I am aware that my quilting muscles are rusty. Decisions take longer, I do more unpicking, get further through a project and then change my mind over big choices. That's okay. I have decided to start with simple things. My first pass, though, was a complete non-starter. I had seen a lot of very pretty octagon quilts and thought I would pull some scraps and fiddle about with something similar.
What I learned, pretty quickly, is that either I needed to bite the bullet and cut these in a proper, regular fashion, using a template, or to become wilder, push the shape away from its natural geometry. I can see that a half-hearted improv octagon is not a good thing. Sewing them together in groups didn't so much look like improv - more like poor sewing. I tried adding strips in to break them up, which I didn't mind too much, but it wasn't exciting me and I couldn't find a way forward. Shame - there are some nice fabrics here, but stuck is stuck.
10 comments:
I like the wilder "snowball=octagon" look of your blocks--don't give up--
I think it looks like the start of a fun pajama party!!:))) hugs, julierose
Stuck is stuck for sure. I think it's smart to set aside if it is not fun, and maybe there will be a better time to keep this going in the future. I know it would take a lot of seam ripping, but I wonder if keeping the shapes from being directly sewn side by side to one another would work better?
I can see how some of the hexies kind of look like diamonds or on point squares, but I am kind of digging the craziness of it! The strips do add a sense of order, but the variations in the hexies give it a sense of making do with what you have which I love!
Totally understand not wanting to continue to wrestle something that isn't enjoyable, especially if quilting is your relaxation. That bird fabric is brilliant, and the plaid with sketchy floral looks great too, so it would be great to be able salvage some bits. I wonder if some more blank space would help?
Those are lovely fabrics but it's smart to set it aside when stuck. Too often I push through and usually dislike the result.
Set it aside but be sure to add some notes to yourself about what you don't like and what you do like. That way when it comes to light again, you won't have to wrack your brain to find out what you were thinking. (I love the concept - for the record). You might want to take a look at Cathy L's blog - she has made liberated snowballs - like this project https://saneandcrazy.blogspot.com/2018/09/from-35-inch-scraps.html
Doing good, if you ask me...however, better in a box for later when you can see with fresh eyes that the rest of us can already see....the good stuff xo
I think when we reach the point that you're describing then the best thing is, as you have done, walk away fo a while, tuck it away in a drawer or cupboard and at some point in time you could revisit.
This looks like it could have some potential, but I know what you mean about feeling stuck. Some projects just refuse to shape up in the right time frame!
For me stuck means either putting it aside or slashing into it with the rotary cutter. I enjoy chopping ne'er-do-well pieces and seeing where they go.
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