Sunday, June 20, 2010

I'm praying for Sunshine (and less boogies)

It has been a very unfunny week  here at Insanity Central. Winter is cold. Not Northern Hemisphere cold- but cold all the same. At least if it snowed here I could have fun making snow angels or snowmen or snow cones.   We just get freezing with none of the associated awesome-ness.

This week  the Pyjamas household experienced something like bubonic plague  because everyone besides Mr. P got  sick, including me. Gordon Gekko said "Green is Good"...but green is not good,  especially when it's coming out of your nose. Constantly. I'm putting the Kleenex heirs through an Ivy league College with my tissue consumption this week. What? Gordon Gekko said "Greed is Good" ? But that quote doesn't work for my post....

I practiced free motion quilting this week and am considering taking up a new hobby like scrap booking  or drinking. Or both. Simultaneously. I really am fated to forever quilt in variations of straight lines.  The sane rational part of me knows that I am not the only quilter in the known universe who is yet to master the  skill of free motion quilting ,  but the sane rational part of me went into hiding on about Tuesday of last week. So I learned that new skills take time to develop and I should stop arse kicking myself because I can't do this yet.

I realised this week,  I will still be sanding the kitchen chairs when I move into a nursing home, if I live that long. I'm not sure what possessed me to think stripping furniture was a good idea. Perhaps I smoke crack without my knowledge and that's when I had the original "wouldn't it be cool to take some old furniture and give it a new life" epiphany. But I'm not a quitter so I'm going to keep going and just keep reminding myself of how gorgeous it will all look when I'm finished. While I look at Early Settler catalogues for french provincial buffets and dining settings. What? I'm just looking. I'm allowed to look. 

This is as far as I've got with sanding the Blackwood Chair,  so I'm making a vow to get this chair finished this week. Then we'll talk turkey on the time frames for the million other things I need to get done for this kitchen renovation. I'm totally in a place where I need to break tasks down into small bits at the moment. If I think about the big picture I am likely to completely lose my sanity.




This weekend I tried spray basting  a quilt for the first time.  Let me just say that's two hours of my life I'm never getting back and spray basting is utter garbage. The quilt, backing and batting stuck everywhere except to each other.  I am  now missing a cat. I heard plaintive meowing coming from the pile of backing that glued to itself and my sewing room skirting boards ,  so I'll try to find  Mordecai later.  And, I'll be on my hands and knees at some point  taping the backing to the floor and pinning the quilt as usual.  Lesson Learned. Now I can check "Try Spray Basting " off my list of things to try before I die.

The postman adored me this week. My shutter arrived and is positively gorgeous in person. I bought my final Hushabye charm pack and it arrived via post in under 48 hours. And Hancocks of Paducah sent me part of an order I did a few weeks ago of Christmas fabrics because people it's June and I have to start thinking about Christmas quilts. Look at this luscious gorgeousness just waiting to be joined by a matching jelly roll and fat quarter pack and some inspiration.

 

It hasn't been a totally sewing free zone around here this week. I did cut some more fabric for my snowballs. More about that tomorrow. And, I started a special project using these fabrics  that I'll talk about when it's a little further on.


Hear me everyone. This week is going to be sunshiney and happy , and I'm going to achieve some amazing things.


P.S. By the way, my gorgeous sister will be here in three sleeps....and I don't smoke crack.

14 comments:

Mistea said...

Pretty fabric - can't wait to see what becomes of those butterfly's lovely colour.

Christmas - good time to start thinking about it now. Look forward to seeing what you make.

Yay for sisters close by - sure will make for a sunshiny week!

Lorraine said...

I don't see my sister very often...she lives in NT so it is always great (and sunshiney) when she comes to stay....and do try drinking before you start free motion quilting....it helps....!! A friend of mine never tackles free motion quilting until she has had a couple of drinks...LOL....I don't actually drink alcohol...but have to admit after the past few months I have been seriously thinking about taking it up!

Paulette said...

Sorry about your cold. Hope you're better soon.

