likedislike

Famore Rotary Cutter Review on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Okay, so I don't like change. I know most people say that, but I really don't like change. Of course, this

translates into my quilting life as well. When I find a tool I like, I like it for life. That would be why I am using the same rulers (Quickline designed by Nancy Crow) as I did 30 years ago. Not to mention, I have my square rulers (Bias Square from the Patchwork Place) and rotary cutter by Kai. When they wear out, I just check on ebay for replacements.

That all said, I still keep my ...

added by Nina Marie 2 weeks, 5 days ago. under likedislike , off the wall fri , product review

6 Facts You Didn't Know about Dorothea Lange on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Dorothy's Lange

This week finds me traveling to Washington DC to visit the National Gallery. We love the National

Dorothea Lange, Formerly enslaved
woman, Alabama, 1938

Mall since we are kinda museum junkies. But we haven't been back since 2019 due to the dreaded plague. I keep an eye on the National Gallery's webpage and discovered that they are running a Dorothea Lange exhibit through March. So Paul is indulging me with a quick trip down to see it as well as the Mark Rothko exhibit and Masters of American Furniture, the Kaufman Collection (see a little ...

added by Nina Marie 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under art history , art show , factsyoudidn'tknow , likedislike , off the wall fri , vacations

The Changing World of Social Media on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

So this week, it was brought to my attention, how much social media has changed over the short life of the internet. In the late 90's, it wasn't unusual to connect with other quilters on different sites including www.quilt.com. There were also forums (Reddit type) where you could ask questions and form groups. I joined a quilt guild that was active but just virtually. At the time, it was all very new and

interesting. I also belonged to two email groups (one traditional - one art quilt-based) where you would start a topic and people would chime ...

added by Nina Marie 2 months, 4 weeks ago. under likedislike , off the wall fri , organizing , social media

Art Sketchbooks on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Okay, it's guilty pleasure confession time....One of my favorite things to do when I'm avoiding working in my studio is to look at videos and TikTok of other artists' sketchbooks. It all started with me looking at my daughter's best friend's TikTok page. Brittany is a trained artist and it's been fun to watch her develop into this amazing professional. Here is the one that started it all. She spent the year doing a lot of figure studies. That led to one of my favorite hashtags #sketchbooktour | TikTok where there are a ton of ...

added by Nina Marie 3 months, 4 weeks ago. under likedislike , off the wall fri , organizing , sketchbook

A Return to Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Women Ironing, 1884–86. Edgar Degas

First I want to say a big thank you for all the kind words I received over the last couple of months. This has been the first significant break I took from blogging and it was really needed. I've learned that my creative journey has had its ups and downs over the years, and it's okay. To quote my friend, Rhonda, just "Don't give up", So I'm not.

I'm officially back in my studio! It's funny to get back into your studio and think, "Okay, where was I ...

added by Nina Marie 4 months ago. under art history , art show , cma , likedislike , off the wall fri , to-do list

Sutton Foster on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center

We interrupt your regularly schedule programming to bring you something a bit different today. Anybody who is a regular reader will know that I am a firm believer in exposing oneself to all sorts of art and culture. My reasoning is that not only is it good for your own personal education and mental health, but also you never quite know where the inspiration for your next piece will come from. When the plague struck, it reinforced this belief that culture is essential to one's life. I told myself that I would never ...

added by Nina Marie 7 months, 3 weeks ago. under family , inspiration , likedislike , off the wall fri

Build Your Own World on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

(The following post comes with a "My Opinion Only" Warning and you are more than welcome to disagree)

Look, I know artwork like everything else goes in and out of fashion. But lately, I've noticed a LOT of art quilt work that is more derived from rather than inspired by another artist. Now, I'm not talking about direct copying and using for profit as this article shows. More like I see art quilts that look more like they were done by the same artist when they haven't been.

You can see where this can easily and innocently ...

added by Nina Marie 8 months ago. under likedislike , mentallystrong , off the wall fri , rants , steallikeanartist

Do You Remember??? On Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

This week I got the book, The Quilter's Catalog, a Comprehensive Source Guide, written by Meg Cox in 2008. I bought it for a full $5.25 so it was quite the bargain.

"The complete quilter's companion and essential resource, jam packed with information, supplies, explert interviews, techniques, community and inspiration."

And truly it is ... for 2008. Browsing through it, got me feeling nostalgic. Maybe it's hitting middle age but it's just odd how many things in this book from only 15 years ago are now obsolete.

I remember back in 1995, and all you would ...

added by Nina Marie 9 months ago. under likedislike , off the wall fri

Homeward Bound BOM Continues on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

One down - 3 more to go

It's always hard to get back into the swing of things after a vacation, isn't it? At least that is what I found this week. I did manage to get my studio unpacked and finally looked at my Block of the Month, Homeward Bound.

Sighhhhhhh

I had a few ~~rules~~ parameters when I started this journey last January.

Stick to the pattern
Stick to the technique the designer was teaching
Finish each month on time

I was doing so well......then came July and it all got shot to hell.

Here it ...

added by Nina Marie 9 months, 2 weeks ago. under applique , bom , likedislike , off the wall fri

Getting Ready for More Mosaics on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

After much angst, I did manage to come up with a photo for my upcoming Timna Tarr's Stitched Mosiac class. Good thing too since it starts on Monday morning! I did do a lot of research, but ultimately I took the easy way out and bought a picture from IStock.

