Thank you for the comments on my last post. Due to the response I received from the last post, and a lack of hurtful comments, I am starting to feel a little more brave.
To be fair, in my last post I should have said that the comments came on a personal site, and I was afraid that they would be transferred to my public site. I know that sounds weird, but the comments I received really really hurt me, and from my perspective all started out of left field at the beginning of the month, escalating to just before I posted the last post. Completely out of context and with full intention just to hurt me to gain my attention.
As an adult, I should really know how to deal with it better, but time away and separating myself from the comments & the commenters felt like the best solution possible. This blog post will still be moderated for all comments, as I am only a little bit sure that this site will be left fully unharmed. But I am more sure than I was 2 weeks ago.
….
Moving on.
….
So since I have heard so so much about the healing powers of quilting, I decided to channel my negative energy in some of these near-finishes. I started drawing one day after lunch and I just felt inspired to mark up a quilt top with some interesting custom quilting.
There are marks all over the square in a square blocks, marks all over the borders, circles and lines in the quilt top.
And the frixion pen is what marked it all up. Can’t see “too well” in this picture, but the actual quilt is all I need to actually quilt this.
So that’s quilt #1 that I got further along on the quilting.
Then the 2nd quilt I got out to finish was actually basted.
And sitting in a hand quilting frame. For 2 years.
So I put on an audiobook that I liked, that I’ve listened to, that I am familiar with. I pulled a few hand quilting stitches, and proceeded to get the space ready for machine quilting. Machine FMQ.
Which this quilt I decided to clamshell quilt over the entire center section. Which was fun and free form.
I did a little border work, all free form.
And then matched the binding with a blue purple that I’ve recently bought, since that’s my favorite color in the quilt.
And I decided, after confirming with a few people, not to FMQ over the applique on this quilt, even though I could bring out the petal detail of the flowers and a little more detail on the green ribbon.
And I also decided while I had my darning foot out to sew down over the secret to life, the universe & everything, and then glue my ‘don’t panic’ letters down onto the quilt.
But…
I got out my fancy, expensive aurifil invisible thread to sew all these letters down. But I wanted to use regular cotton thread on the bottom. Which, I found out will not work for the tension discs on my sewing machine are too loose, at the loosest setting, I was getting the little puckers at the back showing through to the front.
Unless …
I was sewing down 3 layers on those black pieces and then the tension worked fine. So with a little more padding, I can quilt with the aurifil thread. I may just quilt with the batting instead of sewing everything down first. Just for tension issues. Which means I have to dig through my batting and find the pieces that will fit this quilt.
So a plan is in place for this quilt.
And there was a cooler color quilt with a weird shape which was a result of a discarded piece of an apron I made a long time ago.
Which only needed binding. And here’s the binding on it.
Actually I’m going to make 2 sleeves for this quilt, one horizontal and one vertical. I love that idea of having both on the same quilt!
So, in any event, I may have done a few other things, such as guild member embroidery projects, but I have been taking some negative energy & turning it positive.
Thanks for helping me feel a little bit braver. This past week has made a world of difference, but I do know still, that some time, some where, a potentially more bad slattering of things may come out again.
I really haven’t ‘dealt’ with the problem except for with distance. And currently the distance has helped me. But to actually heal and be able to fully move on, I know I’ll need a very very long time. And as a result, may be harder for me to go back to my home town for a very very long time. Which is kinda sad, but I can’t risk getting hurt by someone I trust in the same way again. Not until I’m ready.
