The Creative Process, VI

Okay, so I didn't make it back to working on this on the "tomorrow" mentioned in my last quilt post. What can I say? An assortment of things came up between then and today. While the bread (shredded wheat bread, a new find in The Secrets if Jesuit Breadmaking) was rising, I went back to work on the mountain cabin. I thought it only appropriate to use Kurt Nilsen's Rise to the Occasion as the soundtrack since I first heard this artist, specifically, his "Lost Highway," a duet with Willie Nelson, while at the mountain cabin.

The first step was to add grass, trees, and sky to the left side of the cabin as I left it last time. The trick would be to match the two seams, that of the grass-trees and the trees-sky, with those on the cabin piece. The first one was easy because I can just trim the bottom to fit. The second one, though, would take some eyeballing. The photo shows the pieces of fabric laid together as I approximated where the seam should be sewn. As it turned out, I came close enough the first time. The next step was to put some borders on. The aim was to give the resulting, bordered piece dimensions that were evenly divisible by the integer of my choice in terms of making squares to surround the cabin block. You may find it surprising that even with my training in psychology and statistics, I'm not big on measuring. I measured. I even measured twice. I cut the side borders, sewed them on, and nailed the final length figure I was shooting for, the magic 36 inches (actually 36.5 inches, but the 0.5 will disappear into the seam). Thirty-six is a nice number, because it divides evenly into squares of 3, 4, 6, 9, or 12 inches or even some combinations of those squares. I was shooting for 27 inches for the height, figuring that I could then put 4.5 inch squares on the top and bottom, resulting in a 36-inch square panel to work out from. The top and bottom borders would be a bit narrower than the side ones, but I figured what the heck. I calculated how wide they should be, cut them, sewed them on, and, what was it they used in the transcripts of the Nixon tapes? "Expletive deleted"? The finished measurement wasn't what I had calculated it would be. I decided that I would just go ahead and make the borders the same width all around and even up the dimension with the first set of surrounding squares. Time for frog-sewing or, as the politically incorrect might say, French-sewing. That little implement in the photo is a seam ripper, as in "Rip it; rip it; rip it." Two seams unsewn, two new strips cut, two more seams sewn, and voila, a finished cabin panel. I debated for a while as to what color or colors to use for the borders here. It may not show up well in the photo, but the borders are grey. I decided on that as being somewhat neutral in terms of either dark or light fabrics working on the outside edges.

Next step is to make some liberated squares for the top and bottom, with the resulting rows of squares getting the height to the desired 36 inches. Yes, I know this will mean more measuring, but I intent to make the squares in such a liberated way that, if necessary, I can simply take a bit off the top or bottom to make it all fit. Then I will need to decide where I go from there. Should the cabin be in the center of a large square? In a corner? At the bottom of a rectangle taller than it is wide? Somewhere on the longer dimension of a rectangle, so you could see it if you had the quilt covering your lap as you sat on a couch? Should the final size fit on a bed or in a lap? The quilt has already told me that it will be too big for a wall hanging, and I honestly wouldn't want it to be that. I want this to be a quilt to be used, to be snuggled under or even sat upon. Does it sound as if I'm making it up as I go along? I am, because the quilts I make with a firm and fixed plan of action are never as delightfully fun as the ones that sort of make themselves as I go along.

One Down and Three To Go

Back around Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, I put forth some summer goals. There were only four, some of which were more measurable than others. (I used to work in university planning, and we were very big on measurable goals.) The most measurable of this year's goals was to earn my yellow belt in Myo Sim karate. That's about as measurable as you can get; either I would earn it or I wouldn't. Well, I did.

One starts Myo Sim karate as a white belt. After that come yellow, green, two levels of blue, three levels of brown, and then black, of which there are varying degrees. There are defined requirements for each level. For yellow belt, I had to know four kata or basic forms, one tae ryun (a form done with a partner), five self defenses (responses to various grabs), three one steps (responses to a punch), six kicks (three different styles of kick done with either the front or the back leg), three punching combinations, and two partner exercises (putting together punches and kicks against an opponent). Getting a yellow belt means remembering the moves in each part or technique, doing them in the proper stances, and doing them safely. This last part is really important because not doing something safely can mean that you or the person you're working with gets very hurt very fast.

