The last two weeks have been super busy for me. Whew, when things are heating up it can just get a little nuts. That’s when it’s so important for me to stick to a strict “taking care of me” schedule, which basically means resolutely going to my art studio for my scheduled studio time no matter what else is happening.
What activity to you use to wind down and refuel you when you’re feeling used up? Is there something special that refreshes you deep down inside? I think it’s different for everyone. For some people it’s taking a bath, meditating, or just being still. For other people it’s helping someone or performing a random act of kindness. For other people it’s exercise which helps clear the stress out of their bodies. Everyone has something that deeply replenishes them faster than any other activity. Leave me a comment on my blog to tell me what yours is. I would really like to know.
After tons and tons of testing, I finally figured out a way to make temporary molds for my quilt pieces so I wouldn’t have to make a wax prototype and a silicone mold every time. I couldn’t use normal mold releases because they ended up floating on the surface of the resin, so I had to get inventive with lining the walls of the mold with something that wouldn’t stick. As you can see, I tried a lot of things:
After getting my test to work I tried it for a really big quilt piece. This was the biggest piece I had ever done and it was a new style of mold, so I was a little nervous. It worked! Here is a video of me taking it out of the mold. Oh, I was so excited!
Next, I’ve had to drill holes in the quilt squares I made with temporary molds and start sewing them all together. Here is a video of how that works. Since the resin squares are rigid, I have to be able to see the holes to sew up from the bottom of the quilt. I’ve had to make a special table to help me do this. For every stitch I do a partial squat, keep my back straight and concentrate on keeping my shoulders down like a ballet dancer so I don’t build up tension in my upper back. As you can see, I’m very focused on keeping my body healthy with this repetitive movement. It’s worth thinking about because I want to do this A LOT!
I’ve been listening to inspiring podcasts while I sew and it’s just been so lovely.
I hope you enjoy the videos! It’s certainly fun getting all this figured out and making the quilt come to life!
Oh, and the flowers on that big quilt piece are the wildflowers my children gave me on Mother’s Day last year. Isn’t that lovely? They had to be on a big quilt piece all together because I wanted them to look like they had been scattered on a surface or blown by the wind.
Leave a comment to tell me what you do to replenish yourself at the end of a busy day. Even the most humdrum answer is special, so don’t be shy. I find the most simple, honest answers to this question so inspiring.
Thanks and good wishes,
Jenny
