Thoughts...

This post is going to be thoughts... not really a post on how to but a reflection on some things I am learning from others.
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I love reading blogs. I learn alot from them. From time to time I want to spot light some of those who I get a lot of thoughts from.

A disclosure is needed before I do this that I am only going to focus on positive thoughts and reflections. Negative rants - of which I have been subject to or have given have served no purpose accept to put me in a downward spiral. So the old saying "If you don't have anything nice to say - don't say it" will apply. This is going to be hard work. Think of how many negative comments flow through your brain?

Elizabeth Barton
I have never met Elizabeth Barton. I have her books

and

She teaches on line at the Academy of Quilting

And has a masterclass sign up each year which you can access on her blog via the link on her name above.

She doesn't know me at all. I am just one of the people who have signed up for her blog.

Her writing is engaging and thoughtful. She encourages people to respond to her posts and replies to their comments.

Her insights are worth a read. April 28th's post talks about adding some spice to your work like you would a recipe or dish you would make.

What I have learned from this blog is in a nut shell. Do the work, invest in learning, learn to critique your work - she has suggested  how to critique section in the end of her book. (Can't remember which  one.)

Check out her blog.

Do you have her books? What do you think of them?

Jo 

Books new to me...

One of our yearly traditions is to head out to the Book Outlet Boxing Day sale in St. Catharines, Ontario.

It is a overrun and clear out remainder book store which is in a huge warehouse. Sometimes I get a lot of books and sometimes a few. Yesterday netted what I call a few. 

What you see on the red sticker is the regular sale price. The boxing week sale is half price. Nice additions to my reference library. 

This is Boxing Day sales at it's best! - Jo

A Book Review - Rayna Gillman's - Create Your Own Free Form Quilts

Having been a long time "traditional quilter" and relatively new "art quilter" I have lots of bits and pieces of fabric that I have not been able to throw out.

 It is all sorted into strip sizes and cut up into squares waiting for a project or the need for just that little amount of colour. 

I have long been a blog follower of Rayna Gillman and love her style of blogging and thought I could stumble my way through doing some free form quilting of my own. My initial attempts was ok... but lack the zing of pictures I have seen via the internet.

Rayna' book has long been on my list of books to purchase so I ordered it from Amazon. [[ASIN:1607052504 Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts: A Stress-Free Journey to Original Design]] and it arrived swiftly to my mail box. I devoured the book.

Rayna's book is well written and full of wonderful pictures of her work and her friends and students. The book goes through a series of methods and what if's to lead you through the journey of creating one of your own creations. It is full of tips, design principle and suggestions including colour theory.

The book has sparked my creativity. There is no wrong way to create but leads you on an intuitive journey. If you don't like a unit you have created then put it back in "the box" until you may put it in another creation or you may decide to cut it up or add to it some other time.

Now I am off to the races sewing strips, creating units and finding out why or why not I like certain combinations. When you are using up your bits and pieces or even some of your stash in small amounts it is freeing. It enables you to create something that is not a huge investment in money...that you are willing to try things that you may not normally do and you will be in for some surprises too! 

I like the book so much I watched the DVD Rayna did from Interweave - Free Form Fabric Art. The DVD is not as in depth as the book but does give a live visual glimpse of her work.

So the journey continues... I am off to play with strips, pieces and my rotary cutter! 

And thanks to Rayna for sparking my creativity again... 

Warning this process is addictive... 

Have fun! 

Jo

Art and Fear - A book review.

An Interesting Book to Read ...
I was given this book for Christmas from a good friend.
It is not a hard read... and not a long book.
Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

I really enjoyed this book. I can't even really say why I liked it but I think that it made me realize that all people who are creative have things that they worry about or hold them back. It made me feel normal. So often you see the confidence of people. The ones who seem to have made it. It is not a how to book to succeed but a book which can help you reflect. 

And it is a book that you can read with a group to work through to see how much of the writers observations affect your group and what you do about it. 

Jo 

It is not a hard book to read... but it does make some observations which