I have tested for two different belts in kendo, but this was my first rank exam in karate. One thing that is different is that the karate exams are judged by every black belt in attendance, and that the judging involves written comments on all the things demonstrated. While this contributes to your nervousness during the test, it's helpful to go over the comments in detail and learn from them. And comments are as apt to be positive as negative. Although many of the comments I got related to things I can and will change, I also got several comments that my kicking has much improved over the last few weeks. I put in a lot of extra time working on my kicking in between the time I was invited to test and the test itself; it was nice to know that the extra time paid off.

Next up is green belt. This one will be harder. There's not necessarily more material to learn, but the bar gets raised a bit. It will no longer be enough to remember and demonstrate the moves and to do them safely. Besides that, I will need to "make the punches look like punches, and the kicks look like kicks." In other words, my technique has to reach a certain level of quality. I won't make green this summer; it might be a stretch to try to make it in the fall. I will get it at some point; it's just hard to say when that might be. In the meantime, I have three other summer goals to work on during the time I'm not working on karate (or kendo), not to mention job, family, and a few other life priorities.

The Creative Process, V

I was supposed to be sailing on the Chesapeake Bay this afternoon, but the trip fell through at the last minute leading me to believe I was destined to quilt. In the spirit of the 4th of July and its associated picnicking, I asked Mr. Mac to play me some Laura Nyro to set the appropriate mellow mood.

When last we met here, I had various pieces laid out that I thought might complete my mountain cabin scene. I won't make you go back to find it. Here's what I had laid out. Looking at it this afternoon with fresh eyes, I decided that the porch needed to be made longer, and that the grass should start closer to the bottom of the cabin rather than up along the sides. Maybe something like this. Of course, it would be simpler to just have the grass start at the very bottom of the cabin, so that's what I decided to do.

The first step was to make a new porch. The short porch I had been using was a piece left over from when I made the big part of the cabin. I had to make a new piece to start from, so I cut 10 strips, sewed them together, rotated the resulting rectangle, and cut out a piece with the slats going in the appropriate direction. I also had to cut a larger piece of black and make a longer white strip, but here's what I ended up with. Here's what it looked like after I sewed the red and black pieces together and was deciding on the angle the white would take. At this point, I realized that it was quite possible that I would get the side unit pieced only to figure out that I should have added the grass and sky to the center, cabin unit first. That's how things happen when there's no real method to one's madness. Here's the grass going on, and now the sky is on as well. Now to finish the side unit. First, the grass under the porch. This was the easy part, because as long as I made the grass piece below that porch long enough, it will work. In putting on all the other pieces, I would need to worry about matching the seams between the side piece and the center one.

Before I worried about matching those seams, however, I needed to get that diagonal white piece sewed onto the background in the right place. Sewing it onto the porch unit was easy; any angle would work. Now, though, I would need to get the top angle done so as to keep the side straight. First, play around a bit...
and then start to figure out the angle. Here it is done,
and if you think I hit it right on the first time, well, I you'd be wrong. That's what the baste setting is for on a sewing machine.

The next step was the white edges to the roof. They were diagonal on the original photo of the cabin, but I was going to make them straight here. Of course, that either meant setting them in on three sides or sewing them on the top of the pine tree fabric, which is what I decided to do.

Once the white was in, then I had to put the sky on, matching the seam in the process.
I actually got that done fairly easily, but then you know what? Yeah, I didn't like the way the white stood out; I didn't like it at all. What to do? Time for frog-sewing, so called because of its "rip it, rip it" nature. How was I doing? Not too badly given that I wasn't aiming for total accuracy. I must admit that at this point I considered quitting for the day, but I decided I should go ahead and do the other, simpler side. It ended up looking pretty good, if I do say so myself. As I was taking this photograph, I was thinking that I should probably add some more grass, pine trees, and sky to the left, porch side so that the cabin is more centered. At the same time, older son looked down from upstairs to where I had the piece set out on the hardwood floor and said he thought it would look better if the blue sky fabric went down a bit into the tree fabric and didn't line up precisely with the top of the roof. He may be right; it might look better that way. Does that mean I'm going to do more frog-sewing and change it? Probably not, because I don't think it looks bad this way. I'll look at it again next time (tomorrow?), but I'm pretty sure I won't change the sky but will add a bit more to the left to center the cabin. And at that point, some borders will finish the cabin unit, the soundtrack will get livelier, and I'll put the pedal to the metal doing some liberated blocks to go around the outside. I do love it when things start to come together!

