January slipped by quickly and quietly, but how in the world did it get to be the end of February already?!
Since my last post, there have been numerous phone calls and emails exchanged, but this past Sunday (February 24) was my first visit back to Mrs. Richter’s studio since my January visit. Mrs. Richters has been busy! The sky background is already constructed, and the sunset and hills will probably be done by the end of the week. The quilt that I have been envisioning for months is truly taking shape as a real object.
What we had anticipated as a quick consult turned into 2 1/2 hours of experimenting, seeking solutions to design dilemmas, and exploring new ideas that just kept popping up.
Mrs. Richters had prepared a number of pinwheel blocks to test color combinations. Some worked; others didn’t “read” correctly as pinwheels when we looked at them, so we pinpointed why. Now she can finish preparing pinwheel block kits to distribute to local quilters. I’m excited about having members of our community contribute their skills to our project. We also made some adjustments to our layout plan for the for the pinwheel border. Mrs. Richters had enlarged our constellation concept to the ideal size, and we tweaked the lines of that and discussed how to best enhance the design through quilting stitches.
I have been stocking up on button-making supplies, and researching options. Some of the buttons will be made out of shrink plastic (FUN!) while others will be clay. I am determined to work with polymer clay for the first time, so I found an internet community that focuses on polymer clay. Having joined the group, I have found the members to be a wealth of inspiration and encouragement. Based on their tips, I stocked up on Prēmo, a popular brand of polymer clay that happened to be on a great sale last week for President’s Day. Thanks to A.C. Moore for not just price-matching but beating the sale price of another store.
Meanwhile, at A. L. Lotts, I have nearly completed administering the Quilt Questionnaire that I designed to measure students’ current knowledge of quilts (basic information). Only one of my 24 classes has yet to complete the questionnaire.
Most exciting–today I taught my first button-making class!!! Mrs. Deaver’s 5th grade class made button sets out of an air-dry clay product called “Sculpt•it!” by Sargent Art. I ordered it last fall. It is a product that is new to me, but I find it very pleasant to work with–much cleaner than traditional ceramic clay that must be fired. It is strong, yet lightweight. It smells a lot better than some of the products on the market. The only drawback I see to using this product is that its surface seems to reactivate when wet. It gets all slimy. Eeew. But we do not plan to display the quilt in the rain, and we will paint these buttons with acrylic paint, which will help to seal them.
The Sculpt•it! I ordered last fall came in small packets, perfect for distributing to students. Locally, Sculpt•it! can be found at P&S in a 2-lb. tub, an also in a set of basic colors (I haven’t tried those yet). I think you can also find it at A.C. Moore and possibly at Hobby Lobby. (Anyone interested, don’t forget to check the Sunday paper for coupons!) I don’t recall seeing it a JoAnn Etc. or Michael’s.
The students seemed to really enjoy it. At first I had planned for them to make sets of matching buttons…but then they would not be able to explore different shapes and textures, and what fun would that be?! I brought in dozens of rubber stamps from my personal collection that they used to create relief designs…they also had access to the texture plates that we use for crayon rubbings. Only a few students made use of those, but they seemed to work well. Also, I showed the students how the eye of an oversized plastic needle (for yarn weaving) could be used to press designs into the clay–both on top and on the sides. I’m quite glad I had those tools handy (they are brand new–just got them out of the package today), since we also used them to improve the button holes. The button holes were made first with a corn holder, which ensured adequate spacing between the holes. But the tiny holes made by the corn holder had to be enlarged, or the buttons might not be usable.
It was an exciting day…but I have more work to do. Like posting some photos! Off to get my digital camera…..
