Tempus Fugit
Tempus fugit, or time flies when you are having fun. It also flies when life has other plans for you. This happened last week when we were called in last minute to assist with a family member. Then there is my commitment to making a piece for the 2024 SAQA Benefit Auction.
I knew time was short to complete Anticipation. Still how hard could it be. I can basically free motion quilt in my sleep at this point. OK, obviously that is an exaggeration, but it is a technique I know well and am comfortable with. However, I was completely clueless about how to create a 3D nest to attach to the background. I had an idea, but would it work? I gave it try. The result wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great and certainly it wasn’t worth the hours and hours it was taking to create mediocre results. Time was zipping by and I felt rushed and inadequate.
Back to the Drawing Board
Undaunted, I tried making a nest by weaving fabric tubes. Yuck! It was easy to do, but didn’t look like a nest and I had no idea how to go from 2 D to 3D. I was feeling discouraged, overwhelmed by life’s distractions and frankly, ready to give up on making anything for the auction. Apparently, my unconscientious mind had other ideas. I woke up around midnight a few days back and was gifted a lively brainstorming of other techniques I could use. Ultimately, I didn’t try them, but they gave me the impetuous to explore further despite time rushing on.
Over the years I have collected articles on techniques torn from magazines or procured from the internet. I store them in several 3 ring binders. When I am stuck, I turn to my binders. Miraculously, the very first article I saw was one written by Julie Richardson, published in the October/November 2012 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. It was on making bowls or fabric sculptures. The example reminded me of a nest. I could do this. Who cares if time was limited. This would be fast. In fact, it took less than a day to gather the materials, shred the fabric, stitch everything down and wash away the water soluble stabilizer.
Can you guess why I made two pieces using Richardson’s technique? Also, what are the various items in the above photo? Hint, I strayed a tad from the final step in the article and found a different way to achieve a subtle 3 D effect.
Rainbow Scrap Challenge
While I was waiting for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge to begin this year, I got a head start by making my dark blue blocks. Thank goodness I did. I need all the time I can get this month to finish up concentrate on Anticipation. Sometimes you are gifted with time. 🙂
I’m linking up to the following posts:
