icecreamsodaquilt
Showing posts with label icecreamsodaquilt. Show all posts
why should you sew quickly?
My sewing has slowed WAY down, practically to a stand still. It wasn't really intentional, it sort of just happened and I've been wondering why. Of course hand sewing is slow, perhaps it requires a certain frame of mind or mood, but how do you keep up the momentum?
I started off making quilts quickly with my machine, then once I started doing English Paper Piecing I realised how nice the change of pace was. All types of hand sewing became my passion and the fact that projects are portable, easily picked up and put away, made them even more appealing. There are a couple of hand sewn quilts that are ongoing and obviously they are my longer term projects but that block above, for example, was started last October! And for someone that has been hand sewing every day, three months feels too long to not have even finished one block.
So why did I stop? Work is busy, a lot of sewing gets done and if I've been sewing all day I often don't want to do any hand sewing in the evening. Sometimes I am simply too tired, I would rather read a book or watch YouTube.
But it really started when I decided to listen to podcasts on my commute. I realised I was enjoying listening and wanted to concentrate. It felt nice to not sew at the same time. A nice break.
And here's the thing, I don't want to do more than one thing at a time. Life is hectic, three kids and work keeps me busy. So when I'm relaxing that is what I want to do. Shut off, zone out, take my mind of things.
I did (nearly) #100daysofsilentsewing and that was wonderful. In fact I might try to do that again, even just for a few minutes. Every stitch counts! It's not that I want to hurry up, in fact a couple of the projects I probably haven't finished because I want to drag them out a bit longer (I'm especially thinking of you Green Tea and Sweet Beans ♡). It's not a race and I know that, but I really am missing hand sewing and all the benefits it brought me.
There was definitely an element of overwhelm too, seeing so many beautiful hand sewn projects on social media, and how quickly people seem to finish them! I needed to take my own advice to restore my creativity, step back just a little and do some replenishing. Maybe it was just a break that was necessary.
Last weekend I did manage to prep some epp pieces during the #saturdaynightcraftalong and choosing the fabric combinations got me really excited. So the plan is to try and pick up some momentum and get back to some 'me time' hand sewing.
Having remembered the vision for my ice cream soda blocks I am motivated to finish that block above too!
It would be nice to get to a place where I have one project to work on and not move on to something else until I've finished it but I don't know that it will ever happen. I'm not sure that's my way. A mix of projects suits me but it has become a bit overwhelming. It might be nearing time to face my works in progress/unfinished objects list and gain some control (I know it needs doing!). Or just keep sewing what I fancy and taking it all slowly. Or maybe I should try to quickly finish one off my slow sewing projects.
Can you tell this post is a stream of consciousness?! There is no conclusion, I am going to go and sew now...
I will just post the picture of my Year in Colour - a fun tool created by Makelight to show the colours that you used on your Instagram in 2017. It's interesting to play about with and I intend on referring to mine for inspiration.
Ripples Quilt
I have to admit to being completely in love with this quilt. It's vibrant, bohemian vibe makes me really happy. This is the kind of quilt that would cheer you up on dark nights and add lively colour to a room.
The pattern is the Ripples from the book Sew Jelly Roll Quilts & Gifts by Carolyn Forster. I used a jelly roll of True Colors by Heather Bailey - with great graphic prints and rainbow colours.
You can watch the Sewing Quarter demo here.
I chose to quilt a diamond motif in the centre using red, purple and blue Aurifil thread. I used different weights of thread too to give a subtle shift in texture.
The quilt looks even better 'in use', folds and drapes show off those lovely prints.
The pattern is simple but striking and it was made easier with the Creative Grids Multi-Size 6" Flying Geese & 45° / 90° Triangle ruler - that's a mouthful! But I've been using this ruler a lot and it's incredibly handy for so many quilt blocks and patterns. If you're looking to add to your collection then that's a great choice because it does so much.
Now I have to be totally honest, there were more triangle sections than you can see in the quilt. I pieced them together and set them to the side of my machine. Went off to do something, came back and kept on sewing strips, completely forgetting the triangle strips that were on the other side of the table. Doh. When I realised I unpicked one row and ended up piecing them into the edge. Sadly I didn't have time to unpick more so those triangles didn't make it. It doesn't effect the finished quilt though and you'd never know if I hadn't told you!
This week I finished another #icecreamsodaquilt block. I am enjoying using all my Liberty scraps and this blue one has some hidden Hello Kittys!
Finally I wanted to let you know that I will be teaching at the Sewcial Retreat next March! In a beautiful setting, not far from Oxford it's going to be a fun weekend of sewing and relaxing. Organised by Purple Stitches you can get all the details of the retreat here.
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