October Take It Further Challenge

I'm really behind on my Take It Further Challenge quilts. October and November aren't started, December is fast approaching, you get the idea.

So, I'm putting the quilt I just finished into its third use, and it's not so much of a stretch. (You can see it in yesterday's post.) The October challenge is thinking about your workspace, how you feel about it and what role it plays in your life.

My studio is a place of learning and surprises. Where things happen because they just feel right. Where I've learned to use my intuition and to listen to what the quilt is telling me. Usually if I make a quilt that requires this kind of time I’d use my own hand-dyed fabrics, but this time I just wanted commercial fabrics, maybe because I wasn’t sure how all this would turn out, maybe because I got my head turned by the colors in the display just inside the store's front door, maybe because my life was just so darn busy. I went back to the store three times because I wasn’t happy with the mix.

One of the really nice features of this quilt is the dark green with its pale stripe. I didn’t plan it that way, really it was just the right color and was on sale. But sitting way back and looking at the quilt it’s the green with its stripe that stands out. It's what gets noticed first. Totally unplanned and a great surprise – if I could have found another fabric in that color it wouldn’t be there.

My studio is a place where I can try new things, where I can incorporate traditional ways of doing things with new technology and tools. I love that. Using machine embroidery in quilts is still in the new stages. The 30-weight thread, now available in luscious colors, and the candlewicking foot that allows thick stitches are things that weren’t in my studio a few months ago.

My studio is a place where I learn things I could have learned before, just didn’t, and I love that, too. When I got my first computerized machine several years ago it was important to me that it have a quilting stitch that looked pretty much like hand quilting. I tried it out but never really used it until now. The invisible thread I used is so much smoother than what I tried back then.

Plastic templates have been around forever, just not in my studio, and I used them for the side design. I'd never used the 1/4" piecing foot before, and it's sweet and was in the tray all this time.

My studio is a place where things wait, sometimes. This quilt, already started, waited patiently through Halloween costumes, the Dorothy jumper, a couple of other pretty little jumpers, playing with Halloween and Thanksgiving embroidery, some alterations. Sometimes that happens, and I've learned to be patient. Sometimes I put something aside and am surprised when I pull it out years later.

The role my studio plays in my life is large. One of the first things I do each day is visit there, look at what's ongoing, what plans I could be thinking about as I do other things. Sometimes, as with this quilt, I think about what isn't working quite right or what technique I'll be doing that's new and how I'll approach that. My studio is my look at the past and my hopes for the future.