Thursday 15 April 2010

Slow cloth or fast?

My maths has never been good which is why it's probably only just hit me that the 1960's was 50 years ago! (or maybe I'd developed a mental block about it)

Back then my mother was the cutter for a big millinery business in Sydney, one of their lines were flower power beach hats.
Mum brought home the offcuts destined for the bin, I think because, like me, she was a bower bird and these were just too bright, too colourful to be thrown away.
They sat in her sewing room before migrating to mine. I've used bits over the years but because of the odd sizes, never really did much with them.

just messing...

The older I get, the more concerned I am that I have more material than I could use in several lifetimes, and as my friends are all in the same boat, we all worry about the eventual fate of our stashes.

Which brings me to my method of getting over the mental blocks that I'm sure we are all plagued with at times - what can I make next.
I tidy my sewing room, I sweep the floor, I put away, I look at the stacks of material and am blank.

When all fails, I make log cabin quilts.

just messing...

I know, boring....
but there is something relaxing in cutting up 2 inch strips and mindlessly sewing them together, I don't fuss about matching corners, I put a CD on and just sew.

My mind goes off for a little wander on it's own....and when it come back, it brings new ideas with it.

just messing...

It's certainly not slow cloth, it's frantic and I love it.

....and I just saw a little face peeking out of the fabric, can you spot it?

6 comments:

Ann Champion said...

I love this riot of color! Log cabins are certainly not boring..the way you're doing them. :)

aykayem said...

who cares if it is officially "slow" or "fast" - it looks wonderful!
but how the heck did ELMO get in there?! LOL
(I didn't think he was even invented that long ago, yet there he is peeking out from the bottom row ;-)
Feel free to think I am weird, but I have thought of the perfect name for that quilt - "tickle me pink" ... not sure why, but the name just popped into my mind - I guess the pink bit that looks like it could be a feather tickling Elmo could have something to do with it - LOL
btw, I was around for most of the 60s too ... how the heck can it be THAT long ago?!!!

Tesla said...

chaotic color I LOVE it!!!

Erica said...

Ann, thank you, I think sometimes I should try some other patchwork patterns but log cabins are like comfortable old slippers

Andrea, I love the name! "Tickle me pink" it is! thanks for it - Elmo is really a floral pattern but he keeps popping up....and you were just a baby in the 60's - I was finishing high school!

Tesla, thank you!

Patty Ashworth said...

Nice Blast of colors!!! Keep it going. So nice to see log cabin done with brights.

Erica said...

thanks Patty, it's grown considerably since these photos so is now ready for wadding and backing

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