Rearranging Colors. And Priorities.

Yesterday I showed you a picture of a large HST (half-square triangle) quilt I had started for my son.  As he is an artist and graphic designer and has always - since the age of 6 - painted with oils, the fabric with the artist paint colors on it was a no-brainer. However, I wanted to keep the quilt masculine, so we selected charcoal gray and a bold design off which to bounce the colors.

This was yesterday’s picture, and the more I looked at it, the less happy I was.  The paint pieces are chaotic and need to be tamed. I had originally tried the layout using the same color or fabric for each concentric circle (an orange circle, then a multi circle, then blue, etc).  That didn`t look right, and I didn`t have enough of some colors.  Then after taking the picture below, I also noticed that one of the multi pieces is positioned sideways (second row down, just to the left of the orange).

So today I got busy and deconstructed most of it. I decided that solid colors around the central diamond would work.  That bulls-eye effect draws your eye there, and it is the most important area of the quilt. So I added a yellow HST, and the remaining pieces inside that gray circle were given over to the multi-print, all with the correct orientation. Much better.

The rest of the quilt can and will be randomized as far as solids and prints, but as long as that central part is in order, I think it will work.  There are six rows pinned up there and three more that will join them.  I hope to have this sewn up today and/or tomorrow.  It won`t be finished for 2014, but should end up being my first finish for 2015.

Thanks to my readers who have stuck with me through thick and thin this year. My posts have been sporadic, but I think I am getting my groove back. The most important thing for me this fall and winter has been to “clear my plate” of commitments and things that have been taking too much of my time.  I spent November and December hunkered down, stitching, sewing, planning my weeks, then days, just to get every last thing done. And my Etsy shop was hugely busy with special orders.  And I did it. But I do not want to repeat that.

My Etsy Shop
I am going to simplify my Etsy shop. Hand-painted lace is being phased out. I will offer white and golden-dyed lace trims and a few appliques. I have been working as a rep for a lace mill for a few months, and love working with large customers (bridal shops, clothing and lingerie makers) and large orders. More human contact, more lace, more money, fewer tiny details than selling by the piece. 

The fancy fabric packs are being phased out; I will instead concentrate on selling off my drawers of vintage fabric, both fancy and cottons (vintage sheets).  And vintage patterns. I have hundreds and need to list those.


My 2015 Plans

Going forward into 2015, I want to have more fun.  If I plan on a handmade Christmas, I will begin much earlier. My granddaughter London has started school, so there is no babysitting in the near future (although my son Ryan and his wife Kim are pregnant and will welcome Baby Flox in July 2015).  And as for my online CQ activities, I plan to take a back seat. I will not be planning any retreats. The Yahoo Groups forum is dying, and I am tired of trying to resuscitate it. We added CQI to Facebook, but there is already another thriving CQ community there, and I wonder if it is necessary to re-create the wheel?  Besides, running an online group is a giant time suck, and few realize the work and effort it takes if you are organizing activities, challenges, etc.  That’s not what I want to continue to do with my time. So, I will be stepping back into the shadows as far as crazy quilting.  But I do have 2-3 projects that will go on my 2015 calendar to finish.

And then there is the sewing and quilting.  I have joined the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and in between making quilts for family members, I will make blocks here and there that will eventually come together in scrappy quilts.  I want to sew more clothes. Spend more time in the garden. Take more walks.

Times are changing, and so am I. So are my interests. But I will always be Crazy. By Design.

Hugs,