Stay Sane - Make Art

Most of us have been self-isolating for weeks. My office reduced hours and furloughed personnel back in March, so it has been more than 8 weeks of this new reality.  I am working every third week. It is strange.

Last month Bustle published this article: Making art helps your mental health 

Are you working from home?  Have you been furloughed?  How do you stay focused and productive?  Please share your strategies.

Even Mona Wears a Mask - Image from Pexels.com

May Day

Today, my dear friend, Steve, a francophile of the first order, shared that in France on May 1st, the Lily-of-the-Valley is shared between friends as a token a good luck for the year.  I will celebrate with you by sharing this image because it is still too cold here for my Lily-of-the-Valley to be blooming.

Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis) is a woodland flowering plant also known as the May lily. In addition to luck, it often symbolizes purity and happiness.  As beautiful as it is, please do not eat it. It is highly poisonous!

Isolation Days

Each morning as I awake I give thanks for the day.

I drink a glass of water and get out of bed.   Matilda, the cat, is always ready for her breakfast, so I feed her, then check for any overnight text messages on the phone and have my coffee.

I have a day job, but I am on a reduced schedule for a bit. It is on odd time. I feel that a regular routine helps me stay focused.

Most days I eat a granola-type cereal or nuts, dates and berry combination that I assemble myself.

I limit the amount of news I listen to. More than once a day can cause me to have anxiety.

I try to get regular exercise each day, by walking or doing yoga.

Matilda thinks she might also keep a journal one day.

I keep a written journal and I make art each day.

The largest project I am tackling this month is sorting my mother's personal papers and photos.  In the 1940's she taught physical education at the University of Akron. She saved everything from the list of academic course offerings to Goodyear Rubber Company memorabilia.

Last week I contacted the archives department at UAkron to ask if they were interested in a donation, and to my delight they said yes!  I am thrilled because these items need a new home.

Play in a Time of Isolation

I took a short break from sewing masks this week to play.  What would you do if a friend of yours asked you if you could use this little pile of gorgeous cotton strips?

I said I would take them, having absolutely no idea how I would use them. Still to the scrap lover in me, they were irresistible---all perfect and coordinated, each measuring about 1x14 inch.  

When I got home I laid them on a table in the studio and there they sat for 3 months. 

This week when I decided to play. This is what I came up with. 

 I lined several up side by side atop a piece of batting. 
Then I wove additional strips in perpendicular to the first strips.

I stitched around the edge of the entire piece, and then stitched each line down going back and forth from top to bottom. 

Then I squared the piece up, adding backing and put a border on.  To complete a small quilt that could be used as a mug rug or a hot pad for my teapot.

Of course Matilda is always supervising.

Traveling to the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach in July 2020

My quilt “Meditation Light” is traveling to International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, CA July 9-11, 2020...or at least that is what I am hoping given the current coronavirus pandemic.

This piece was inspired by summer vacations on Kelley’s Island in Lake Erie.  

Lake Erie is one of the five Great Lakes. It shares an international border with Canada. 

Kelley’s Island is the largest island in the U.S. waters of Lake Erie. 

As a child, I learned to swim, fish, and canoe there.  My brother and I would hop on our bicycles in the morning and not return until sunset.

It was a carefree time. 

Nowadays I still go there, but much less often. 

When I sit on the shore I am one with the Universe marking the passage of time by the position of the sun setting on the horizon.

Self-Quarantining - Staying Busy

What are you up to these days?  I have painted, moved shrubs, sewed masks (lots given away and still more to make), and just read and listened to inspirational podcasts. (If you need some podcast suggestions look for Fresh Air with Krista Tippett and Super Soul Conversations with Oprah Winfery.

Here are a few things I worked on. 

Flowers by Mary Lachman, acrylic on paper

Vintage Orphan Block Quilt by Mary Lachman

Matilda adds her approval

Daily Calm in a Jumbled World

Hi friends.  I know this is tough. I hope you are finding a place of joy and happiness in your home. I have been doing daily projects from making fabric masks for donation to painting and watching inspirational podcasts. Oprah's Super Soul Conversation series are excellent.

My studio is my happy place where I am at peace focusing on creativity. Today the rain on the roof provides an extra pleasant sense of tranquility.  

My word for 2020 is Connection. And although we are social distancing I can continue to communicate through letter writing, phone calls and texts, and of course social media. 

I am grateful to be home with my dear husband, Dominick, and our cat, Matilda. We are safe and have food, books, internet and art supplies. 

Mask Making

Painting 

Matilda 

How to Use Orphan Quilt Blocks

Abandoned blocks are just irresistible to me.  I found a few on the sharing table the other day. I was so excited I didn't even look closely, I just stuffed them in my bag!

Once home I spread them out. There were 4 stack-and-whack stars, 1 strip-pieced block and 8 disappearing nine-patch blocks.   The colors were diverse and I questioned whether this could come together as a cohesive project.  

Since I was short on table space I laid them out on the floor to audition fabrics that could be added to bring it to 5x5 block layout.  The photo below shows some initial ideas - but the green dot (upper left) was too bland and the orange florals (lower left and off the lower right) were too different (to my eye).  However the poppies on the white and delicate foliage fabric appealed to me and I thought they would work. 

Orphan blocks laid out on the floor - this is where my ideas can come together.

You may be questioning my sanity at this point, but I like a challenge and orphaned blocks can definitely present challenges. 

Below the finished quilt. My friend Joanne Sullivan quilted it. It is headed to the Shoreline Guild as a community service quilt. 

