Also in arts and crafts: On the revival of blacksmithing in Kentucky.
Art and Craft
Halloween quilt, finally
I finished my latest quilt on my birthday, a Halloween quilt made from precuts (no pattern) that I started in 2021? 2022? I don’t know how old it is. It’s been languishing.
I don’t love shoving a huge quilt through my lil sewing machine, so I still hand quilt these puppies using 6-strand embroidery floss. It’s hard on my hands but gives the final quilt so much texture and weight.
These photos are of the quilt fresh out of the washing machine. Super crinkly and cat-approved.
V proud of myself because, despite going to the quilt store yesterday and getting everything BUT what I went there for, I found enough batting scraps to put together a quilt sandwich and began hand quilting it last night. She’s going to be cute.
Sometimes rules are useful
Created some artsy fartsy rules for myself where I have to finish something old before I start something new, just to keep some momentum going on existing projects.
I have several outstanding embroidery, quilting, knitting AND crochet projects, and a loom I refuse to assemble until I knock out one or two of these other ones. My two biggest priorities are a giant garter stitch shawl that I began pre-pandemic and really want to finish because it’s so beautiful - and so boring to knit - and a gigantic crochet mosaic blanket that is teaching me the ins and outs of crochet. After that, some half-hearted quilt pieces, a wholecloth quilt and two flimsies that need to be quilted and bound. And some lingering embroidery projects and a head full of new ideas. My friend gave me some antique glass she’d like me to engrave this winter.
Meanwhile I finished a hat for the kiddo last night and she was so pumped she wore it to school this morning. 🧶
My daughter is into block printing at the moment, so I am too. I started carving this shrimp past weekend without a plan, and now I wish I had some background to it, so I’m going to play with making a second stamp that implies water. A shrimp’s gotta shkrimp. 🎨
