I thought for certain that my work in progress for the day would be the quilt top for my Vintage Modern Wonky Stars quilt (or even better, the basting/quilting rather than just putting it together). And I thought I’d also still be working on the giftie for my recipient at the Modern Scrappy Bits Swap on Flickr. And I thought I’d be done with my wall-hanging from last week.
Well, I am more or less done with the wall-hanging from last week. I’m still not totally sold on the centre bit, but this might be as good as it gets. Mom, if you’ve followed a link to my blog, please close it now because this is your Christmas gift and I don’t want to spoil it.
I tried a lot – a lot – of things to solve the poof problem with the middle panel of this wall-hanging. I stitched around the outline of some of the words in a variegated green thread, but the green stitches on the back really, really bothered me. Some were up/down left/right, but others were kind of angled or… I don’t know. It bothered me. I tried coming up with some kind of miniature snowflake pattern that I could stitch in white on some of the white places so it wouldn’t stand out on the front, but wouldn’t be out of place either, but again with the way it’d look on the back. I tried outline stitching the few red places so that they’d blend on the back, but I used one strand of floss too many and it looked too heavy and dark on the front.
Finally I made a kind of peppermint stripe around the outside edge of the cross-stitched area, stitching with white perle cotton, and then weaving in red around it. Which I should have done in reverse because the white shows on the back (a lot, but it doesn’t bother me because it’s just a nice looking square) and the red wouldn’t have.
I really like the look of it, except that it was a bit pointless because it doesn’t hold down ENOUGH of the poof and, well, the white is totally invisible if you back away from the macro setting on the camera…
(I haven’t, by the way, had a chance to take proper photos of this yet, in decent light. We’re all light-shunning vampires at my house, so all the blinds and curtains are closed at all times and this was photographed in my kitchen, by the light of some our energy-saving area lights. I won’t do a proper post about this until after Christmas, with better photos that don’t currently exist.., just because if my mom hasn’t paid attention and is looking at this, at least she shouldn’t get the full-on rundown of it now.)
Anyway, I’m thinking that I just need to suck it up and stitch some snowflakes into the white area, back of the quilt top be damned. It’s going to be hanging against a wall and anyone who looks at the back deserves to have an ugly view for NOT doing the right thing and just admiring the front. Right? Right… I’ll keep telling myself that.
But moving along: Vintage Modern Wonky Star quilt. I STILL haven’t finished my last couple blocks. Tomorrow morning. Or Friday. I’m kind of messed up this week because I work a night shift tonight, which I NEVER do, and my head’s all on backwards until I get back to “normal” night shifts, which is every Thursday night and alternating Friday/Saturdays. (This is my weekend off! So fortunately I’ll be able to spend a lot of time crafting. My sister has a funeral/memorial to go to on Saturday, so I’ll have the house distraction free even.)
This is an old photo, with five unfinished blocks. There are only THREE unfinished blocks left and then I can get the top put together. I am toying with the idea of putting the blocks on point, so that the quilt will be larger, but I need to figure out what size backing I’d need if I do that, because I’ve already bought my backing and it takes 2 weeks to ship it in, so I can’t get more. It’s flannel, so I’m not sure if I’d like to piece the back with non-flannel to get it up to size. Has anyone done that? How weird is it, blending the two, on one surface?
Anyway, I’d planned to do those blocks this morning, but then I realized that TODAY was the fifth of December, not tomorrow, and that meant that I had to get my Scrappy Bits swap package in the mail. I hadn’t made it because I couldn’t get a really clear read on my partner’s likes and dislikes, and I kept wibbling over what to make for her. I mentally auditioned about a dozen types of ornaments and I contemplated adapting a particular paper piece pattern to a circle to make a particular type of pouch and I wibbled about colours and I wibbled about fabric types and if to add embroidery and what sort of embroidery and then time was ticking ticking ticking and suddenly I had to have it in the mail. I didn’t have any more time to figure it out!
