Round Robin

Gossamer wings for my turn on the round robin.

This was a round robin project cycling through our group. As you get to the end of the project, or the bigger rounds, it can sometimes be exhausting on multiple levels. Most of the great ideas are played out, your design must work with not just one, but all the previous concepts and influences, fabric supply is getting low, and to do anything worthwhile can sometimes be time consuming, not to mention the manipulation of all that fabric being managed at the machine.



It can still be just as fun if you take a large idea and just apply it as a small section. This quilt focused on the fairies in the base fabric in the center. It also had alot of attention and focus moving on to the middle. I did not want to distract from all that work, but rather compliment it in a subtle way, but still make a mark.



The minute I saw this quilt, gossamer wings were in my head, picking out delicate sheers, imagining sparkly edges, and wondering about the choices of shape. For those of us who are into process, it can become quite intimidating to fulfil the idea.

I have more fabric than I can ever use, and yet what I wanted was at the store. I felt and peered through every sheer in the wedding section of fabrics at Joann's, unraveled metal threads for content, and when I got home - played freely with shapes. No these were not the original shapes, but they worked great in the end. Only two sets were used, offsetting the corners. I chose not to use fusing, in order to maintain the sheer quality and complete the ethereal look with a light silver metallic zig-zag on the edges. I skipped creating a "body" only to focus on the wings and imagination as to the source.



I wanted to keep it when I finished, but pleased to pass it on, knowing the owner would appreciate everyones contributions and I had accomplished something new for myself.

While these little tree rodents have broken in and created havoc in my studio by knocking things off of shelves and creating more of a mess than I left, I can still find them charming as they play games with me and the camera. This squirrel played "peek a boo" for quite a time and through many shots.

This is our year of squirrels. Every year there is an abundant of some nature and a decline of another and this year it is the squirrel, lizzard, and wasp that have multiplied, while the tarrantula and gecko have been less available.

Folding Fabric

While this is most pleasing to me, it was not always so-neat folded stacks. In fact most every time I searched for a fabric, I reached in, pulled out, and the whole group fell to the floor. The most I accomplished was similiar colors to each shelf.

I actually became inspired after stacking fabric for my daughter in law. While my fabrics were color coded, she desired sorting by textile type. So for her, I seperated cottons from silks from brocades, from tapestry, etc. In the end, I saw the possibilities, but I still liked my color coding, especially considering the quantity.

But sorting still did not resolve the organizational issues of not being able to see what I had, or at least what I knew that I had.

After researching various ideas and methods and then evaluating my own, I came up with this plan: Measure width of shelf. Determine how many folded pieces can fit across. I had to consider some pieces small, and some very large. I also had to consider the quality of the fabric. I determined that my 6" wide template ruler was perfect in width, leaving me a few inches to spare for bulk.

At this point, I had room for four stacks at 6" wide. I also realized that exactly half of my template was perfect for depth of the fold to fit on the shelf.

This was the best part, using my 6 x 24 inch template to fold the fabric. I prefolded each piece into approx 1/2 yard increments (fudging where needed) and then removed the template. Once done, then folded in half at 12".

I had four stacks on each color coded shelf. Stack one and two for cottons and blends (heavy yardage in stack one, light in stack two), stack three for satins, silks, sheers, etc. and stack four for brocades, upholstry, etc.

I will also share that it was a bit frustrating at first, the fudging part. Not all fabrics will lend to easy folding, or they are odd increments. Feel free to use markings on your table or masking tape to locate the ideal size. Doing this makes for a quick layout before folding around the template. This has been very time consuming no doubt, but for large quantities very helpful. I also have to consider how much time I have wasted redoing fabric spills, money wasted buying a fabric match I could not located, or the much frustration in it all. Once you get a few pieces down, you can do it without thinking. And mostly, the satisfaction of seeing every single piece at a glance is too valuable.

While most of my fabrics are color coded, whites on one shelf, then pinks on the next, then reds (following the color wheel), not all my fabrics are organized as such. I have additional shelves for fabrics grouped for projects and a few shelves that are thematic like western, juvenile, etc. and of course the ever enduring vintage pieces. I still follow this same folding method for organization.

Collections

I collect a lot of things.




Many people are curious about my collections or the habit of collecting. Some collections were never my intention, they just happened. Sometimes it is a comment in passing that triggers it all and sometimes it is a simple idea I have and it takes on a life of it's own.

A friend once told me I bake my cake on the outside. While most people consider, assess, and then speak, I share all my thoughts out loud. It confuses those who don't know me.

Wow these bottles are so cool, look at all of them. What could you possibly do with all of these (I am speaking to some lady in an outbuilding on the side of a country road who makes a living in resale and “antiques”)? The colors, sizes, and writings embossed on the sides intrigue me. When ever I see something older, I wonder about the person who originally possessed it. Who were they and why did they have this. It becomes very personal, like meeting someone knew, and they seem to be interesting, even though you know little of them.


















Then my thoughts evolve... so many bottles here and a variety. I have never seen this particular shape before. What was it used for? What could I possibly do with old bottles. Well....and then the brainstorming begins. At this point or soon afterwards I can be silent to that side of the curious. I then become a designer, a creator. I consider all the obvious, the not so obvious, the bizarre, the beautiful.

Then in the excitement of this flooding of ideas, a few bottles become a big project which, could easily be amazing with a lot of bottles.

“I can make you a great deal on 10 or more.” Wow, if she can make a great deal on 10 or more, wonder about this whole shelf full? I ask. She answers. Now it is time to get serious. “What if I take them all?” She shifts, I stare her down. I relieve her of the bottles.



I am giddy with my bargaining power. I wait patiently for her to begin packing them. I scan the area for overlooked bottles, not to be forgotten. Wait. What if I can get other good deals like this. What else does she have.

I notice a few old plates. This poor lady is doomed! I am going to make another steal. After multiple trips to the car, I start counting my gain. I am still somewhat refrained, lest she figures out the deal. In reality, I did get them for a steal, no doubt.

As I drive away grinning to myself, or to my daughter, used to these excursions, I realize that I have to find a place to store these. I already have many staging areas as such. They will sit in their boxes, until such time as I am tired of looking at them. They will be re-staged to new areas, multiple times.

After a little disgust with lack of time and commitment I will give them an appropriate home. I will display them somewhere, and then somewhere again, and then eventually will find their way into a project, but not without giving much emotional investment.

My friends love coming to see what little collection I currently have out. It is a great teaching time for their children and much satisfaction for me to share the research I have completed. Sometimes it is more personal when I recall pieces from my youth or a home I visited as a child.

But reality hits, another collection is on the rise and I tire of moving and dusting the current. I will find a way to get creative with it, finally.