The silk strips pictured above are what remains of two pieces that I painted. After years of sitting in my Good Stuff pile, I finally sliced into them. Now that I’ve crossed that scary bridge, I can actually look forward to using the remnants in something else. I may use everything in one project or just use a bit, leaving even smaller scraps. They are still treasures, but no longer too precious to touch. I can feel creativity filling the space that has opened up now that I’m no longer crushed by the weight of waiting for the perfect project. Maybe you will feel this same relief when you cut your most valued fabric.
Last week I was in New Mexico, enjoying the Studio Art Quilt Associates conference in Santa Fe, then helping my friends Ann Anastasio and Gale Oppenheim-Pietrzak with Art Quilt Santa Fe. Even being on our best behavior, we had more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
Ann, Gale and me
Coming home with my treasures was lovely, too. I had a blissfully uneventful flight, pleasant seat companions, and a few moments to dream of all the projects I would make after unpacking.
Oh, stop laughing.
Yes, it has been a week and I’m still scrambling with my to-do lists. My treasures wait patiently. Here are some of them:
This is the project I brought with me. It is a cross-stitch and bead kit that I bought last year in Colorado. I got most of the center cross-stitch done before I remembered that I always get confused by the little symbols and end of up losing my place. The border isn’t anything like the pattern but I can live with that. The spider is very cool, and that’s all that counts.
This is one of the pieces I made at Art Quilt Santa Fe. It is fabric paint on muslin. I had in mind the Challenge theme of “the surface of infinity.” It seems to me infinity would be gray, like a cooling universe.
This is the other piece I made – fabric paint on silk. This also has a space theme, as I wanted to portray a spiral galaxy. I’m not sure that’s how it will end up, because I’m seeing beading and Chinese embroidery now. If I ever get caught up, I’ll let you know which idea won out.
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