Long term projects

-


Tonight's creative endeavor.

In addition to my planned fictional series, there's English paper piecing. Some designs are an eager stitch while others are the kind of thrill I dive into a few times a month, like sewing together these simple Lavender Quilt blocks, then tucking them into a tote. I need to fashion over a hundred of these four-inch triangles surrounded by half-hexagons; each one takes about three and a half lengths of thread, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes of sewing per block. Usually I'm entranced by the Cornflower Quilt blocks, which are much larger and take a few evenings, but they are some awesome shinies (which I know is technically not a noun and shouldn't be made plural, oh well) and currently I have one started and three more basted, whew! The Lavender Quilt will linger far past Cornflower; I don't know why certain EPP projects are more languid than others, but some just are SLOW GOING.

Maybe I like having a project that allows for a very subdued pace. It's like I can always come back to it; the tote lives near the sofa where I stitch just about every night, as though it was here before we arrived, waiting for me to remove the lid and breathe my dreams and heart into it. Sometimes I feel that way about the writing, in that I'll eek out a chapter, but wonder why I bothered, as the prose feels clunky and disorganization. The next morning I'll read it over and ponder if revision fairies invaded my computer, transforming mediocre scenes into decent work. Or maybe I lower my expectations? LOL!

Not every English paper piecing project (EPPP) piques my interest though, a few having fallen through the cracks; will I complete my Lucy Boston honeycomb quilt? What about all those one-inch hexie flowers I stitched a few years ago, neatly stacked in a small tote and dwelling under my large work table. Those require a few (ore several) afternoons of machine applique, and truthfully so do the Lucy Boston blocks, as I'm not going to baste, then sew all the necessary joining blocks. And let's not even mention EPP kits I've chosen but have yet to employ, oh my goodness. I NEVER AGAIN NEED TO BUY PAPER SHAPES, let me announce firmly. I have more than I'll ever use, just like I have heaps of DMC embroidery floss and yeah, plenty of fabric. Much like I have more novel plots than I could ever write, not enough time or energy for all the crafting thrills and spills.

If any of the grandkids need a hobby that has to do with needles, thread, etc, I can totally hook them up! However work done with one's hands requires a tenacious love for slow completions and much patience. Recently my eldest daughter crocheted a large afghan for friends, so yeah, some of these pastimes are being handed down. They might not be gripped as tightly as I cling to my methods of a maker's joy, but it was awesome to hear from her about yarn and so forth. Perhaps the EPP kits will be gifted to future generations, or maybe once I finish the Cornflower quilt I'll set my sights on another marvelous design that struck a chord previously. And maybe one of these days I'll finish the Lucy Boston blocks then cut some large squares in solid hues, then center the blocks on the squares and turn all those hand stitches into a viable quilt top. 

Basted papers to complete this block are in my traveling hexie box. I really need to bring those pieces to where this block waits.

Maybe, one of these days. Long term projects require the right mood from the maker and the perfect moment from the muse. Kind of like planets aligning and novels reaching The End. 

Popular posts from this blog

Fits, starts, and restarts

-
Image
Two examples from two different skeins of yarn where breaks in the colour scheme occur. Very indicative of my current mood, lol. This is a funny novel, for all the hemming and hawing going on. Never before have I written, then purged scenes with somewhat of an abandon. I truly don't know what to make of it, chalking it up to age, grieving, the weirdly long winter (even though it's spring), or my new computer keyboard, which is small but adequate in a strangely truncated manner. I'm enjoying the writing, but the story keeps veering off on tangents I'm not comfortable with, in that too much is being revealed too soon, bleh. Future and Past Me's are steering clear of this manuscript, perhaps because what came before it was so out of the blue, so cathartic, and this prequel is just as outta my backside as any I've ever written. But I am writing, let me restate that, despite restarting a chapter here and there. I'm not getting much else accomplished, other than s
Read more

Orphan blocks are not like unfinished novels

-
Image
It's a busy day, getting ready for guests that will enlighten our lives for the next week. However my feet are a little weary, so why not ramble here for a bit, giving those dogs a rest as well as set upon a discourse about the above title before I forget why I thought it was important (lol). I don't even know why I first pondered this, maybe an IG poster mentioned them, which made me think of my orphan EPP blocks. I don't have many machine sewn blocks without a home, but plenty of English paper pieced designs linger in a tote, patterns I liked and HAD TO MAKE. I used plenty of them on a Turning Twenty quilt, decorating some plain tone-on-tone prints and that was a great manner in which to employ less than a quarter of what remains, ahem. Oh and I used some on a t-shirt quilt that I made in conjunction with a friend, who had lived in Hawaii for a few years and wanted to put her aged shirts to quilty use. But still many remain, although I have a plan for them, hehehe. I am h
Read more

Following one's heart

-
Image
Fascinating from the back, as though a map to an unknown destination. It was an early start today, half a chapter written, then texting with my youngest daughter and enjoying photos of her sunrise a few hours east of us. I woke to clear, starry skies, but clouds have since moved in, rain forecast for the next few days. Maybe in a few days I'll have completed my novel; it's VERY CLOSE to being done, but I said that in a recent post, The End dangling like a carrot merely an arm's length away. Meanwhile I've been stitching together Cornflower blocks each evening. The photo above was snapped last night, what I see as I sew. MANY papers to remove, but I'll deal with that later, lol. I'm also working on another quilt, hehehe, more about that in a day or two. And the last ones for this year are washed and waiting to be given to my granddaughters on Christmas, which is just a little over a week away! I considered today's title right after reading through the sevente
Read more