Sometimes crafting isn't pretty

We all know the saying, Necessity is the Mother of Invention. 

Sometimes I find when I'm stuck, in a rut, or waiting for the next spark of creativity, yet still feel the need to make something, I turn to what is needed in the home. In this exercise, I not only get my stitch on, but I end up with something useful. It saves a little money and my conscience is clear knowing that no sweatshop labor or bad practices are used. I use up scraps I have on hand that have been left over from other projects, so I have not had to purchase any materials. All of this is good.

On the other hand, I often sacrifice form for function. I don't spend a long time deliberating, or perfecting. I jump in and just go. I mean really, pretty matching napkins are nice and all, but I have a good amount of scrap fabric that is well... let's just say it's not my favorite. Also, because we are in desperate need of cloth napkins, desperate to the tune of a goal of 20 new napkins, I am not willing to spend the time making sure my narrow hems are all exactly 1/8" and perfectly square. In fact, I am famous for not enjoying making the same thing over and over so making 1 napkin from cut to finish should take me only 15 minutes give or take.

We needed pot holders too. Since I had some of this stuff just laying around I went for it. Scraps again, randomly stitched together and definitely not pretty! Yes, I could have made beautiful pot holders, I could have spent hours on them, and I have, but those were gifts. So in the end, I spent a small amount of time and made useful if wonky things.

Seriously, these things are gonna get USED! They will get dirty and need constant washing and who cares if they aren't works of art? I don't. I filled a need, and this was my purpose. Sometimes crafting ain't pretty folks and that's ok.

Snow Skipping

Oh my, what a time we've had the last few days! Portland received a rare snow storm; landing us with a foot of snow on the ground. Schools and offices shut down (since we only get heavy snow every few years, the city does not have the resources to clean it up and so things tend to shut down). So there was snowflake tasting, sledding, games, hot cocoa and nights by the fire. Schools should be back tomorrow and I can clean up the house after days of cabin fever. It has become a bit sloppy in these parts.

I did manage the smallest bit of sewing though. It was one of those things, you know, suddenly receiving inspiration from a good gawk at the internets. I happened to stumble upon this from Vicky Meyers Creations. She has made a really lovely version of my Skipping Skirt pattern from my book. I always love seeing what people have made from any of my patterns, what a joy! I remember creating this simple skirt pattern and it making me so happy. It really is simple sewing with endless possibility. So I was inspired by Vicky's version, to make a new one for my girl using whatever scraps I had on hand. Then a very bright and cheerful (ooh shocker!) Skipping Skirt was born.

Because the pattern is so quick sticks to put together, I spent a good old time embellishing some of the panels. All sort of willy-nilly and a little bit silly.

Thanks to Vicky for the inspiration to make this skirt. Added bonus; this skirt can be used to signal rescue teams in blizzards!

I also worked out a very easy modification to make this pattern into adult size. I simply added an inch in width and a few inches in length to each panel/pattern piece. As my daughter says, "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!" I might make mine from slightly less wild fabrics, but only very slightly less.

I hope that wherever you are, whatever the weather, that you are safe and sound.

P.S. It looks like The Stitched Journal Project is off to a rollicking start! If you have sent me a message with your email, I will be sending out a welcome note very soon.  I'll have a follow up post later this week as well. Hooray!

Process

Oh now I've done it! I am actually writing a post on The Creative Process, excuse me a moment while I snarkily laugh at myself from a safe distance. There are plenty of books, essays, online classes and TED Talks all concerning The Creative Process; surely, they articulate the subject better than I could ever hope to. Still, here we are!

There are also a good many interesting quotes on process and I may share a few with you, but what has to be my all time favorite quote on the subject was one I happened to overhear.

Once upon a time, I was strolling through the art museum. I noticed 2 scruffily natty young men on a bench with their sketchbooks out having what seemed to be an impassioned conversation. As I walked closer to the bench to view a painting, an amazing looking woman in a caftan, turban, blood red lipstick and a silver cobra headed walking cane ( She looked about in her 70s) stepped next to the young men and stared at the painting in front of her. When she began to move on, she looked at the men and said, "Oh for Pete's sake, just shut up! You creatives are forever yammering on about the Creative Process! Your self important gobbelty gook is interrupting my enjoyment of this lovely painting, and besides, no one gives a flying fart!"  

Still, there is something to it, this process business, and at the moment I seem to be in the thick of it. The thick and slow like molasses of it.  It all starts with a tiny seed of an idea. Sometimes that seed sprouts quickly and makes it's way to a full fledged project right away. Other times, it takes ages for that seed to germinate. That's where I am at right now. I have this personal year-long project in my sights, but I am making my weaving way stumbling through it all. 

