Author Archives: Colleen Kole

That’s A Lot Of Snow!!!

I don’t think we are going anywhere today. I think we have had about 14 inches…or more last night. It’s the drifting that is so bad and it is really snowing hard yet. They have called from my husband’s office and said no one can get down the street. So he is snowblowing. Good grief- to this day I can’t believe he likes doing this. A plow service is needed this time. I hope he is ok out there so have sent my son to do the porches. The dogs don’t know what to do as it is way over their heads.

Well, since I didn’t have a machine yesterday, I figured it would be a good day to get started on my two classes. I was brave and opened the paints. Didn’t really feel right to start with but then the color just took me away-as usual. So beautiful. I have no idea whether I did this right ( the right strength on the paper) but that wasn’t the point. Just mixing different primaries and then I need to cut them out and chart them. And the information in the book she recommended-even more beautiful . I also started on a color journal cutting and pasting colors I enjoyed.

I worked on some small projects for my other class. It took me awhile to realize they didn’t need to be perfect compositions. They were truly meant to be 30 minute exercises-studies. It felt good to just play for the sake of play and learning. I hadn’t used commercial fabrics in a long time either. I loved just looking to see what I had. From what I can see so far, both are excellent teachers and have great written material and lessons.

I scurried around yesterday getting ready for the blizzard. We haven’t had but one snow day so the kids and I are ready to play. And then, they called to say one of my machines was fixed!!!! I am snowed in and I have a machine. Let’s hope it really works.

Stay warm today. Be creative, my friends!

My Monday Morning View

I fed a total of 20 people at various times this weekend. College kids, high school kids and adults. That’s a lot of kitchen time. But, now, the house is very quiet. I have opened up my computer, my books and I am ready to work on my two classes. With my cup of coffee. How nice.
Two classes this month:

Color Theory by Judy Coates Perez. I took this class to become more comfortable with color-pushing me to try more colors. I feel like I use the same colors over and over. Perhaps I will gain some insight for my dye mixing this summer. What a gorgeous book. I am currently afraid to open the paints. Feels kind of scary and I am usually not scared to try anything. Weird, I know.

Art Theory by Lyric Kinard through Quilt University. The first lesson involved drawing in my journal . Yikes, I am going to be stretched out of my little comfort zone. Both will work us hard from what I have read this morning. That is the point, right?

So, my view this Monday morning:

Stretching into new places. Working on a color journal, painting colors, finding/drawing texture and checking on the status of my machines.

Be creative, my friends!

Crazy

I really do admit -or should I say confess, I am crazy. I know that FOCUS was a word I wanted to embrace this year. But , I am realizing that it is not necessarily a lack of focus. I am very focused on this whole thing of wanting to be good at something. Obsessed would be a better word. I think the problem lies in my underestimating the amount of time I have in a given day. And overcommitting. When I say I am going to do something, I do . Even if it kills me. Well, I have a little confession. I might have done it now.

I really, truly promised myself that I wouldn’t overcommit. But, I did. I signed up for two online courses.They just happened to be at the same time. One starts today and the other February 1st. It truly could have worked but I had this over the top exciting sale of a quilt.

And then, the quilt I am being paid to complete- my machine threw up oil all over the back of the quilt.. I have never had that happen. Maybe it was me being careless. But then it continued to have problems. It will join other sick machines in the sewing machine hospital. Seems like it happens every time I need to complete a project with a deadline. I will talk to the dealer about a more reliable machine. It took me hours to rip out the stitching to get the back off, wash the back and be ready to begin again. Who ever thought that machine quilting could be traumatic? If this kind of thing continues, I will look at long arm machines. Never thought I would say that but…I am reaching the limit with domestic machines that just keep having problems. Oh the new one I bought in the fall-that’s in the shop already, too. I can’t even explain this to people so sorry to confuse you. One dealer told me it was because I sew too much. :). I thought that’s what they made them for, right?

A little completed project to keep my sanity. I know I owe some friends postcards but since they waited so long they will get little quiltlets.

Morning Winter Sunrise
about 5×9

Well-I’m off to the sewing machine store. Be creative, my friends!

And The Work Begins/Threads

I thought I would be able to dive right in on Sunday and begin basting and sandwiching my quilt. But, I didn’t have batting or enough backing to start it. So, I spent yesterday running around finding what I needed. It was really inefficient but, I have found what I needed. Looking at my schedule, I really won’t have a big block of time until Wednesday afternoon to get started. But, I have a question for you.

Threads….I am a cotton thread person and kind of a snob about it. I use 100 percent cotton fabric and like cotton thread for machine piecing and quilting. Mettler thread in the top. My current machine likes it and I like it. I am in love with Aurifil thread for piecing but need to order it online and that doesn’t allow me to see the colors. Mettler thread for machine quilting may just be more of a habit than real knowledge about what works. In my bits of time this week before studio time, I am reading short articles about thread. Kind of snoozy reading, but I like to be informed.

So, what kind of thread are you using for machine quilting and why? Any help or advice is welcome.

Off to get a haircut. Be creative, my friends!

