Sew Slowly
Sunday, 14 May 2023
Stretching
Monday, 8 May 2023
Progress report
Sunday, 30 April 2023
Fun and games
The title of this post is ironic. My laptop died so I have wasted a week of good sewing time figuring out what to replace it with and ordering said replacement. Then the delivery company thought they had delivered it - well they had, just not to me. Their driver had given it to a random builder working on a house somewhere else in my village! So then he had to come back, retrieve it and redeliver, only this time to the right place. Now it's up and running, but the photo software I used to use (which was basic and idiot-proof) is not around anymore and I can't find an alternative that both sorts and stores and lets me do simple editing all in one go. Oh my, the range of complicated options out there is slightly terrifying! I have just had to find two tutorials, one to straighten my image and one to crop, which just seems ridiculous. If you have any recommendations, please add them in the comments.
In the meantime, I have got as far as this piece, which I am generally pretty happy with
except for the dimensions: it is about 60" long, but probably only half that across, so very long and skinny. I have played around with things I could try on the sides with limited success. There are photos but I lack the tenacity to turn them into useable images right now. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.Thursday, 20 April 2023
View from the kitchen floor
Thursday, 6 April 2023
Making my own problems
One of the things I most appreciate about blogging is that sometimes people say really, really helpful stuff. A big thank you on this occasion to Yvonne and Julie and Ann for their comments, which have, I think, stopped me from getting bogged down. As a result I have been thinking about using some of my quarter-ovals in other configurations, though I haven't reached any firm conclusions. In the meantime I started making extra bits, to use up the scraps I have made in cutting the curves. I am making more of the strips with tiny triangles, but also some pinwheels.
I wondered about something like thisFriday, 31 March 2023
Ifs and buts
Back to the current piecing. I have spent a lot of time staring at the floor and shuffling things about but progress is slow and I am not necessarily moving in a straight line. In fact, sometimes I am going backwards.
I have realised that what both fascinates me and frustrates me about all these circles and ovals that I've been playing with recently is that a circle is a closed shape. Four quarters makes a whole, but there it ends. This can be pleasing but it can also make for shapes that feel quite static; the trick is in trying to find a way for them to interact with each other. If you don't get it right, it feels a bit like a room full of children all glaring at each other from opposite corners but refusing to play.
I am thinking I might run the ovals diagonally, like this.
Already, given the size of my curves, I am wondering what I might do when I run out of bigger pieces of fabric. No conclusions as yet and not much actual sewing things together, just a lot of ifs and buts.Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Brief pause for a finish
It's always nice to step away from tricky piecing for a moment or two and remind yourself why it is that you bothered in the first place.