quilt Archives - Solamente

Creatively speaking, this has been a very different year. Many of my creative friends have shared that the sense of concern and isolation has slowed their creative energy.

As much as I wanted to get to my own bench and work with wire, most of my creative energy kept going to my new love: quilting. I decided not to fight it. This year, even with everything going on, I started four quilts and finished two.

I’d love to celebrate with you in photos the various colorful projects I did do, rather than dwell on the untouched wire projects. Enjoy!

The Colorwash Quilt

This quilt style, Colorwash by Wanda Hanson, was a fun color challenge for me on so many levels — and I loved it. The technique is wild! First you lay out the squares to create a gradient like you see on the design board above. It requires using muddy colors I don’t usually like, but I love the overall effect of the colors washing together.

Once I liked the arrangement (you spend a lot of time tweaking, moving the squares until it is just right), the next step was to stack the colors in order and clip them together. The strategy is to sew the color squares together by rows with links of thread to connect them; the ultimate in chained piecing. This is as far as I’ve taken the project. Since the designer’s advice was to do it in one sitting, I am patiently waiting for a free afternoon.

The Christmas Quilt

I made this lap quilt for myself to feel more festive around my favorite time of year. Bonus? It has holiday puns like “fleece Navidad” and “jingle owl the way” because laughter is the best medicine. With the border added, this is nearly done — it just needs binding!

Quilt with dark green christmas trees, red presents with bows, and cute animals wearing santa hats

Susan’s Quilt

Now that this quilt is in her hands, I can finally share photos without spoiling the surprise! This quilt uses printed fabric featuring birds’ nests, eggs, and butterflies. In the middle are panels of complimentary-color, freeform “Melanie style” blocks.

A scrappy quilt

This one is still in the works; it’s made from pieces and scraps from another project that had colors I love. My creative question was: How tiny can you go before a piece of fabric becomes unusable? These triangle squares and piano key blocks are making me stretch my imagination!

Watercolor Stichin’ Therapy Quilt

This is my most recent project and might really be my favorite. Like the Colorwash quilt, the blocks feature color gradients. The Watercolor designs can be found in the artist’s generous tutorials on her inspiring blog, stitchintherapy.blogspot.com. The difference is that for this design I can choose colors I love (no need for the muddy ones), and these botanical prints are gorgeous.

There’s a system to making the blocks more efficiently too which involves sewing long, narrow strips together and then cutting them into sections.

Watercolor Quilt with floral botanical prints

There’s a bit of an art to deciding where to place the fabric in order to get that blended-together look. It’s especially challenging because a single print can contain light and dark elements. To test it, I used the black-and-white filter on my camera to see the gradient.

The creative bonus of 2020

With no live shows for artists or the bead community this year, I found myself connecting more with people online in a new way. It has been delightful to get to know some of the bead makers I’ve collected and highlight their online efforts and shows as well. Steph and Kerri’s online show inspired me. I got to chatting with Tammy Mercier — whose animal beads I love — and made a fun connection.

At shows, the focus is usually about seeing it all. This year, I’ve noticed that I’ve felt more in touch than I would be at a show — messaging back and forth with people, watching their work develop over the course of the year. Our common interests around art brings us together in this year of connecting electronically.

A surprisingly creative year

Between quilting and encouraging my creative friends, that’s where my energy has been, so that is where I went. It has been the kind of year where it’s better not to force things and instead follow the creative energy where it leads.

It’s not where I expected to go, but I’m really grateful this year has been so rich with connections, blessings, and color. I’m wishing you a serene holiday season and a bright new year!

At the risk of repeating myself, running a farm takes a lot of time. I’ve been pulled in so many directions this year that I’m not creating wire art as consistently as in 2017.

Here’s the amazing thing. When you’re creative, you almost can’t help but make things no matter what is going on. Whether a giant tree comes down on the power lines or a cow ends up in the neighbor’s pasture, creativity finds a way to keep flowing.

This post is a show-and-tell to share ways art is still finding a way into my life.

Creative outlet 1: Moodboard

I’ve been creating my own Project Runway. Design your Fall Collection, a class on Seamwork.com, helped me identify my personal style and inspired me to create a turtleneck dress. This is the 38-piece printable pattern I’m working from (invisible tape not included).

Although it’s been years since I sewed, the creative muscle memory from Home Ec in 7th grade is still there. Sitting in front of the machine, I know what I need to look at, where things go, and it’s like riding a bicycle. I love it!

Creative outlet 2: Beads

Just because my studio time is limited doesn’t mean I stop looking for new inspiration. My love for lampwork glass beads is unending. This recent arrival from Russia (by artist, Olga Vilnova) inspires me. Just look at the detail and colors!

Creative outlet 3: Shows

Ask any artist. Having a deadline to show your work is motivating. I was thrilled that my In the Doghouse piece was juried into the Celebrate Agriculture with the Arts event last month. While I was finishing that for the deadline, another piece was brewing. For now, it’s resting (that’s an important part of the creative process), but I love it.

My vision is of bees flying their curlicue path among the flowers and barbed wire around the farms where we live. It might become a display with a wearable art pendant, but since the “Ag Show” is here and gone, I’m thinking about next year’s Blossom Trail art events. Sneak peek! Here’s what it looks like so far.

Creative outlet 4: Quilting class

Invited by my dear creative friend and artist, Kathleen Mattox, I’m taking a quilting class and have already started on two pieces. The first is a baby animals quilt. Of course there’s a calf in it.

The other is a fun and colorful birdhouse quilt. Here it is, laid out in pieces on the kitchen counter (because where else would you put it?), ready to be sewn together.

Creative outlet 5: Knitting

At night while we relax in front of the television, I’m knitting with fibers I love for their texture, color, and variety. My hands are on the go! This lovely gradient shawl is one of my works in progress.

When you love color and texture, all the sparkly, colorful, and shiny things just work their way into your life. It’s fun to show you what I HAVE been up to creatively and see it all in one place. It’s a reminder that even as farm life happens around me, being creative is just who I am.

2020: A (Surprisingly) Creative Year