TropicalSoup

Reinventing the Wheel

{aka Great Minds Think Alike aka how Pinterest and Flickr can be self-confidence thieves}

 

(this pic from early 2008 is completely irrelevant to the post - I just love it - it was the promotions board outside the local shop at the end of our street in Rarotonga - and well, the choices are just so very Cookie. How do you like your doughnuts?)

 

I adore Pinterest and Flickr for their vast and ever-changing inspiration for, well, any creative endavour you could imagine, really. I love that I pop in a few keywords, and kapow - instant inspiration on tap! Of course, I am also slightly impressed by the sheer time suckage power that these sites have, for me at least!

 

Sometimes though, (and this happens both when I am actively searching for something for a particular project, or randomly Alice in Wonderlanding through all the eye candy - see *time suckage* above, ha!) the sheer volume of inspiration can be overwhelming, to the point where I lose the enthusiasm to make something because *it's all been done before*, or I am simply so overwhelmend with ideas my mind can't settle long enough to decide on one. (Rachel from Stitched in Color wrote very eloquently about this earlier this year - and her post's message has stuck with me)

And sometimes, in the midst of all this glorious imagery, you stumble upon something that is uncannily like the idea that's been percolating away on your noggin for an *original* design...already stitched by someone else. That's where things tend to get a bit shifty for me - obviously the idea I thought was the product of my imagination, has germinated in someone else's noggin too (which is really very cool if you think about it - great minds think alike and all that) but I confess it does tend to cool my enthusiasm for some of those intended projects - not so much the *someone else has already thought of it* aspect (because that is bound to happen), but because of concerns of accusations or the perception of plagiarism, even if it is a completely random or accidental development of a design by 2 separate people in a remarkably similar fashion. Sad but true - I'd simply rather not make a particular quilt (or not share it here, at any rate) than open myself up to that sort of criticism and confrontation - as I've seen those bombs explode elsewhere online and well, this is my happy place!

So, on the back of all this, you can imagine my surprise just a day or so ago - I was hunting through Flickr, hoping for inspiration to hit on how to use my Soul Blossoms collection (I have been hoarding it, and it is starting its siren call, begging to be used - does your fabric do this?)...when I happened to stumble upon this beauty - look familiar? The resemblance between this lovely quilt by Hideaway Girl and my Like a Record Baby quilt is pretty uncanny, right? Now, Hideaway Girl made her quilt nearly a full year ago, and I haven't seen it before now, and yet I still got antsy when I saw it, worrying that there would be this perception that I had taken her idea and made it my own, without attribution etc.

{And here we should pause for a moment to acknowledge that a. yes, I do think (and worry!) entirely too much; and b. a worrywort quilter who is also an ex-copyright law lecturer is just a combination that is not going to end well, ha! There's probably good reason for a third point as well so c. yes, I must not hang out inside my own head ofr extended periods of time - no good will come of this!!!}

That said, thankfully, I'd already shared the photos of my quilt before discovering Hideaway Girl's, so part of the mental tug-of-war was irrelevant since it was already out there, phew! And there are some definite differences - though gosh I love the sense of decadance that she has created by pairing Soul Blossoms and a dark grey!

And the really crazy thing? When I was first formulating the idea of the LARB quilt, I was seriously considering using my Soul Blossoms and a darker neutral - how freaky would that have been?!?! At the end of the day though I went with the Remix jelly roll simply because it was a jelly roll and so already cut, and laziness should always be rewarded, ha!

Plans

I have some ambitious ones. But I got to do some cutting, cropping and stitching tonight, and it's actually coming together rather like the plans I have in my head - I love when that happens!!! {cue *plans coming together*, cigars, and BA Baracus!}

Please excuse the grainy late-night attempts at photography...this is what happens when I decide to start things after 10pm!

Like a Record, Baby!

 

'Tis done! This quilt ended up with the 9 blocks marinating for a while whilst I decided on how to join them. I had originally intended to add in 2.5 or 3" sashing between the blocks to give it a bit of weight (I was still worried it was too crazy, with not enough places - or calm - to rest one's eye), but I was running perilously short on the green at this stage (Kona Green Tea) and so I tossed up the idea of using a slightly darker green Kona (Tarragon was what I had to hand) rather than ordering more online and needing to wait (there are no quilt stores anywhere around here, nevermind ones that stock Kona solids!). I ended up using the last of my Green Tea, and managed to eke out enough sashing - it sits between the other 2 widths, sizewise. After my initial uncertainty, I really like the finished quilt (Phew!)

 

 

I used the remaining bits of the jelly roll to piece a row across the back to interrupt the taupe cotton-linen that I bought (6m of!) 2 years ago and have been slowly using up - this is just about the last of it!

Wouldn't you know it, but today was miserable, dark, wet and overcast, so I raced outside between showers to try and get a few pics for you, but forgive the less-than-salubrious washing line setting!

 

 

I'm particularly pleased with my label:

 

This is yet another quilt made entirely from my stash, so I'm feeling terribly virtuous. And in the spirit of *using what I have*, I confess the batting was intended to be my new design wall, so I guess I need to go and replace that so I can actually put the darn thing up on the wall, ha!!!

 

 

I'm particularly pleased with how the quilting came out - I had originally intended to do diagonal cross hatching, but was loving the look of the diagonal straight lines by halfway through so I figured I'd stick with that...the fact it cut the quilting by 50% had nothing to do with it at all, ha! (oh, and I used Aurifil thread for the first time on this - awesome sauce!!!! I am in love)

 

 

The LARB Quilt Specs:

(almost) 64 x 64" square

Top fabrics: Anne Kelle's Remix jelly roll, and Kona Green Tea

Backing fabrics: cotton/linen blend (generic - intended for dressmaking!) and Anne Kelle's Remix.