I’m a little worried it looks lazy and sloppy (I was hoping the frayed edges on the stars would look kind of blurred, as if they were twinkling) and maybe… childish? Somehow the idea didn’t translate as well as I’d hoped. It looked better brainside than out in the world, I think. I mean, I think it would be great for a little girl, maybe, but for an adult woman? I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out. (I rather suspected my last swap partner didn’t like what I sent her – she never talked about it on her blog, though she posted a photo with an enthusiastic enough couple lines about it on the swap group.) I hate to think my indecision might have left me to turn out something my partner won’t like, though. So I’m still toying with making something else and sending her a second package. (God I’m good at stressing myself out over things…)
Anyway, that one’s not a WIP at all, is it? Unless I do make something else…
Linking up to:
The Needle and Thread Network
WIP Wednesday at Freshley Pieced
wipgirl.wordpress.com 
Hello there Kristel, wow! I had no idea that you did videos. After reading today’s blog post I srolled down and saw and heard you describe it all! I love the fact that you put that cross stitch design into your quilting. I just posted a picture of one that I did 18 years ago. We do learn a lot and we are our own worst criticizers (sp). I love it. Thanks for sharing! I think that you did a great job and your mom is going to love it, taking pride of place in that empty spot! Oh, my cross stitch piece was an advent calendar.
Yeah, there’s a group of us on Livejournal mostly (here) who post weekly craft videos. I say weekly, because theoretically we could post every Tuesday – Talk to Me Tuesday it’s called – but mostly I make videos every 2-3 weeks. (I don’t always remember to post here either, though I try.) We’re always happy to have videos from new people, so if you ever get the urge to get in front of a camera and share it via YouTube, there’s a place to go 😀
I can’t imagine doing a cross-stitch piece as large as that advent calendar! I love doing embroidery, but I find cross-stitch brutally boring. I’m not sure I’ve finished anything large I’ve ever started.
This piece was a work of love for my boys, just seeing them hanging the wooden toys everyday was worth it. I am more into embroidery now, expanding my stitching repetoire ;). I’ll keep that in mind about the videos, if ever I get the hankering ;).
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog, following along in your story and struggles with the gift you are making. If I were your Mom, I’d be THRILLED to get this, and from this vantage point, the poofing out is not the least bit noticeable. I also love the pouch with the “blinking” stars. So sweet–I hope whoever gets this loves it.
Thanks for stopping by Freshly Pieced today and posting your WIP link.
Elizabeth E.
opquilt.com
I think we’re all probably our own worst critics 😀
I’m so glad i went over to your blog to see the full rundown on your Advent calendar – what a neat idea! From the picture’s at Lee’s site, I couldn’t quite figure it out, but that’s perfect with the little bitty pockets! When I was a kid we didn’t have an advent calendar (my mom got one when I was a teenager – she babysat, and her babysitting kids got to use it) and I was sooooo jealous of my friends that had them (though especially jealous of the ones with chocolate advent calendar…)
I think your gifts are turning out really well. Some times it seems that no matter what we try there are problems, doesn’t it? Hope the pouch recipient loves it because it is really darling. Have you ever quilted with a different color thread in the bobbin than the top? I do it frequently and have no troubles as long as the threads are the same brand and weight. Sometimes I have to adjust the tension a smidge but not a bit deal. Might solve your “ugly back” problem and give you the quilting you need.
I have tried doing the different colour thing, actually I’d tried it with this, with white on top and red on the bottom, but you could just see that little loop of red pulled up to the front and I didn’t want to adjust the tension to figure it out! I suppose I should sit down and figure it out sometime, though, because it would be useful to be able to do that, at least sometimes.
You are certainly doing some creative problem solving!
There’s always something to try…
Your gift for your mom is fabulous and she will love it because it’s from you! And the little pouch is so whimsical – and I totally get when you said: “It looked better brainside than out in the world.”
I imagine a lot of good ideas ticking in our brains, but some things just don’t translate… 😀
That pouch is absolutely adorable, and the back of a quilt, especially a wall hanging, is not what is important. That peppermint stitch is pure genius and looks great.
Thank you! I’m very adept at worrying myself about mostly nothing 😀
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