Phew! So, who knew how much of blogging actually entailed re-entering and re-moving items I had already taken care of?! This reminds me of my old job managing a fundraising database that had been struck by lightning; every day was a new surprise!
I'm starting to discern a theme in my activities, whether it be blogging, quilting, writing, work, or working out: before I can get down to business I inevitably need to reorganize my entire space (and sometimes several times over!). It's either incredible work avoidance (an entirely reasonable hypothesis) or else some kind of deeply rooted nesting impulse that requires me to ensure a perfectly ordered environment before I can create. It's always been that way--I've always had to recreate my space before I could create something new. It has certainly guaranteed bruises, if nothing else!
This time, however, I must insist that the creative space makeover was actually not my idea (although I had, admittedly, just settled in, for the second time, into my basement sewing are)! My sweetie was perhaps worried that I was taking on Unabomber tendencies with all my basement dwelling, and so suggested that I transform my upstairs office into a work-of-all-trades space.
A little heaving and ho-ing (two flights of steep Victorian stairs!) and my crafty items were transported upstairs. That table top on the left? A finished solid oak slab rescued from the garbage. Wicked heavy, but total score! I'm a bit embarrassed to show the work in progress shot, but I'm so excited to no longer be a cave dweller! I may have to wear the sunglasses for a bit longer until my mole-eyes adjust! Stay tuned for finished makeover photos!
On WIP updates, I am getting the hang of the hand quilting. How the heck folks actually hand quilt (in a timely manner) full-sized quilts, I have no idea! It took me a full-length movie to do what I am proudly calling my mug-ugly rug! I am totally proud of having taken on techniques that were challenging and totally new to me (asterisks, hand quilting, the chain piecing, inset seams . . .), but I don't kid myself that it's neat and tidy! By the time I had the energy to rip out the seams and line up the pieces that were a bit "quirky," I had already gone too far past to fix it. Such a helpful learning experience though! Here's the little "beauty," minus her binding (which I'll probably do in the red):
That bottom asterisk is beyond wonky. I love that asterisk style, though, and want to play with that more. I need to get much better at sewing before I get too bold with such narrow cuts, especially with my 1970 Singer pedal. It reminds me of the first clutch car I drove! I also love the chain design and want to keep playing around with that, as I think there's a lot of potential in that as a border or a whole quilt design, but with more subtle colors.
lovely!
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