I am a crafter through and through. If it is a craft I dabble in it , want to dabble in it or just don't know about it yet. I LOVE being creative. So it stands to reason that for me Crafting is fun, and since it is fun, it is a great stress reliever. My mother was not much of a crafter. Oh she could do most things but she didn't enjoy it. She never thought of herself as creative. For her crafting was stressful. She did it but she never enjoyed it. That is sad to me because I love it so. Mom and I shared crafting experiences and it was a tie we had. But it was not a cure for stress for Mom.
Since my last post we have had a traumatic situation in our home. Tatianna's (my 19yr old daughter) conversion disorder reared it's ugly head and she passed out from an overload of stress. While this is traumatic at the time it usually goes away right away. This time, however, when she came to she did not know who she was or who anyone else was. The stress level in our home has been through the roof. I have been working on a quilt and my husband has been working on stones ( his stress reliever). Tatianna remembers everything from the time she woke up in the Hospital, has accepted that we are her family and is trying to recover her memories. She has had a few flashes of memory come back to her. We need to find a way for her to destress.
I am reintroducing her to sewing and jewelry making but while working full time I am limited in what I can get accomplished. Tatianna in the mean time is stuck at home trying to figure out who she is. This week I am going to help her get back going on her quilt. She has about 1/3rd of the top to sew, then maybe next weekend we can buy some backing and batting and put it on a frame to tie it.
Tatianna and I went to the Down the Street Bead Show in Havana, FL. It was smaller than ever and some of the regulars weren't even there. The one vendor I really wanted to buy from wasn't there. Oh well it will be back in 6 months. I did buy some pretty beads and wire. Tatianna bought some stuff as well. She is going to lay it all out and decide how to put it together this week.
I hope Tatianna takes after me and finds that crafting is fun and maybe just maybe it will relieve some of her stress. I want her to remember it and love it as much as I do. I hope that it will also help her to regain some more memories. A lot of her memories of me would revolve around crafts. So we are trying (not so patiently) to see if crafting is a stress reliever for her. Everyone Cross your fingers.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Rearranging Things
My Hubby was home sick a couple of days this week. Thursday I came home to a rearranged studio. (Also known as our living room)
We had moved from a very large house (in Utah) into a double wide trailer when we moved to Georgia in 2008. We also got rid of a lot of furniture. (mostly hand me downs that were past their use) Our living room, for the longest time, only had a couch, a desk and a table in it. Since I had no place else to sew and craft I was doing it in the living room. I basically made 1/2 the living room a craft studio. Everything was on one wall and we could still entertain in there. I was being very careful to keep the area neat.
In 2010 when I came back from my Mother's funeral (her death was very hard on my husband) my Hubby had rearranged things. He had just started faceting stones at this time. He took the table and set it perpendicular to the wall on a 90 degree angle to my desk. The couch was no longer accessible. The living room had become our studio. I added a couple more small book shelves to house my stuff and gave up on the idea of trying to keep it neat. Entertaining was out all together.
This fall we had to move a freezer into the dining room. Then we added a computer into the dining room now every room is over crowded. Kim and I were starting to get into each other's way. Not a good thing. Then Killian (16 yr old son) finally started cleaning his room. His bed was shot so Killian took the futon from the family room for a bed. The couch moved to the family room. Kim took his deer heads to the taxidermist and we emptied the freezer. We had bought a new one so that freezer which is not dependable is going bye bye.
Now Kim (hubby) sees that he can move some stuff around and there will be room for a quilting frame. So when I get home he has moves his table over and it is blocking one of my shelves. The only problem with his arrangement is some stuff is not accessible. I have not worked on any projects because I am still working on the room arrangement. I have moved on shelf and have plans for moving the other. My desk is covered and I need to get things placed on it so I can work on it. I also cleaned up the craft storage area in my bedroom. I will get my desk cleared up and work on my chevron strips later this afternoon though.
We are moving things around in other rooms as well. I am looking forward to having a more functional space that won't have hubby and me bumping into each other. I love to be able to come home and craft for a few minutes (hours) each evening. This should work out well for all of us.
We had moved from a very large house (in Utah) into a double wide trailer when we moved to Georgia in 2008. We also got rid of a lot of furniture. (mostly hand me downs that were past their use) Our living room, for the longest time, only had a couch, a desk and a table in it. Since I had no place else to sew and craft I was doing it in the living room. I basically made 1/2 the living room a craft studio. Everything was on one wall and we could still entertain in there. I was being very careful to keep the area neat.
In 2010 when I came back from my Mother's funeral (her death was very hard on my husband) my Hubby had rearranged things. He had just started faceting stones at this time. He took the table and set it perpendicular to the wall on a 90 degree angle to my desk. The couch was no longer accessible. The living room had become our studio. I added a couple more small book shelves to house my stuff and gave up on the idea of trying to keep it neat. Entertaining was out all together.
This fall we had to move a freezer into the dining room. Then we added a computer into the dining room now every room is over crowded. Kim and I were starting to get into each other's way. Not a good thing. Then Killian (16 yr old son) finally started cleaning his room. His bed was shot so Killian took the futon from the family room for a bed. The couch moved to the family room. Kim took his deer heads to the taxidermist and we emptied the freezer. We had bought a new one so that freezer which is not dependable is going bye bye.