I find myself walking into my studio picking up the strangest pieces, working on the small, the details, creating laborious techniques, exploring funny ideas.  It's about textures and color and...I don't even know yet.

I have been "staining" fabric with fabric paint. Sort of like dying, but using paints and small individual pieces so that all are completely unique. Sewing in multiple layers, examining both the "right" and "wrong" sides of things. Then there is the rest of my work time, spent staring at the walls and ruminating.

Indolence, of course, is an absolutely crucial part of the creative process: you do not find poets sitting in rows in cavernous word factories, staring at screens. They are rather to be found lolling on the sofa or strolling through the groves, nursing their melancholic temperaments and losing themselves in extended reveries.
Tom Hodgkinson 

All of this is getting in the way of things I should be making; a quilt for a baby that is on the way, pants for my daughter, tutorials for the blog... Yet, I am compelled and consumed. All the while not having a clue where this is ultimately leading. Ok, I have a tiny clue.

Most of the little business I have been playing with will be thrown out, part of the learning curve, part of the process. I do find myself frustrated and impatient from time to time, but I can't hurry and I can't wait.

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

What I love about the creative process, and this may sound naive, but it is this idea that one day there is no idea, and no solution, but the next day there is an idea. I find that incredibly exciting and conceptually actually remarkable.
Jonathan Ive 

Mirriam - Webster:

pro·cess

noun \ˈprä-ˌses, ˈprō-, -səs\

: a series of actions that produce something or that lead to a particular result

: a series of changes that happen naturally

Rules for Misfits

A little over a week ago, on a most unprecedented whim, I decided to make a quilt.  It's been ages, years even since I've gone down that particular path. I do believe I was inspired by my little misfit quilt that I picked up recently. To keep things simple (meaning: giving myself a real chance of actually ever finishing the quilt) I set up a few rules for myself.

Rule 1. I must not buy anything other than thread, only using supplies I have on hand.
Rule 2. Choose one pile of scraps from my hoard and use only the fabrics from that pile for quilt top.
Rule 3. Choose a very simple quilt block pattern.
Rule 4. (In 4 parts) I must not fret and worry so. I must not spend hours painstakingly rearranging blocks, then rearranging them again until it is perfect. I must let go of perfectionism. Just let it happen; a little random is good for me.

I must admit Rule 4 has been the most difficult to adhere to, but I managed somehow.

I made my first quilt when I was only 13 in Mrs. Bloomquist's sewing class. It was a miracle of early 80's dirty blues, tans, and maroons.  While piecing the thick polyester batting one day, my finger got in the way and the heavy duty Kenmore sewing machine sewed right through my finger tip! It was a very exciting and painful day in sewing class, ah memories! Though my quilt may not have been the prettiest thing going, I was so proud. I'll have you know too, that quilt was in regular use until 2 years ago when it was left behind at a music festival.

Later, when I was just a young 20-something, I fell hard for quilting.  Well, at least the piecing part of it all. I dreamed of one day owning my own giant quilting machine, Oh the quilts I would make!  Ah, but time marches on and while I did make some full size quilts, over the years I would whip up a few baby gift quilts of the small and manageable size.  And now it's been a long time since I've even done that.

I had forgotten the obsessive nature of making a quilt. It has been all consuming on some days. "What do you mean, what's for dinner? Can't you see I'm sewing a quilt?!"
Though I have been plagued by doubts and occasionally thought the whole thing looked a little bonkers, I have carried on.

Oh, I forgot to mention another rule I made for myself...
Rule 5. Break a few quilting rules!
Check!

For instance; sew a pieced quilt backing that does not actually match the quilt top. (I do so enjoy two looks in one you know.) Also, after sewing said backing, put it up as a curtain for a few days, why not?

 
As I have been sewing along, Pony Girl has made the request that this quilt be hers, "So that I can pass it on to my children and then they can pass it on to their children and on and on." Clearly, we are a family who loves misfits.

So that is my story of the making of a misfit quilt.

"What?" you say, "No fair, you haven't shown us the actual quilt!"

That my dears is because the quilt is not yet finished.  All the elements are in place, but things have got a bit busy 'round here and the final Ta Da! must wait. I assure you when I have a chance to get to the intimidating quilting part, and the last thread is snipped, all will be revealed!

Wordless Wednesday - Cutting Corners