Blog as research assistant

Posted on September 3, 2008 by Suzanne

I’m working on my notes for a trunk show I’m presenting tomorrow night at a quilt guild. You would not believe how many times I’ve already this evening consulted my blog for fodder for my presentation.

My presentation is loosely titled “Is She a Good Example or Horrible Warning”

Hopefully I’ll be funny and entertaining and not stupid or boring.

I’m thinking about telling the parmesan cheese story. I don’t know that I’ve ever posted the story about how I cut off the tip of my finger with a rotary cutter. That was pre-blog. The quilt I was working on at the time is one giant horrible warning. I’ll have to tell you that some day. It’s a doozy.

I’ve got a whole list of quilts where I did something “WRONG” — or something happened to me (like the finger incident…), plus I’m taking a few where I did everything “RIGHT”. Unfortuatnely, there are a lot more of the problem children than the perfect angels.

The moral of the talk, of course, is that even with all of my troubles, the main thing is that I soldiered on — these are finished quilts I’m talking about here. I kept going, made sure I didn’t get any blood on anything, and finished the crazy things. The funny stories that go with these quilts are what makes them even more special to me. And even with their flaws, they turned out to be pretty darned good quilts, if I do say so myself.

I’ll let oyu know how it all turns out. Naturally, it’s been a quiet week, and everything is happening tomorrow. Newspaper to do a story, knitters in the afternoon, guild presentation in the evening, plus the everyday normal stuff….

TTFN-

Suzanne

I love checkerboards

Posted on September 3, 2008 by Suzanne

I don’t know what it is about checkerboards on quilts and in decorating that makes me so happy, but I surely love them, as evidenced by the front of my store, and any number of quilts that I’ve made.

Technically, of course, this is a Double Irish Chain, but it makes me very happy because it’s really just blue and white checks:

For scale, those checks finish at 1 inch. Meaning that the quilt top itself is only 55 by 65 right now. With that much sewing, it feels like it ought to be bigger.

The question, now, is what to do next. I’ve got some really great blue and white paisley that I could use as a border.

But. I’m having Delusions of Applique.

That’s like having Delusions of Grandeur, only worse, I think.

In my current Delusions of Applique, this quilt top has applique on TOP of the lovely blue and white checks. And it might be assymetrical, with maybe a border with some lettering on it. Of course, I have no idea what that lettering might say. Or when I’m going to find time to do this.

Like I said, I’m Delusional.

Suzanne

What I learned yesterday

Posted on September 3, 2008 by Suzanne

First, I want to apologize if any of my friends or relations took yesterday as being directed at them, because really, it wasn’t. The lesson really was about me, and as others have pointed it out, it seems to be a lesson that many of us have trouble with…

I do hope to have something fiber related to post later, but I’ve been messing around this morning and need to get moving (sheesh! I’ve got to GO to work!).

For now, here is what I learned yesterday:

It’s going to take some time to get used to quilting with external distractions. Between the boys (who had gotten out of school early due to the heat) and the phone ringing and the customers coming in the door, I felt like I was running in circles.

Not that I’m complaining, as I knew this is how it would be, but yesterday afternoon seemed particularly crazed.

Or maybe it was because I was annoyed that my audio book kept getting disrupted, and I might have missed something?