Now Kim (hubby) sees that he can move some stuff around and there will be room for a quilting frame. So when I get home he has moves his table over and it is blocking one of my shelves. The only problem with his arrangement is some stuff is not accessible. I have not worked on any projects because I am still working on the room arrangement. I have moved on shelf and have plans for moving the other. My desk is covered and I need to get things placed on it so I can work on it. I also cleaned up the craft storage area in my bedroom. I will get my desk cleared up and work on my chevron strips later this afternoon though.
We are moving things around in other rooms as well. I am looking forward to having a more functional space that won't have hubby and me bumping into each other. I love to be able to come home and craft for a few minutes (hours) each evening. This should work out well for all of us.
Friday, March 2, 2012
All Fabric is NOT Created Equal
Don't get me wrong I am not a fabric snob. I am not one of those people who feel that quilts can only be made from 100% quilt cotton. Nor do I think it is a waste of time to sew a dress out of cotton poly blends. I am one of the first to buy cheap fabric for beginners to sew on because I don't expect it to turn out perfect and won't be sad about wasted investments. I am just saying there are fabrics and then there are fabrics.
While recovering from Bronchitis this week I grabbed some fabric scraps to play with. These are fabric strips that I was given by a friend. she bought them online thinking she would use them for a quilt. Then she ended up moving out of state. I had just thrown the bags of strips in a drawer and not given them much thought. I thought I would do some chevron strips for a change of pace.
Well it turns out that the 2"x 4" cotton strips were not actually cotton. There was a mix of several types of fabrics. It was not what I thought I was going to work with. The problem is my friend paid good money for these strips so I am going to make them work. I've got 5 - 60" Chevron strips pieced and will keep piecing until I use them up. I just won't be putting a lot of money into the rest of the fabric for the quilt.
So Back to the Topic All Fabric is NOT Created Equal. When purchasing fabric make sure it is suitable for your project. I would not make a quilt of sheer fabric anymore that make a fancy dress out of Burlap. If you are going to use scraps for a quilt use like weights and types of fabric. My Dad has a quilt on his bed that My Mother in Law made from double knit squares. That quilt is 23 yrs old. So a quilt not made out of cotton can last.
Also Let the Buyer Beware, When I mentioned the fabric strips to my friend, she told me that they had been listed as 100% cotton. She bought them on EBay, and if they had been 100% quilt cotton and been cut accurately they might have been worth the money she paid for them. She probably could have gotten her money back if she had even bothered to look at them when she received them.
I have ordered pre-cut squares on eBay and gotten some good deals. I've also paid too much for some as well. But I was fortunate enough to only get good quilt cotton. My Daughter was not as lucky but still had plenty of usable squares. When buying online be sure to read descriptions and refund policies. If using eBay or other auction sites check out the feed back. It is easy to get taken if you don't do your homework.
Pay attention to what you are buying. A yard of quilt cotton sells in a store for $7-$10. Figuring you can get 90 4" square out of a Yard it is foolish to pay $10 for 40 squares. I realize that the person cutting the fabric should get something for their time but twice the cost is not a deal. You would be better off buy the fabric and cutting it yourself. And that way you would know the cuts are accurate.
Remember your finished project will only be as good as your materials and prep work.
While recovering from Bronchitis this week I grabbed some fabric scraps to play with. These are fabric strips that I was given by a friend. she bought them online thinking she would use them for a quilt. Then she ended up moving out of state. I had just thrown the bags of strips in a drawer and not given them much thought. I thought I would do some chevron strips for a change of pace.
Well it turns out that the 2"x 4" cotton strips were not actually cotton. There was a mix of several types of fabrics. It was not what I thought I was going to work with. The problem is my friend paid good money for these strips so I am going to make them work. I've got 5 - 60" Chevron strips pieced and will keep piecing until I use them up. I just won't be putting a lot of money into the rest of the fabric for the quilt.
So Back to the Topic All Fabric is NOT Created Equal. When purchasing fabric make sure it is suitable for your project. I would not make a quilt of sheer fabric anymore that make a fancy dress out of Burlap. If you are going to use scraps for a quilt use like weights and types of fabric. My Dad has a quilt on his bed that My Mother in Law made from double knit squares. That quilt is 23 yrs old. So a quilt not made out of cotton can last.
Also Let the Buyer Beware, When I mentioned the fabric strips to my friend, she told me that they had been listed as 100% cotton. She bought them on EBay, and if they had been 100% quilt cotton and been cut accurately they might have been worth the money she paid for them. She probably could have gotten her money back if she had even bothered to look at them when she received them.
I have ordered pre-cut squares on eBay and gotten some good deals. I've also paid too much for some as well. But I was fortunate enough to only get good quilt cotton. My Daughter was not as lucky but still had plenty of usable squares. When buying online be sure to read descriptions and refund policies. If using eBay or other auction sites check out the feed back. It is easy to get taken if you don't do your homework.
Pay attention to what you are buying. A yard of quilt cotton sells in a store for $7-$10. Figuring you can get 90 4" square out of a Yard it is foolish to pay $10 for 40 squares. I realize that the person cutting the fabric should get something for their time but twice the cost is not a deal. You would be better off buy the fabric and cutting it yourself. And that way you would know the cuts are accurate.
Remember your finished project will only be as good as your materials and prep work.
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