Using my 'free time' without guilt

Heading down to my little sewing hole and licking some emotional wounds.  In the meanwhile, I will find and place more of F11.3, and hope to get within the strike-zone of assembling it today or tomorrow.  RowG has been mocking me mercilessly forever.

In the 'Notfernuthin' category

Have you ever had a moment when you felt as though what you did actually meant something?  I mean, "meant something to someone else other than yourself?"  Not just to your friends and family (who we all know love us, but say things to make us feel better) - but we understand their admiration and compliments are maybe not representative of the general population.  Oh, it's appreciated - and well-intentioned, sure - but a little, shall we say... 'suspect' in its objectivity?

That sounded a tidbit harsh (- sorry), but I want to remain unflinchingly honest here.

If you are a creator of some sort, and you put time and energy and creative juices into something, and it comes out at least as well as you planned for it to, you admittedly enjoy receiving positive comments (of some nature) from those who encounter it.  Right?  Let's face it, even though we should be creating for the sake of making ourselves happy, we like the adulation from others to validate the whole thing. [feeling others nodding vigorously in agreement]

So, when I say I like to know that something I make (or do) has a meaning or purpose, or finds a thumb's-up from another person, I am decidedly pleased and do feel completely validated.

Case in point:
For the second time this year, something I have made (or am in the process of making) has been featured in a very public way before a group of like-minded creators (quilters).  When I found one of my photos of an unstitched blocks from VGS as the banner image for an online group, I was astounded.  At least the administrator for the group said she "admires" my design work.

Earlier in the year, she posted another image from my current crazy quilt project as the banner image.  That one she said was "exquisite", and that it added "class" to the group.  The whole of the group is not the least bit effusive, so it garnered not much n the way of comments, but I was pleased that it should be given so prominent a position by someone - and to receive unsolicited praise.

The fact is that she chose to look through my work of her own accord and select some of it to lead with, well... it meant something.

[happy sigh]

Over the hurdle and past the bend

Happily, happily, happily I have cruised past the halfway point of F11.3.  Currently the block is missing a 'mere' 47 inches!

Yes, I know - I am excited, too.

That's still a lot to have to find, but I am happy at the progress.  No, really.  REALLY.
I am.  I promise.  There hasn't been much time dedicated to working on it (as I would like), so my thought is that for the time that has been afforded, it's not too shabby.

My desire is to get RowG underway as soon as possible. But I suppose that is always the desire after the seventh or eighth block of every row.  Yellows are nearly a thing of the past (thankfully), and pretty soon oranges will be a once-in-awhile thing, too.  Can't tell you what a blessing that will be.

Been thinking of creating a much larger layout board to put future blocks together on.  The forward thinking seems to spur me on and work a little freer, especially when I run across a wealth of certain colors that are perfect for one section or another.  Perhaps allowing myself the fun (read: "luxury") of assembling a block in totally far-flung colors (compared to a current area) might be a boon - instead of always making little piles for 'later'.  I guess it couldn't hurt to give it a try, eh?

What are you working on?

UPDATE - 9:12PM
Only managed to place five more measly pieces before turning off the lights for the night.  Sadly, I found myself swapping more than placing new - and all due to the lighting.  I may be in for a sorry shock tomorrow, when I find I don't like what I've rearranged.

As for F11.3

I haven't worked on it over the last two days, but I did scout out several more colors for the shadows I am currently trying to piece together . . . and for the multitude of shadowy pieces to come.  I didn't score a very large haul of necessary delicious bits, but I did find (perhaps) enough to get me through this painful portion.

So it's off to the salt mines I go.  There's a little feeling of justification in my decision to burn a little daylight today.  There are 2.5 pounds of seared country pork ribs becoming dinner in the slow cooker, and a second load of laundry churning - so as to keep me from feeling too lazy.

The block is currently half there - exactly half!  I am buoyed by this revelation, but hardly satisfied.

What are you working on?

UPDATE: F11.3

Sixty-one down, sixty-nine to go.


But who's counting?

Progress on 11.3

Fifty-one of one-hundred-thirty pieces are in place.  I should be happy, I know, but it's a drop in the bucket.   It feels like a drop in the bucket.

I really want to move on to the next row.

I really want to be working with the coming new color-ways - the tortured texture of the skin and the lovely soft tones of the background.

I need to be away from the yellows and oranges which have consumed so much time and effort.  The yellows and oranges that have become muddied and greened; smudged and grotesque.  It too closely resembles an emotional state for me.  Somehow it mimics a mental reflection of loss - mostly from this summer, but also of my life over the past several years.  I want to run from it.

Run and run and never look back.

