So, want to feel like you've done a Mariner's Compass star block, and an obnoxiously complicated one at that, without actually going through the effort of doing so? Thanks to my handy-dandy digital camera, now you can! (Full flickr photoset is available here.)
I've been mulling this one over for a while. Adam has always had such a strong, clean, simple design aesthetic, and as a result I ripped up more designs for this quilt than any other I've ever attempted.
Everything was too complicated.
A year ago I learned how to make itty bitty stars. They were okay, but not great. My skills have improved since that time. I've learned the basics of appliqué. I feel more confident in my construction ability.
This quilt isn't kid-friendly, or work-safe, or any kind of two word sobriquet. It's also not tactful or tasteful. It's also not being given away, which is a first.
The 'red librarian' started out as a joke between Jacob and me. There's such a stereotype surrounding librarians: buttoned-up, prim, proper women. You know the type: butter wouldn't melt in their pursed mouths, nor would a sheet of paper wedge between their knees. But there's also the stereotype of the "lipstick librarian" -- the flamboyant, reactionary woman who rebels from that stereotype and creates her own look.
As promised, here's the mockup of the White Librarian quilt. It, too, is intended to be a pretty easy little quilt. I'm including a shot of the original quilt for reference. The pattern is called "Bricks and Stones," from redpepperquilts, and is available for sale on etsy. I bought the pattern even though I knew it was for a lap-sized quilt; some knowledge of multiplication tables and Adobe Illustrator would fix the rest of the problem.
I tried to stay pretty true to the pattern, because I really like it.
After a day filled with code that didn't work and deadlines that aren't budging and phones that just didn't stay quiet when I needed them to, I present this response to a question that was innocently asked but just irritated me: "What does modern quilting mean to you?"
Soapbox ACTIVATE!
If you go by date, I am a modern quilter, because I am doing a craft that my great-grandmother did, but I do it after a day of working on databases and writing code.
Y'know, I try to not post here when I'm steamed, but this time I'm steamed and I'm posting. What is here is a transcript of emails between the moderator for the Huntsville (Alabama) Freecycle group and my husband Jeff, posted with his permission. This is bad, judgmental moderatorship, and the religious overtones included in it make me even angrier, especially considering that we've donated a ton of items through Freecycle. The moderator just doesn't know it because Jeff and I use different domain names for our email addresses, and have different surnames.
Nobody ever thinks about tenure growing up. It's the kind of adult possibility that doesn't register on kids, and rarely registers on college students. If you end up in a social circle of people in which post-graduate education is common, eventually the reality of tenure becomes all too real for you.
I haven't sewed much this week. Getting ready for Wednesday's rollout at work consumed most of my energy; by the end of each night, all I wanted to do was turn into a little couch lump. Dragging myself to the sewing machine wasn't a high priority; rest and antacids were.
It still feels a little strange, knowing that I'm actually keeping this quilt once it's done.
He made me promise.
"One for you."
"Yes. I promise."
I bought the pattern - 'Bricks and Stones' in her parlance, 'the white librarian' in mine, and after resizing and redrafting, I knew it was time to do something unusual.
Quoting because I just can't think to do anything else.
"The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children," said Marshall, a Republican.
I am not always good at keeping my temper in check. It is a real failing, not the kind of faux failing-that's-actually-a-strength you bring up in a job interview when you're asked, "So what is your greatest weakness?" I've always been aware that the JeffSpouse is a weak spot where my temper is concerned.
