Saturday 1 February 2020

If wishes were kisses...

For some reason when I saw this quarter's theme was "Wishes" what went through my head was the refrain "If wishes were kisses...".  Now I don't know the next bit and when I asked Gordon he told me never heard of it but had heard "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride".  That rang a bell so I thought I had it all wrong and it wasn't until I typed "if wishes" into google and it came back with both and "if wishes were fishes'! 

I guess I shouldn't be surprised because wishing is everywhere: wishing wells, throw a penny in the fountain, enter a church for the first time, playing the lotto, wishing upon a star, Amazon wish list...
But that saying about beggars might ride kept popping into my head and I looked it up and was surprised to see it was Scottish but not surprised that we'd know it too with all the connections between Ireland and Scotland and the UK in general. 

Another thing I found surprising and not surprising is the good and bad sides to sayings.  Like "He who hesitates is lost" and "Look before you leap".  Kind of contradictory but kind of not.  "If wishes were horses then beggars would ride" meaning everyone would have a horse and that's not the case, wishes don't all come true, get on with things and make it come true yourself.  As opposed to "When you wish upon a star, makes no matter who you are, When you wish upon a star your dreams come true." 



So I decided to grab some fabric and build scrappy background and make some wishes.  I found bullet journalling last year and have a wish list page with my version of a dandelion clock 'cause whether you believe in wishes or not, its tremendous fun blowing dandelions.  I quilted all of those sayings into the background and had fun choosing fabric that looked like a stem, a dog added in and some flowers on low volume fabric. 

I added in 4 boxes for wished for items and thought about adding something in but left it blank as most of the time we have all we need and don't thankfully don't need to wish for much.  I very nearly added in a scene from Miss Confidentiality where Sandra Bullock's character is on stage being interviewed in the beauty pagent following everyone who has wished for world peace.  She comes out with longer prison sentences for repeat offenders and when that falls flat as a burst balloon adds world peace to rapturous applause. 


I ran out of room to quilt all that in the background so I am calling the piece Miss Confidentiality.  It seems to fit to me as for some reason in lots of cases if you tell anyone your wish it won't come through - who came up with that one?   

Anyway that's it; what started as wishes as kisses ends up with amazon wish lists and world peace.  Now wouldn't that be nice.

16 comments:

  1. I love this piece Ruth, there is so much to it and it is so beautifully put together. Funnily enough we both started from the same place with this challenge!

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    1. Thanks Fiona, great minds think alike - my mum used to always add to that saying with Fools seldom differ but I'll take the first bit!

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  2. I love the thought processes behind this work. Stream of consciousness?

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    1. Probably Catherine, I did ramble on a bit. Amazing what pops into your head from just one word!

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  3. This is a lovely piece and I really enjoyed the story behind it :)

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    1. Thanks a million Janine. It always surprises me when I make a block with scraps how very little fabric it takes. I enjoyed making a scrappy background and think this could be fun with the right fabrics in a frame all by itself!

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  4. Such a beautiful decorative quilt - the soft colours, texture, and your lovely embroidery make it something you can be proud to put on your wall.

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    1. Thanks Catherine. I think I have a spot for it in the living room but it might go in the spare bedroom yet! I'm starting to get a collection now thanks to the challenges.

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  5. Oh my goodness, Ruth! Can I just say that I love this piece?? The pale colors and the black, the thought process of one thing to the next, the quilted in phrases, the dandelion seeds...the doggie. And the frame you chose is perfect. Way to go!

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    1. Thanks a million Maureen. Fun when a no stress idea takes shape. this was probably the quickest make so far.

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  6. My first thought with the wishes theme was "If wishes were fishes", so it's fun to see so many with that same-ish thought. A few of us came to the dandelion thing too - how fun is that? I like your quilt, and all the thought that went into it!

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    1. I was struck by that too how quite a lot of us ended up in similar places with very different results!

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  7. OMGosh I love your commentary on this piece. Just absolutely love it. For me, a creator's thoughts about each element makes the piece art. Some of us chose blowing dandelion seeds to depict this Challenge. I did too. I just love how each of us came up with very different views on blowing the seeds. I love everything about your piece.
    xx, Carol

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  8. I guess we are all children at heart - that was one of my favourite things to do when I was little. We used to do it tell the time too which could never work!

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  9. Oh Ruth I absolutely love your quilt. The low volume fabrics that you used to piece the background make such a statement without overpowering the stitching of the dandelion. so beautiful.

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  10. Ruth, you know what? The name of that movie is really Miss Congeniality, but I like your title better! It seems more original and adds to the backstory of the piece. I also like the way your fabric choices seem suggestive and open-ended, leading the viewer to wonder what it really is that is on this wish list. A lovely piece!

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