Research and focus

In my last post I name my theme for the art quilt study group as England: a country I want to explore.  Since I not able to hop a plane and  explore in person, I used the Internet and found a wonderful site, that is sub titled "exploring England through pictures".  Wow...the very same phrasing and  I knew I was on the right track.
The first thing I decided to do was look for the places that the pen and ink sketches depicted.   It was amazing to locate photos showing them.  The Knaresborough Bridge has a lot of photos and we could actually figure out where his great uncle must have sat to draw the sketch we have.  The ruins of Fountains Abbey  was more difficult to decipher, but I think we found a photo of the view he sketched.   St. Williams College in York is huge and  we could not figure out which entry way he drew. 

The first project deals with perspective (ugh!) using one or more of the principles  from the second chapter.  So this needs to be a fairly simple  subject.  After looking through some of the photos, I saw common themes emerge that say  England.  Stonework--walls, walks, fences, posts, gates, steep steps, streets.  Arches--windows, doors, gates, buildings, signposts, roofs.    Gates and fences--every cottage seems to have a small gate of some sort.  Bright spots of color--flowers in pots, growing up the walls, tumbling over the gates,  window boxes, wisteria over the doors.  Narrow streets and lanes, unique thatched roofs, ancient ruins, lamp posts, hand painted signs......lots of things to focus on.
 This is really tougher that I thought it would be.  I am a quilter, not an artist or painter.   But I  have selected a couple of images to work from....not reproduce.   I will use a controlled color palette for unity throughout this series.   As for the first subject.....think ancient ruins.

Too many ideas....

The art quilt group met today for our first discussion on Chapter 1 and to get to know each other better.  I still have not decided on a theme for my projects.  I think I am trying to focus too close on one thing rather than a general theme.  Jaylyn made an excellent point to look at what you collect, or have a lot of around you, or maybe a foreign country.
So I looked around.  I have a collection of old advertising tins,  a collection of botanical prints, old keys that I collected and framed, a small collection of pottery and teapots.  Nothing clicked. 
Over dinner I mentioned all this to Russ....and then I said foreign country.  Two places  I would love to visit are Greece and England.  I looked around and remembered the three prints that I have framed in the dining room .  They are pen and ink sketches down by Russ' great-uncle in England from the 1930's .  And there is  a small watercolor of an English thatch roof cottage, too that I had framed.  Light bulb moment....my theme was right in front of me.    Theme:  England, a place I want to explore.
Now, I can sleep well tonight and tackle the next chapter tomorrow.

Tool case and Art Quilt study group

A couple of weeks ago a friend gave me a pattern kit for a travel case for sewing items.  When sorting and putting things away a few days ago, I found it under a stack of fabric.  I figured I should make it up to have to take to workshops and Bee nights.  She had included some fabric, batting, and velcro.
It made up quick and turned out nice.

I must admit I made a couple of changes to the pattern.   Instead of making four vertical pockets across, I only did three.   I left the middle pocket larger to get my snips and rotary cutter in.  I also made the fold over flap about 2 inches longer to be sure my small cutting  mat would fit in the back pocket.

The overall size when finished is 7 inches by 19 inches.

I did just a bit of quilting on the fold over portion.

Great gift...thanks, Deb.
A new activity was announced at our guild meeting last night....an Art Quilt study group.  I said sign me up, of course.  We are going to work our way through the book,  Art Quilt Workbook, meeting once a month to discuss each technique.  Then we are to create a project---small probably 9" by 12"---using the technique.   And now I am thinking, "What was I thinking?   I already have 2 challenges to do along with the current quilts. And 2 on-line classes I have signed up for."   But  I am committed to try it, and it should be fun.  Maybe I can figure out how to combine a couple of things.
And the best news is that our guild program next month is Leah from 365 Days of Free Motion Quilting!!  Woo-hoo.....I am  so excited about that and really looking forward to her program. 
And this is just January and I feel my calendar is packed.  It should be a great year!