Points that lead to this choice

It has the same joyful theme that Tessa's Mosaic does so it will form a series
The color palettes will be similar
No faces to obsess about
Hands that I know how to do
Landscape orientation

You see, somewhere in my research ...

added by Nina Marie 10 months, 1 week ago. under inspiration , likedislike , masterclass , off the wall fri , quotes , series , vacations

The Color Cabal - It's a thing on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

My day job is selling clothing. Today, as I sold my 13th coral almond shirt, it had me asking - Why coral almond? I'm not overly fond of the color, but my customers are eating it up (well not literally). I long for the days of lime green which I love...but nope it's all about coral this year. WHY?

Welllll....apparently..... there is a handful of companies whose job it is to decide what are the "In" colors are this year. How? Through a lot of research in cultural and psychological trends. The crazy thing is that it ...

added by Nina Marie 10 months, 4 weeks ago. under color , factsyoudidn'tknow , likedislike , off the wall fri , rants

Things I Like on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Four Flying Geese for the price of

Yeah know, I don't know where the idiom, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" comes from. I know we're all set in our ways, but really, doesn't everyone like to learn something new that will make their life easier? That's what I did this week. I continued on with The Quilt Show's Block of the Month quilt, Homeward Bound. With June, came the piecing of the stars that radiate all the way to the edge corners. When I first read the directions, they were made ...

added by Nina Marie 11 months, 1 week ago. under book review , likedislike , off the wall fri

Back to the Pinwheels on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

So does everyone have that one big project that just seems to go on and on with no real end in sight? My English paper pieced pinwheels is that project. It's been going on for ...oh I don't know... 13 years now?? I know I started it in a weak moment. I had finished the 4,200-piece tumbling blocks quilt and thought "Gee I haven't EPP in a while". What happened if I did an improv EPP using just one shape but played with value. At that point I never saw an art quilt improvisationally English paper ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 1 month ago. under epp , likedislike , off the wall fri , pinwheels , thread , wip

Quilting Trends for 2023 on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Me stitching in my studio watching the Mentalist...again

Okay, let's face it. I'm not one for following trends. I'm the type that decides what is good for me and mine and then goes in that direction. I do, however, keep track of trends, just because it's good to stay informed. I recently got Timna Tarr's latest newsletter and it mentioned that handwork is becoming more of a trend on the national scene. That I can see. You hear of handwork everywhere these days. First English paper piecing made a resurgence with the Millefiori Quilts ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 2 months ago. under applique , bom , likedislike , off the wall fri , stitching , traditional quilt

Back to Work on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Yes! I finally did it! Got into my studio to finish up the piecing of Rain, Rain. It's funny, once I was motivated it just took a good afternoon to put the finishing touches on the composition. I swear, this quick little project has gotten so out of hand! The more I worked on it, the more I wanted to work on it. Next thing you know it looked like this....

I'm not doing any borders because I personally hate borders (grin).

The only thing left to do is sew up the columns and layer the top for ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 4 months ago. under bom , color , inspiration , likedislike , off the wall fri , traditional quilt , wip

Work Night on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Before

Backing layered with Warm & Natural

Spray Basted

After - Quilting Pattern Being Made

So today I said to myself - Self, You can write a post or you can finally get into that studio and layer up the mosaic. I had been sitting all day so off to the studio I went. Since "Everything is content" I took photos to prove that I actually did it! It took a good half hour just to get the room ready to spray baste!

Under things I like....The backing for this quilt is from Joann Fabric. It's from their premium quilting fabric ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 9 months ago. under likedislike , off the wall fri , wip

7 Ways to Create in Happiness on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

This week I read an emotional social media post made by a friend of mine from high school. They are and always have been a truly unique, special individual. I knew that from the moment I met them when we both were 14 and I said, "Hey, you want a Pez?" The post spoke finally of their acceptance of the fact that they did their art for the love of it. Not for the money...not for the accolades...not for the "likes".

I read it and I thought FINALLY!

I knew from the start that their art wasn't ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 9 months ago. under likedislike , mentallystrong , off the wall fri

WonderFil Thread Pt 2 on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

After writing last week's post, I was really excited to try out some of the WonderFil threads I've been collecting. They have been sending me nice samples for the whole pandemic and I've never gotten around to seeing if they actually worked in my Janome Horizon. "Work" is defined as easily free motion quilted with little to no fussing or breakage. I don't know about you but the one thing I HATE is having my thread continually break. Not only does it annoy me but it ruins the creative flow I have when I quilt. That ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 9 months ago. under likedislike , off the wall fri , product review , thread

Wonderfil Mystery Bundle on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Spotlight, Aqua

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm turning into a thread geek. I wouldn't say a thread snob but definitely a thread geek! It came on gradually. I mean in the beginning, we were all taught that you MUST use cotton thread on your quilts because your quilts were made of all cotton. Through experimentation, I found you could use all sorts of threads while making quilts (the biggest surprise was hand quilting with rayon on my drag around quilt. It washed and wore fine!) The more I explored, the more I found exciting new threads to ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 10 months ago. under likedislike , off the wall fri , product review , thread

Exploring the Abstract on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Walking Through Time, Sue Benner

Flora 6, Anna Brown

Okay, am I the only one that just looked up today and realized it was July 1st? How did that happen? I mean it's half the year! I was cleaning my studio and noticed the little pile of Christmas gifts I got that I never really dug into. One of them is this amazing book, Exploring the Abstract: an Instructional journey by Joan Blackburn. Although it's explorations using paint, it could easily translate to surface
design on fabric. It landed on my wish list because this book is loaded ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 10 months ago. under abstract , likedislike , off the wall fri , steallikeanartist

What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?