A New Year!

It's already January 10th and I'm just now getting around to writing my monthend (December) blog and wishing you a happy and productive New Year! Of course, I intend to cheat and back date this to January 1...don't you just love technology? Well, I didn't expect much (in the way of quilting) in December and I managed to exceed my expectations. I did longarm one quilt, but wouldn't have done that if it weren't for Lauren forcing me out of the house and down to the studio to quilt her friend Torrie's graduation/Christmas quilt. I'd been uninspired, disspirited, and in a "creative funk" much of November and that didn't change in December. Torrie's quilt turned out well (still waiting for a picture), but it was an effort. That was it for me for 2012. I've not been back to the studio since mid-December and not taken a single stitch in over a month! However, that's about to change...

I bought a journal last week (the sort with empty pages...40 to be exact) and am going to attack the first page this afternoon. I've gathered most of my art supplies (colored pencils, pastels, watercolors, snippets of fabric, etc.) and plan to just play a little each day. I have a plan for my first page (that blank white page is so scary...yikes!); it will be colored with a wash of my favorite watercolors and then the words JUST DO IT! will be written in some crazy font that I create. Maybe a style that mimics graffiti (I've ordered a book on graffiti, but there's a 3-month wait...I guess other people like it too). Each day that I play in my journal, I'll start by reading those words. In fact, I think I'll add the words JUST PLAY and BE FREE to it. It's been a long time since I  felt the freedom to be free and play around with art supplies, including fabric. I always seem to feel that I've got to create a masterpiece and when that doesn't happen, I'm ashamed and disappointed. I'm going to approach this journal with a new attitude. It will be my playground. For my eyes only. No critiquing and no criticizing. A place to have fun and experiment. Success will not be determined by the quality of my creative doodlings, but instead by the growth I see in myself from page 1 to page 40...my goal is to loosen up and just do it! 

I also plan to begin a fabric journal. I'm going to go back through the dog-eared pages of my 10+ years of Quilting Arts and Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazines and try a few new techniques. Several new techniques! When I've created a nice stack of mini-quilts, I'll bind them together to complete my fabric journal. Just talking about this rekindles my enthusiasm. I can't wait! Right now I'm feeling like I could complete several fabric journals this year. Once I've worked my way through the magazines articles, I'll start on my collection of books. I've got four large shelves of quilting and art books...rather than over-ambitiously planning to quilt/draw/paint my way through all of them, I'll begin with my favorites. Maybe Jean Wells' latest book would be a good start.

Then there's workshops...I just received an email yesterday about two workshops offered this year in Sutter Creek. Another Patt Blair weekend painting animals on fabric and a Lura Schmidt Smith workshop on painting portraits on fabric. Wow! I wasted no time...told Verne that's all I want for my birthday and we mailed the checks today! I can hardly contain my enthusisam!!! 

It's January. Cold, wet, and wintery. The studio has got to be in the 40's...but, I'm going to JUST DO IT and not let a little cold weather be a deterrent any longer...my muse is back and we're not going to waste another day!