Crafty Monday

[lydamorehouse]

 Actually, I worked on crafting things this weekend. Here's my current quilting project.



Image: very obviously amateur quilt with whale sharks and other sea patterns. 

I kind of hate that I have to tell social media when I post pictures like this that yes, I know my lines are crooked. I am an amteur not looking for advice. Or the kind of fake encouragement of "you'll get better some day! Just keep practicing!" which, of course, intended or not, implies that I currently suck. I used to love to post these on Facebook, but the number of folks who will come on to my comments just to tell me about how I could improve it or to tell me that "practice makes perfect" really wore me down. Like, no, this is me after years of work, thanks. I like my fucked up lines, actually? They go to the character of the piece. 

It never used to bother me. 

One of the defining moments of my childhood (and one of my clearest earliest memories) must have been from second or maybe even first grade because I was still at Jefferson Elementary. We used to have a principal there in the 1970s who was maybe named Mrs. Olsen or some other very Minnesotan name like that. She would come into classrooms to check on teachers and students and it was always very stressful for both. The memory I have is that I'm coloring away at some project or other, realy enjoying myself, and she stops to watch me and says, "Some day, dear, you'll learn to color in between the lines." I nodded enthusiastically and said, "Yep! SOMEDAY!" clearly implying at my tender age NOT TODAY, SATAN, NOT TODAY.

I have been stubbornly coloring wherever the f*ck I want ever since.

So, yeah, my lines are crooked and my stitches suck, but you know what? This is for me and I'm having fun. 



Image: close-up on some of the fabrics.

Comments

[profiterole_reads]

It's very pretty. Crooked can be pretty too. This is a quilt, not an architecture blueprint.

[lydamorehouse]

As Pam notes later, my crookednss is my exuberence. It's my style. It's what you get when you get a quilt of mine.

[radiantfracture]

I love that whale shark fabric and the colours you chose!

[lydamorehouse]

Thank you! And, yeah, my inability to make a straight line isn't for everyone, but, as it happens, neither are my quilts. They're for me! And for people who can stand a lot of wonky lines!

[radiantfracture]

I think they're awesome.

[bibliofile]

> my inability to make a straight line isn't for everyone, but, as it happens, neither are my quilts. They're for me! And for people who can stand a lot of wonky lines!

Yes, exactly.

It's your art, you get to do it how you like.

(I too like all the fabrics you chose.)

[pameladean]

Shark quilt! Whee! I don't even notice the lines unless I try very hard to do so. There's an exuberance in your quilts that I suspect the "bad lines" contribute to.

People are boringly unnuanced overall.

P.

[lydamorehouse]

They are, indeed.

And, yes, thank you. I think exuberence is, in fact, the vibe I'm going for!

[kore]

Good for you! Colouring in the lines is overrated.

[lydamorehouse]

Fully!

And, as I note, if people don't like it, it's not like they have to look at it. It's a quilt for me and for the people who like this crookedness about me.

[lcohen]

you know, it literally never occurred to me to look at the lines of your quilts--i love the colors and the fanciful fabrics you find and the themes, when you have themes.

[lydamorehouse]

I mean, you are a recipient of one of my quilts! I do better when it's just sqaures like the one you have? So, that's another thing.

[lcohen]

well i did not race downstairs to examine the lines :) . i love the quilt you sent--it graces the sofa in my living room and it's one of my favorite things.

[sabotabby]

So for me, a certified Art Teacher who has never been brave enough to attempt quilting, I'm just like. Oooh. Shark Quilt. That fuckin' rules. I don't know enough about the art form to critique it, but I know it looks cool.

[lydamorehouse]

Ha! Thank you so much.

And I'm glad to get the certified Art Teacher seal of approval (bark! bark! <--seal sound.)

[offcntr]

Whale sharks! Saw that pattern on a t-shirt Saturday; the wearer said they'd actually gotten to swim with whale sharks. Mind boggles.

[lydamorehouse]

Oh wow. Yeah, no. I've only ever seen whale sharks on the YouTubes, as my folks might say.

[rachelmanija]

I love it.

[lydamorehouse]

Again, you have at least one of my quilts--one of my earliest, even, so I would hope you're okay with my amateurness! :-)

Also, aren't you in Japan? Why are you reading DW in Japan???

[rachelmanija]

I have a cold. :(

[lydamorehouse]

Oh NOOOOOOOOOOO. I'm so sorry! I hope you get better soon!