It's a patchwork wall hanging/ giant cushion cover/ knee rug thingy I made years ago. My Mum is super-crafty, and one of her (many) craft loves is patchwork (she runs classes). Sadly, I didn't inherit her patience, so this is the extent of my patchworking! It took me about a year to cut and sew the strips together (I can't remember the style of patchworking it's called), and then the pieces languished in a bag, forgetten, for a number of years, until I pulled them about and finally sewed them together some time before my youngest was born (six years ago)! I really don't like like the way I pieced the strips together, the four different colours in the corners is all wrong, which is why it was discarded for so long. Lots of unpicking to do!! The main reason I don't do crafty things (apart from my interminable lack of patience) is that I just don't have the eye for putting things together... like this patchwork.
Any suggestions for piecing it together differently? It will unpick into squares consisting of nine small squares, if that makes sense.
Doing: Setting up another blog. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment, although it probably isn't of interest to anyone but me and will only be updated periodically ;-) As I've mentioned before, I have a really bad memory, which was one of the reasons I set up this blog; in order to have a quick reference to material I had researched. Well, I am also a list-lover, something that I have come to rely on extensively since I had children and lost my mind long-term memory, and so I have several lists all on the go. The problem is of course, that when I have a tidy-up, I can't find them again! So I've set up an online one today, in the form of another blog, in order to keep track of the things I want to do - and skills I want to aquire - in our journey towards a more sustainable future.
Making: Tea-tree deodorant and shaving gel for hubby.
Baking: Scones, using whey leftover from cheese-making.
Dinner: Zucchini fritters and home grown salad.
Reading: The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan.
Contemplating: Learning Tai Chi through the local adult education centre.
13 comments:
I'm not crafty either!! It looks great to me!
Which place are you looking at for Tai Chi? Hunter Community College or WEA? (I'm just nosy lol - I teach computer type courses at HCC currently and have with WEA in the past).
The quilt looks fine how it is to me too, and I've even been known to make one myself. That said, I don't think there's anything to be gained by beating yourself up for not being interested in craft. My mother in law insists on knitting and sewing even though every minute of it makes her miserable.
On the shaving gel front: did you solve the salt not dissolving problem? I'm thinking boiling water, mixing with salt, and then adding to the other ingredients when it cools.
I like the quilt as it is but then I don't have an eye for these things either.
Hi Kez, I was thinking the WEA in town as I can tag team with DH as he works in town too as the course starts at 6pm?
Hi Kate, yeah I just wish I had more patience, it would help me in a lot of other pursuits as well, LOL. Re: the shaving gel, I should upadate that as I discovered that the salt dissolves slowly overnight or over a couple of days, so it wasn't an issue. The boiling water tip is a really good idea though, thanks! I used hot tap water this afternoon and it worked a treat :-)
Hi Polly, thanks. I don't knwo what it is about the quilt that I don't like, maybe it's too symmetrical or something? It just irritates me, LOL. Thanks heavens for seam rippers!
Cheers, Julie
I don't have any suggestions for the quilt. I like it as it is!
I have looked at your new blog and I love the idea of it ~ to have the lists to help you remember! For me it would help to make me accountable, lol :)
Hi, I think the quilt was meant to be a colourwash, which means the colours blend into each other and change as you go. Your blues seem to need to be together more, probably all the blocks just rotated slightly.
A tip is that once you unpick your blocks, rearrange them on the floor, take a picture, rearrange them again, take another photo, etc. Then look through all the photos you took, find the arrangement you like the most (whether its exactly right or not is really irrelevant) and then put it together as per the photo. That's what I always do with a new design - saves a lot of "reverse sewing".
But as someone else said, don't stress about it - you will just resent it and not enjoy the final product if you stress about it too much.
So have fun!
Does your husband like the shaving gel????
I was just thinking how nice the quilt looks with the four colours in the corners like that!
Kate
The quilt is fine, really !
Once the kids get older you might find more time to explore crafty things, but don't stress it- it's not mandatory lol.
Hi Ali, thanks! I think the lists will keep me accountable too, as well as helping to jog my memory, LOL.
Crazynetty - ooh excellent tips, thanks :-) You're right about the colourwash (I didn't know that's what it was called, thanks!), as I also think it needs to blend more between colours. Love the photo idea, much easier to compare. Cheers!
Hi anonymous. Well, DH has been using the shaving gel for some months now and has never complained about it?? He handed me the empty bottle yesterday and asked for some more so I guess it must be OK, LOL.
Hi Kate and Jayne, thanks guys :-) I'm not stressing about it as such, it's just one of those unfinished things that would be nice to be done with, if you know that I mean? Less mental clutter, LOL.
Cheers, Julie
I have no suggestions for the quilt, when I first saw it I thought wow that looks great, but I'm not a quilter, I just thought it was better than anything I would come up with and looked really artistic. I remember my grandma had a quilt, with appliqué that hung on the wall and it was a road that told the family story, (marriage, keeping sheep on the farm, children, other silly significant family events I remember something about a combivan too, mostly just silly events that were significant to my family) I used to love looking at it when I was a kid, my grandma was really crafty.
I like the patchwork. I've just started to revive an interest in handicrafts: knitting and crocheting dishcloths of all things.
Sewing terrifies me to death...visions of machining a needle through my hand *yes, I'm sure they come with safety features that make this impossible...don't they?*.
Hi butterflygirl, wow your Grandmother's quilt sound wonderful! What a great idea :-)
Hi blueblue, LOL - no you can't sew the needle through your hand! I think handicrafts are probably far more relaxing though, since you have to slow down to do them (otherwise you'll make a big mess LOL)?
Cheers, Julie
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