Sold

First of all, thanks for your comments. I do worry and love hearing about everything-from progress, failures, illnesses, pets, vacations and what’s new in your studios. So, know that if you are gone for a time period, I am probably the friend who will send you an e-mail to check up on you!

Well, back to what I am doing in my place. On Friday, I finished my next “L” motif quilt. All these blocks really were pretty boring to do but I did it . I went to my stash of Kona cotton solids-not much left but I want to use it up. So, I needed to use only what I had. No buying anything new in January.

And then, I wanted to use a little less bold of color than I had been using. I didn’t want to make it look like a pink and blue baby quilt either. So a small challenge to myself. The further I got into it, the more I enjoyed how a block was looking on the design wall. And then it miraculously all fit together.( I hate the math and just kind of estimated how big to cut it. I did cut freehand for the pieces but squared up the blocks.) And there she is….

Listen #3
43×59

Big. Lots of quilting to be done. But the absolute best-over the top exciting thing is -it’s sold. Will be SOLD – to my friend -an architect to hang in his office. Friends we went out with last night who just wanted to see what I was up to. He walked in and asked who I was making it for. Never expected that. More on the story tomorrow…I must start layering and basting.

My friend asked me many questions I didn’t have good answers to. Artistic answers. I need to think about them, too. And do the work.

Be creative, my friends! You never know where it might lead to.

Stitching and Stitching

If I have been reading a blog consistently and then the person is not there for a few days, I start to worry about them. Well, I do worry about alot of things so maybe this is no big deal, but I truly do worry about that person. Where are they? Are they ok? Did they just give up and stop creating? Or stop writing? Even if I have never met this person who is now a friend, of course, because I read about their life each day, I worry about them. (I really can’t believe I am rattling on like this right now. I am blaming my state of being on January.) But I take a vested interest in my blog artists out there. Selfishly, they entertain me and inspire me.

So, stop working so hard out there that you don’t have time to stop and blog and tell me about how many wonderful things you are creating. Just let me know you are ok every once in a while. Otherwise I worry.

Going bonkers after doing many blocks of the same pieces this week. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it has been a long time since I have done blocks….Stitching and stitching and it will be done. Even though it might not fit together. 🙂

I am doing something smaller next week as I need a hand stitching project to work on. I can’t believe how many people ask you about your work if you are just sitting and taking a few stitches.

I hope you have a good weekend. Be creative, my friends and stay warm!

Ziplocked

Well, I decided to put myself out of misery and ziplock one of my projects on my design wall. Ziplock: A term use to describe placing all pieces and parts of a horrible idea or project into a plastic bag and having the satisfaction of closing a zipper on it. (Yes, I know plastic bags are horrible for the environment but I re-use them and they are currently keeping me sane. They contain bad ideas or horrible art.)

Some projects just need time and they remain up on my design wall for a long time until I move them along. I know that I am just stuck on those projects. They have some degree of hope involved in them.

But some just need to be put in a ziplock bag and put in my bin. I rarely come back and re-visit them. I don’t hear any screams from that region of the room to please use me up or fix me. I don’t even know if I feel any guilt over them.( well a teensy bit of guilt over wasting some fabric).They just don’t work. Composition wise, color wise or just plain me creating too much chaos. It happens.

Two good things about it: 1. I don’t feel the need to show you. 2. I move on quicker than I use to .

Anybody read any good books lately?

I hope to be creative today. Be creative, my friends!

Loving Color #2: I Fooled You

Don’t you just shake your head sometimes and wonder what I’m doing? I can imagine some of you saying -what in the world will she do with the screechingly (is that even a word?) awful pieces of fabric from the last post? A strange and loud tie dye creation?

But I fooled you. It was just the first layer and I have overdyed the batch to see what happens. Well, I suspected what would happen. And I was right.

The deep colors I wanted for the next project. I also overdyed some snowdyed fabric which just didn’t turn out bright enough.

Much better. Also, finished up the rest of the floss.

It is freezing in the garage which is where I do all the mixing and rinsing. I think I am good on dyeing for awhile. Just needed a fix of color in January.

I need to get ahead writing my posts and taking pictures. I use to love to blog at 7:30 am but it’s still dark out here until about 8:15. So here I am at dinnertime :).

Be creative, my friends!

Loving Color

Maybe it’s just because it’s winter.

A few of my favorite hand dyed threads from this last batch.

And against the starkness of the white snow, color is more appealing.

Tray Dyeing with highly concentrated dyes on folded and pleated cotton. It was a happy mistake to not dilute my dyes but to just pour it on. Oops…

The Colors of Christmas

28x 33

I made this little piece at a workshop. Some people don’t finish workshop samplers. I do because I remember fondly my time there and it helps me to remember what I have learned. I like it better now that it has the added element of stitch. Stitch changes everything, doesn’t it? The colors are bright and bold. And that’s ok with me now. At the time I was comparing myself to others who were using subtler colors around me. Bold and bright is where I am at now.

Color is just beautiful and I am having fun celebrating it this week.

Be creative, my friends!