Long May She Wave - Reveal Day 6

You know the last 2 words from the USA National Anthem?  It's "Play Ball!" for this baseball fan.  Seriously, I'm a big baseball fan, love the sights and sounds of the game.  I'm also very patriotic, so I mean no disrespect with my Play Ball joke. 

 
In my region (I'm ashamed to say its the Nation's Capital and Baltimore, ); we have a horrible disrespect of the National Anthem.  Some Baltimore Oriole fans yell out "O" during part of it at baseball games and some Washington Capital fans yell out "Red" during those parts of the Anthem.  If the Flag and the Anthem represent our Country, what does it mean when people yell words while we are standing respectfully holding our hats in our hands and with our hands over our hearts.  I want to ask each person that yells, if they realize that they are disrespecting my nation when they do that.  Even if it's not your nation, when a national anthem is sung it's still a time to be respectful.  That's my humble patriotic opinion...

So when I was playing with ideas, I caught this symbol and gave it a wave.

• Wrong side of denim used as background - great color
• Appliqued fused bias wavy strips free cut using a Multi Step Zig Zag stitch - I love the shape created where the strips in the center meet forming a nice curvy v in lower right corner.
• Free Motion Machine quilted - leaving the center bar unquilted
• Hand stitched 13 cream buttons and 37 "X's" using 50wt sewing thread (4 strands red, 4 strands blue)... 13+37=50, get it?
• Free Motion Zig Zag edging

Lessons Learned - when the machine starts complaining and making noise - CHANGE THE NEEDLE - before it breaks - you still will need to change it if you wait, but them you need to find the piece of broken needle and hope that the machine didn't suffer. 

Halfway there, whoa... living on a prayer...

On Day 7 of 12, I think I earned myself a post - but still keeping my work to myself!  I forgot to credit the Twelve By Twelve group with the idea of small quilts done on a regular basis.  I started following the 12s when a few us were working thru the Art Quilt Workbook by Jane Davila and Elin Waterston.  Lucky me, as guild program chair - Deborah Boschert was recommended as a guild speaker, and she motivated me to rejoin SAQA by sharing the plans for the local SAQA parlor meetings.  Like I always have said, I am very lucky!

friends at the Quilters Unlimited Show, fun!

Well back to this challenge - some days I know what I am doing, and other days (ok most of the time) just letting myself go with the creative flow.  It was actually easier to start on quilts for days 1-5, I attended a local quilt show the morning of day 6 - lots of beautiful art to look at, and took lots of photos.  But strangely enough, I didn't come home with the itch to stitch, more like the ache to bake. Not cake, but myself, spent a beautiful Sunday at the ballgame!  Almost like I needed to let me mind process what I had seen and get back to looking for inspiration from trees, lawnmover lines in grass, crowd of people at the ballpark, sights and sounds of nature.

A couple lessons to share along the way...

1- Find what you LOVE!

• I really enjoy working with real ultrasuede. Love the rich matte texture it adds.
• I love free motion machine quilting. I find it a way to getting the creative flow going and relax while scribbling on fabric with thread. I know many find it to be stressful. My advice, turn on some good tunes and machine quilt on some scraps to get into the groove.

2- Don't over think!

• forgive all my sports analogies, at my core I am an athlete - in sports we practice so that when it comes to games we don't have to think, so ideally in practice you get to the point of not thinking and just doing!

 3- I am NOT creating "Works of Art", I am doing the "Work of Art".  Which athletes play only in competitive games? None, they also practice. Shouldn't we as artists do works that are for practice, skill building, experimentation?  I think so!

inspired by mottled look of the crowd, the bright moon, the lights, the next batter warming up, the curve of the grass....and you thought I was just watching baseball!

finding time

"time management" should be renamed...

priority, focus or energy management - anything but time management


Time keeps on ticking into the future, Time marches on
True, true - except in baseball...
where minutes and hours don't mean anything

Last night's Bowie Baysox's 18 inning game, is a great reminder that only in baseball does time stand still.

 

 

Time is the coin of your life.

It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.

Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) American poet.

clocks, baseballs, and coins - all circles

and for the best circle of the week...
check out Japanese Manhole Covers, thanks to Leonie for the link!