A short while ago, I was able to share the finished results of my most recent “big” (36 x 48 inches) quilt, a portrait of my son Joshua.  I love seeing quilts come to life, and watch the creation process when other folks make things, so I thought I’d share how this one came together.

First, several months before I finally got to cut fabric, I took photos of Joshua playing guitar (after asking nicely for a few weeks, I finally pinned him down one evening).  Sitting on the floor to get a not-the-usual angle, I took about 60 or 70 snapshots, many of which I was able to rule out immediately (mostly due to closed eyes, mouth hanging open, blurry fingers).  I narrowed it down to three:  one for the position of his head (mouth closed, eyes open–on the right, below), another for the position of his hands and body (on the left), and a third for some extra details on the room.

Then, I fiddled around in Photoshop to come up with a line drawing.

I sized this so that it would fit four times on a piece of paper and did what is called a value study.  I learned about this from an online educational resource (pay to play–thanks Deirdre for sharing this one with me!), www.artworkshops.tv , an online tv/classroom site.  I watched the video by Polly Hammett on Design with the Figure.  One of the things she showed was doing quick thumbnails (quickie outlines) of her intended composition, then using ONLY black and white, blocking out what would be light and what would be dark.  By using only black and white, you get immediate, stark visuals on the shapes and negative spaces (the shapes between), which gives you an idea how the composition will work.

This exercise was INVALUABLE!   Since I never went to art school (last class was my one and only year in art in high school), I’d never heard of this, though it is probably a basic! Here is a snapshot of the value sketches I did, except I “cheated” took a shortcut by using the Photoshop Elements outline.  The two on the far right are the “blanks.”  The one I ended up using is the bottom row, third over:  Joshua’s face and arms are light, the background is deep dark, the guitar medium in value (again, I fudged a bit on the black-white only and expanded it to include a gray).  PS–this one photo is clickable for a larger view:

This helped me decide on my colors.  I knew that I wanted Joshua to be the focal point, with his guitar as the secondary focal point.  That meant if Joshua’s skin was to be light, the wall needed to be dark, not the celery green it really is.  If you look again at the value studies, you can see how much more his face pops when it is against something super dark, not just “gray” or medium value.  I also darkened up the dresser, bedding, and eliminated details (posters, books on dresser, clutter!) to make my life easier and to make the composition more focused.

Next, I used my laptop, hooked up to my digital projector, to project the main photo onto the design wall, where I had taped up paper (medical exam table paper, long, cheap, taped together–bought a roll from my doctor for $5 and it is 3+ years old and still plenty left) and traced out the outlines.  Here’s a photo of the drawing on the design wall with preliminary fabric ideas pinned to it:

Next, I’ll show how and where I chose to begin…the hardest part first!

PS:  Norma asked what process I used in Photoshop Elements.  I’ve tried to duplicate it and I THINK this is what I did:

I think I converted it to grayscale first; Go to Image, then Mode, then click on Grayscale.

Then,  under Filters/Sketch/Stamp, click on stamp and adjust the light/dark slider to about 2… I think.

I just tried to re-do this, and that is as close as I can get.  Shoulda taken notes!

Who says Washington, DC and the rest of the National Capitol Area don’t have a sense of whimsy?

Yes, it is that time of year again, the Peeps contest at the Washington Post!  This is as fun as the “alternative definitions” contest that comes in the doldrums of summer.   If you want to fritter a bit of time away enjoying creativity with peeps (those sticky marshmallowy Easter candies shaped like peeps (baby chicks), bunnies and whatnot), visit here:

Washington Post slide show of 2010 Peeps Show

and for the related article, click here.

Now…back to prepping for next week’s teaching trip…more quilty stuff soon…I hope!

Those of you who live in the US probably heard about the torrential rains in the Northeast last weekend (and how different from the glorious, summery day yesterday!)–Rhode Island had serious flooding.  It wasn’t as dire up here, but we sure had some serious rushing water!  That meant everyone in love with their camera, including me, was out taking pictures.  Here is where the (relatively small) Megunticook River was roaring down the falls into Camden Harbor:

I was so pleased at my camera’s ability to capture the drops of spray:

The docks are still out of the water from winter, so snapped a few abstracts, too:

And then upriver, by the old mill complex….  After the woolen industry tanked up here in Maine, there were abandoned mill buildings across the state.  Some have been converted into artists studios, commercials spaces, and business depending on the town.  The credit card conglomerate MBNA (which got gobbled up by Bank of America a number of years ago) was actually based here in Camden, and they did a beautiful renovation of the buildings, including adding this footbridge from one building to another over a small falls on the way into downtown.  The bridge I stood on (for cars) is on Knowlton Street, just down from the middle school:

I tried and for the first time on digital (as opposed to film) camera, was able to capture the feel of rushing water.

