I have started this post so many times now over the last week and have been debating with myself whether or not to post at all. It is very difficult to blog when you have nothing of interest to say to your readers, which inevitably means your followers stop following along. I have noticed over the last couple of months that a number of bloggers I have followed over the last year or so have fallen by the wayside and have either just stopped posting or have gone over to other things and Instagram. Now I don't really intend to do either. I have not been sewing very much recently and to be perfectly honest I think the main problem I have is lack of inspiration.
I usually read magazines, Internet sites and blogs looking out for new things to do. Magazines can get expensive if there is nothing to catch your attention and in my opinion what I am seeing is repeats of blocks and quilts I have seen in the past just using new modern and brighter fabrics. I was not greatly impressed by what I saw this year at our local quilt show in Edinburgh - again no inspiration or nothing that jumped out at me and said - sew me! Is this just a stage in my quilting life that I'm going through, a mid winter crisis or is this craft telling me to get off the boat and try something else? Has quilting run its course like so many other crafts?
As you probably know I have been doing quite a lot of knitting over the last few months in preparation for the arrival of our new grandson, however this little lad has now more than enough cozy cardis to do him for about a year! So the knitting needles are going away again until there is a request for a new jumpers rom his Mummy! Well I might not put them away altogether I have enjoyed knitting again so will probably use up all the scraps and knit some baby blankets for the Linus Project.
Looking back over the last year I do realise I did achieve something. How many quilts? 19!! Check out the gallery. There are two missing at the moment, both gifts for my grandson and his Mummy. I was so excited to give them to them I forgot to take photos. One is the blue disappearing nine patch in baby boy fabrics and the other a pretty lemon and grey pinwheel spot for the nursery, hopefully to keep them both cozy and to snuggle under at feeding time. A few were baby gifts, some donations to Marie Curie and Linus and I still have a few sitting in my display case waiting to be donated to a worth while cause.
I tried a few new techniques too during the year, surprisingly I think the one I have discovered I like most is Applique. We are doing an on going Block of the Month project at class. It's the Night Before Christmas quilt by Bunny Hill. I have a little catching up to do for this month but so far I am really enjoying this project which is in the main hand stitching. This is what I will be working on this week.
Looking forward into 2015 - what will I be doing? Unless I get some real inspiration soon - not a lot! I still have a few WIPs I really must finish. Last year I bought very little fabric as I was determined to use up some of my stash. I will continue to do this but I really think it's time to splash out and buy something new and interesting.
I also hope this year to go back and try freemotion quilting again. I was given this exciting book for my birthday, it has lots of lovely ideas and patterns, some of which look quite daunting however I intend to take this very slowly indeed. Being a mainly straight line quilter which works well on some quilts, sometimes there is a need to have a more flowing quilting design. If time allows that's what I'll be doing - I hate wasting fabrics and threads just for practice though! I know there are lots of ideas out there to make panels and join them together like a quilt as you go method.
I hope you have been inspired to do something different this year and are not stuck in a rut like me. If you have any ideas for me I would be delighted to hear them, just drop me a note. Apologies for the lack of posts over the last few weeks - I will try to do better!
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