First, a picture of the first project with two of the reversals completed. They'll be another one on the right side. I got this far and ran out of time. Had to put it up and get ready for the next assignment.

The next assignment takes us back to our homework sketches. There were four groups of sketches ranging from simple to complex. We are to take one sketch from each group and remake it with shades of gray and black with an eye toward developing visual depth. At first my choices were pretty arbitrary, but as I worked it through I became more intensional in where I was placing the different shades. We do this in the black on white sketches and then again on the white on black.

I've been working 10 hour days. That's actually less than a lot of people who stay into the evening and come early in the morning. We have Saturday and Sunday morning off, and I'm grateful for the down time. Just resting today and plan to watch the Alabama football game later on.

 I left my phone in the hotel room yesterday, so I had no pictures to post. Today just two. Our current assignment. In addition to the elongation I mentioned last time, we are supposed to have three reversals where to lights and darks are reversed. . It's conceptually easy to understand, but technically really hard to do. Remember, there are no patterns or templates or rulers. Also we're supposed to have 50% be in flat colors which are dull colors. I had a lot brighter colors in this to begin with, but was advised to dull it down. I understand that using flat colors adds sophistication to the quilt, but you know me and bright colors. She called me "glow girl" today.

With lots of glowing colors

With a lot of the brights replaced..

 Here I am, once again at a Nancy Crow workshop in Ohio. Some of you have seen pictures of the workspace before, but I'm including them here for newcomers.

Here's a picture of The Barn from the outside.

An over view of the room.

And my work space with homework on the wall.

First thing this morning was show and tell. I brought these two quilts to show.

They were well received, which is a first for me. I've never before brought a quilt that she liked. So that was rewarding. 

In the afternoon we got down to work. The assignment is to divide the quilt surface into columns, some of them very narrow. Choose figures from the homework and keeping in mind the concept of elongation, create a quilt.

I got the black and white mock up done. Tomorrow I'll start on the color.

 We finished up today. This morning I finished sewing each of the major pieces. All that remains is to sew those pieces together. Here I've got it pinned together for presentation. 

The afternoon was spent reviewing everyone's work. We each had a chance to display the two pieces we made, answer questions and receive comments. Nancy (Crow) had high praise for this piece. I'm tickled pink. Looking forward to getting home and finishing it.

It's been a great two weeks. Best class I've taken here. Lots to think about and carry me forward. I'm grateful for the opportunity.

 I added colors for the figures in the piece. I didn't really have the colors I wanted so I just did the best I could. I liked it in black better. When I get home I'm going to make one with black. I started sewing and got the bottom left side done. 

Nancy (Crow) told us with this new project that she wanted us to show her what we learned last week. So although it wasn't required, I decided to go with the monochromatic background again. I spent the day cutting out the pieces. Tomorrow I'll substitute colors for the black figures. For me this is really hard. She came around during the day and said my design was "fresh." So I'm beaming. At another point she said I was a "wild woman." I guess that refers to the exuberant design I created, but I don't know for sure. 

I came home early, about 7:30. I find I do better when I get some rest and a good night's sleep.

 We got our new assignment today. Here are the instructions: 

Divide the design wall into three columns. 

Choose 6 of our homework configurations.

Arrange the configurations two per column. Elongate the configurations to fit the columns. Carry elements over the column lines to obliterate the sense that you are working with 6 blocks. We're to design our quilt in black and white, but we don't have to sew it together. We move from the black and white straight into the color. I finished the first step last night and will start on the color today.

I don't know how I'm going to sew this together. I'll just take it slow. The final version does not have to be an exact replica of this black and white one.