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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

My WIP Wednesday 14 - Sharing My Creative Spaces

For several weeks I've been sharing my creative spaces with my 19yo, who is home for the whole summer after her freshman year away - far away - at college. When she was back for spring break, she saw me working on Beachwalk and Sea Breeze and said, "I could make a dragon quilt that way!"


In her rare spare moments back at school, she worked up sketches in a little notebook of 10 different dragons depicted in their environments. When the semester was over and she moved back, she worked those into full-size layouts, then loaded them into the computer and flipped them to print out reversos.


She blithely combed through my stash and scrap collections, where she found most of what she'd need. We made a run to JoAnn's and the quilt shop for missing component choices, then she did a thorough search online to fill in the gaps. 10 dragons with individual environments require a LOT of different fabrics! Oh, and a WHOLE BUNCH of Steam a Seam Lite 2 - we ordered 14 yards, and maybe that will be enough. 


She patiently traces her pieces onto the fusible stuff, spreading out all over the kitchen counter. She meticulously cuts out the pieces and then steals the iron for solid spans of time - usually, of course, right when I'd be needing it, too. ;D But I'll have plenty of share-free time with my iron when Fall term starts up again, so I'm not really complaining.




She's written out the story of each dragon - explaining its tendencies, character, and environ and plans to incorporate those on the back.


So far she has completed the Blue Desert Dragon with its adorable baby - it's absolutely amazing in real life:


Blue dragons are extremely lawful, despite their proclivity for evil works.  As such, they are often chosen as fair and honorable judges among dragons when disputes of Draconic law arise.  They are among the most long-lived of dragons and have become very hardy living in their harsh, desert environments.  They strive to find order in things and are excellent strategists.  They love collecting historical items and information and freely interact with sages to learn new historical findings, strategies, and battle tactics.


Then emerged the Black Swamp Dragon with its purple highlights (the colors are much more balanced than they show here):

Black dragons are among the more common types of dragons, inhabiting bogs and marshes.  The spiny fin along their neck and back serves to push aside detritus in the swamp water as they swim.  They are extremely territorial and pride themselves with the age and quality of their swamps.  The better and larger the swamp, the higher the black dragon is deemed in their society.  They dislike trespassers, but they will generally let travelers through if they offer something that will improve the quality of their swamp.


Then we met the Green Forest Dragon:

Green dragons inhabit forests across the land; it’s quite easy to tell if a forest is inhabited by a green dragon do to a prevalent odor of chlorine gas from the dragons’ breath.  They are quite territorial, but they will allow travelers to pass through their forests as long as they don’t harm the forest.  Elves are usually welcome to coexist in their forests, as the elves will generally improve the quality and beauty of the forests.  They love to play psychological games with travelers.  Their spines are poisonous, and normally they do not tolerate riders at all.  

(She thought the tree pieces looked like mustaches and had to stage a photo op with her beanie dragons.)






And finally the White Arctic Dragon (breathtaking in real vision with its sparkly ice and shimmering auroras):

White dragons are among the smallest of dragon species and will give way to larger dragons when confronted.  Living in the arctic, they are built to conserve heat and withstand icy temperatures.  As they fly, the ends of their wings freeze and chip off; as such, the membrane is constantly regrowing to replace the lost bits.  They use their frosty breath to freeze prey before devouring it.  Their lairs are filled with strange ice sculptures surrounding the artifacts of their hordes.  They mark the edges of their territory with identifying ice sculptures that are unique to each dragon like a fingerprint.

Right now she's working on the Red, and then will come Brass, Bronze, Copper, Silver, and Gold. She just amazes me - saw me using a given process, envisioned her very own creation using that process, plopped down and made it all happen. I can't draw something out to match my mental image with any good results at all!! lol And here she just spits them out with no artistic training whatsoever. She'll probably be a natural at thread painting, too, when she gets to that stage! If she wasn't my Beloved Egghead Sweetie, I'd probably be utterly green with jealousy. ;D



A big "Thank you!" to Lee at Freshly Pieced for hosting WIP Wednesdays 
It really keeps me motivated to keep those UFOs going! (Go check out what everyone else is doing - there are some really neat projects out there!)




