When Do You Get Breathing Space?

     Isn't it a good feeling to finish some projects? I've got quite a list of homework assignments that are due at the end of February for my Art Cloth Mastery Class. So when I recently wrapped up one of them and one project on the side I was doing just for fun, I felt some relief. Awhile back, I showed you the beginnings of a purse I started here. Unfortunately, as I worked on it, I forgot to take more photos while it was in-process. I got the pattern for it from an old Threads magazine (August/September 2005, p. 51).  So here is the finished product.

Milagros purse

Front

Back

Inside- it has two pockets

     And, for my class, I've been working on a series with a leaf as a symbol for change. The first one is as finished as I want it to be for taking to the class. I have it backed with ecofelt. The edges are not finished yet. I'm waiting to decide if I want to add some hand-stitching or more printing before I add facing to the back to finish the edges. Notice that I changed my palette? No blues in this one.

Flow 1 (temporary name)

     I'm about half done with the second one in the series which gives me a feeling of breathing room. I know now that I'll get it all done in time. I'm linking this to Off The Wall Friday where you can find other art quilt blogs. Please make comments on their posts so that the artists know you stopped by. Thanks for visiting.

Have You Ever Participated In Another Blogger's Activity?

     There are several blogs I read regularly. Some are listed on my sidebar and some I just have on my Feedly reader. One of the blogs on my sidebar is from the wonderful artist, Melanie Testa. A few posts ago,  here, she suggested a sew along to make one of her sewplies purses. I watched the videos she had on her blogpost and decided to try it. I also decided to try to make mine completely by sewing it by hand since the girls I'm working with at our local Boys and Girls Club want to sew purses and they don't have sewing machines. I thought if it worked out making it by hand, then they could try to make small purses by hand. The only part I made using a machine was the straps. Since they are so long, they would take forever to sew by hand. If the girls want to make purses, I'll have to do the straps for them at home on my machine.
     You can see my sewplies purse in process on my blogpost here. And I finally finished it. Her pattern is meant to wear close to your body and has clips that close around your back.

Sewplies Purse

The front of the purse closed

The back of the purse opened

The back of the purse closed

The inside of the purse with a pocket

I had to sew my scissors pocket on the inside at an angle in order to fit my scissors, but it works that way just fine. I love the pattern. Thank you, Melly! Go and visit her website . She'll be starting up some classes soon. I'm linking this to Off The Wall Friday where you can find other art quilt blogs. Please make comments on the artists' blogs so that they know you visited. Thanks for stopping by.

How Do You Get Enriched?

     Sometimes I read books or take an online class for enrichment in the arts. But lately I felt like I needed a lot more from someone who is a master at their craft.  So I signed up for Jane Dunnewold's Art Cloth Mastery Class. It lasts two and a half years and involves traveling to her studio in San Antonio, Texas five times and lots of work at home. My first session was last week. I had been busy at home with pre-assignments for the last several months.
     My week there was absolutely glorious because of the other students, the assignments we did and, of course, Jane. She is one of the most spiritual people I've ever met. And so knowledgeable.  We had two lectures every day and worked and worked and worked. My roommates and I had planned to visit a museum and gallery after class time two evenings, but were so exhausted we just went to the closest places to get dinner and came back and did our homework and crashed.

Me at my work station with exercises behind me

Can you see me glowing in the photo above? (Having so much fun.) By the way, the work piece with the bird is not a finished piece; it's just an exercise in layering designs with dye and paint. The studio was so well equipped. Everything was at our fingertips. And right next door was a house that was where we ate lunches that she prepared for us, had a living room where we sometimes sat and had discussions and put work on a design wall and had critiques, and had an amazing library of books we could read while we were there.

On the door frame to the house next to the studio

On the dining room table

wonderful curtains on the living room windows

So now I'm back home armed with ideas and truly enriched. I've begun to order supplies I'll need for my assignments and ready to get started with them so that they will be done for when I go back in October for the second session.
     While I'm waiting for the paints and dyes to arrive, I've begun some hand stitching on a small piece that will become a little purse. I'm trying to do it all by hand as a prototype so that I can have the girls at the Boys and Girls Club where I volunteer make them, too. They want to make purses and they don't have sewing machines. The only problem is the straps. Those are awfully long. I can't see the girls sewing those by hand. Maybe I can sew those at home for them on my machine.

in process

     I'm linking this to Off The Wall Friday where you can find other art quilt blogs. Please make comments on their posts so that the artists know you stopped by. Thanks for visiting.