But, I know if I walk away from this block for the time being and focus on a new start, I will find it even harder to return at a later date to finish; to drive the final nail into its 'coffin'.  Somehow, I need to find more pleasure in the completion than pain in slogging through it.

Fifty-one down, seventy-nine to go.  Happy thoughts from any of you would be greatly appreciated.

F10 done!

F11.3 is still in the layout process...but that is to be expected - I mean, it is 130 pieces.

As of last night (10/2), I had thirty inches in place, so I really only have one hundred more to find.

[whimper]

Oh, geez. Wrong direction

Last night I ended my search for completing F10 relatively early, mostly because my foot was a-hurtin', and partially because the light was hampering things.

Then there's the whole aspect of: I began to remove (and replace) pieces I wasn't 100% happy with, causing the count to climb to nine missing pieces - up from seven.  WTHeck?!

Today, I am back on track (for the most part), and have redeemed myself with 'counter-insanity' measures.

Here is an image of the melee.  On the bottom left is F10 with those four missing inches (evident by the white spots), and to the top right you see the beginnings of F11.3.

Bottom right you can see I clearly have not made myself clean up and adjust the color palette by much - this is making the process move more slowly than necessary.

For those of you looking for my crazy quilting items, please go to  http://bethsmadasahatter.blogspot.com/

Grammar lesson (yes, in regards to quilting)

One thing I have been pondering lately are the words "quilting" versus "quiltmaking".

I saw that someone had read the entry entitled "I think, therefore I quilt", and thought to myself how wrong that seemed.  I began to realize what I actually meant (and should have written) was, "I think, therefore I am a quiltmaker".

For those of you who don't make quilts (either at all or on a regular basis) you may not think there is a difference, but believe me when I tell you that there is.  There really is.

A quiltmaker is exactly that - a maker of quilts.  I am a top-to-bottom sort of quiltmaker...from beginning to end.  I cut and piece the top; I sandwich the top with batting and the backing; I quilt and then bind the piece, and regularly add a sleeve, too.

I take part in every aspect of the quilt creation.  

I make quilts, I don't simply piece the top and get the backing together then hand it off to someone else for the quilting portion.  

I am a quiltmaker.

I am also a quilter.  I quilt my quilts, and I quilt other people's quilts as well.  That is to say, I do that decorative/utilitarian/very necessary stitching you see all over the quilt.  You know, that stitching that keeps the layers together and embellishes the quilt piecing.  Yeah, that 'stuff'.  I quilt.  

But make no mistake.  Quilting and quiltmaking are two different things.  Quilting is an act of quiltmaking - a very important piece of the quiltmaking process - but it is still just one component of the overall activity which is quiltmaking.  

Do you see the difference now?  Can you get behind the theory and the practice?  Good.  I knew that you could.  It's a very big distinction, don't you agree?

So when someone tells you they are a quilter, you can feel free to ask them if they quilt for themselves or if they quilt for others, as well.  Otherwise, you could (if you were so inclined) feel free to press the point by letting them know they are, in fact, a 'quiltmaker' of the very highest order - and not simply a 'quilter'.  A very good thing indeed.

_______

Oh, and before I forget, I am seven inches away from completing F10.  Seven inches of torture, but I will persevere.  ;v)  What have you been working on lately?

A little progress, a little sad news

F10 is now underway, and it is still somewhat slow going.

[snorting at "somewhat"]

The finger is still tender, but healing.  Amazingly better than it has been, and for that I am grateful to the medical peeps at the Wayne State University Physician Group in Rochester, MI.  Handwork is infinitely frustrating due to the nature and location of the injury and the s-l-o-w healing process, but I am overjoyed to be able to hold and manipulate a needle and Perle cotton again - albeit clumsily.  In time I will be back 100%, but until then, I am happy to at least be slowly working at my loves.  For now, my crazy quilting is on the back burner.

Nothing much to say or show on the PSQ front, but I can admit to trying my best at identifying and cutting bits and pieces for F10 and F11.3.  I tell you, you have no idea how much [we] take for granted the simple tasks of holding our quilting tools is.  Gripping the rotary cutter is a real chore, as is pinning.

With a gimpy digit, it's even taking a lot longer to machine piece the blocks together.  The normal 2.5 hours for one hundred 1" pieces is up to well over three hours!  Allowances have to made for how I hold and push the glass heads into the seams for meticulous matching of every joint.

So when I tell you how happy I am for each completed block in RowF, I am not blowing it out of proportion.  Also, this row represents a huge familial loss for us.

The second of my beloved quilt testers and sewing buddies has passed. On the 19th of September, we had to help Flop move on to a better place.  This wound will take longer to heal than my finger, and the pain of it will linger far longer.

Rest in peace, Flop.  I miss you and Cleo more than words can say.