Hat For Linda H.

Linda wanted a hat to go with her orange coat. I made one on a round loom, using plain grey yarn combined with a "stripe" yarn. The yarn changes colour from rust to light orange, then to taupe. I didn't make it bright orange because I didn't think Linda wanted a hat that looked like a pumpkin. Linda received the hat yesterday, Canada Post didn't waste any time delivering it. :) Winter isn't over yet, there should be a few opportunities to bundle up and keep warm outside.

Ten Year Blogiversary

Today it has been 10 years since I made my first blog post. Here are a few random facts about the stats: Number of page views of all time- 27,527, Total number of posts- 614. Here is a sample of what countries have viewed pages in a typical week: Canada, United States, Ukraine, Australia, France, Portugal, Philipines. In 2011, there were only 2 posts, in 2012 there were none at all. I started up again in 2013 and have been posting regularly since then. I created the blog in order to keep a record of all the quilts and other projects that I've made. Since Linda H is my favourite sister, her work is included. Once in awhile I feature other people's creations, if they agree to it. Much of the photography isn't very good. The earliest photos were from a point-and-shoot film camera, combined with poor lighting and terrible layout. The main goal was to document each project made over several decades. There are some quilts that I never photographed, much to my regret. As long as I am able to sew, knit or crochet, I will continue with the blog posts. This was my first blog entry:

First Quilt Completed In 2020

I wanted to get this Christmas Yellow Brick Road quilt finished in December but it didn't happen. As usual, I got carried away with the free motion quilting. I can never make a loose flowing design, it always ends up small and compact. As a result, the stitching takes ten times as long. Oh well, I can put this quilt away and use it next Christmas.

New Tote Bag

Linda H and I were given a nice piece of upholstery fabric last spring, we each kept half of it. I needed a larger tote bag to carry my crochet project, this fabric came in handy to make one. I roughly followed a YouTube tutorial on making a shopping bag with boxed corners and French seams. Mine isn't lined because the backside of the fabric is quite pretty and the fabric has a good weight to it. I didn't want to waste the interesting selvedge edge, so it became decorative trim at the top of the bag. It will hold several balls of yarn and an afghan in progress.

Pinning Helper

I was getting ready to pin baste a Friendship Star quilt top. I couldn't find my Kwik Klip tool, the cat must have chased it under the couch. The last time I pinned a quilt, I used an orange peeler tool made by Tupperware which worked like a charm, but it broke in two. I found a small screwdriver in the toolbox. After cleaning it, I used that to pin baste. It works! I'll keep it with the safety pins instead of throwing it back in the toolbox.

Amateur

I was told a couple of weeks ago that my work "looked amateur". I looked it up in the dictionary and this is what I found, "amateur | ˈamətə, ˈamətʃə, ˈamətʃʊə, ˌaməˈtəː | noun 1 a person who engages in a pursuit, especially a sport, on an unpaid rather than a professional basis: it takes five years for a top amateur to become a real Tour de France rider | his last fight as an amateur. 2 a person who is incompetent or inept at a particular activity: that bunch of stumbling amateurs." It is true that I don't get paid for my quilts, I make them for myself, for gifts or donations. That would qualify me as an amateur, a professional would be paid for their work. On the other hand, incompetent or inept? I make quilts because I love the whole process- the pattern, fabric, sewing, quilting and completing. Nothing is perfect. There are always going to be variations in stitching and maybe a design choice could be better. If somebody would love to have one of my quilts as a gift, I am happy to oblige when possible. If a person sees my work as "amateur" and complains that it doesn't match their decor, they will receive a gift from Walmart or nothing at all. My rant is over, haha! I just had to get that off my chest. Looking on the bright side, my Christmas Yellow Brick Road quilt is almost finished!