Thursday, August 23, 2012

Ramblings


Stars for BOM

I am working on the setting stars for the BOM I made last year, and it is taking a while, so I thought I would just post some random facts to keep you up to date with my summer.  The BOM was in Civil War colors, and I chose to use my own fabric for the setting stars to keep it from looking like everyone else's quilt.  At the time, I decided I wanted to have a red feel to the quilt, so I chose some brownish reds for the setting fabric.  I didn't want it to be too red though, so I am also using some browns and other colors as well.

Then I go into indecision mode.  I am not sure that the reds I am choosing are really Civil War colors.  Some of them I can probably get away with, but some of them are decidedly a country red, and even though they go well with the other colors, I am not sure I am not breaking some major quilting rule.

Just like I worried about my "sophisticated" quilting ruining the modern feel of the three hearts quilt, I am worried that my "country" reds are going to ruin the civil war feel of the quilt.  I remember a time when I didn't care about these things, and wish I could go back.  In fact, I deliberately cross contaminated things so my quilts and I couldn't be put into a particular category box.  Ever since modern quilts have been shown as their own separate category, I seem to want to put things in their nice neat cubicles, except that I still have preferences to mix and match.  The country red is staying, not because I am confidently liberated to use the colors I want, but because I am not going back to the store to buy more fabric.


I am also making a small quilt using the scraps from the stars, and it is turning out really well.  I think I may want to submit this quilt to a magazine or somewhere be published, and it is rearing up indecision for me as well.  Now there is a greater "oh what if this next step ruins the quilt" and "does this fabric really the best fabric to use here" indecision. 



Shopping

The last time I went to the store, they were having a sale, and I bought four yards of clearance fabric.  They had a one yard minimum, and I am sure these would be great for backs or backgrounds or something.  I completely broke my "only buy fabric for specific quilts" rule, but I decided I deserved the splurge.

Then I had a friend who commissioned another quilt.  I went shopping for fabric for that quilt, but I wound up buying a great deal of fabric and thread for myself as well.  It was also on sale, but this was definitely not a well deserved splurge, coming so close to the other splurge, and especially coming so close to my last day at work.

Now I am not sure that I am even making the commissioned quilt.  It is a twin sized quilt, and I wanted to make sure that I had properly heard what she wanted, so put together the quilt using Paint by scanning the photos she had given me, and the blocks she wanted to go around the quilt, and typed up what we had discussed.  She has decided that she doesn't like what the quilt looked like.  I didn't change the colors or spend a lot of time making the drawing look just right, since it was just an idea of the quilt, so I am not sure if she just couldn't picture the differences between the sample and the actual quilt, or whether she really wouldn't have liked the finished quilt.

I am glad I did write this up though, because I would much rather have her be unhappy now, then after I went through the trouble of making the quilt.

Pinterest

I have joined Pinterest, mostly as a way to share my hubs, but have been spending more time enjoying seeing and pinning all the beautiful quilts that have been pinned there.  Several people have complained about photos from their hubs and blogs being pinned there without their permission.  I can see why you wouldn't want a photo pinned there, especially if you were a photographer.  But I really see it more as free advertising.

Besides, many people are going to copy and save a photo of a quilt on their hard drive anyway.  When I decide to make a quilt, it would be great to be able to find the original so I can find out more about the quilt and whether a pattern is available.  Pinterest actually keeps the photo and the link to the source attached, so more can be learned about the pattern.  Is it possible that I would make a simple quilt by using the photo and not buying a pattern?  Sure, but I could do that anyway when I found a photo on a blog or on my hard drive.

Besides, I quilt pretty slowly.  The chances of me actually getting around to making a quilt from a photograph is pretty slim, as much as I would prefer otherwise.

Fleas

It's been a bad year for fleas and ticks. Well, it is a good year for them, but a bad year for us dealing with them.  So far, the thing that has worked the best is the flea comb, and it seems now that after the thorough brushing and combing, Zeus's fur is much better taken care of than my own hair.  He is looking very pretty, even though he still keeps scratching himself from time to time!

5 comments:

Allie said...

Oh my goodness, I am so familiar with that indecision...I do the same thing. It's easy for me to tell everyone else to "keep it", but I agonize over my own decisions! I think your stars are just perfect, hon.

And I know about making something and worrying the next step will ruin it. I do that on every project, it seems, especially the ones I design myself. What keeps me going is the fact that if I do screw up, nobody will ever know but me!

I love Pinterest. Love it. What's your name on there? I'll come follow you. Most of the quilts I pin are way beyond my skills, I just love to look at them, lol!

Sorry your friend couldn't see beyond the idea, but thank goodness you didn't make the quilt. For the fleas, try baking soda in your carpet, and on your hard floors [leave it 10 minutes, then vacuum on the hard floors]. We had them bad last year and that took care of it.

Paula, the quilter said...

Some people can't visualize and maybe that is what your friend is finding. I'm on Pinterest too, I have a link on my blog. You've been quite busy!

jenclair said...

Sharing a vision is always a problem with commissions. We don't all come up with the same images from a description.

I love Pinterest. I see things that inspire me all the time!

Tanya said...

Hi Shasta. Good to see you quilting again. Your Lily quilt is lovely.

Thankfully we don't get fleas around here (too damp?) but we get the ticks. Frontline seems to work. Too bad it doesn't keep mosquitoes away too.

Anonymous said...

Hang in there!! I have not been in pinterest yet...another addiction scares me :-)