Acting My Age

With a birthday fast approaching, I find myself reflecting on my age and whether I should act it. There are more than a few people who don't understand why someone my age would take up martial arts more easily done and mastered by the younger. There are times I even wonder about it myself, as when I'm explaining to the nurses prepping me for my colonoscopy that no, the defensive bruises on my forearms are not from fighting off my husband--they're from taking a sword away from someone over and over and over. Or when my boss looks across his desk and asks where the large bruise on my elbow came from. At least I didn't have to go into work this week and explain the latest. The left side of my face took a rather hard hit from a shinai, which is the bamboo sword we use in kendo for partner work. The young man who hit me (he was not supposed to be striking my head which is why I was not prepared to block my temple) was the same young man who cracked the scalp on the back of my head open a month ago. That one bled, but you couldn't see any evidence of the injury once the bleeding stopped. This one didn't bleed, but a week later people are still asking me what happened. The young man was very apologetic, though we all know that accidents do happen. I told him last night, however, that I would not be working with him at the kendo open workout tonight or even next Friday. No, it's nothing to do with the injuries. It's because I've been invited to test for my yellow belt in karate in two weeks, so I'll be working on karate rather than kendo until the test. There may be time to act my age later, but for now I have other things to worry about.

The Creative Process, IV

I actually did what is described here on Monday, but it's been a busy week, with several days on which my list of things to try to do included "blog post(s)." Note that I said "things to try to do," not "things to do." If I didn't recognize the difference, I'd be even crazier than I am.

Having introduced the sons to the classic movie Harold and Maude the night before, I set Mr. Mac to shuffle on the music of Cat Stevens. (Note: I also have the CD he did as Yusef Islam, but I was in a mood for the music of his past life.) It set an apt atmosphere for what proved to be an up-and-down session at the sewing machine.

Here's the second story unit I'd finished when last we met here. In the time since then, I'd decided that I really should extend the white roof edges out beyond the sides of the walls, as they appeared in the original photograph. So I started to play around with how to do that. First, the white roof edges. Then, the black of the roof itself.
Then the blue of the sky. Both the black and the blue will need to line up with the black and blue in the main piece; it looks here as if I've done that. The trick will be sewing the two units together keeping both the diagonal and straight lines lined up. If you're at all prescient, you see where this is going. I tried once. I tried twice. I tried a third time. I thought about it logically, and I just tried winging it. I was unable to get a seam sewn that lined all the lines up in a visually pleasing manner. But remember! This is liberated quiltmaking. Would I rather liberate myself from lines that match or from fancy roof edges? I decided on the latter.

First, since the second story unit sits on a background of roof, I had to add a strip of the black roof fabric to the cabin side I'd already made. Then I did the roof and sky to the right of the second story unit. Then I did the roof and sky on the other side, remembering to add the chimney even if I did make it a good bit narrower than it really was.
Finally, I started to play around with what to do on the sides of the cabin, whether to put the red railing in, what sort of trees to add, etc. You may have caught on that this goes much more easily if one can think in rectangles that get added to one side or the other, and the more things that must match up, the more swear words you might hear me muttering under or over the musical accompaniment. Here's the first thing I looked at. And the second. As you can see, this one has the white sides to the main cabin roof, the red railing to the left of the cabin wall, and the white roof edge on the sauna that sits behind the cabin. It also has some grass in front and a different colorway on the pine trees to the sides. At this point, I thought I was getting somewhere. It just needed a bit more sky. This is how it's all sitting, on the sewing table, even as I type. If I still like it when I start working on it again (which I hope will be over this weekend), then I'll start piecing a rectangle for each side. Once those are on, I'll probably put strips on each side of whatever width(s) might be needed to get each side of the cabin unit to a number of inches that's easily divisible. Since the plan is to do liberated log cabins and/or stars around the cabin unit, I need to know what size to make those blocks. Something evenly divisible by 3, I think, or, failing that, then 4.

The Creative Process, III

I let the quilt of the Norwegian mountain house sit for a while. I worked some on a jacket I'm knitting that will then be felted/fulled, but that deserves a post of its own. I've also been working a bit on a big project at work. And we had a state primary here last week which meant a very long day at the polls plus the day I took to recover. Finally, there's been the little matter of younger son's wrecking my car on election day. He's okay, and it was a single car accident. I'm still waiting to hear the verdict on the car; preliminary word was "borderline totaled." Yeah, that's another potential post.