Free Quilt Block Pattern - Nine Patch Variation

This is my finished quilt top. A 9-patch variation. Simple to sew. I found the white blocks on the sharing table at the Shoreline Quilt Guild retreat in January. I am drawn to cast off orphan blocks made with OPF (Other People's Fabric).   

I picked up 13 perfect blocks on the sharing table - not my color palette (since I rarely if ever use white), but, they were lovely and excited my spirit.

My affinity for cast-off goodies is deeply rooted in my psyche. It comes from wanting to create and knowing the scrap bag in my mother's closet was fair game for anything I wanted to try.  The love of little pieces of fabric coincides directly with my love of quilting.

I didn't think 13 blocks were not enough for a small quilt and I wanted to add more color, so this is what I did. 

The block is a simple 9-patch variation:
center square, flanked by rectangles with cornerstones. 

Let's do it!  Dig into your stash and let's play.







For each block you need the following:

• One 5.5 inch square (A) (I used a floral.).
• Four 2.5 x 5.5 inch rectangles (B) (I used a med/dark fabric.)
• Four 2.5 x 2.5 inch squares (C) (I used a light floral.)

Assembly:
Sew one 2.5 inch square 'C"' to each end of 'B'. Press toward dark. Make 2.

Sew a 2.5 x 5.5 inch rectangle ('B') to one side of the 5.5 inch square ('A'). Sew another 'B' to the opposite side of 'A'. Press toward dark. 

 And there you have it.  Check back for the finished quilt top.

"Parkway Dawn" Juried into Local Color 4 Opening at the Windsor Art Center

I am honored and excited that "Parkway Dawn" was juried into the  regional SAQA exhibit opening at the Windsor Arts Center on March 21, 2020.

"Parkway Dawn" is an abstract representation of my morning commute on the Merritt Parkway as the the morning replaces the night.

I learned how to indigo dye with resists several years ago in the backyard of Carol R. Eaton. That fabric is the blue with 'headlights'.   The pink-orange stripes are artist-dyed cotton and the silhouetted tree fabric was made by Mickey Lawler's daughter (SkyDyes).

Windsor Arts Center - Local Color 4: Rails, Roads and Rivers
http://www.windsorartcenter.org/local-color-4-rails-roads-rivers/
The WAC is located in Windsor, CT, right next to the train station. Easily accessible by the CT rail or highway.

The opening reception is March 21, 2020 from 5-7 p.m. Hope to see you there.

"Parkway Dawn" 30" x 40"  by Mary Lachman

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More details from the WAC website:

From Saturday March 21 through April 25, 2020, the Windsor Art Center will host the art quilt exhibition, Local Color 4: Rails, Roads & Rivers. A juried show, artists in the Connecticut region of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) have submitted these quilts for display and judging. Participating artists have explored the theme’s variety of meanings, images and experiences and have interpreted the theme in their own unique way.

The juror for this exhibition was Martha Wolfe, an award-winning fiber artist and printmaker living in Northern California. 

Work in Progress - "Morning Commute"

Spring Blossoms

Do you get excited when you see those first spring blooms?  Each year this little crocus, in a sunny south-facing bed pops up and I smile. 

Ice Sculptures in Vermont

Art comes in many forms created with all types of tools. 

These sculptures were part of the Ice Festival at The Farm Table in Bernardston, VT last Saturday. 

And yes they were made with power tools including chainsaws! 

SAQA-CT meeting in Watertown

Recently the Studio Art Quilt Associates, Connecticut group, met in Watertown for a general meeting. We love to see what everyone is working on. Here are some of the members with their Show-and-Tell.

Saving the Planet One Scrap at a Time

Anyone who works with fabric has scraps. Some people throw them out, some folks give them away, and other people (like me) are willing to use my own and accept OPF (Other People's Fabric)!

The image below shows just one of the simple ways I re-purpose the itty-bitty pieces that might otherwise end up in a landfill. 

Mug Mats by Mary Lachman

To Make One...

Supplies:

• One 5-inch square of fabric (anything! as this will be the back)
• One 5-inch square of batting
• Assorted scrap fabrics. No piece is too small. 
• Sewing machine, etc.

Assembly:

• Just stitch the scraps, one at a time, creating an abstract layered collage as you go. 
• To finish just bind it as you would a small quilt or just zigzag around the edges. 

Push your creative juices

Italian Coastline (in progress) -Acrylic on paper by Mary Lachman

I love fabric and yarn. They are typically are my 'go tos' when I want to create, but why not stretch my creative spirit?

 I have all the supplies to paint so why not play with something new?  This is the start of a little painting I am working on. It is based on a photo taken by my DH a few years ago near Cinque Terre, Italy.  I will post my progress.

What are you working on to push your creativity in 2020?  Let me know. I would love to hear about it.

Happy New Year

Here we are in 2020. Who knew it would come so quickly when we were back in October!

In January of each new year I find a word the indicates what I would like to embrace for the coming months. This year my word is CONNECTION. I want to connect with friends who are on the same wavelength for fun and food.

Back in the studio at home I am finishing some projects including:

The binding is on the hexagon quilt I laid out in the Kaffe Fassett/Brandon Mambly class in October in Colchester.

Here it is at the end of the workshop, the turquoise blue will be the inner border and the spiral reds the outer border. 

I assembled a sampler of sorts from some orphan blocks. I think the binding and the black accents really kick this piece up a notch.

Over the balcony as viewed from below.

What would you like to learn or do in 2020? Do you pick a word to inspire you?