She quilts as a hobby, and was telling me that she just finished a baby quilt she made for her husband’s cousin and his wife. She was glad to see the end of that project because her husband kept stopping her at every step, pointing out the “bad taste” and “errors in judgment” flaws, and suggesting that she redo it. It took her three times longer than usual to finish it, and she had no fun doing it.
This is the price she is paying for trying to conform to society’s idea of good taste. Do you really want to end up like her?
I am so glad you are all my friends! Actually, I kind of wish I COULD make some cute quilts for some of you. The thing is, I tend to make stuff whether I have any use for it or not. I.e., I’m going to keep knitting socks, mittens, sewing weird colored quilts whether or not anyone wants or needs them. So it’s fun to have new friends with good taste (by which I mean, “taste like mine.”)
I have supergirl pajamas, but not panties. I guess I will have to go shopping for panties today. Better get back before the superbowl!
**Dwyr ** are you male? If so, will you marry me? If not, can I just be your roommate? Your house sounds cooler than that Happy Days reunion show! I’m so jealous!
Yay, knitted socks! When I was about six or seven, one of my aunts made everyone knitted sock-booties for Christmas. I loved mine and wore them till they literally fell apart. They weren’t flamboyant, as I recall–they were dark blue.
Q.N., I’m speechless here - First off, things made for a hobby, even if they are meant to be gifts are meant to be enjoyed. The making that is. And it sure sounds like your poor friend’s husband doesn’t have a clue about this. There is so much I’d like to say that is completely inappropriate for a stranger to be saying about married couple whom one knows perhaps two things about. So I’m just going to limit myself to suggesting that someone give her husband a copy of the definition of hobby.
I was shocked too, so I asked her whether or not she was soliciting his opinion, or if he was just making her feel bad because he’s a jerk.
Turns out she was asking him what he thought throughout the project. Being a Clueless Guy ™, he made the mistake of being very honest. Maybe because the quilt was a gift for his cousin. He is also very picky about color/design for a guy, so much so that my friend jokes that he must be secretly gay.
I’m not a big fan of the husband, but my friend assures me he was not being as big a jerk as he sounds in this story.
Actually, I was thinking that it was sort of mean to undermine someone’s creative endeavors. I mean, in all honesty, while I DO tend to choose colors over “neutrals” my home is “respectable.” My sofa is cranberry, my draperies cranberry and green. Sunny yellow and bright blue are used as neutrals, but my house isn’t SHOCKINGLY obnoxious.
It’s when I engage in some creative endeavor, such as knitting stripey socks or picking out quilt fabric that I really let myself get into “Mimi Mode.” THen I know what my tastes REALLY are. I get in touch with my inner Mimi, if you must.
Everyone needs to do that. Their inner Pollack or inner Van Gogh or whatever. But that’s seriously what I think hobbies are for…to let the stuff out you can’t let out any place else.
Sheesh, if you have to let your everyday mundane necessities influence the creative areas of your life, you’re doomed. There never WILL be another Picasso if everyone does that. I generally don’t ask anyone’s opinion about my choices for creative projects. Sometimes they say they like them, sometimes they don’t. I don’t care either way!
They make the GREATEST sock yarn now. It’s self-patterning. All you have to do is knit, knit, knit, in a circle and it makes stripes or fair isle patterns or whatever. And you can get it in some GREAT color combinations.
Now,** ebok47** you are quite cool. Fourteen is a good age to be. And fourteen and expressing yourself without shame is rare and beautiful. Please do not stop.
Yes, as someone else posted, you will have to be “responsible” and maybe even you already are. You’ll have to pay your bills on time, honor your obligations, be a good friend, etc. But being adult doesn’t mean your socks match. Screw that. If I knew you better and knew where you were, I’d knit you a mismatched pair
Actually, I teach a local adult community education class called “fearless knitting.” The thing it…it’s easy. I mean, don’t argue with me, don’t say “I don’t know how, I’m bad with my hands, I can’t sew, blah, blah, blah.” It’s just easy. That’s why people can do it.
Knitters want you to think that they know some amazing skill that makes them superior. The only thing different between them and you is that they WANTED to learn and they spent some time hosing things up before they made a nice, usable, knit object.
Just decide you’re fearless. Get easy directions (Yankee Knitter patterns are really simple and great…they have a great basic sock pattern) and just do one step at a time. Expect your first project to have a hole in it. Sew the hole closed and be proud of your garment! You’re the bomb!
Now go get some purple sock yarn! Fear not, you are creative and amazing!
(Maybe you already knew you were, I just thought you might need a boost.)
Yeah, purple makes my eyes happy. I have a really great log cabin quilt pieced that is shades of purple and teal. I just have to put it together now.
Fear not, little knitter! You can knit anything! If you get stuck, look it up on line or call your local yarn store. People with hobbies love to help others get into the same hobby…no need to pay (unless you want to take a fun class…then by all means).
Whattaya mean hot pink and orange don’t go together?! They’re gorgeous, ebullient, and yummy. Just yesterday, I saw incredible saturated colors used in stores like Ethan Allen, Sigrid Olsen, and Oilily. You know what’s soul suckingly ugly? The home of an acquaintance that was decorated in unrelieved dull, nasty, dust colors. It was so sad, I left as soon as politeness allowed.
Use of bright/intense color in decorating or fashion does not automatically mean bad taste. Trust me, I went to college to learn all sorts of color theory and such. Of course, I’m not entirely unbiased, having a primarily bright orange kitchen, screaming red sofa, and at least one pair of electric-purple suede loafers.
CeilingWhacks, I have yet to make a quilt that goes with my decor. Just as I do not buy or make art work to match my sofa, I don’t make quilts to match my bedroom. Think how many great fabrics you’d have to pass up if you made every project matchy-matchy!
Ashes, Ashes, you know what really cracks me up? People who decorate their house keepign in mind that the dirt won’t show. I.e., it already looks dirty! Hahahah…everythign is shades of brown and grey. I don’t know why I find that so amusing, but I do!
Funny you should say that. Shortly after we were married, my wife asked if I would like her to knit anything for me. To which I replied “Yeah, knit me a Corvette!” 20 years later, I’m still waiting. Apparently fiberglass is really tough to work with.
ps - when I suggested the lime green border as an example of “bad” taste, I was thinking that it would probably look pretty
Nope, sorry. I haven’t had a roommate for years, how do you feel about sharing space with four cats?
I’ve liked bright colors for a long time but lacked the courage to actually slap them up on walls. That is, until I fell under the insidious influence of my younger brother. He’s very creative and egged me into it, for which I’m glad. Right now he’s planning on buying a custom made chair covered in bright microfiber or possibly crushed velvet-he hasn’t decided yet. Either way it’ll be interesting.
