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Creative Play Date Week – Day 2

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You read about the day I had on Monday so it won’t surprise you that Tuesday morning I was a little tired sitting down for Creative Play. I didn’t create any masterpieces on Tuesday either, but that’s not really the point.

One of my experiments for this week is to see if 15 minutes of Creative Play at the beginning of studio time can replace Morning Pages as a way to get in the zone. I find my Morning Pages generally involve 3 pages of me whining and complaining and while I think that the premise that I am getting all of that out of my head makes logical sense, in practice, it means that I start my day off discouraged. During Tuesday’s Creative Play, I realized that there really wasn’t a lot going on in my head or if there was, I wasn’t paying any attention to it. So, I guess that’s a good thing. There’s no question that starting my day off with something creative, rather than checking my email or something like that, gets my day off right.

What I did on Tuesday was look through a magazine for a phrase or colors that spoke to me. I found this page that I had already torn out of an Architectural Digest article about Josef Frank. (Home magazines are such a great place for color inspiration.)

Architectural Digest, 2017

And, here’s what I did. This went right into the recycle bin after posting, but like Monday’s coloring book work, it gave me 15 minutes of peace and that’s what really matters.

 

On the Auction Block – Urban Baby Quilt

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Not all parents want pastel baby quilts, which is why I made this one. I’ts a simple, modern style quilt in earth tone browns and spring greens with straight line quilting and a striped binding. All cotton materials and machine washable.

I am running auctions that start each Monday morning. If you’d like an email reminder when the auctions begin, sign up here.

Start Your Bidding!

baby quilt, brown and spring green stripes

On the Auction Block – Quilted Book/ Journal Cover

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This handmade book or journal cover can be used with any book 5.5″ x 8″ or smaller, just slip the front and back covers into the inside pockets. Comes with blank journal of lined pages.

I am running auctions that start each Monday morning. If you’d like an email reminder when the auctions begin, sign up here.

Start Your Bidding!

Julie Neu_quilted journal cover

On the Auction Block – Quilted Coasters

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Up for auction this week is a set of 4 quilted cotton coasters. I started making fabric coasters when my toddler started playing with the breakable ones I used to have. These can be tossed around the room without damaging anything. They can also be tossed in the washer if drinks spill on them or they become teething rings.

I am running auctions that start each Monday morning. If you’d like an email reminder when the auctions begin, sign up here.

Start Your Bidding!

Julie Neu, quilted fabric coasters

On the Auction Block – Quilted Napkin Rings

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Up for auction this week is a set of 8 quilted cotton napkin rings.  These are reversible with an interior fabric of blue flowers on a white background. What I love about these napkin rings is that they are also machine washable!

I am running auctions that start each Monday morning. If you’d like an email reminder when the auctions begin, sign up here.

Start Your Bidding!

Julie Neu, blue and yellow floral cotton napkin rings

 

On the Auction Block – Rainbow Strips

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As you read in my post on Thursday, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about art and commodity exchange and have decided to try an experiment. If my art is a gift and not a commodity, then I can’t put a price on it. So, I’m going to post one piece of art a week for a 72-hour auction on eBay. We’ll see what happens. Each piece goes on the block Monday at 9 AM ET. If you’d like a reminder email, you can sign up here.

The first piece, “Rainbow Strips” is up for auction now.

 

Coming Out of Hibernation

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The fourth quilt in my Arabesques series has been sleeping the winter away in a heap on my work table. (I last posted about finishing the top in June!) I’d done some basic quilting over the summer (?) in the fall (?)  but put it away after that. I knew that it needed more quilting, but I just had no idea what so it sat. . .and sat…and sat until yesterday. I can’t explain why yesterday was the day when inspiration finally struck, but it did. I drafted up two quilting designs, found that I even have the thread I need (It’s a miracle!), and am ready to get started quilting over the weekend. Here’s one of the designs:

Iznik tile quilting design for Arabesque quilt

I know that sometimes quilts need a little time. I wouldn’t have thought it needed all of the fall and winter, but it did. I also can’t explain why yesterday was the day the quilt finally decided it was ready to be finished, but the months of hibernation did give me some experience working with more complicated quilting designs and led me to the books where the design inspiration came from. I guess sometimes a little hibernation is just what it takes.

2016 Year in Review

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I’ve seen a few “Year in Review” blog posts lately and decided that it is a great idea.  I have long done that in my personal life and it seems like a good practice for my quilting work too so here goes:

  • One of my biggest quilting accomplishments this year has to be publishing “Ravaging Rio and the Ghost in the Library.” This project had been on my mind for years and this year, I finally finished all of the quilts for the pages, photographed them (learning how to take good photos of quilts in the process), and self-published the book. While a graphic designer and professional book publisher could have done more with it, there is nothing like having a book that you created in your hands and it was great to bring it to fruition.
  • I made 10 other quilts this year, in addition to the Rio ones. Most of them were wall hangings and many were created as small projects for the monthly BirdZeed challenges, but 10 completed projects is pretty exciting.
  • I also began publishing my Creative Play Newsletter this year, which has legitimized all of the time that I spend reading and thinking about creativity and has given me a good excuse to buy more books on the topic.
  • Lastly, I re-energized my teaching by participating in the New England Quilt Museum’s Meet the Teachers day in October. Self-promotion is not my strong suit, but I had a wonderful day meeting with guild reps and talking about the workshops that I offer. Actually enjoying that day reinforced for me that a quilting  career is indeed the right path because I’ve never had that much fun talking about consulting.

So, what’s up for 2017?  Well, 2017 represents my 20th year of quilting. I feel like I should have a celebration. I don’t know what that will be yet, but it gives me something to think about. Otherwise, here are my goals for the year:

  • I’m hoping that my sister finishes another Rio book and I can start working on some new illustrations.
  • I have several Arabesques quilts in mind so I would like to continue work on that series.
  • I would like to teach more locally and get back into teaching online. If you know of anyone looking for a quilting workshop, send them my way!