This will finish at about 25 inches wide by 30 inches long. Right now only strips and sections are sewn together. You can see that I have a couple of gaping holes to fill. ;- )
I also spent time with my DMC color chart and the Lincoln Logs quilt, trying to find other colors to use as ties. I selected three, and DH was actually able to find them at our local JoAnn Fabrics store (woohoo! that doesn't happen as often as I would like). So now I'm ready to cut out the most offensive ties and replace them with something less obvious.
I have to say that if I were a healthy person I would have sweet-talked my husband into going down south to one of the big malls yesterday to spend the whole day there. We might not have purchased a lot, but I would have been in heaven browsing in the stores, eating in the food court or in a chain restaurant, people watching, even lugging our purchases around on my arms all day. We could have complained about the pre-Thanksgiving Christmas music and displays. It would have been noisy and crowded. We might have gone to see a movie. (I don't even know what's in the theaters right now that we would both enjoy.) We might have found a few things for Christmas presents or I might have come home with a new pair of shoes or pants or a shirt (all of which I need). For that matter, he might have come home with a new suit! It would have been so much fun. I really wish we could have done that.
Instead I shopped a bit online, by myself. Now I have to wait for my purchases to be delivered. None of it was clothing for me or my husband. (I take that back. There was a sweatshirt on clearance I couldn't pass up for myself.) In spite of the fact that I have to I don't like buying things without seeing or handling them first, and I really dislike buying clothes online, trying them on, and then having to return them. So everything I wear is pretty out of date, stained, or maybe doesn't fit as well as it could. On the upside, I do have a head start on my Christmas gifts. I used to try to make something for everyone every year. That was way too stressful. I'm learning now to take the easier way out. And I don't take it so personally any more if they don't seem to like the gift!
When I married a million years ago, I spent a good portion of the year making handmade gifts for his family. I was crushed when I overheard one of them say something along the line of "she couldn't even buy something, she had to make it". We put a great deal of ourselves into the things we make, but sometimes, those receiving the gift cannot realize that it is more than what we've made, it is an expression of the caring feelings we have for them.
ReplyDeleteI think your work is lovely.
I also wanted to take a second here to thank you for reading my blog, and for always being so gracious to comment. You asked today if the little ATC on the blog (ACreativeDreamer) is my art work...it is. I would love for you to have it. Email me your address and I'll get it in the mail to you. You can reach me at ACreativeDreamer@gmail.com.
Hi Sue,
ReplyDeleteI've given up on handmade gifts too It's just too time consuming, and as you say, a lot of people just don't appreciate the time investment of handmade gifts.
As for your day at the mall fantasy: we used to do this once in awhile, but the economy being so bad, we've lost a lot of our big retailers, so there's barely a mall to go to these days. A big new department store has opened up, but I think I've lost the habit of shopping. If I need something specific--and there is little impulse buying--I go to specific local stores, or I shop on line. I think habits have changed for a lot of us, though I know getting out poses special challenges for you.
I'm glad you had color cards for your floss. Trying to send someone else to buy embroidery floss would otherwise be a huge frustration. You got a good man if you can send him into JoAnn's unescorted.