An epiphany of sorts - the Elna Press transformed.

I adore my Elna Press acquired about 10 years ago from a market for $20. I use it to press fabrics and dyed textiles and very occasionally a pillow slip or two. The only drawback was the cover on the pressing plate had seen better years. An eyesore in the new laundry - but where else to put it? I used to cover the lower plate with an old sheet when in use. So this morning's "job" (one task each day since we moved) was to make a new cover for the Elna Press. She deserved it. So I measured carefully, made a template and cut two from thick muslin. There'd be a master pattern ready for another time. Next, to source new foam underlay. The IKEA mini ironing board. It's useless for ironing but hangs neatly in the wardrobe. What do you expect for $7? The underlay was a perfect fit. Quite impressed, I commenced stitching the new cover Then the Morgan Freeman thing happened. "It was at that moment, Ali knew she had missed something big." Here I was, staring at a perfectly good Ikea cover while stitching almost the same thing. Sheesh. I've had both the Elna Press and the mini ironing board for about the same time. I think the "hack by accident" is perfect and as they say, "better (a decade) late than never".

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Making progress Trees #2

It's all in the background - designing substrate

Scaling up an image of the Brisbane River to develop the substrate for a new art quilt. Each square needs to be 6cm x 6cm to make a finished size of 5 cm square. I created a "to scale" model of the finished quilt on drafting paper. I printed an image of the river (attribution below) and then scaled it up to get a fairly accurate flow across the quilt. The substrate rightly tells the background story. It is the foundation on which the main elements or features reside. So it isn't the "hero" of the piece - it needs to be recognised and visible without overwhelming the piece. I can now easily identify which squares hold a section of the river and start to experiment on piecing, applique, fusing, printing, and painting to learn which gives the best outcome for the substrate. (Brisbane River original image: Magpie Shooter; edited version Paulguard at en.wikipedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/indix.php?curid=9724127) My foundation piece might well end u...

The mess before the beauty

The excavator's words have stuck in my head, rent free. ' I have to make one hell of a mess before it can become beautiful. There is no beautiful end without the mess '. Or words to that effect. The retaining walls at the back of the house have to be finished before anything else can happen in the yard - and in between downpours, a few expletives and more rain, it has beena testing time for all involved in the construction. I thought about his words - and the effort of making a quilt from scratch. The planning, drawing, testing, dyeing, playing, creating, starting again, creating and the final 'ah ha'. There is so much 'mess' before a quilt is resolved becomes a thing of meaning and beautiful in its own way. Blessed are the excavators.

Ali George Artist

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