building a c

 quite often when i'm in the middle of a project, i'll take photos of the process as i go, with the intention of making a blog post out of it at some point. and sometimes, much later, i find those photos when i'm looking for something else. such was the case with these photos of when i decided to make letters to spell my son's name for his blue and orange wonky quilt using the letter patterns in denyse schmidt's "proverbial quilt."

the letters could either be patchwork pieced or paper pieced. i chose to trace the pattern and patchwork it together. you can watch my letter "c" quickly come together.

there are 4 pieces to letter "c." i cut apart the paper pattern, then selected a fabric scrap for each component. when i cut the fabric, i added in a 1/4" seam allowance on all sides by pinning the paper the the fabric and using a ruler to gauge 1/4" outside the pattern piece. all the letters in this patter have all straight lines to each piece, so this is quite easy to do.

next i sewed  pieces 2 and 3, the top and bottom segments of the "c," to the center background piece 1. once pressed, there was only one more bit.

piece 4, the long left side of "c" was last to go on.

setting the seam.

then pressing open.

and there you have a letter "c."

this process was very quick and quite enjoyable! i do plan on doing an entire quilt of a favorite quote someday.

next time, i'll just need to make sure i can see the pins so i don't accidentally sew one into the letter.

this quilt is now in the binding phase, by the way. it should be a finish quite shortly!

why i blog

A post shared by @hydeeannsews on Jan 5, 2017 at 12:43pm PST

i've been thinking about the different forms of social media i use to share my quilting and to connect with the international quilting community. i use two: blogging (here, of course) and instagram (find me at @hydeeannsews).

i was completely loathe to add instagram to the mix. blogging was enough for me to keep up with, and i enjoyed the depth of blogging - mine and others' as well. once upon a time i was a facebook user, but found it so completely overwhelming and such a black hole that i just stopped visiting after a while. blogging was good enough for me. i couldn't fathom the people who used all the media outlets. where did they find the time? (i do recognize a professional promoting their work and business has different needs than a hobbyist seeking connection only.)

Taking no chances on this #swoonalong: pinning, marking, small stitch length, sewing slowly. All the extra little steps I wouldn't normally bother with but I find important when accuracy is my priority. With a large-scale block all the imperfections will be much more apparent, and I want to see every one of those points nice and crisp. I can't decide whether to call this #SlowlySwooningQuilt because of my pace, or #SwoonSupremeQuilt as a nod to the size. Maybe I'll know by the time I'm done!

A post shared by @hydeeannsews on Jan 28, 2017 at 12:02pm PST

but then one of my bestest and dearest quilting buddies made the transition to instagram, and i either had to join in to keep touch with her or let go. i wasn't going to participate, just observe. of course i got sucked in! (liz of shush, i'm quilting is now @lizfromshush, in case you miss her like i did.)

here's my list of what isntagram has going for it:

• instagram is so instant. that's the whole point. i can share and get feedback right away. 
• feedback - people will often "double tap" (like) a post, even if they don't comment. i see less and less commenting on blogs everywhere these days. i may have over 600 views on a blog post and only a comment or two, which doesn't tell me what people are thinking at all. while the like-to-follower ratio on instagram is also low, its different. and when i have a question, people do comment. right away.
• quick sampling - it's a fast little soundbite of what everyone's up to (even though i'm pretty wordy there, too). my timeline has lots of small bits from so many people, easily scrolled through all at once. it's sort of like speed reading blogs.
• connection on multiple levels and search-ability - those hashtags make searching and connecting so easy! hashtags are like instant link parties. and it's super easy to discover new people or ideas by chasing hashtags or other features that make suggestions.
• parties - the swaps and giveaways and destashes, etc, that go on at instagram are numerous and pretty fun. there are sew-along times when everyone is chiming in during the appointed time, which is a lot like being with people while you sew, but without the complete distraction of talking constantly. there are generous volunteer swappings and iso (in search of) opportunities, too.
• communication compatibility - there aren't any "no reply bloggers" on instagram. i can communicate with those who comment to me and i don't have any issues on the other end, either. 
• convenience - it's on my phone, which means it's available to me anywhere, anytime. i don't have to sit down to the computer and type away.

so, yeah, i really like instagram!

Each of those messy thread tails represents a mistake made in the #quilting of this project: a stop, an unpick, a redo, maybe a lesson learned, threads painstakingly knotted and buried. I can't get away from them. Overall, it was enjoyable anyway. Now that I've stuck it out through all the bumps and blips, I have a completed quilt I'm quite happy with. #BigStarHSTQuilt #MistakesAreLearningOpportunities #AllPartOfTheExperience #Aurifil12wt

A post shared by @hydeeannsews on Jan 21, 2017 at 7:57am PST

i was never a regular blogger. i'm a busy mom who's only a hobby quilter. like most people who move to a new platform, i found my participation here dwindling even further. so many of my favorite bloggers of old have stopped almost completely. and i think that's sad.

blogging allows for depth.

when i want to include more than just one photo (without overgramming and blowing up everyone's feed), i blog.

when i have a lot to say about a project, or want to think my way through a project, i blog.

when i want to share the steps in a process or do a tutorial, i blog.

that's the difference for me.

so, for now, i'm not going anywhere.
this blog isn't leaving or dying.
it might be more quiet than some times in the past, but it will be here.
all the information will stay here.

and i'll be stopping in when i get the chance.

happy sewing and sharing wherever you are, friends!