Unable to Settle

I had a reminder to back-up my laptop the other day, and it also prompted me to organise my photos into folders, sorted by month. I needed this more than I knew, I had been writing myself and this year off as unproductive but it turns out I was wrong. Up to a point. And that point was late June. Yep, I fell off the productivity/sewing mojo/whatever you want to call it bandwagon at Midsummer.

Stash pull for bed runner.

Since then I've covered every available surface, the corner of the sofa, our rarely used for the actual purpose dining table, sewing table, sideboard, etc... with must start projects. I've started each of them. None of them are finished. Few of them have been picked back up beyond the first week of starting. Honestly, I've never felt like this. I don't know what I'm doing. I do know I can't force myself to finish them all, I'll end up like a toddler or teenager rebelling against the overbearing strictures of my own self. Which is too much internal strife to bother with.

Some are more important to me than others. For instance, my dad does need a hat. His hair really is falling out, he's distracting the other bridge players and it was 5°C/41°F when he got up to walk the dog last weekend. So even though I barely ever knit, I'm the world's slowest (two Christmases passed before Paul got the scarf I promised), I've never knitted in the round before (but the newly bald shouldn't have to deal with seams), and I have real trouble paying attention to which stitch I'm on, this project is a definite priority.

I've had a 5 month hiatus from the Farmer's Wife quilt. I miss it, this block is not the most fun colours of the ten I've prepped. And that was my mistake. I meant to only prep 5 at a time from now on. But the colours distracted me and I selected for ten before I knew it, and then felt compelled to cut them all out. It went swimmingly till I reached the templates. They took me two months, and stared at me accusingly from the dining table all the while (yes, we eat on our laps).

I also knocked into it scattering the nicely laid out pieces...

I still love my colourful Death Star idea. When I started I got intrigued by trying to make my stitches less noticeable, so I tried some stuff. I got some good results, but finding a new stitch and then getting a rhythm with it is not easy. So I put this down again. Now I'm in two minds. Do I continue trying to make my stitches invisible, noble sure, I guess, but super time-consuming? Or do I go back to my FWQ regular whipstitch which I can bust out like nobody's business? I'll enjoy the process of the latter more, but will I feel annoyed with myself at the result, or once I'm more than a foot from the quilt will I even see the stitches if they're in a grey or matching thread? Ugh, these are the questions that have left this project sitting on a tray on couch, neglected for more than a month.

The others are all little projects, a giant cushion cover from leftover hourglass blocks, an elongated quilted cushion in Echino as a draught excluder, and a stash pulled bundle to make a simple bed runner just like the ones I made as wedding gifts.

One final thing, I've recently taken up and have found surprisingly meditative is free motion quilting. The #dailyfmq tag appeared on instagram, set in motion by the Crafty Planner. I've only spent like 3 ten-minute chunks at it, but I've enjoyed each of them, learned something each time, and discovered it's possible to slip into a nice peaceful state while you're at it, until you get too peaceful, make a mistake and then it all goes to hell! But everyone at the hastag is so lovely and helpful, I've definitely been encouraged to keep going. Which is amazing, because I swore right off FMQ the last time I tried (February) until I had a better machine (still the same machine).

Rio Grande Valley Turtle, pattern by Melissa of My Fabric Relish

So, I do have three big quilts in the works, one approaching top completion, one approaching block completion, and one with half the top fabrics washed (not my normal game but these fabrics apparently require it - more to come!). You've already seen Texas, so no more till I have something actually finished. The other two I'll blabber about in the next few weeks as I get a chance to take photos and get them in order in my head, more than anything else.

It's going to be interesting to see what I do manage to settle to in the rest of 2014. This year has been a test for me in very many ways, and I'm eager to see how I fare coming out of it. I think I might be growing up.

A Slow Week

It's been a slow one, sewing wise, life wise. Met my new neurologist on Monday, have a change in medication, the navigation of the American health care system began, it's been confusing and surprising (in good ways, so far). The bad parts are all in the withdrawal and new side effects, sleep is being stolen from me among others, but hopefully this is the low point.

