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Rethinking Metallic Thread

While I was vending in Athens, Ohio recently, I had a chance to try a new embellishment technique from Kreinik Threads: iron-on metallic thread.  The company had several make-it stations, and I opted for the greeting card:

The iron-on threads are available in a flat 1/8″ ribbon and #16 braid.  They adhered quickly to the coated paper, making tight corners was a little tricky, but possible with patience.  While showing off my simple card to my mother (who happens to be an important sewing advisor and art critic to me), we had a discussion about the possibility of iron-on thread being a bit of cheating, or at best a cheap shortcut.  My immediate response was, “how often do you sew with metallic thread, and do you enjoy it?”  We both agreed that we hardly ever use metallic thread by hand or by machine, mainly because it is difficult to work with.  I have found metallic thread to be unruly, nearly impossible to put through a needle, and it shreds easily.  With this new way of working with metallic thread, think of it as another embellishing tool, not a sewing thread.  The shimmer would add much interest to some art collages, a little goes a long way.

This new metallic thread option still has some drawbacks.  The mini tacking irons that I used in the workshop were a little dangerous, and I really have doubts about the Teflon press cloth stuck to the irons.  Hot Teflon is nasty stuff, and combined with the melting synthetic fibers, there was a noxious odor in the workshop space all weekend.  I’m searching for a safer tacking iron, and I hope to find a way to use these threads with parchment paper to reduce my exposure to the chemicals.  Of course, I will post about my quest here in the upcoming weeks.

Meanwhile, I normally avoid current events and social commentary, but on this 18th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, I have a simple request.  Next time that you have the chance, please thank your local first responders – police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians.  A few words of appreciation means a lot to them.  And of course, our military members, current and past.

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Travel Journal – Athens, Ohio

Over the weekend, I swapped my home base rolling Appalachian hills for another set of rolling Appalachian hills – those of Athens, Ohio.  Thanks to the presence of Ohio University, Athens has the atmosphere of a funky, revitalized old-neighborhood section of a major city.  I was fortunate to be a vendor at the first Quilt Fest at the Dairy Barn Arts Center.  Welcome to all of those who shopped my booth!

I love the Dairy Barn not only because it is a novel reuse of an old building, but also because it is just beautiful.  Much of the original brick paving is intact on the lane leading to the barn and around the structure.

I’m envisioning a series exploring a single print design on rectangles of  fabric in various shades of one color.  I’ve said it before, I can find inspiration in almost anything, even a brick road.

The Dairy Barn was part of the Athens State Hospital, the full history can be found here.  There is a graveyard atop a nearby hill were patients are buried.  I took a walk there, climbing 89 steps (give or take a few) to the top of the hill.  Cicadas and crickets sang a constant chorus, and a gentle breeze revived me as I reached the top.  I actually enjoy exploring old cemeteries, and I always wonder about the lives of the individuals as I read the names on the gravestones.  In this case, the mysteries are even deeper, considering the unifying tie that bound all of the graves there.

Getting back to the present, I’d like to recommend a few places to eat in Athens, should you venture there to visit: Avalanche Pizza, Purple Chopstix and Fluff Bakery.  I anticipate returning in future for future editions of Quilt National, and hopefully, teaching some classes soon.

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Last Days of the ICAD Challenge

Late again, thanks to quilt show preparations.  Here are my last few cards from the index-card-a-day challenge:

The prompts were: kite, lime green, skee ball, accordion and symphony.  Here are a couple of individual views of my accordion card:

Since I have a strong interest in art book making, I opted to make a couple of quick accordion fold “books” that I covered in bits of leftovers from this and other projects.  Being a librarian/archivist by education, I would love to explore the book as an art form – writing, illustrating and binding one-of-a-kind volumes that are completely my own creation, no altered books here!

Next week: some more discussion of individual cards from ICAD, wrap-up of the Athens, Ohio Quilt Fest, and will I get a Thursday post out on time?

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ICAD Week 8

I just realized that I did not finish posting here about my participation in the 2019 index-card-a-day challenge.  The good news is, yes, I made an index card for all 61 prompts!  I’ll admit, I did not finish everything by July 31, the official end of the challenge, and of course I am even later in posting about it!  Here are the cards from week 8:

The prompts were: escape, number, friendship, note to self, shadow, pendulum and spin.  I will post the final five cards from the challenge on Thursday, and I want to take an in-depth look at a few individual cards in the next few weeks.  My next goal is to make the cards that I did not complete from the last two years of the challenge, at a leisurely pace.  I need to make my art quilts a priority now, along with another long neglected daily creative project.

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Seven Days

I was going to write about something else today, but while I was in and out of the kitchen and porch grilling dinner, I found this lovely creature:

It is a Luna moth.  I have only seen one other Luna moth, also where I live, a couple of years ago.  The one I found today was clinging to the doorjamb of my porch door.  Since I am short, I almost missed seeing it.  While my dinner cooked, I watched the motionless moth, taking in the rare sight for as long as I could.  These moths are not considered rare, but they are not always observed as they are nocturnal and only live for about seven days (more information here).

This evening I have been pondering measuring progress in seven day increments, one week to us, but an entire lifetime for the Luna moth.  I caught myself feeling bad about all the times this past week that I goofed off instead of stitching, writing, drawing or being otherwise creatively productive.  Over the past year, a few things have happened that reminded me of how short of a time we are here, and as a result, I have been more aware of how much time I waste in a day.  I still struggle with time management, and it is easy to get overwhelmed by balancing things I want to do with the things I have to do ASAP.  I know I am not the only one with these issues!

Finding the Luna moth today reminds me not to dwell on what I haven’t done, but celebrate what I have done, and to look ahead seven days to what I can try to accomplish.  I am going to head downstairs to see if my little moth is still on the porch, and look for some fabric to match that delicate celadon color.  I won’t spend too much time looking for the fabric, I have some older projects that I want to stitch.  How much will I get done in the next seven days?