Monday, January 15, 2018

Five Quilter Revelations

While I am not part of a quilt guild (I would love to be), I consider myself to be an active, participating member of the online quilter community. I have discovered it is a deceptively complex craft. 

Revelation 1: 
I do not like doing intricate piecework, also known as paper piecing. I prefer applique. The subtle difference is with piecework, you are sewing multiple pieces of various bits of fabric together to create the end result. With applique, you utilize an image or letters printed on fabric, perhaps stabilize, and then applique on top of fabric. 

Revelation 2:
The busier the pattern, the less I like it. I have posted before that I like the Gypsy Wife by Jen Kingwell pattern. But when I saw the black and white version of it, well, it is circus gone wrong for me. 

Revelation 3:
The busier the quilting, the less I like to do it. While some dense quilting is amazing, I find free motion quilting to be utterly exhausting. 

Revelation 4: 
I am happy as a pig in mud when I can combine orphan blocks and fabric remnants into something warm and wonderful. I will readily admit I combine secondhand and retail fabric. The majority of my stash is thrifted. 

I have learned don't quilt with thrifted thread. I will still do piecework and hand-stitching with secondhand stuff but not quilting. 

Revelation 5:
Fabric and the collecting of it can be addicting. I haven't figured out why yet. Perhaps it is the possibilities of blindingly beautiful creations? I do know I have no compunction in giving away ugly fabric. I am not going to try and "work it in." There are just too many pretties that can be combined into something wonderful.  

Switching gears to the subject of hand-stitching, as mentioned before I do love my cashmere sweaters. A recent thrifted purchase was this orange hooded vertical design brand cashmere with front pocket panel. I knew there were condition issues with it having 6 or so moth holes. 

A hole too big to mend
 
Moth hole covered with cute applique
Trail cam photo of Hollywooding doe, we have quite a few images of her. She seems to enjoy being photographed.


Do you have any quilting/sewing revelations? 

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