Keep practicing the FMQ--note to self as well--we can do this!

Love, love, love that Christmas fabric. That's officially on my wish list now. And the new project's fabrics are gorgeous, and can't wait to see what's up with them.

I have a set of 6 antique chairs eerily similar to the ones you're working on. They are in the process of being stripped right now too, by a professional. When I get them back, I'll be doing more work on them, but I refuse to think about that right now as it makes my head all swimmy.

Kris said...

Phew! So glad you added the crack disclaimer at the end of this post. (Thought I might have to stop visiting!)

Hope you feel better this week!

FMQ is scary, but practise helps. I have spray basted twice. First time it was a wonderful experience which made me want to throw out the safety pins, second time was not so good. (Where ARE those pins???) What was the difference? I have no clue. Because of the good experience I am not ready to walk away from it yet. When it works it is very, very good!

Michelle said...

I can so relate to having a long term projects and needing to break them down. Do you know, we're about to finish up the 2nd DIY year of tiling the whole house? I think we're about 3/4 done--but I can't think about done yet. Just looking for the next section to be done and taking another break from it.

I love, love, love the little butterfly fabrics you're going to use in your snowballs!

As for FMQ, someone told me it took 30 hours just to become somewhat competent--not artistic, not talented, not relaxed and free-flowing--but merely mediocre. I'm counting down the hours. :-)

Hope everyone in your household feels better this week!

AnnieO said...

That type of enforced dieting is all the rage for cats, I hear. Being spray basted is the newest, most advanced treatment around! Mordecai is so trendy.

Love your new fabrics. Also your progress on the chairs. You'd think that being loopy on stripper and basting spray would help with the FMQ, but go ahead and add some more chemicals of the alcohol sort :)

Carry on!

pwl said...

I'm sorry you're not feeling well, but I do have to say thank you for making me laugh while reading your blog. I do hope poor Mordecai surfaces soon!

Baa-Me Kniits said...

Too bad about the spray basting....told you it sounded like cooking ;-) Maybe I should try FMQ as I can't sew a straight line!! Good luck with the sanding although sawdust and green colds don't go well together....

Cynthia L. said...

So sorry you and your family are ill. What is it with men, they never get sick!

I am going to have to run out and get some of that spray basting stuff. My animals really get me angry sometimes and that sounds like a good way to keep them in order. I like the way spray paint smells - does this smell anything like it?

Love your materials and can't wait to see what you are working up.

Your chairs look really good - when you are finished would you conisder coming over to my place and do some refinishing?!?!?

Hope you are all feeling better.

Elizabeth said...

Shay, I love those last fabrics! They are definitely sunshiney and happy! Good luck with the furniture stripping. I discovered that I didn't have the patience for it. Oh, and your Christmas fabrics are awesome too!

Hope you're feeing better!

lw said...

I loved this post. Hysterically funny, yet informative. Poor Mordecai-- but at least my Lucy-Cat will not have to go through the same experience.

I hope you're all feeling better soon.

AMW said...

UGH! I tried spray basting for the first time this week too. Won't do that again! I should have waited until your post came along, but who knew?

I need to just hold of trying new stuff and wait to see if you'll try it first! So what's next to try????

Shirley said...

Sorry you had a bad Spray Basting experience. I use nothing else. I hate basting by hand, boring, and pins aren't much better. I use a spray called 505. It has to be 505 because it's the only one that won't yellow and go crumbly inside your quilt. You need a large space. Lay your backing out and tape around the edges to keep it from moving. Lay the batting on and smooth. Then fold back and spray half the back of the batting (not your fabric) and smooth down. Then spray the other half of the batting the same way. Then lay your qult on top and smooth out. Again fold back half way and spray the batting, not the quilt, and lay down your quilt and smooth. Then the other half. It works a whole lot better if you have help too but I have done it by myself.

Vesuviusmama said...

I love reading your blog - you bring a smile to my face every time, and often make me laugh out loud. Hope you find Mordecai...