Wednesday, January 7, 2009

More Sweet Songs

FINALLY. Another Sweet Songs of Birds has been completed. This is number 3. It is for sale on Etsy.

Only 9 more to go. I have completed the cutting of number 12. The others have been pieced together and the "sandwiches" have been made. I still need to quilt in the ditch and do the decorative quilting. I am hoping to complete one or two per week.

This effort may be hampered by the weather. We are having yet another ice storm and schools are closed again. A neighbor called at 8:00 this morning to set up a playdate, so I have until after lunch to get some work done. I feel fairly certain that school will be closed or at least 2 hours late tomorrow. Aaarrgh!

The studio has been mostly uninhabited for quite some time. I did get to visit it for a while on Monday, mostly to do some vacuuming and dusting. Yesterday I was able to spend several hours there. It was slow going at first. I have had concerns about doing what I am doing during this recession. Sales have slowed and I am having a hard time convincing myself to keep going. After a few minutes of great doubt, I started to play with fabric pieces for #12. Soon, the pieces were cut and laid out. Then I started sorting all the fabric scraps from this project. I accumulate a lot of "debris" when working on a series. I rarely straighten up until the project is done. This usually leaves me with only a couple of square feet to lay out a piece. So my workspace is almost tidy, a new piece is complete, and a series of 12 has been designed. I feel much better.

I know that many other artist bloggers have compiled large lists of things they have accomplished in 2008. I am not going there. I'm not sure I'm going to post a list of things I want to complete in 2009. Oh well, maybe just a very short list.

1. Keep going.
2. Buy some supplies.

By the way, I was serious in my last post. I really would like some assistance in choosing a new brand of thread. What brand do you prefer and why?

5 comments:

Ellen said...

Sorry I know nothing about thread, but your new piece is really nice, I love the colours. And keep going is THE best piece of New Year's wisdom I've come across, because no one can truly predict anything, so why worry? I'm making it a mantra to post on my fridge.

Bridgette Guerzon Mills said...

oh, i love this!

happy new year!

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I also don't know a thing about thread... but thank you for not going there with the wordy posts about goals and accomplishments, etc. I LOVE your list for 2009. I also love artist blogs that talk more about thread than goals (not that there is anything wrong with goals...).

Unknown said...

Hi Kim, I've gotten to be somewhat of a thread snob over the years. I started with C&C and "bin" thread, but it's true what the magazines and teachers say - cheap thread is trouble. So, I've slowly converted (and grown) my thread stash over the years. I use mostly Isacord (poly) solids because I like the sheen and the strenght. I sometimes use it in the bobbin when I'm machine quilting.

I like King Tut from Superior for quilting, and a sew (piece, etc) strictly with Aurafil because it's a fine, sleek cotton thread that produces little if no lint and makes beautiful seams. It also comes in a HUGE array of colors. I use it in the bobbin for quilting as well.

I've recently begun working with hand dyed silk, and I love YLI silk thread (Diane Gaudynski uses it too) for quilting - gorgeous sheen - but it's expensive so I use Isacord too, on the silk. Silk thread also tends to gum up my machine and needle (it has it's own natural "coating" thats like a wax), so I have to clean more often. Use a 60 or 70 needle for silk.

Good luck with your quest!

Kim Hambric said...

Thanks everyone for your thread input. I really have little knowledge of thread & just tend to use what I find at my fave big box fabric store. I've got some experimenting ahead of me.