Hello everyone. Here is my entry for “Moment”. The assignment… to capture a moment, and enhance the photo with blur or motion. I think the photo is pretty cool. I am pleased with the location, which is the auto parts store along the highway in our town. I did enhance the color vibrance with photoshop a bit to give it an ethereal vibe.
Have a creative day!
Fellow Quilter,
Brian
Hello everyone. Today’s photo blogging prompt… “Architecture”. Well, that was an easy target. Joe and I love our 95 year-old craftsman bungalow. We are only the third owners of this grand home, and it’s beautiful inside, and out. I could have shown you photos of the original woodwork inside. Mrs. Groves had the foresight to apply 15 coats of varnish to the trim and doors, so aside from a few minor dings, they are as perfect as they were back in 1919.
I chose to go outside. It’s been pretty cold here, but today is a bit of a break from that. I took several totes of recycling to the local center, and I shot 38 photos of our home, all in black and white. (a suggestion from the photo blogging assignment team)
I chose two images. One for the literalists, and one is a bit more abstract thinking.
Let me know in the comments which image you like better.
Have a creative day!
Fellow Quilter,
Brian
Hello everyone. Today’s photo blogging assignment was warmth. Yeah, right!!! We have been breaking record low temperatures here in Colorado from over 100 years ago. But… I could have done the obvious, shown you some quilts. However, the assignment parameters were to use the sun as a light source.
I love the way the sun comes in through the shutters in our library. I decided to warm up with some scotch whiskey. Well, I will later, after work… A nearby Scotland travel book and a large volume of “Thoughts” was a great pedestal, to get my glass positioned in the sunlight just how I envisioned. You can’t really move the sun, you know. I just love the way the glass of scotch is the shining focal point of this image. Everything else is a supporting player.
The lamp and the small orchid plant filled the corners of the shot, and I think it came out pretty nice. Let me know what you think. Or what you drink, if you’re so inclined. I’m actually more of a Gin connoisseur myself. The old bottle of scotch was a gift from a recently departed friend. I don’t think she was a scotch drinker either, because the bottle is super old.
Well, enough for now. I hope you can enjoy some warmth for yourself.
From Freezing Colorado,
Fellow Quilter,
Brian
Hello everyone. One of the great things about blogging is to engage with other bloggers. I’ve been checking out some great photos and also some cool writers blogs. One such blogger posted a really neat close up photo of a piano. More specifically the insides of a piano. You can find the photos at https://wordpress.com/read/post/id/36807166/103/
What caught my attention was the way the light played across the different parts. The strings, the pins, and the felt all had different reaction to the light.
We should translate these ideas into our quilt projects. How is the light going to bounce across the patches? How does it look up close? Is it dynamic when viewed from a distance? Don’t be afraid to think about these types of questions. There isn’t usually a right/wrong idea. Develop your own eye for what looks good to you. Your admirers will take notice.
I decided to add a little poll for my readers. I’ll keep track, and I’ll update the results in a future post. Click here to take my 30-second poll.
I hope this journey is inspiring to you. Thanks again to GrayDaysAndCoffee for inspiring me.
Have a great day!
Fellow Quilter,
Brian
Hello Everyone. Today’s photo challenge is “The Natural World”. And my world today is freezing cold. I grabbed this photo of frost on the window in my quilt studio. The darkness you see in the back are the trees off in the distance. I just love the intricacy of lines and patterns in the image. It’s also very cool, how the leading edge seems to be in a curve each time.
Enjoy the cold…
Be creative today,
Fellow Quilter,
Brian
Today’s photo blogging assignment is “Solitude”. I love this photo that I took this summer of my husband, Joe. He loves being by the ocean… and I love getting photos of him looking out to sea.
Enjoy some solitude. I will be sewing some more blocks today. As you know, that is my solitude.
Happy quilting,
Fellow Quilter,
Brian
Hello everyone.
Today I’m blogging about “Bliss”. As you know, my primary creative outlet is quiltmaking. I love sharing my inspiration, and progress with you. By posting these entries, I hope that you find ideas that move you to be more creative.
Although, I post a lot about quilts and quilting, I also dabble in many other arts. Of course photography is a great hobby, and I think I’m getting better and better. The daily photo blog group this month is pushing me to new ideas. I also play around with scrapbooking supplies once in a while, and have a neat stash of paper, stamps, punches and embellishments tucked away in my studio drawers.
But… quilting is my passion. I love looking at new books and magazines, and I have had many terrific shopping excursions. Oh boy, have I shopped. My fabric drawers have been so full, that they could no longer contain my fabric stash.
I decided earlier this fall to create some wonderful scrap quilts to utilize some of my stash. I’m making four bed-size quilts to be gifted to some wonderful people in my life. I don’t want to name names, since it will be a surprise.
I cut up about 80 yards of fabric into 2.5″ strips, of all colors and patterns. This will yield 400 blocks, or enough for 4 king-size quilt tops. Now, all of my fabric stash in nicely contained in my drawers. I can walk around the studio, and I’ve got space on my cutting table to spread out and work.