I was prepared Monday, left out some easy to piece blocks from an oft put down project, continued on them on Tuesday.

Laid out my progress, over a year so far, 14 blocks left, seeing it all out is encouraging, such lovely colours - all courtesy of Justine at Simply Solids and her Sew Solids Crew stash club last year.

Since Wednesday I've tried to push myself to get to what I really should be doing - but like any time that word, should, is involved it isn't happening. My brain is not up for altering patterns as I go, and my machine has decided that skipping stitches is so in vogue right now. I've walked away. Though I'm eyeing up a potential couple of hours of alone time on Sunday morning for a thorough machine clean and re-thread! I'm actually enthusiastic about that, another surprise.

Yesterday I gave up on the shoulds completely, and started cutting out the fabrics for my next set of Farmer's Wife blocks. It's slow, requires little brain power (apart from the ones that involve mirrored blocks - why, why!?!), and is filled with colour. I'm loving it.

Very much looking forward to this long weekend (magical words), hoping that I will enter next week more refreshed and more human-feeling. Hoping you all enjoy your weekends, wherever you happen to be!

50 Farmer's Wife Blocks

It only took me a year and 4 months!

50!!

Still though, I'm actually glad that I can pick it up and put it down as I please. Some months there's too much else going on, or once you sit down in the evening you're struggling to stay awake.

Y-seams, ftw!

I have been averse to picking it up since the start of this year, and having had almost 5 months to ponder it, I think I know why. I've not been feeling the colours and fabrics in the last few blocks. I chose them in the middle of last summer, when I cut out pieces for a behemoth 20 blocks in one go. It turns out I'm a fickle fabric chooser!

Honeycomb

So this time, I'll only be prepping the next five blocks. I'm also going to throw a withering glance over the fabrics that have managed to not get used 8 or 9 charm packs in.

Friendship Star

I also bought three new charm packs this Spring - Botanics, Daydream, and Mixed Bag - to reinvigorate the fabric choosing and colour palette.

I'm also quite sick of basket blocks - I haven't checked but I'm hoping there are no more!

Blergh...

Double blergh.

I noticed while laying out the blocks yesterday that I'm ending up with a lot of different sizes. This has to do with my inexperience in English paper piecing when starting out, and the laws of physics (4 sewn together pieces are going to be larger than a single piece cut to size - all that extra thread and fabric makes a difference!).

I need to add some darker blocks, dominated by pale ones right now.

However, I've come up with a cunning plan. I'll pop them into some generous sashing, alternating square and on-point, to make a humongous or a normal sized quilt depending on how long more I can keep the EPP going!

The obstinate mental part of me kind of wants to go all the way humongous - that's the same part that sees me almost halfway into what could be a 3 year quilt top, because I decided to do it by hand...

Obstinate and mental, that's me - why change now!? (that's totally logical thinking, right there!)

PS The sewing room/nook is an even bigger mess now, I opened the desk bits, realised I couldn't do it by myself, and won't have reinforcements until tomorrow night at the earliest! However, having run out of procrastination material, the organising will begin this evening - pinky swear!

A Brief Check In

I've been starting lots of things, but bringing very few to completion. I did get to quilt some blocks this week and I'd forgotten how lovely quilting is, how tactile and pleasing to see the texture grow.

This is a block I made for Sarah Elizabeth at no hats in the house, and her #opgivewarmth project. She posted an awesome colour palette for this month, and this block was hard to send off yesterday.

We're off to the airport this morning. Ireland is beckoning for the next couple of weeks. We need to apply for our new visas, make this move to Houston fully legit. Fingers crossed, everything goes to plan. Looking forward to seeing all the family and friends for the first time this year!

I'm hoping this break helps me figure out what's been holding me back the last couple of months. So hopeful for returning refreshed and renewed, I need my motivation and happy back.