles background.

So that's what I have been doing for a bit of my time. I have also taken a bit of extra time off to catch up on some online classes - and that has been great to do. I am taking a wonderful online calligraphy class from Martha Lever through Creative Workshops. It's a great class that has only began yesterday - and Martha also offers a wonderful class called "Calligrafun" which is one of my catch ups. Creative Workshops is run by artist Gail Schmidt and there are some really wonderful classes in the lin up. What I especially like about class offerings through Creative Workshops is that the classes are always available - they don;t 'disappear' when the class ends - so it's easy to take the lessons really on your schedule - even if you wait for a long time for one reason or another - i.e. life happening !

I may even have a second post for tomorrow about my adventures in Italic land! Monoline ah ha!

Life In The Slow Lane; The Lost Month

 Some teeny snowflakes that I cut for fun. They look perfect on a piece of Sashiko!

My spousal always takes the month of October off for his vacation. He saves his time  during the year to make this possible and, I suspect that after 26 years on the job, he has the right to do whatever he wants to do! As October approaches each year I always feel a bit of trepidation as the "vacation begins" day approaches. The first week is always a bit tenuous as we each try to settle into a life that has both of us home more of the time than we are used to. My routines, per force, are readjusted. or perhaps I should, more correctly, say they are obliterated! I always feel a bit exasperated because I feel like I am not getting enough done when he is on vacation. My household routines are thrown so off track that I scramble to get things done in a totally different pattern. The thing is though - that as I settle into his slower pace  I begin to feel like I'm on vacation too - even  though  I go to work as usual. When I am off we sleep more. Both of us believe in naps but when he is working I seldom take any. Generally, I work through the days - and have more to show as a result. I have been so quiet on my blog that I had not realized how much time had slipped by since my last post. Since the subject  in my lost post was, more or less, hibernation you could see that the vacation spirit was filtering into my consciousness my then.

Backet fungi on a lovely old cedar stump.

Yes, I have managed to get some ATC's done for a swap I'm in and yes, I have played with a few things new things that I am still working on, but the issue is that I really have not cared too much about the 'small' things. The floors have remained dirtier than usual, and although the laundry still gets done it gets done at a different pace. 'My' laundry day is off kilter now too! During the time "we" have been off this month the days have grown shorter as we have become slower, we've marked another anniversary, we've eaten well every day and we have enjoyed doing nothing together. Every year I worry about the "vacation month" and yet every year I remember, after about a week, how much I enjoy his vacation too because I slow down as well. I must need that! I hate letting things slide and I do feel better when I have something to blog about. My spousal returns to work after this week so I suspect I will soon have more to say. Next year I'll try to look forward to slowing down for October rather than fighting it. After all, life in the slow lane has it's own rewards !

I Must Be Part Bear....

I must be part bear  - otherwise why would I be hearing the  siren call to hibernate so early this year?  We've had overcast days this past week that have partnered their grayness with the bleakness of steady rain. The kind of rain that spills & splashes it's way hurriedly through the downspouts. The days are beginning to end early; night creeps in on silent wings bringing full dark before dinner. I see the darkness fall & begin to feel the need to doze - barely remembering to hold onto the knitting needles before they fall to the floor with a demanding rattle. I look at my desk thinking, briefly, of the things that I need to/want to get done .. but isn't that for morning when coffee & sleep combine to bring me clarity  & energy? Do I want to get into a project when I am longing only to slip earlier and earlier into the soft,seductive arms of Morpheus.

The paints twinkle in their pots, the inks,lush & black in their bottles seem to ask me to pick up a pen. The paper lies there waiting, smooth & pale - so perfect & clean. Across the room my sewing machine sits and looks as if it it too is beckoning to me. Neat piles of carefully cut strips & pieces that will, when evenly combined, become a beautiful quilt. The painted surfaces of other sheer bits of silks & gauze almost compel me to get up and get busy - but still I sit. Mesmerized by the fall of evening's dark & rain filled gloom. I listen once ,then twice, again to the rain lashing at the windows & doors and again think that surely I must be part bear or else the pull of such lush, soft laziness & the promises of a good book would not overcome in me the generally so strong need to produce!