Cotton batting

Binding: a (very) old quilting cotton that has been in my stash for many years...and no selvedge details, I'm sorry!

The stitching has been bitchin'

 

As I type, I have 5 finished quilts to share with you...five!!! All washed and full of crinkly, quilty goodness. A couple are off to new homes, but the others get to hang out here with us. Which means I need to take some photos in the morning, ha! I confess to loving this extra little time off...

(This is a picture of the crazy loud quilt - after its first basting last week. I ended up basting it another 2 times before I was happy...there was something really screwy somewhere and it just wouldn't sit flat and line up. Grrr. I'd like to pretend it was the earth shifting on its axis or something, but given that things got much better after a liberal dousing of spray starch, we'll just chalk that one up to user error and most definitely probably possibly not squaring up the blocks at all as well as I could have done!)

Back at the machine

 

I finished my job the week before last, and whilst there is a new (permanent-ish) policy one lined up, it's not quite ready yet, so I have a couple of weeks off in between. And I am loving it! I finally got back into my studio (that has storage space! not made from cardboard boxes! woot!) and have been spending a lot of time with my beloved Bernie, sewing up a storm. Here's a teaser...

Pin the Beak on the Penguin

...And lest you think the only thing at the party was food, here's our version of *pin the beak on the penguin* (it was a penguin party, in case you hadn't noticed!!!)It proved to be insanely popular, and would be very easy to replicate for any party.

 

I found a copyright free image online, and took it to Officeworks where they printed it onto Plan paper for me - it's only available in Black and white, and because the image was embiggened so much it did have a little pixellation, but then again, it was blown up to A0 size, and cost less than $6. Awesome! I found some bright orange post-it notes that were shaped like hearts, and I just cut the hearts more-or-less in half, so they looked beakish. And then, as each child placed their *beak*, I simply added their name with a sharpie.

I didn't do a prize for the closest beak...the deal with the games at the party was that everyone got a prize if they'd had a turn/tried something (one prize per kid, not per game - I guess it was an alternative to party favours?), which meant everyone was happy and there were no dramas about who had an advantage etc etc, especially as we had kids from 2 to 8 playing along. As the mother of 2 naturally competitive little souls (who inherited that spirit in equal measure from both paretns!), I have definitely learnt the value of encouraging something for the joy it brings rather than (just) the goal of competition. Thank you Montessori for yet another important life lesson!

The *prizes* - indian rubber balls, cute post-its, yo-yos, fun pens and pencils etc, and lollipops - were all tossed into a pillowcase and each child reached in and grabbed something without looking. If the first thing they'd selected wasn't to their taste, they got to put it back and have another turn, but they had to keep their second selection. (I modified this for the little ones - they could see into the pillowslip) Funny thing - everyone wanted the 2c lollipops, which I only added as an afterthought in case the *good stuff* ran out. We are now well stocked with yo-yos and cute post-its, ha!

 

This old favourite was so popular and most kids had multiple turns....in fact I may or may not have hidden the rest of the *beaks* after the first 100 were used (there were fewer than 20 kids at the party all told...and the picture above was taken after I'd removed at least half, phew!) This is definitely a great job for the fun auntie/grandpa/etc who wants to help!

The Cakes

I wanted to share the cakes I made for Cole and Immy's penguin birthday party - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't quite tickled with them! Unfortunately these are just about the only photos I have of the whole party - the term blue-arsed fly springs to mind, ha! I do have a few of the kids blowing out their candles, and cutting the cake, but poor Immy was feeling so rotten by that point that they all look a little sad(we ended up with a trip to the ER the next day for this horrendous virus that struck midway through her party, poor wee mousie).

 

I also completely neglected to take any photos of the insides of the cake - it never occurred to me both cakes would be completely gobbled up on the day! Each cake had 4 layers in varying shades of blue (or pink - I am sure you can figure out who requested what!) with the darkest colour at the bottom, up to the merest hint of colour in the top layer. Each layer was separated with buttercream frosting. I was so annoyed at myself for not getting a photo because it came out so well (both of them!!!) and decorated cakes are a bit hit-and-miss with me! At the end of the day though, I guess the real compliment is that the birthday kids were happy with them, and that people ate the cakes and liked them...at least, I haven't found a stash of it behind the sofa yet!

The icing/fondant penguins were great fun to make - a bit like playdough for grown ups!

 

 

6 on the Sixth of the Sixth...happy birthday a deux!

A few days ago (okay okay, 12 - it's been a little busy around here!!!) we celebrated the birthdays of these 2 tiny creatures. Six. And boy did we all celebrate! Family and friends near and far remembered these 2 munchkins, and there seemed to be a week-long list of festivities, wrapping paper redistribution, and retellings of *the day you were born* (*oh boy, here we go again!* uttered my youngest, complete with eyeroll...the accompanying cheeky smile and devilish giggle only just saved her that time. Little stinker!!!) and even a massive party (so many children! And adults! and siblings! at home! children everywhere! sugar!!!!!! Why oh why do I do this? Thank gawd it was dry!) to boot.

Except, in the interests of full disclosure, I should note that those little itty bitty 2.6 and 2.58kg (5.73# and 5.69#) nibbles now look rather more like this: (and no, I have no idea where they get their flair for the dramatic either, ha!)

The penguins made me do it

 

Hello, my name is Jo, and I may or may not be awake at 5am, attaching flippers to the bottoms of 2 dozen hand felted penguins. (I can neither confirm nor deny these spurious allegations on the grounds that I may incriminate myself in any possible future mental competency hearings, ha!)