Thursday, July 9, 2009

Lost in blogland

After work yesterday, I told the kids we were just going to go home and relax. Every day, there is something going on - swimming, karate, a movie, a birthday party - and I am pooped! Plus, I haven't even turned on my sewing machine in two weeks! The plan was to help Jason finish his quilt and put the last couple stitches into mine since the fair starts on Tuesday.

Entering something in the fair every year is important to me. I'm not at the point where I expect ribbons, and I doubt I will ever be, but getting objective feedback from someone who doesn't know me is useful. My friends are very nice and supportive, and I need that as a novice quilter, but I doubt they would point out all the flaws in my work. I need that, too, just in much smaller doses. So that is one reason I enter my quilts in the show at the county fair. The other reason is that I love going to quilt shows and seeing lots of quilts. I feel that I am setting an example by entering my quilts. I can't complain about a show with very few quilts if I'm not willing to enter mine, now can I? Also, I hope that by entering my amateurish attempts at quilting, others will feel emboldened enough to think to themselves, "now, I can do that!"

Anyway, last night, we got about half of the buttons tied onto Jason's quilt before I could see his interest flagging. It is hard for him to tie the thread (although if you put a Transformer into his hands, suddenly he is Mr. Nimble Fingers!), and as much as I itched to do it for him, I knew that would be wrong. So, we'll work on it some more tonight. While he was tying, between "I need some help here, Mom"s, I thought I'd catch up on what my friends have been doing in blogland. HOURS later, I finally stumbled off to bed without having even touched my quilt. My, you guys have been busy. And I kept seeing interesting names of other blogs on your "Blogs I Follow" lists that I just had to check out. And then there were all the links you guys added. STOP! How's a gal to get any quilting done!?! I think I'm caught up now, and as long as I never go away without internet access again, I might be able to avoid the Blogland Black Hole that I disappeared into last night.

I did decide to do a Celtic Knotwork Mystery - see Lynne's blog on my sidebar. I've never done a mystery before, I've been wanting to try a Celtic looking quilt, and this one uses scrappy 2 1/2" squares, of which I have two tins already pre-cut. I know I shouldn't be starting something new, but this will at least give me just one or two blocks to work on a week so that I am still using my machine while I am focusing on getting more hand quilting done.

3 comments:

Lane said...

Hey, Erin. Good for you, letting Jason do it himself. I know the temptation to "help", but that's what my Dad always did and it did not build confidence. And, I'm guilty of the blog thing, too. I find a blogger someone else is following and I have to follow them too, and then they have somebody they're following and before you know it, there's hardly time to blog, much less quilt. Take care. Lane

Cheryl Willis said...

glad to see you are doing the celtic knot, I have my fabrics picked out but haven't started yet. I am going Navy's, Blues, Reds, and either creams or yellows haven't decided, I like both. what are your colors?

jan said...

Hi Erin,
Well done in stopping yourself doing the work for Jason. They have to learn and it is so tempting for us mums to just 'do it' but as you say it wouldnt be right, He will get the benefit of this in later life. Bless him for having a go.
I know what you mean about disappearing into the blackhole of blogland. I try to limit myself but no I get later and later to bed every night, I tend to come on the computer at 10 in the evening and then it is ususally bout 2 I pop off to bed. ARGH...its the only way I get to read and catch up with all thats going on. I have to sew the rest of the evening or I would go crazy!!!! Ohh off to look at this Celtic Knot business now.. Another late night on its way.... Jan across the pond.