This week's stats:

New Projects - 0    
Completed Projects This Week - 0    (Machine broke, couldn't finish Hugs and Kisses)   
In Active Progress - 3    (Hugs and Kisses, What a Hoot, Sailing)
UFO Firing Range - 36.333          
Finishes for 2011 - 17  

Completed tops awaiting quilting:

Hugs and Kisses from Above (in progress!)
What a Hoot, Devon! (longarmer’s!)
Sailing with the Flying Needles (is at the longarm studio!!)
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Mr. Hernandez's)
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Heather's)
Marissa’s Howling at the Moon
One charity wheelchair quilt
Dreamy Unicorns
Wagon Wheels West #2
Be Attitudes
We Love Kelly
Devon's Silk Spinners
Marissa's Minky Squares
Kelly's Thirties Hand Quilter
Kelly's Calico
Leap Frog Lily Pond
Poor Forgotten Orphan from 15 Years Ago 

30 comments:

  1. Wow! How gorgeous is that? And so meticulous! I haven't braved anything that involved yet. I wish I could see them live; they look like something that just can't be fully captured in a picture.

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  2. You must be so proud. I have been teaching my 8yo to sew this week. I so hope that someday I will be able to sew with my daughter like you are sewing with yours. She is very talented.

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  3. You are one busy lady! I am coming over from block swap adventures to follow you :)

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  4. Wow, those dragons are breathtaking!!

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  5. The dragons are just FAB-U-LOUS. The design, the detail, the colours, everything. The wee baby dragon is so sweet. Awesome.

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  6. Wow! That is so artistic and creative! She's great at what she's doing...must have learned it from momma!

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  7. I love the dragons!!!! We have those beanie dragons to, LOL!
    ~Kimberlee

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  8. wow, those are amazing. Such beautiful detail.

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  9. Those dragons are absolutely GORGEOUS! Utterly amazing.

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  10. I'm so impressed with your daughter's dragons!

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  11. Wow are her dragons gorgeous! She could create a pattern. I think she has the quilting bug.

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  12. Those dragons are really incredible!!

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  13. hermosos trabajos. cuantos proyectos en curso.

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  14. You have an extremely talented daughter...

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  15. OH MY GOLLY, Yep all in capitals!! I am SO impressed!!! WOW!!! All that work, patience and skill, and the information about the dragons is just wonderful. Keep us updated on this quilt please! :)

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  16. What a very sweet baby dragon in your post. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  17. That post was really inspiring! I have three daughters--the oldest is 5--and they like to hang with me while I'm quilting and play with scraps. I can't wait to see what kinds of creations they will come up with as they get older. Your daughter's dragons are amazing!!!!!!!

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  18. Holy Camole!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COngrats, mom, in creating such a wonderful gifted girl!!!!

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  19. Your daughter's dragons are amazing, in both design and execution! Like you, I can't draw, and am somewhat jealous of those who can. I struggle to manage stick-figures!

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  20. The dragons are amazing!
    Thank you so much for sharing your DD's work with us all!!!

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  21. Oh my - your daughter is absolutely talented. She is entering that quilt in a show, right?!! She must.

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  22. Stunning!!! Your daughter is sooooo talented!!! Wow.

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  23. Followed the link on Em's blog - the dragons are FANTASTIC ... truly wonderful, especially with their stories.

    What a TREASURE (the journey itself and the series of process photos, as much as the finished product).

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  24. Wow! What a patient, methodical, and very talented daughter you have!!! She's has done a marvelous job on these dragons! A new quilt pattern designer in the making? I can't wait to see the rest of them!!

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  25. These are amazing!
    she is amazing.
    Like her mom and dad.

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  26. Holy cow!!! Your daughter is very talented!!! That is just incredibly detailed and beautiful work. She's got a future as a quilt designer ahead of her, I think! Thanks for sharing her work and linking up to WIP Wednesday. : )

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  27. wow, your daughter is so talented. What an awesome quilt she is making.

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