CQ Journal Quilts 2019

Been catching up on my CQ Journal Quilts for September to December  and then looking through  my  blog posts realised I hadn't posted any of them here ( though I did post them on the dedicated albums on Facebook page ). Bad blogger ! 

The ' rules' this year  were A4 :with different patchwork/ sewing techniques Jan - April; alternative ' fabrics' eg paper May- August; different surface design techniques: Sep - Dec. I mainly repurposed old  or part started samples  

January 'Pebbles'  ( applique )   

February 'Spiral' ( logcabin) 

March 'Woodgrain' (chenille )

April ' Choppy Seas' ( pieced offcuts and trimmings )

May ' Meanwhile 1' ( Abaca tissue and paper) 

June ' Meanwhile 2' ( Abaca tissue and paper) 

July 'Frottage 1' ( Colourcatchers) 

August 'Frottage 2' ( Colourcatchers)

September 'Monoprint' 

October 'Iranian Door' ( printed photograph and monoprint) 

November 'Limpet Stack' ( appliqued photograph on fabric ) 

December ' Limpets: interiors/exteriors' ( appliqued photograph on fabric) 

Drawing Tuesday at Home

I reluctantly decided against   going to the National Maritime Museum  today to join the others  sketching - too long and awkward a journey at peak time.  However I was determined that I would do some drawing.   After the session   in the V&A  ceramics  collections, I had looked at the pottery I produced myself over 20 years ago in a new light.    Besides tiny thumb pots , I was obsessed with  coils and a luscious green glaze that produced varied  colours - they're a bit clunky  but  Ian likes them and they look good  from a distance on top of the bookshelves. From a sketching perspective I thought they would be an  interesting  challenge to try and  draw.

  2 hours passed very quickly ( it helped that the chair was comfortable and no craning of neck involved) . I can see now it's  not right ( I was so absorbed I didn't step back from it)  but there's areas I like . Next time I'd concentrate on a detail and pay more attention to the quality  and variation of the line.

 Sorting through books to pack, I came across my copy of  Elements of Drawing  by John Ruskin. I've  carried out some of the exercises in the past to improve observation,   so that even a simple pebble  can look monumental.  So I've decided  over the next few weeks to draw  some of the  small treasures I've collected over the years:  stones, shells, bits of glass and pottery,  the aim being to spend no longer than 30 minutes  on each.