This Foot is Made for Walkin'

I finally started to quilt my quilt today. I didn't get very far because my family got home and I didn't want to be all antisocial, hiding in the back room stitching away.

My rig.

<--- I tried out my walking foot. It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I had to tweak tension a bit, but that could have been because of the ridiculous amount of fabric under the needle. 


Wrestling with the copious amount of fabric on all sides of the needle wasn't too bad either. I may revise this opinion when I'm smack dab in the middle of the quilt, however. I'm definitely glad this quilt is on the smaller side.

I did have to break out my handy-dandy seam ripper. Both because of user error and also because I started to quilt "in the ditch" (sewing right on the seam between the connected fabrics) and I really didn't like the way it turned out. I don't trust myself to sew a straight enough line to make "in the ditch" look really good. 

To be fair, I wouldn't trust myself to sew a straight stitch to save my life. 

Please ignore the wonky lines and toddler foot.

In light of this, I've decided to do a sort of baseball stitching (I'm not sure what this is called in quilting). It's just stitching slightly to each side of every seam. I'm really liking it so far. It really makes the stripes pop without disrupting them. I don't trust myself to quilt any sort of designs yet, and I think any more lines would be distracting.

 I constantly have to remind myself to slow down when I start to move fast. It's just too easy for me to slip up a hand and shoot off  in the wrong direction. I'm just not comfortable enough with quilting specifically and sewing in general to move as fast as my impatience insists on moving.

Smasher smashing.

Smasher loves this thing. Every time I lay it out to look at it on the whole - or baste it, or fold it, or any number of things - he runs over to stand on it or sit on it. He cracks me up. I hope he still likes it as much when it is finished.


Sorry about all the crappy pictures. For some reason that room is always dark. I wish you could see better detail in the pictures. Oh wait... Then you might be able to spot my more subtle disasters... Never mind! Enjoy the dim (or overexposed), small pictures.

Total progress today.

The Gate

Every now and then, when I have a project I need (or want) to do. I start to get anxiety about it. 

Going on to the next step just becomes difficult. I have built it up in my mind to mountainous proportions and I just get scared to start. I just don't want to take that first step. 

I need to get started on something, and I just can't get out of The Gate. 

Right now, I'm dealing with a few of those. 

I have my first quilt all together and basted, ready to quilt. But I'm really hesitant to start. I'm terrified of my walking foot. I'm really worried about how hard it's going to be to handle that much fabric while sewing. I'm just nervous. Logically, I know it won't be too difficult. I may have to utilize my handy-dandy seam ripper, but I really don't think it'll be too bad.

I just can't bring myself to make that first stitch.

I have a short paper due for school (less than a page). I have already written one paper for this class, and it wasn't bad at all. I'm really hesitant to do anything more than plan for this paper, though. I keep opening the word document, then closing it without doing anything.

I just can't bring myself to type that first word.

The worst right now is probably my running. About 2 weeks ago, my schedule got all messed up, then I didn't have an ID to get on base, then I got sick. I'm all better now, have been for a few days. But I still haven't gone out running in the morning yet. I haven't done any strength training at home, either, like I had planned. I think part of it is because I have fallen off the wagon of my training plan. But I need to jump back in. I know it's not hard, I have been running multiple times a week for months now.

I just can't bring myself to get up and take that first step.


I know once I actually force myself to start, it won't be so bad. It never is. I've done this with numerous projects before. It is just built up in my head to epic proportions. Once I get started, I'll be fine and blast right through it.

I just need to get out of The Gate.

I am the Gate Keeper. Are you the Key Master?

My Pattern Rut

So I have come to realize something about myself recently... When I like something, I really like it. And I - unintentionally - wind up buying it over and over again.

Available here.

 For example:

<---- I have three shirts that all look exactly like this. Except different colors. When shopping earlier, I thought, "ohhh that shirt is really cute" without even registering that I have three EXACTLY like it. All bought at different times, from different stores. 

I also go through color ruts. However unconsciously, for a time, every thing I buy winds up being the same color. I had a Coral Phase, followed by a Navy Phase, followed by a Mint Phase, followed by a Grey Phase.... Every workout thing I own is grey or mint, because I was in those ruts while stocking up on workout gear.... I'm still in the Grey Phase, come to think of it....

And now, I've just discovered that I'm in a pattern rut.

I've decided I'm going to make a quilt for mine and The Grump's bed. I just wanted to pick a pattern and color scheme (I'm thinking grey... big surprise) before buying fabric. And I've found myself drawn to the same types of patterns. 

Oooooh lovely lattices...

Like this one.

And this one. This one is grey, too!

And this one.
  

So I think I'm actually going to make one like THIS magnificence. In grey, of course. Perhaps with some yellow and teal.

The funniest thing about all this is that recently I had to throw out a crocheted afghan which I had been working on for several years. I had intended to make this for my bed in my first home. I don't have any pictures of the afghan (I lost the instruction book for it years ago, as well), but I just realized a few days ago that it was a - drum roll please - LATTICE DESIGN! It even had little squares inside of big squares, like the quilt I JUST decided to make a few days before!!

I guess I like what I like... but DAMN. 

Apparently, I'm stuck in an EIGHT YEAR  pattern rut. Maybe I'll get over it once I actually get around to making this thing...

Does anyone else do this? Or am I just a weirdo?