I’ve sewn and sewn… and I now have 80 blocks completed. That’s 20% of the total. The process to me is full of bliss. I listen to music or watch shows on my DVR. Well, actually, I’m “listening” to shows. My TV is behind me, so I don’t really see the screen.
So, I bet you’re wondering what these quilts will look like. Of course they are scrappy, so no two are alike, but here is a link to the free pattern from Bonnie K. Hunter. There you will also find a treasure trove of quilting inspiration. Go have a look for yourself.
The music I tend to listen to is all different types. We have a wonderful concert series in Wray, at a place called the Listening Room at 4th & Main. Just last night was a superb concert by Rita Hosking. Here is a sample of her music.
My photo today is a quick shot of the 80 blocks completed so far. I figure it will take me at least 40 more blissful hours to complete the rest… Oh happy me!
Have a great day,
Fellow Quilter,
Brian
So… I guess I read the wrong prompt for today’s assignment. The second-hand story was a daily writing prompt, not the blogging 101 assignment.
The assignment was actually “write and publish a “who I am and why I’m here” post.”
First of all, I am a good student, so I’m going to correct my mistake.My name is Brian Clements from Wray, Colorado. I am a quilt artist, who does some long-arm machine quilting for customers, as well as makes quilts for my own personal use. I’ve been quilting since I happened to watch a show on PBS in 1989.
At the time, I lived in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was always good at math and geometry in school. I’m good at solving puzzles, and I’m a logical thinker. The Double Irish Chain quilt being shown on Kaye Wood’s show, seemed like something I could figure out. I hit the local big-box fabric store, and purchased black, grey and white fabrics. Color wasn’t always my forte. The black fabric I chose, was from the special occasions area. A nice shiny moire taffeta. Now, if you’ve sewed much… you already know that wasn’t the best choice for a beginning project. The fabric had no give or stretch to the weave, and the fabric squares I cut, were quick to begin to ravel.
Well, I finished the quilt piecing, and I “tied” my quilt sandwich, by bar-tacking satin ribbon about every six inches. I then tied the ribbons into nifty little bows. This quilt was destined to be a wedding gift for my Brother and Sister-in-law’s upcoming wedding. The quilt was finished on schedule, and gifted. They used the quilt for a long time, and it has held up remarkably well. The ribbons are pretty tattered now. Their cat found them irresistible.
From that humble beginning was born a love of fabric and quilts. I have progressed, and learned so many things about the craft. I’ve also learned quite a bit about myself, too. I have used my journey in quilting, to create beautiful art, using techniques that come from my logical ways. It’s opened my eyes to beauty and design, that I did not notice in my early years.
I’ve made countless friendships through quilting. Some are near, some very far. I’ve become much more confident in my abilities, and I’ve enjoyed sharing my talents with others.
Since moving to Wray, Colorado 18 years ago, I’ve really honed my craft. I have a wonderful husband who supports my creativity, nudging me into the sewing room on occasion. We joke about this, but it’s true… when I’m down, sewing is a reliable way to bring things up.
I started my blog a few years ago, as a means to share my ideas and inspiration with a new community of online artists, Also, current and future customers can find my information here. In reality, it’s pretty simple to blog, yet I seem to go in spurts. My good intentions get caught up in thoughts of “what should I write” or “how do I keep it fun”, so I’m here in Blogging 101 with hopes of finding ideas to keep the blog flowing.
Thanks for reading my intro, and I hope you find something enjoyable on my pages. I always love when people follow the blog, and or leave me comments. Thanks for reading all of this. Have a great day!
Fellow Quilter,
Brian
Hello Everyone.
To coincide with my Photo blogging project, I have also signed up for a daily blogging project. Today’s prompt was to tell a second-hand story.
As a professional long-arm quilter, I hear stories all the time. I hear about the journey that the quilt-maker has undertaken to produce the quilt top in front of me. I hear about quilt classes and retreats. I hear about wonderful shopping trips to quilt stores, large and small. I am told about family and friends, celebrations and trials.
One of my clients, named Karen tells some great stories with her quilts. She has made four of these quilts so far. The story goes as such.
She inherited her mother’s fabric stash, and as a sewer herself, Karen had accumulated quite a collection of scraps herself. These scraps are dated from the 1930’s to today, and are everything from scraps from clothing projects, quilt fabrics, recycled clothing and draperies, and t-shirt logos.
The process is pretty straight forward. Karen cuts the fabrics into equal sized squares. I believe hers were about 4 inches square. Mind you… you fit a lot of various fabrics that size into a king-size quilt. These fabrics all have meaning to Karen and her three sons, who each now have a quilt of memories.
I only got a brief story about the fabrics in general, but as I quilted each quilt, I could imagine a few generations of life through their energy. I could tell that this square was likely a curtain at one time. Oh, this was surely a kids shirt in the 1980’s. I love the pattern on that… it must have been popular in the 1950’s. Some squares were more obvious. There were patches cut from old family reunion t-shirts. There were sports team logos, and cartoon characters.
It was so much fun to “read” the stories presented in these quilt tops. I am a lucky artist indeed.
Have a great day!
Fellow Quilter,
Brian
Fellow Quilter 