“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” GUSTAVE FLAUBERT
Been doing a bit of soul-searching these days as I hand appliqué away on the *vintage* quilt top I unearthed by accident. It is kind meditative so I am listening to a few of my true crime podcasts while I work to keep my mind interested and the fingers nimble. I know, I know- nobody does needle-turned hand appliqué any more but I always liked it and am hoping that the interest returns beyond just the sense of duty. ANYway, this quilt is about raccoons and I am gonna make it WITHOUT RACCOONS. Because who in hell wants to spend time sewing on a family of 'em? (I am NOT raising my hand here.)
Stumbled on a whole pile of bad tattoos the other day and this one stuck out for me- a MacKenzie Childs tattoo!
Seems that wherever I go there is a MacKenzie Childs kitchen with the teapot nes=xt to the stove and the plates on the counter and tiles on the wall. I will confess to a couple of dog bowls but I stopped there. And I still love me a black and white check but enough is enough. Think I will blow up this guy and frame him for my shelf as a reminder NO MORE CHECKIES!
Ahhhh Lesson
Yup, one can use machines to make art. Back in the 'late 70's I had a quilt teacher who would only accept hand stitched blocks- she said sewing machines weren't used to make quits and so I worked away being 'authentic making a com[letely hand stitched quilt out of muslin and reproduction blue fabric. I completely lost interest after the third or fourth block and it was all I could do to pretend to like quilting. But then one day someone forced me into going to a quilt show and I couldn't believe that actual artists were using quilts for they work and they most certainly were piecing them on their machines. How dumb can a bunny be? Their fabric was new and certainly not reproduction from 100 years ago.
Lightening Bolts Struck and I raced home to get going on a new quilt of my own design, using my machine and fabric from the local fabulous store.
This was a very important life lesson- no longer would I have to follow somebody elses rules and regs, this was something I could do in short snatches between kids naps and peanut butter sandwiches. So I did.
Over the years I have seen a lot of changes. Those first years it was tough to find shows to enter but some good r=friends managed to get going on that front so every quilt got exhibited in a good show somewhere. It was fun setting up a system. Fun going to the photographer, Fun getting some recognition! And it continues for 4 more decades with lots of changes and adaptations.
That's fine, life goes on and I stopped meeting every deadline and instead just mess about on what I want to. Hopefully I have a few yarn left before it all gets tossed into the burial pyre on top of me.rt Lesson here is
WATCH FOR THE LIGHTENING BOLTS, and run with 'em.
Life Lesson
If you know me and my yarn struggles you may have noticed me Unknitting the giant sized sheep I was making for my 2 year old grand daughter. Its taken me 2 years to Unknit it now, and I am down to just a placemat sized hunk of bobbled black fabric. I am unknitting so I can make something else WITHOUT said bobbles, and look what I found:
sew sandy sew
Ahhhh Lesson
Yup, one can use machines to make art. Back in the 'late 70's I had a quilt teacher who would only accept hand stitched blocks- she said sewing machines weren't used to make quits and so I worked away being 'authentic making a com[letely hand stitched quilt out of muslin and reproduction blue fabric. I completely lost interest after the third or fourth block and it was all I could do to pretend to like quilting. But then one day someone forced me into going to a quilt show and I couldn't believe that actual artists were using quilts for they work and they most certainly were piecing them on their machines. How dumb can a bunny be? Their fabric was new and certainly not reproduction from 100 years ago.
Lightening Bolts Struck and I raced home to get going on a new quilt of my own design, using my machine and fabric from the local fabulous store.
This was a very important life lesson- no longer would I have to follow somebody elses rules and regs, this was something I could do in short snatches between kids naps and peanut butter sandwiches. So I did.
Over the years I have seen a lot of changes. Those first years it was tough to find shows to enter but some good r=friends managed to get going on that front so every quilt got exhibited in a good show somewhere. It was fun setting up a system. Fun going to the photographer, Fun getting some recognition! And it continues for 4 more decades with lots of changes and adaptations.
That's fine, life goes on and I stopped meeting every deadline and instead just mess about on what I want to. Hopefully I have a few yarn left before it all gets tossed into the burial pyre on top of me.rt Lesson here is
WATCH FOR THE LIGHTENING BOLTS, and run with 'em.
Life Lesson
If you know me and my yarn struggles you may have noticed me Unknitting the giant sized sheep I was making for my 2 year old grand daughter. Its taken me 2 years to Unknit it now, and I am down to just a placemat sized hunk of bobbled black fabric. I am unknitting so I can make something else WITHOUT said bobbles, and look what I found:
My yarn is the weight of the coat. I will not be making the bathing suit thing. But what the F**K am I thinking- I live in Florida and can barely stand the weight of the yarn on my lap for a few minutes, let alone wear it. Aint gonna happen, will just hold onto it for an idea that may or may not drop on my head.
Like SLIPCOVERS
or Overalls
Or Chairs
Or ROCK Covers or APPLE cozies
____________________________________________________________enuf
War does not determine who is right - only who is left..
sew sandy sew
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