How long did it take to make?

Sometimes i take photos of various stages of making  a project . This is  probably due to my desire to see what i do from a distance and it helps when i am asked that most unanswerable question, the one most frequently asked  of " how long did it take?" straight  off i would have  say

 "i have no idea but i had a great time making this.". So if asked  i might  explain about the time before i begin , the lifetime of gathering information  to get to the place this  idea seed  popped up, and wool gathering , and  before i can get the concept what materials to gather to make this, the  redo when it goes arye, and how it changes as i work through the project

 and the problems i solve that i set in motion.... 

That might be too much info for folks. Thank you if you have read this far.

This week i am making some journal covers of paint, cloth and  thread. And imagination!!

i start with a plain vanilla cotton fabric, in this case a heavy cotton, and some fabric paints diluted slightly screen printing ink in squeeze bottles, oh and paint brushes.
after cloth is dry it is time to layer up a bat sandwich and

 

picking out threads i wish to use, takes a moment..

i call this free motion quilting  pattern 

"Pebbles in a stream, drifting"

after a song line in  "And this is my beloved" from Kismet

.

 after free motion  quilting  is done  and if i used different colors, 

i need to weave back the the tails of starts and stops, that is so much less fun than watching paint dry!

watching paint dry...........

inside of a journal, the lining 

Wa La!...probably could have googled  on

" How to make a journal cover to fit the composition book you just  bought."

instead of reinventing the wheel. 

So yes, stuff  takes time, Art takes longer.

From glimmer of  that idea seed to the time you can pick it up and turn it over in  your hand,

I still  think my best answer is

"It took all the time!"

 I'll be in my colorful booth # 88  near info tent
 at  

The Haleiwa Arts Festival

 July 13 and 14  10AM to 5PM  both days!

Be well, Sonja

circle revisited

"Circle Heat"  33''x 33'' 

by Sonja Hagemann  2013

 

I started this quilt with circles of color in mind.

 a shape that I return to time and time again, especially as  just finished one

 that was composed of many many squares. 

 I painted up a batch, perhaps a dozen circles, from center outwards on pieces of

fabric about 10 inches square.

 

 

 then I  sliced the  circles in half and rearranged them

 in a manner that pleased me

 

 

I played around with placement until I got a harmonious combo before joining blocks together.  this above photo also shows possible boarders and binding  materials.

 I have a flannel covered stretch canvas so I can place quilt parts on it  

and step away to see if  I like arrangement.

sometimes walking back into a room,  at glance I can tell  that I need to

 move things about or away.

 

 

I painted circles on the fabric that was to become the back of this quilt.
(more circles !)
this shows the free motion quilting  done on my Bernina 830 Record.

 

(Ruby is inspecting the Bernina and a painted fabric .)

 

this

shows both sides now with back flipped over onto front.

 I have  often thought of my quilts as two sided and for decades have painted or joined up orphaned blocks or a combination of  to create a backing.

Why not have the fun of  surprise and choice!

 

 

  the completed "Circle Heat" quilt.

It has been hot this summer/fall and my colors and quilting repeat those

waves of warmth.

 I hope you enjoyed my short version of my journey of composing a circle quilt,

surely it is not the last.
 

be well, Sonja

I am linking  this post up to ninamarie's off the wall Friday
gathering of art bloggers .
 

 http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/