Anyway, you can see the photo of the house I'm doing in fabric here. You can also see where I left off last time. Today's goal was to get the top little red part of the second story done. Last time, I did the bottom and sides, up to the top of the window unit. If I actually planned these things, I might have done this differently and ended up with something that looked a bit more realistic. But in the vein of liberated quiltmaking, I am not doing a perfect replica of the cabin, just something recognizable. Here's where I started today. The two pieces of red strips at the top will be the sides of the roof unit. The white strip will be the white roof edge. I sewed a diagonal seam and then trimmed it. If you're not a quilter, the item on the right that looks something like a pizza cutter is a rotary cutter. It's wickedly sharp but can precisely cut through multiple layers of fabric, using the ruler that's shown as a guide.

The next challenge was to get the blue sky and black roof section on each side with the lines of the roof lining up on each side. I don't have any photos because I sort of winged this. I sewed a strip of the sky to a strip of the roof and then laid the first red and white unit down in a position I thought would work. I basted the seam and checked. It looked good, so I sewed the seam tightly. Then I repeated the procedure on the other side and hoped for the best. I must have done something right, because it looked okay when I sewed the two halves together and then sewed the top to the bottom, window piece. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Of course, this shot shows how I could or should have done things differently. Note that I didn't take the white out far enough on the left side to match the right. And even if I had, I would have had to add the black roof unit by sort of insetting it, not necessarily an easy thing. The alternative? Slice off the roof edges to make the piece into a nice rectangle. Here's what it looks like sitting on top of the black batik I'm using for the roof. I'll figure out in my next session whether to extend the white trim edges and how to add the chimney to one side. Looking at it here, I'm thinking that I should extend the white edges; the trick will be matching things on each side, though if they're only off a little it might actually add to the character of the representation.

If you've been keeping track of the music I've cited in each of my other posts about this quilt, today's soundtrack was three Josh Groban CDs set on shuffle on my Mac. I'm saving raucous, more lively music for when the cabin unit is done, and I'm doing the more free-form blocks that will go around it. Depending on the status of the work project, I may do some more work on this tomorrow. Whether I'll get a report posted here would be another matter. I'm only still up tonight because I'm watching UVa play Arkansas in the College World Series. It's the bottom of the 12th inning right now, and if UVa doesn't stop squandering chances to win, I may have to abandon them. My school spirit (I went to grad school at UVa) only goes so far (and extends only to the non-marquee sports). Of course, since Arkansas just went ahead by one run, UVa, which hasn't been able to score one run in several innings, now has to score two. Oh well.

As if I needed another hobby ...

Look3, the third annual Festival of the Photograph, is going on here right now. It's a pretty amazing event that I haven't really taken part in before. Actually, I'm not really taking part in it in a big way this year, but if there's a Look4 next year, I just might. Today I took in one exhibit, World Press Photo '09. World Press Photo is an independent nonprofit supporting and promoting the work of professional press photographers. For 2009, 5,508 photographers from 124 countries entered a total of 96,268 images. The exhibit is of the 200 winning pictures in 10 theme categories such as nature photography, sports news, etc. I was blown away by the exhibit. There were several images, one in particular of a soldier with the most penetrating stare, that kept calling me back for one more look.

There is another exhibit called YourSpace to which anyone can submit a photo to be professionally printed by Canon and then put on exhibit. You don't need to be registered for the festival to take advantage of this, so I took a photo in today. Had I known that the limit for non-festival folks was one photo per day rather than one for the whole festival, I'd have taken another one in yesterday. As it is, I'll try to get another one printed tomorrow. The range of works displayed in the YourSpace exhibit is pretty amazing. Some are by professional photographers. Others are by very serious amateurs. A few are by people like me. I must admit that I got a bit of a rush seeing my photo hanging up there with the others. It almost looked as if it belonged.

So what photo did I take in? Readers of my Sail A-Hue, my trip blog, might think it was the photo that I said blew me away when I first saw it. It wasn't because there was a photo I took later that, like the one of the soldier I mentioned above, has continued to call me back to it. Interestingly, it was not one I put up on Sail A-Hue since the posts at the end were sort of rushed. It was one of the first shots I took early one morning in Trondheim, Norway, as we walked around the harbor area. Seeing the photo last night, the husband commented that it showed the color of Norway (many of the houses are the shade of red shown in the photo) as well as the darkness. That's an interesting interpretation, but I don't know if that's why I keep going back to the photo. You tell me. As for the title of this post, I must admit to several moments of thinking that I really should get back to taking photography seriously, working at the shots I take both before, in terms of conscious thought about the composition, lighting, etc., and after, in terms of touching up things like the slight angle the photo above is off by. But do I really need another hobby that can require nontrivial amounts of time and money? Probably not, but then that hasn't necessarily stopped me in the past. I'll just have to wait and see if the urge passes or persists, and then take it from there.