Newcomers: The Do Something Thread is to encourage you to work on those projects you’ve been meaning to do.
Projects can be anything. While we’re in Cafe Society, which implies certain things, and while I encourage you to work on creative stuff, whether writing, art, gardening, whatever, many of us have projects that don’t fit that really need to be done. So do them anyway! And tell us about it!
You don’t have to finish in a particular time span, but this is to encourage you to set aside time every week to work.
We encourage you to post pictures of your progress.
Encouragement, suggestions, and constructive criticism is all welcomed. For criticism, may I suggest the Oreo method? Say something nice, give the critique, say something nice, e.g. ‘I love the colors! But if you cropped it a little tighter it would look stronger. It’s so pretty!’ Or whatever.
There will be a new thread every week.
Continuing projecters: What are you working on? What have you gotten done? Any pictures?
Seeing as I just graduated and move from the dorms to my parents’ guest bedroom, I’m working on unpacking and sorting what stays here, what goes to my storage unit, and what gets donated to a thrift store. I’d have pictures but I haven’t found my camera yet.
I’m working on this quilt, which is made from a collection of Japanese-style taupe fabrics and an acid-green silk/cotton as an accent. I am very excited about this project; I’m in the quilting part now.
I’m trying to conquer my pile of UFOs, so in the past couple of weeks I’ve finished two quilts (here’s the silly one), and I have two more quilts after this taupe one. I’ve been neglecting quilts for quite a long time in favor of clothes, so the Quilt UFO Project is very fitted to this thread!
Also because I’m proud, I just finished my very first baby daygown the other day. And I’m going to show it off now because I just can’t help myself. (You don’t have to click.) Daygown of blue batiste with smocking and embroidery. Slip with shell edge and embroidery.
I, uh, haven’t really gotten anything done yet. Well, I’ve set up my computer (obviously) and contacted two people I’ve needed to, but nothing for the room. It’s cold and quiet and that makes me not want to work.
That is awesome! I’m lucky if I can manage to sew in a straight line.
Here are pics of my actual in-progress blanket - don’t mind the ends, I never weave anything in until I’m done. The part on the needles is striped with cream and the pomegranate color, it’s curling right now so it’s hard to see. The other striped portion will be cream & yellow.
My room is almost picked up. I can finally move my clothes drawers in. I’m going to my storage unit tomorrow and I’ll get hooks to hang up my hats and bandanas. That’ll empty the last box in my room. Then I just have to deal with all my desk and computer stuff, which will be interesting, because I don’t have a desk.
I’ve made a bit of progress on that taupe quilt, but it’s been put aside for an emergency job. A woman at our church–young! 30 tops–has been diagnosed with cancer; she’s going to have radical surgery, chemo, and radiation. So clearly a snuggly quilt was called for. Everyone is pitching in a few bucks and I was told that her favorite color is purple. She has a lot of style so I wanted to do something neat, not dowdy. My friend and I went to the quilt store and got some gorgeous fabrics, one a silk dupioni, and I sewed it up yesterday. Today I can get batting and flannel for a back.
Wow. :eek: It’s bright. It’s exuberant. It’s full of life. I don’t know that it’s very tasteful, though. The photo doesn’t really look like the real thing, but please look at this and tell me that I haven’t made a huge mistake. The friend who helped choose the fabric is at work so I can’t show it to her yet!
I kind of figure that if you’re going to be in the hospital and feeling horrible, maybe a really eye-popping quilt in your favorite color is a good thing?
Well, you’re probably all being tactfully silent but luckily I got her good friend to come over and check it out, and her claim is that it’s just great and will be loved. So I sure hope so!
Hi, delurking to say I like dangermom’s quilt too. I think you’re spot on with the idea that it will brighten a dull stay in the hospital.
I’ll join in the thread, if that’s ok.
I’m using a torn tendon as an excuse to finally hand quilt the hexagon patchwork I’ve been working on for years. It’s been ignored for about 12 months or so while I steeled myself to unpick to 20-odd metres of machine stitching that just wasn’t working out.
I’ve popped the top out of a cube coffee table and have it propped on a footstool to use as a quilting frame.
10 flowers down, 90 (and 10 half flowers) to go … then the plain side panels where the quilting will have to become the pattern … then the edging.
I meant it as a lap rung initially, but it fits my queen size bed.
I’m working on a different type of freeform beadweaving. I’ve got a pair of earrings finished but no photo yet. I’ll try to get one over the weekend and post a link.
Thanks everybody! We lucked out, and a professional quilter is going to quilt it for no cost, and embroider something neat on the back (like “Fight like a girl” or something). So my part is done and I’m back to my other projects now. Hoping this gets done very fast, since she’s probably having surgery next week.
I’ve been gardening instead of working on my pottery this week - I could do some pottery in the evenings when I’m just vegetating on the couch, though. My goal - get a few more items done before the end of the long weekend.
I bought an Indian block print duvet cover on Granville Island in Vancouver last summer. The pillow cases were too small for UK standard pillows so I bought a sheet with the idea that I would whip up pillow cases to fit my pillows. The fabric lay on a chair for six months but I finally got the sewing machine set up on the dining table. It has been there for about 3-4 weeks now. We eat in the TV room :-/
Here’s hoping I get them done this weekend so my girls can eat their birthday dinner at the table!
OK, here’s a photo of the new freeform technique I’m playing with. It’s a combination of freeform netting and peyote stitch and is more “bead soup”-y than the kind of earrings that I normally make.
My goal this year is to do fewer, better shows with more inventory, and I’m trying to come up with an earring design that doesn’t take quite so long to make. I’m not sure I really like this design, though. It almost looks like there is NO design – just a bunch of randomly strung beads.
I quite like it and am more inclined to buy the soup earrings than the more designed ones. OTOH, I no longer wear earrings (the holes are closed), so take that FWIW. I’d like to see some of those in a show, but certainly among a variety of your other stuff too–does that help?
Dangermom, when I read your lead-up to The Quilt, I was expecting something very loud, very shiny, and very purple! But the photo is none of those things; it’s positively decorous and I’m sure, quite perfect. So there!
I’m so glad to see this thread, because my current project is taking up my whole life (and keeping me in front of the SDMB for sanity). I’ve got to do pen-and-ink illustrations of literally hundreds of leaves, for an illustrated tree dictionary. It’s really great for my chances of making a living from art, but there has to be a limit to how many leaves a person can draw without beginning to photosynthesise! I’ve been at it for a month so far, and have about two weeks to go before the publishers start getting too antsy. While in the meantime I really ought to be in the garden planting winter bulbs - maybe I’ll do that tomorrow, as I’m trying my best to keep one day of the week completely exfoliated
So clearly a snuggly quilt was called for. Everyone is pitching in a few bucks and I was told that her favorite color is purple. She has a lot of style so I wanted to do something neat, not dowdy. My friend and I went to the quilt store and got some gorgeous fabrics, one a silk dupioni, and I sewed it up yesterday. Today I can get batting and flannel for a back.
