Library Book - A Review

Oh. My. Goodness. The book, Understanding Garden Design, The Complete Handbook for Aspiring Designers by Vanessa Gardner Nagel, APLD, Timber Press, Portland-London, 2010, is a KEEPER!!!

I have added it to my Amazon’s wish list. It will be added to my physical bookshelf someday soon! When I say it’s a KEEPER, she provides so much information worth utilizing long after the design and planning is over... to incorporate in all aspects of living.

When I started reading it, I quickly decided to take notes, as if I were preparing for an exam. After the first few days of note taking, I woke up the next morning and couldn’t use my right thumb for two days! I can’t do that anymore.

It is by-far a study book on deciding “Who’s on first?” how to assess and record, measuring and documenting, making the hard decisions between need/desire, the microclimates, working with Mother Nature, providing double (triple) duty, and drawing different diagrams.

The basic design elements (really of everything/anything)...

Color (hue, value, and intensity) in using the color wheel/harmonies taught me so much I’ve never considered before.

Line, Shape, Form, and Space... goodness gracious... it all makes sense how she explains things.

Have you ever thought about -

proportion and scale, mass, focal point or emphasis, repetition and rhythm, movement, sequence or transition, texture, variety, contrast, balance, unity, and time.  

She explains them all very nicely!

And then she points out even more aspects that affect garden design...

Function    *    Fragrance     *     Serendipity

I found the “Plants: A Structural Perspective” chapter particularly informative. I need to move on past - plant one type of thing and move on to another area to plant one singular other plant - mode of thinking and plant more group style, mass planting. Although she writes about the concept “thrillers, spillers, and fillers” not being a new concept, I’ve never heard of it until reading her book! Basically they are...
  
   Thrillers - bold plants that are focal points
   Spillers - plants that creeps, falls, and overflows
   Fillers - less defined plants that are frothy and airy

But of course, she describes them in much more detail - with PICTURES! Good deal! Exactly what I need!

Another. Oh. My. Goodness.

Who would have thought... using plants as punctuation! See, this is a prime example why I want this book in my hands (off the bookshelf) for future reference! She talks about them all (and gives examples)!

Periods - Commas - Exclamation Points - Question Marks - Semicolons - Colons - Parentheses
It makes perfectly totally sense!

I appreciate her chapter on plant and leaf shapes. I know I need to learn what would go with and complement one another. It’s in her section on “The Planting Plan” she continues her hypothetical garden design plan and incorporates the punctuation concept. That might not have made any sense, but I’ll know exactly where to go once I have the actual book in my hands!

Then there is a lot of valuable information about lights in the garden. Maybe someday we’ll have garden lighting but I feel certain it will be by the way of solar (or wind) energy rather than electricity. Although I tried, I just couldn’t skim through this chapter covering all the different aspects to consider - the reasons, various types and styles, and the effect lighting placement will bring. Oh, and when I saw the gabion wall, that led me to doing further research how to construct such a wall! We have the rock, that’s for sure!

Because I AM the contractor - not to mention the laborer doing the actual work - I did skip most of the chapter “Working with Contractors” but it may be just what another reader needs to know. It did give me a bit of 'what comes first' organizing.

And, a great way to end this lovely book, this gold mine of information, her last chapter gives great ideas for having people out and about in the garden... either via an open garden or a garden party!

For me, it will be a grand day in the garden - when I can share it with others...

Bucket List: Master EQ7

A friend of mine, Gail, has mastered the EQ7 (Electric Quilt 7) software program. She’s kindly offered to show me how. It’s just a matter of working out a schedule that works for us both. But, before I can do anything, I must reinstall the program on my new Windows 10 (YUCK) operating system! There is a trick to it, something I’ll have to research the next time I’m in Dallas – on unlimited bandwidth!

I’m used to the pencil, straight edge, and graph paper technique when designing a quilt, or sometimes what I refer to as “seat of my pants” designing. I’ll have an idea in my head, and just start making blocks, until I get the desired quilt size. Sometimes, things go wrong with following instructions or I don’t like the way the fabric’s print looks in the design. That’s how I came up with the Wings Quilt Block!

I do believe, learning EQ7 would be a great help, especially calculating the yardage needed once the design is created. Gail has often suggested for me to watch the YouTube videos available on the internet. I need to focus and do that soon!

Ann, another friend, recently posted on Facebook a beautiful red, white, and blue quilt she’d seen on the internet. I went to Knitnoid’s website, and sure enough, the contributor explained how she ended up with the design – all through using the EQ7 software! She worked it out, changing this and that, until she ended up with this beauty:

This process would sure save on the trusty eraser, or printer ink when printing out graph paper! I do need to get going on this software program!!!

Software, Online, Old Fashion - Design Your Own!

Why not design your own quilt top? You can do it!

I’ve shared several block designs over the past couple of weeks, and the easy way to create them! Maybe you are a tad like me and have several favorite block designs, and not so favorite others. How do you mix and match, creating your own design rather than follow a quilt top pattern?

I haven’t yet figured out the Electric Quilt (EQ-7) software program, even with all the video tutorials I’ve downloaded from its site or YouTube! It’s a bit complicated. There is certainly a learning curve that requires some quiet time and focused concentration ~ neither of which I have right now. Hopefully by National Sewing Month 2015, I will have mastered all the whistles and bells available and can share then!

Who knew? I decided to do a goodsearch.com with the phrase “design your own quilt” and found several sites of interest!