Surely I must be part bear? I'll have more to show for my down time when tomorrow dawns and I have sleep and coffee on my side once again !

"ThreadWork Unraveled" My Friend, Sarah Smith's Wonderful New Book

Last week, before she left for Houston, Sarah sent me a copy of of brand spanking new book. I am so proud of her! Sarah is one of those people that always manages to find the best way to get something done. I always knew that when she pursed her lips and sort of "chewed" on something she was in the middle of figuring out something that would be good! Sarah has managed to cram a lot of very valuable information into this book. Sarah has had a clear vision of where she wanted to get to from the moment I met her. She has inexhaustible energy and will and this book is really a dream come true - for her and for all of who need the information contained in the book!

Congratulations dear friend! Bravo!!

Have a look (double click) at this table of contents! Each one is a treasure trove of information!

This is one of those books that you will return to again and again.

Buy it!

You will not be disappointed if you do, but you might be disappointed if you don't !!

 

 

What A Trade! Fingerless Mittens For Gorgeous Hand-Dyed Fabric!

 

You can double click on these photos

 to get a much better view of the gloves and the fabric!

I love make & wear fingerless gloves/mitts.  Making them is like therapy for me & wearing them has proven to be the cure for my endlessly cold hands in the winter - when I wear them almost around the clock! I offered to send  mitts to cyber friend Terri Cohen (owner of From Here to Quilt Eternity) who said "sure! I'd like to try them" so I popped a dusty plum colored pair in the mail  - hoping that she would enjoy them.

Fast forward about a week and an envelope arrives that is filled with glorious hand dyed fabric. It was a "thank-you" from Terri! I had neither expected nor wanted anything in return and I definitely think that I got the best of this 'gifting' ! Terri sent a six piece gradation of browns as well as yardage of my favorite green ever and a glorious, eye popping, piece of red. Her hand-dyes are lush and beautiful and I was thrilled to see them!

I ask you- don't you agree that I got the best of this ?!! Anyone else need a pair of fingerless mitts??!! Thank you Terri - your generosity was not expected but I can't wait to find the perfect quilt to use these fabrics in!! Who says cyber friends aren't 'real' friends??!

Quilts: More experiments is Transparency

I have become somewhat obsessive in my quest for a combination of transparency and quilt. The process' have sparked my imagination more than anything has for a long time - and it is a quest that will take some play time and experiments for some time to come!

This face began as a thrift store sheer curtain panel....one of those polyester things that were so in vogue at one point and, who knows, maybe they still are! I thought it would be fun to see how much of an image I could get on it. I used Golden Digital Medium in Clear Semi Gloss and was rather surprised that it would really well .. better, in fact, that a lot of other base materials I have tried recently! Imagine that! Wonder if I can find some more sheer panels cheap now?! Sorry about the blue cast on this photo - it was a cloudy day and Photo-shopping it seem to just make it worse so I gave up.

These are two separate images. The one on the left is made from the the sheer polyester curtain panel  and the one on the right  was printed on Lutradur Lightweight.  I am doing a couple of small pieces for C&T Publishing - using some of the products that they sell in, I hope, a variety of unusual ways. The Lutradur is from them and the face, which I have called 'Balance' is going to be sent to them. Sure hope that they will like it! Since they gave me the product I added C&T's link for for it but Pellon makes it so it's available from other places too.  C&T has some great things going on so it is worth a visit to their website to have a look! They offer "give-away" promotions & coupons - plus they have a great newsletter that you can sign up for. I am also playing around with another Lutradur product that C&T sent to me - black Lutradur!  I'll have to show you some of the thoughts I am working on using the black Lutradur in another post! As an aside - Joggles, one of my favorite mixed media emporiums, also sells Lutradur in a variety of weights.

Here's the full face. I used kimono silk from Ah!Kimono for the borders and I am totally happy with the way the transparency effect I was able to get using the Lutradur.  I still have a little bit of primping and ironing to do on this piece but all in all I am happy with the experiment and hope that C&T will be too !  Next up I will be making another small quilt similar to this using the curtain panel print! I am enthralled with the concept of transparency & fabrics and can't wait to see where my experiments take me next!