The ones where you can see every detail were shot at either 1/500 or 1/1000 of a second shutter speed.  The ones where the trees are in focus but the water is racing past were shot at either 1/40 or 1/20 of a second (camera propped on railing in lieu of a tripod).  I love seeing the difference and feeling the speed of the river:

WOWIE ZOWIE!  See these?

Those are probably my two favorite magazines in quilting, ever:  Quilter’s Newsletter and Quilting Arts. And they BOTH gave my book great reviews!

When I first found quilting in 1988, I found Quilters Newsletter Magazine shortly thereafter.  I promptly subscribed, and ordered every back issue I could get, and have read ever issue since cover to cover.  That is 1984 to 2010 and still going.

Back in 2001, I went into the grocery store in Friday Harbor (San Juan Island, Wash., where I used to live) and discovered the second issue of Quilting Arts magazine.  I went home, called the phone number, ended up speaking with the editor Pokey Bolton (and discovered we both went to San Domenico School, albeit about 14 years apart, when we were kids) and subscribed.  I have read every issue of that one cover to cover.

Whooda thunk it…. BOTH my favorite magazines have not only reviewed my book, ThreadWork Unraveled, but given it GREAT reviews.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

In Quilters’ Newsletter (April 2010 issue), there is a four-page article on Staff Picks…and guess what number ONE is?  MY BOOK!

Here’s a closer picture:

To say that I am dancing a major Snoopy Dance understates things in such a major way!

And here’s p. 82, the Book Review section in Quilting Arts magazine, April/May 2010 issue:

And again, a closer view:

It is so wonderful when you worked hard to do your best, and then have others think you’ve done well.  Thanks so much… and Pippa, the managing editor of Quilting Arts, said the nicest thing… that I am at my best when encouraging others:  “the book’s most inspirational sections encourage quilters to use a needle and thread as they would a paintbrush and paint, creating fine nuances of shading and detail that can’t be captured solely with cloth.  Her advice ranges from the technical to the theoretical as she guides the reader through design considerations such as light source and coloring.  Five stitching projects are included, but Smith encourages quilters to experiment,”  Wearing my teacher hat, it doesn’t get much better than that!
WOOOOHOOOOOO….that shaking in the upper Northeast is not an earthquake, that’s me Snoopy Dancing and being happy all over again!

It has been a busy week, plus I was down and out with a miserable cold (that still lingers…not bad, just annoying in that it is keeping me from going full tilt).  The loveliest part of the week was the morning of our 27th anniversary.  I came down to make breakfast and get the tea kettle boiling, and found this:

Our anniversary dinner?  Spaghetti and meat sauce–carb loading, easy and fast–getting Eli and the rest of us packed and ready to head out the next day for more wrestling.

Then Saturday was State Wrestling tournament for Eli.   Fortunately, it was only an 80 minute drive away…some years it is held in the western part of the state (alternates year to year) and is 2-3 hours away…ugh!  Anyway, it was a challenging meet.  Eli may be in the most competitive weight class in the state—the top four kids (he was seeded 6th in the state) are all of a caliber that they could place in the top four in all-New-England tournaments.  In his first match, Eli went up against the kid who was seeded first, ended up being state champion in the weight class, and the State Tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler…that is for ALL weight classes, all middle school ages, voted by the coaches of the teams.  Here is Eli (in the red singler) doing his best to fight off the pin–none of us parents could figure out he could arch like that for so long and fight off such a strong opponent:

But he succumbed.  The 8th grade girl who beat him in his second match was good, and here they are grappling it out:

Our team didn’t fare so well, but they made it to states and tried their best.  So now, off to learn more in the coming year, come back next year (alas, all but the girl in Eli’s weight class will be back for another year in middle school!), and try again.  Good job to one and all.
Saturday morning, tho, was one of those mornings where EVERYTHING went wrong.  Discovered that Joshua’s amp had fallen over in the back of my car and cracked the inside back of the tailgate–my brand new beautiful car.  SOB.  It was really cold (high of 31) and the dog needed to stay in the garage as he would otherwise pee and poop in the house during the l ong day, so I took the plug-in radiator to the garage.  When I picked it up, the lip that I grabbed turned out to be a pull out handle, so the whole thing slipped and damaged the base/wheel.  Then the electric kettle I use about five times a day decided to die.  Then the older one was being a typical uncooperative teen and arguing, etc.  I had a meltdown before 8 a.m.  NOT a fun way to start the day.  Fortunately, despite the wrestling team losses, the rest of the day wasn’t awful.  So Sunday I read another Stephanie Plum mystery and hoped my cold would go away.  Soon.  More anon! This week can’t be worse, so it WILL be better.  And I WILL get prepped for teaching in Arizona in two (SHRIEK) weeks….