How to make a quilt Endeavourer's Style.
- Think about the theme: wishes. Look up the word Wish. Find that the meaning in English is somewhat different than in other languages. In some other languages, wish and hope can be used interchangeably. In English hope is about possibility, wish is not. "I hope I'm happy with the quilt." Here there is the possibility that I will like it. "I wish was happy with the quilt." Uh-oh. Wish is a past tense kind of thing. Yeah, we wish each other Merry Christmas, but that's a special rule. English is full of special rules.
- Wonder why you are turning 65 soon and still can't play piano even though wanting to for twenty years. Enter "wish" in Pinterest. Discover a wry, motivational quote. Ah-ha! Decide on a fusible appliqué word quilt and dive in with the usual "only stash, only squares" rule. Find a font, print it out, transfer to fabric, blah, blah, blah. Remove the kitten about a thousand times from the middle of things. Have less fun than anticipated.
- Get the flu from your grandkids -even though you had the flu shot- and be sick for the better part of two weeks.
- Look at the calendar and realize Reveal Day is less than four days away. Force yourself to just get the damn thing done (with time outs to lie down on couch). Wonder why you still have a fever.
- Finish quilt and wish you were happier with it. (Maybe it will grow on you.)
- Go lie back down and think about practicing piano tomorrow.
Aw Maureen well done for powering on through the flu - it was worth it! I love this quilt - the quirky lettering is perfect and your wavy quilting is wonderful. I like the message too - it's the way I feel every time a reveal is approaching :-)
ReplyDeleteI've been coming back to look at this quilt again and again. The more I look the more I love it - the contrast of colours from your rusty background to the blues of the lettering, the additional texture some of the patterned fabric gives, and the balanced composition. It's fascinating how you've stuck to your constraint of working in squares but have managed to pull off something very different each time!
DeleteThank you so much, Catherine. Your thoughtful comments mean a lot to me. Working with squares does place a large burden on composition and color placement to carry the day! The "only stash" requirement forces freedom within limits, too. How I wished for Just One More Square of certain colors when making this. But, you just gotta make it work with whatcha got! Right? Right. :)
DeleteWorking within stash works for me - I wouldn't change a thing:-) Did you use a thicker than usual thread for quilting by the way?
DeleteMaureen, this is brilliant! Your quilt looks great and I love your post. Every line perfectly describes almost every quilt I ever make! I'm sorry you had the flu and I hope you're feeling better now. I also hope you will keep practicing the piano and that in a year from now you will be glad you started today :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janine! I was surprised to hear my tale of quilty woe describes you, too! I am feeling better with just a residual cough which will probably last till summer. And I started piano lessons about six weeks ago! Christmas carols here I come!
DeletePost was good. Quilt interesting. I think it turned out well. Hope you are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Debbi. I am liking it more as my flu gets better!
DeleteHaha! Maureen I should have your quilt hanging up in my sewing room, I always wish I had started my Endeavourers quilts earlier :) Hope you are feeling better now.
ReplyDeleteThank you, yes, Fiona. I am recuperating nagging cough notwithstanding! I'm thinking of hanging the quilt in the hall right outside the bedroom where I see it first thing each day telling me to practice piano Now!
DeleteThis was a fun post to read, although I'm sorry you were feeling ill during much of the making of the quilt! I had to giggle a bit about the help from your kitten (I have a helpful cat too). I could hang this in my sewing room too - love the colors and the quilting!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Wendy! Orange is my favorite color since I discovered Yellow Orange in a box of Crayola Crayons at age six. It was love at first sight! Becca Kitten is a trip. She is five months old and is the most hyper, jacked-up baby cat I've ever had -and I've had many. But we love her to bits.
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ReplyDeleteI'm sure you've seen that old article about trying to make cookies with a 3-year-old's "help", and every second step is "remove flour from Nicky's hands and hair," and that is how all my quilting projects seem to go too, so I enjoyed reading your account of all the obstacles. I am sorry you got sick! But doesn't that seem like it always happens when you have a deadline.
ReplyDeleteI love this piece; it is the flip side of the wish coin to the quiet, dark, magical ones. Yours says, "Yes, wishing is nice, but you really need to just get on with it!" but in such a cheerful and supportive way. It is really much more helpful than just passively waiting for a wish to be granted.
DeleteGwen, thanks for putting into words what I couldn't quite articulate about the quilt. It Could be a stern warning. (A lot of the posters I saw of the saying came across that way.) But the cheerful colors makes it, well, a cheerful word to the wise. Which just put me in mind of one of my mother's favorite maxims: A Word to the Wise is Sufficient!
And the squares evoke a calendar page as well. I'm like Catherine, I keep looking at this piece and seeing more! :)
DeleteThank you, Gwen! I think one of the things I like most about the quilt that helps give it some internal order is the runs of darkest to lightest colors I put in here and there.
DeleteI think your quilt is fabulous Maureen. I love the message and your post made me smile. I'm sorry you got sick. I hope you are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteLove the colors and the dense quilting.
Hi Martha! Thank you for your kind words. I am feeling better except a residual cough that I'll probably have till July. Although, I must say, the apricot brandy we bought the other day has helped the cough better than any cough medicine I've tried!
DeleteThis is timely for me, I officially became a pensioner last month, in the UK after waiting an extra 5+ years too. I love your interpretation and the wisdom behind it. A quilt to be proud of.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Kate! (You certainly don't look old enough to be a pensioner!) I turn 65 in April. I'll wait another coupe of yers to collect, too.
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