I spoke with my mom the other day and she oh, so gently asked if I “remembered” to make the Amy Butler birdie sling for her. She bought the material and I said I’d make it. That was quite a while ago. So yesterday I went to a quilting sew-in and brought this project; I’m happy to say I finished it tonight.
Well, I have plenty to share now that I have a camera! Yeah! It came last night and man is it fancy-schmancy! All these useless buttons—I feel so professional! It even has an “easy” (yes, it’s labeled “easy” on the dial) setting. This setting shows IN BIG LETTERS how many photos left and battery charge. Hilarious! So, here’s the lineup:
This is the “piece of wonky quilted awesomeness” I referred to in a previous post. Not so awesome but it’s okay for my first real foray into improve madness. I plan to outline in the brown dot and then have it sort of “float” on the left-hand side of a lap-sized throw. I’ll post again when it’s finished.
This treasure was a UFO I found hiding downstairs. It’s supposed to be a card-table sized tablecloth but I decided that it’s time to finish it so I quilted & threw on the binding. It’s 28-inch-ish square. And, it matching absolutely nothing! But it’s Done; I needed something Done. You know what I mean, right?
This is an art quilt from Krista Hennebury of Canada. You may recognize her blog: http://poppyprintcreates.blogspot.com/ This woman is seriously talented and I feel fortunate to own one of her creative masterpieces! The quotation reads, “One does not discover new lands without consenting to leave the shore for a very long time.” This is perfect because I’m definitely making changes (not to mention BIG waves) in my life; I see it this little beauty every time I walk out the door and am reminded to persevere.
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Last but certainly not least, this is the fabric basket I won from Corky! Isn’t it perfect? I just love it! She asked about my colors and I sent a picture of the painting above the fireplace. What an eye this woman has! Thanks again, Corky!
I realize it’s been a while, but someone, somewhere, lost my camera. That darn USPS! But if you ask USPS it’s that darn AMAZON! Amazon is sending another one so I’ll have pictures next week. For my piece of quilting awesomeness, well, that’s not quite as awesome as I had hoped. It’s wonky, yes, but needs a little more oomph. Okay, a lot of oomph. The stars are wonky and I find that I absolutely love this as a start. Build on your successes or burn the evidence that you even tried-- that’s what I tell my students--so I’m going to take my own advice! Just kidding about the burn part, in case you’re new to my insanity. But wait, there’s more stupidity to be uncovered…
I moved into this house over a year ago and guess what I just found? Uh huh, a garbage can: Plastic, colossal, complete with wheels ‘cause no mortal could ever lift it, chock-full of quilting supplies garbage can. I swear, the 30s prints in there have been breeding all this time. Apparently they’ve killed Aunt Grace (in Lord of the Flies fashion no doubt) because her remains are scattered everywhere. OH, what was I thinking?? I suppose this is as good a time as any to add to the New Year’s Resolutions: No more purchasing material until I conquer a few UFOs/USOs (unstarted objects?). I vow to finish one thing between today and tomorrow because the camera should be here Tuesday. I’ll post it!
p.s. Resolution update:
#3, #6: I’m working out 3 times per week, eating healthier, and have lost 3 pounds in January. I rock! Or rather “jingle” seeing as the only open exercise class was belly dancing; that is some serious blackmail footage.
#5: The writing class is going well, I think. I have written one 2-page story and the instructor liked it. No one else in the class did, though. It was too good, right? They just didn’t get it, right? Right?! Hey! Where did everybody go?
#4: Definitely doing more quilting! However, I’m going to stay away from unmarked garbage cans in the basement until I actually hear the cries of mutiny coming from them.
Don’t you just LOVE it when good stuff keeps coming your way? Right after I paid $120 for my speeding ticket (online no less, with a credit card) I went to Piece-N-Quilt’s blog to check out the latest post. There I found my name in lights-I have won their Birthday giveaway!
That’s right, a $25 gift certificate, just for me. I can shop guilt-free and in my pajamas. Oh baby is life good! What a fabulous way to start the new year--a present for me and Piece-N-Quilt online quilt shop is celebrating its first birthday.
Congrats to us both!
(and may we meet again, same place next year ***smile, smile***)
The next project I’m going to finish is Agent J’s quilt. The front is Valori Wells’Delhi quilt kit in high desertand the back is still a picture in my mind’s eye. She said she was drawn to it because it’s not like regular quilts. Therefore, I’m going to try to make a 2-sided quilt with something interesting on the back. This endeavor covers two of my ongoing campaigns—1. Resolution to do more quilting and 2. Improv quilting! Agent J likes the designs of Heywood Wakefield so I thought I’d incorporate some clean lines and curves. So far I have an image of three strips across (multi-colored scraps from the front) and one bisecting line. The middle strip is about 1.5” and the other 2 about 1”. The bisecting line will be a dark brown/orange combination. Over that I’d like to hand-quilt an orange semicircle. Here’s a quick picture of what I am thinking (made on paint & trust me, a hand-drawn picture would be no better!) Oh, and on that note, I dropped my camera (first time) and it promptly broke so I'll have to get a new one soon :O(
Mom’s quilt is done! I washed it (my favorite part); it lost 2 inches in width and 3 inches in length. Upsetting? No way ‘cause it hides all my sewing mistakes. I like it more now that it’s done. I was dreading sewing on the binding because I don’t have TV. So, I went downstairs and found some old CDs to listen to. When I say old, I’m talking about a time when I lived at Clark & Diversey, frequenting the Smart Bar and the Vic Theatre. The playlist included Billy Idol, Concrete Blonde, The Smiths, and Psychedelic Furs. Wow, do I miss wearing bandanas as a skirt, throwing up at other people’s houses and truculent mosh pits. Were those really the glory days?? Anyway, it was an awesome reminder of living in boys’ town and the binding went on fast. Too fast.
I was thinking about improv quilting today . . .
Last summer, I was making a table runner for my mom that was essentially a rectangular log cabin. The pattern instructed me to cut each piece a specific length. As I was cutting, I was thinking, “Why can’t I just sew this on and then cut it? What’s the big deal?” Did I? No. Why not? A number of reasons. Most specifically, trust and assumption. If the authors say to cut it in specific lengths then they must’ve tried the other way and it didn’t work out for some reason; surely they would have found the fastest, easiest way to do this! Onward, upward, cut, cut, cut.
Another reason is because rules have a way of making us feel safe, as though without them there would be absolute anarchy. But I made my mind up when I started this blog that I am going to take chances (and eat breakfast foods in any order I want). We are here to create, right? Therefore, I’m not going to start another project without forcing myself to make an entirely un-thought-out, whimsical, perhaps epic-failure, piece of quilting awesomeness.
Like chicken soup for the quilter’s soul.
Or a kick in the arse.
Both of which I need.
