Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Works/life in progress

I have a lot of works in progress or WIPs. Many would call them Unfinished Objects (UFOs). I just like to think of them as tributes to my love of SNT (Starting New Things).

I usually document them on the blog and get all antsy about them. Too many! Can't finish anything! What a complete failure!

But I have had a recent epiphany -one where I realised that I wasn't serving anyone, let alone myself, by making myself feel bad about anything. And neither should I allow anyone else to make me feel bad about myself! (Goodbye Instagram! Goodbye fakeness! Hello happiness and positivity and looking up and REAL LIFE!).

So from now on I will document the WIPs, embrace the SNT and get over it! Luckily there is a WIP Wednesday linky thing over at Freshly Pieced so I can keep this shiz honest. Ooh yeah!



(Cartoon from my new favourite cartoonist, Sebreg.)

This is a SNT. I purchased some gorgeous rainbow coloured solids and some black chambray from Polka Dot Tea Fabrics recently, and the moment the fabric arrived I knew what I wanted to make. Firstly I played on my design wall to make sure I wasn't totally losing my mind with my idea.

Rainbow quilt - started the design process

(Hello design wall. I've missed you while I've been busy sewing clothes and bags!)

And then I started cutting and sewing. My original plan has gone out the window but it doesn't matter. This quilt is going to be awesome.

Rainbow

This will be a slow burn project. It is taking up a lot of space on my design wall, so it may get shelved when I get bored and SNT again.

The other day my exhibition pack for the Canberra Quilters show arrived and OMG entries are due in a couple of weeks and OMG I should have totally known that because I was Canberra Quilters president until only last month. (OMG)

Time to get out a long-forgotten WIP, one that I had intended to put in the show but now I'm not so sure. I suspect that this year I won't be putting anything in the show, but hey one can dream and dreaming is half of what this quilting caper is anyway. (The other half is the friendships you make, but I digress.) (Not too sure where the sewing comes into it.)

Clamshell quilt

I started making this clamshell quilt after last year's exhibition. A clamshell die bought at the Sizzix stand during the exhibition started a great idea. I long-ago abandoned the  papers that I was using for the project - it just wan't working for me and I had bad tennis elbow at the time and it was just making it worse. Instead I use a bastardised version of my own Mylar template technique (I have a tutorial here if you want to check out the original) but instead of doing a gathering stitch I totally freestyle it with the iron. Yo.

Clamshell quilt

In the last couple of days, following very valuable input from a friend, I did a little unpicking and added the green solid. The quilt was looking really muddy, which is what I was after, but a little too muddy, if you know what I mean. I had included solids in the mix (the grey, red and berry) to settle the Center City by Jay McCarroll fabrics down a little, but those solids were blending in too well.  I needed a little Bryant Park and a little Highline. A little bit of Madison Square Park in the island of Manhattan that my clams seem to have become. Much happier.

Come back tomorrow and I will show you one of the maddest things I have ever made in my life. Honestly. Insane. But awesome (hooray for Positivity Panda!).


I've linked up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday. Have you?

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

25 comments:

  1. Hi Michelle, your clamshell quilt is AWESOME......and I really like that SNT on your wall! I always have doubts about all my WIPs, seems like I have a million ideas for SNT, but can never seem to finish very many of them (I think that's an issue that needs to be discussed with a therapist....), but I digress. ;) have a great day, and happy sewing!

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    1. Thanks Beth! It's definitely a work in progress! Hope I don't have to unpick anything again - I'm pretty happy with the random "parks" now!

      The million ideas for SNT is what keeps us going as quilters, don't you think? Hope you have a great day too!

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  2. SNT -love it! It's an affliction I have too! Pleased to find another blogger has my share love with quilting and dressmaking :) Your half square triangles look awesome in solid colours.

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    1. I understand the appeal of "working on one project at a time" for many people, but I think I would get bored. Heck - I KNOW I would get bored! I love having so many projects using different techniques on the go all the time. Keeps me interested.

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  3. this clam shell quilt will be brilliant, and I love the quilt on your design wall. Heck, I love your design wall!!

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    1. Thanks so much! I love my design wall - most valuable quilting tool I own!

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  4. Startitis is the diagnosis given here in the UK. I am a chronic sufferer and tend to not mind too much. From the research done it seems to be a congenital affliction with some born actually wired to indulge in *one* project at a time. These blighted folk also tend to only buy enough fabric/yarn/notions and/or tools for each project. I believe cognitive therapy over tea and cake is offered for these people.

    Also - DUDE! Giving up Instagram? Nooooooooooooooooooooo! Come back.

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  5. I am glad this is a recognised condition,Trash, and that these people have appropriate cognitive therapy available to them. Perhaps they need to read all the books, and touch all the fabric. That should fix them.

    And dude, I deleted my account a week ago and it's been awesome. And you didnt even miss me!

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    1. I have been operating from the laptop rather than the tablet and am missing soooooo much bit you especially obvs ;-)

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  6. I love the grey that you are using with all those fab colours!

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    1. Thanks! It's a chambray in black, but it does look very grey. It has a black and an offwhite weave. Lovely to sew with as well.

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  7. Love seeing what you are up to...I love your clams, what size are they as I am just about to embark on a big clam quilt, see I am an aspirational sewer too!

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    1. They are 4 inch clams I think. Whatever the sizzix die is that I use! I think 4 inch is fairly typical. Are you doing a big clam quilt? Or a quilt with big clams!? I would love to make the Latifah version that is machine sewn. A friend made one and it was fantastic! And so clever.

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  8. lol love the Positivity Panda comic. I too suffer from a love of SNT... and I could care less what anyone thinks :) I do this for me after all, because I love to create things. So they can stuff it lol.
    Dropping by from Lee's WIP hop: http://domesticdeficitdisorder.blogspot.com/2014/06/wip-wednesday-june-4th.html

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    1. Positivity panda is my homeboy. And yes, I am learning to stop listening to other people's opinions! Thanks for dropping by ;)

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  9. The clamshell quilt is fun! You're right the green and grey don't seem to lend the zen you would expect, but the berry and red do it well! Perhaps just one more solid? This quilt could definitely go into the show! It's great :)

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    1. Actually it was the green that I added to give it some zing - the grey, berry and red were the ones that were blending to much, to my eye anyway. Isn't it amazing that we all see things differently? Wouldn't the world be boring if we all saw the same way!

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  10. This makes me feel so much better. I'm always angst ridden about everything being half finished but I get new ideas and bored easily. And also get half way through things and they aren't what I imagined. Love following all if the gorgeous things you make, whether you finish them or not. X

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    1. Anxiety and projects are not a good mix! I quilt and sew to relax.

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  11. I too love SNTs. I had 28 at last count. Every now and then I go through a finishing phase but the first cut into the fabric is my favourite part of quilt-making.

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  12. Hello Michelle,
    I sit here, marvelling in the fact of how slow I actually am. And it kinda doesn't surprise me.
    I miss your beautiful quilts on IG, actually, everything you make and then I asked myself this morning - oh golly, didn't she have a blog?! And here I am.
    I hope you're well,
    Emma (cup_cakr)

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    1. I miss your photos too Emma! So nice to see you here though (and I Love your lip balm blog!)

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  13. Aww, Thank You lovely! The blog is just a new one and am writing it with another lip balm (self confessed) addict!
    It really is so lovely to connect with you again. If you are ever in my neck of the woods, please contact me - cupcakr@gmail.com
    Much love xx

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