If you don’t have the EQ7 software, but you do have unlimited bandwidth (which I don’t), maybe Quiltivate is the site for you! They say it’s a FREE online design process that “When you're finished, you'll receive a custom quilt plan. Your plan includes detailed fabric calculations and full-size images so you can get straight to the sewing!” That sounds pretty darn cool!

I discovered another free online designer, My Web Quilter, but again, it’s going to take the bandwidth I don’t have. I did register so when I’m in Dallas ~ where bandwidth is not an issue ~ I’m ready to play! 

For now, I’ll do it the old fashioned way!

I gather my supplies:

• #2 pencil
• assortment of colored pencils
• straight edge
• sheet(s) of ¼” squares graph paper
• clear scotch tape
• paper scissors
• big pink eraser

This is a great project for me to do while watching television! Yes, I can multi-task!

Using the graph paper, I design quilt tops two different ways…

Using the whole sheet(s): 

Sometimes it takes tape, like scotch tape, when I have to tape the 8.5” x 11” pages together to make it large enough when each square of the paper represents 1 inch. Keep in mind, at this writing, the minimum size of a Quilt of Valor is 55” x 65” (recommended size is 60” x 80” and maximum size is 72” x 90”) – so one sheet at 1” per square won’t be large enough! I personally create QOV’s around 60” x 70” ~ a nice couch or recliner lounging quilt size.

NOTE: Using a 1” square scale is great when working with 9” blocks!

Sometimes I designate the squares of the graph paper to be 2” per square, if I know all the blocks I’m going to use will be finished with an even number, like a 12” block.

Using pieces of a puzzle: 

What if I wanted to mix 12” and 9” finished blocks? What do I need to do? What do I need to add here & there to make it work out? This is when I have to take a bit more time, but it’s worth the extra effort to “see” the whole picture before making the first cut!

NOTE: Using this method, I always use 1 square equals 1” !!! 

I’ll draw out the block I like in the correct size, color it in, then repeat the process scattered about the graph paper, not worrying about placement at this time! This process may take a couple sheets of graph paper.
 Once I’ve created all the blocks I want to incorporate within the quilt top, I will take paper scissors and cut out the individual blocks. It’s then time to take a new piece of graph paper and draw the quilt’s outside diameter. I then start placing the pieces around until I like what I see.
 The spaces between different sized blocks (for example, putting a 9” up against a 12”) are prefect places to add sashing (a narrow strip of fabric) around the smaller blocks. Using the graph “paper doll” method, you’ll know exactly the size you’ll need!

Whether you use a software program, the online sites, or the old fashion way, I hope you’ll try designing your own quilt top!

Design and Embellish

While out shopping one day, the curvy, imperfect whimsical stripes in this fabric caught my attention! When I read the end of the bolt: 100% Cotton, Made in the U.S.A., I knew immediately it would be the apron to create and enter in the 2012 Creative Arts Competition at the State Fair of Texas. It took over a year to decide how I would design and embellish the apron!

Between each stripe is a quarter inch white space where I machine-stitched white rick-rack on top. I then took green embroidery floss and hand stitched a zig-zag along the rick-rack. Threaded underneath the green, I used a coordinating dusty rose shade of embroidery floss, looping and knotting at each zig and zag.

I created custom made bias trim from complimenting dusty rose 100% cotton fabric to finish the neckline. A button centered yo yo accents the mock closure for a pull-over-the-head fixed apron.  

The fully lined pocket has several embellishment points. Between the dusty rose and a portion of the main fabric is half visible rick-rack. Along the top of this rick-rack, I used green embroidery floss to do a tiny blanket stitch. At the bottom of the daisy horizontal stripe, I added a bit of variegated green and dusty rose crewel embroidery floss to accent the flowers within the 100% cotton eyelet lace. A running stitch of sorts in dusty rose floss fills the holes within the bottom edge of the lace. The larger button centered yo yo on the pocket coordinates with the smaller one at the back of the neck. Two strands of dusty rose satin picot ribbons complete the pocket’s embellishment.

Using a poly/cotton white-on-white fabric, I fully lined the apron. I then top-stitched around the apron’s perimeter.

I’m a happy camper! My hard work paid off! The apron placed 3rd in the competition! It will be on display during the State Fair of Texas from September 28, 2012 through October 21, 2012! Congratulations to the First and Second place winners! I can hardly wait to see their entries and see what they did!

Ramblings of a Designer

I need to design an apron to wear during art/craft vendor shows that displays my new logo.

A “special” apron was created for the show that got rained out a few weeks ago. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not thrilled over the way it fit me. I didn’t feel “good” wearing it. The plan simply didn’t come together like I’d envisioned with the much too heavy fabric I used. I ran out of time to create another one but I have time now before the next show.

The original apron will be perfect as a waist apron, one to wear while gathering okra or beans or whatever harvest from the garden! The bib part will be refashioned into a bag/tote I’ll use for carrying supplies! I’ll post pictures later!

I have a couple of ideas I’m tossing around for the new logo apron, and have found better, lighter weight fabric in the perfect color. Neither design idea, however, do I have a pattern to use!

I'm leaning toward reproducing the apron worn by Shirley Temple in a classic movie, I think it was Bright Eyes.

Or, one I saw worn by the nanny in the 2003 movie, Alex & Emma:

Okay, I’ve decided… I’m off to create a pattern… Wish me luck!

I'll post the result when it's done!