Weekly Update – Sept 9, 2022

Hey, guys! I’ve decided that my ideal format of just sharing 1-2 project per week isn’t working for me in my current headspace. I have too many moving parts in my life right now, and focusing on them is getting tough. So, I’m going to do a brain dump and bring you along. Enjoy! (I’ll be back next week with another these, but I promise to also bring you something useful). Welcome to the Weekly Update – Sept 9.

Sunrise from my bathroom

Teasing

Something exciting and new has been going on behind the scenes here with my friends (and new business partners!) at Gotham Quilts. I can’t do more than tease right now, but you can sign up to be among the first to learn about our new endeavor here. There will be lots of pretty stuff I can share very soon! Oh, and no one is quitting any of their other jobs – this is a new, extra project, because we were all bored and needed something more to keep us busy.

A Finish!

I finished a long term WIP this week, and I’ll be sharing more about it soon. My Portals III quilt is finished, and I’m trying to decide if it wants to be written into a pattern or maybe more of a technique sheet. I’m definitely working it up into a virtual class, because I adore this quilt and I want to share how to make it with everyone. Finishing this has given me a much-needed hit of dopamine this week.

I had been putting it off for a while, because I wasn’t sure how to quilt it. I’ve been watching Allie of Exhausted Octopus as she works on some sea glass quilts, and her loose quilting style is just what I need right now. Thanks for the inspiration!

I did a faced binding, and chose not to square off the edges. I’m considering changing the name to “The Revolution is Now”, because I’m tired to having to make my quilts nice and square. I’m an artist, and I’ll make the shapes I want to make.

Collaboration!

I contributed a block to Sam Hunter’s The Myriad Interpretations of Language project, and I’m so excited to see how the whole quilt turns out!

A Rabbit Hole

I was innocently working on 8/30 when Ivete introduced me to the magical world of the Biscornu. I’m always astonished to learn about a needlework thing that is brand new to me (ie, Kawandi), and I get excited. By now I should realize that I don’t know everything, but each time I’m sincerely shocked. One day later, I had made this little beauty out of wool, because wool embroidery is my new thing. I’ll be putting together a tutorial for you soon, unless I can convince the folks at AccuQuilt to hire me to do one for them. The birds are from their Bird & Birdhouse die.

AccuQuilt

I finished a bunch of projects with AccuQuilt and wrote patterns and blog posts for them. They will start rolling out next week, I think. I’m eager to share them with you.

Leverage Your Art Update

For those of you who were curious about Leverage, I’ve decided to share what I’m up to for the next 8 weeks. This will help me stay more accountable and keep it on the front burner. I was slow to get started on Module 1, opening it up this morning. Last week I went over Module 0 and really enjoyed it. My favorite parts were:

1. Stacie’s chat about Overwhelm – that’s what knocked me out of Leverage last year. So many shiny things! This year my plan is to keep up with the Design Briefs and also do one more thing from the module. I’m also printing out the workbook, rather than storing the information in my head.
2. Stacie’s chat about Imposter Syndrome – again, this hit close to home. One thing that really helps me is knowing that we all feel imposter syndrome from time to time. Being uncomfortable now means that whatever I’m stretching for will be easier next time.
3. The font assignment! This flat out killed me last time. I spent so much time agonizing about how I would create my own handwriting font that I never even picked up the pen. Today I built my handwriting font. I guess it never occurred to me that I can make as many as I want. I’ll share next week, when I figure out how to use it.
4. Finally, the workbook section for Module 0 is 50 pages of info on income streams. To prevent myself from losing my mind (and my focus) I’m only picking one thing to do for the next 8 weeks. I’m going to enrich my teaching practice by putting together an on-demand course. To be honest, this has been in my thoughts for a while, but I’ll use Leverage as the impetus for this project.

One Leverage-adjacent thing I’m doing is learning Procreate. I’ve done some art on my iPad and I like it, but I want to learn this new software, and it is slowing me down. There should be time in my day for one more thing, right?

Non Art/Quilting

I’m taking another college course, this one on Popular & Contemporary Literature. I can’t imagine it will help me much in business, but I needed something that felt comforting after my digital design course. That one made me super frustrated. Literary analysis is a lot of fun reading, combined with a healthy dose of silliness, in my opinion. I’ve never been a fan of doing a lot of literary analysis, but I’m trying to not let me professor know that. This is eight weeks of throwing around my big words and making outlandish claims about symbolism. (I even had to read a 14 page essay comparing and contrasting the deep commentary on American consumerism in American Psycho versus Fight Club, two books which are not on my reading list.) Don’t worry, I won’t make you read my 10 page essay on Hunger Games vs Gone Girl.