Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A willy nilly post from my twisted little heart

Yep, another post. I have no idea either. I guess it's all the free time this stupid illness has afforded me, and who knows whether I'll be able to keep it up (odds are: no) but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Even if I keep having to clean bits of lung tissue off my computer screen.

That damn Flippy Lip quilt, or whatever the hell I'm going to call it, should have been enough to keep me occupied last week, but no, I had to sign up for the GenQ Valentine swap. And I didn't exactly sign up for it. I said that if we ended up with an odd number of participants and we desperately needed one more to be able to match up that last individual with a swap partner then, yes, I would participate, and I got the word that my services would indeed be required just about the same time that I started to get sick.

I saw that my swap partner lived in the same city as one of my my GenQ cohorts, so I asked her (the GenQ cohort) if she was acquainted with her and she was. They are in a guild or mini-group together, and the cohort was kind enough to inform me that this individual was a bit conservative in her tastes and so perhaps I should not send anything festooned with penises. AS IF I WOULD. Geez, just because I have some fun here on my own personal space doesn't mean I just send that shit out to unsuspecting people all willy nilly (heh, heh, heh: "willy"). Give me a little credit for being an actual adult who doesn't go around flipping off cops and flashing little old men because she has no self control. I haven't done either of those things in months.

So for a week I laid in bed and worried about what the hell I was going to make, particularly after losing a week to Marburg 2: Electric Boogaloo. I decided that a mini quilt was my best option, since I don't know bupkiss about making cards and I couldn't imagine what else might be appropriate. If I wanted something heart-y I figured I could either go with applique or paper piecing and since applique can take a while, depending on the complexity, and, knowing me, I'd choose something akin to building a particle accelerator out of novelty fabric, I went with paper piecing.

I hadn't actually done any paper piecing since I made Alexander last year:


But I figured if I did it once, I could do it again. I went to the same place where I got the pattern for Alexander, because I remembered her having some interesting heart designs and I chose her Twisting Spiral Heart pattern. I love getting patterns by email. When I can buy Godiva key lime truffles via email and have them appear in my hand in mere minutes, I will die happy.

I wish I had some great story for you about how hard it was to put this together, but I don't. It was super easy and I really enjoyed making it. God, how fucking boring is that?



Quilting it scared the living daylights out of me and at first I only had the large border areas outside the heart quilted and I was going to leave the rest alone. But it needed the texture throughout the entire background, and even though I cannot control fabric under a needle very well at all, I held my breath and went for it. And it worked! I quilted in some itty bitty spaces and didn't end up lurching over into the areas I was trying to avoid. I'm starting to wonder if Mucinex has brain-focussing side effects they're not telling us about.

AND I have another mini-quilt that I made at Harper's request I hope to show you later this week, if she ever picks out a binding for it. It is her own design and it is totally fabulous, if you think royal purple, bright orange, and hot pink with red thread for quilting is fabulous, and why wouldn't you? I'm praying she goes for lime green for the binding so it can fry every possible neural circuit between my retina and my brain. I don't like to do anything halfway.

15 comments:

Katie Wiseman said...

They're both SOOO beautiful and awesome!!!  Love it!

M-R @ Quilt Matters said...

Your heart mini quilt is awesome, Megan! Great job with the FMQ!

bitchystitcher said...

Oh, geez, that made me cry! Thank you so much. You have no idea how much that means to me.

Izzy said...

I've been a reader of your blog for some time but never commented. I love the heart and the quilting, but most of all, I'm in awe of your ability to write in such a way that without knowing you, I can read your posts and actually "see" your post... Like a movie. You are awesome, always entertaining and the belly laughs I get when reading you are priceless. Thank you!

Sue Laughton said...

I didn't find that Mucinex worked that way for me - in the mind-focussing way - but you did an awesome job on that heart!  The GenQ valentine exchange is on my job list for today...wish me luck!

Carolyn S. said...

dang, I was commenting then disappeared. Hate it when that happens. Anyway, you crack me up and I like your heart quilt! 

Sandy Navas said...

You just gave away a fantastic piece of information and I've ordered my own pattern.  Get well and keep stitching.

BTW I did read on Odd News about a woman on the East coast who was flipping of policemen . . . 

Diana Summers said...

Wow - you really ARE sick if you haven't flipped off the cops or flashed little old men in months!!!
Love the twisted heart from a real twisted sister LOL

Ann Marie @16muddyfeet said...

They are both fabulous, and I too hope she picks lime green! Can't wait to see it.

bitchystitcher said...

Okay, I did flip off a policeman once, but I didn't know it was a cop! And it was about 20 years ago.

Pat said...

Keep doing stuff like this and you will lose all credibility. I do belive you have left your beginner-novice stage for good. Hope you feel better soon. Bless drugs.

Denise Gregory said...

Your productivity even while ill is inspiring... as in, theoretically I'm inspired to go create as you have done, while the reality suggests that after man-handling my wildebeest (aka my black lab) for a walk to expel some of HIS energy, this will also dispel of MY energy...

Thanks for the first-morning giggle!

Sooli said...

I have to say I'm not much into the whole Valentine thing. It seems to be a huge thing in North America but here in Australia its not quite so full on. I've never been into hearts that much as they've always seemed a bit kitsch but I like this one! Maybe because its a bit twisted (like me!). I'm with you - go the lime green!

Helen B said...

Lovely quilt, Megan!

Glad you are still able to do some sewing while your body is fighting off your bronchitis.  I took Mucenix and that stuff is incredible.  I always keep it in the house since my pneumonia last year.

Sherry said...

Even when deathly ill, you're the most interesting person on the internet at 6am.  The little heart is cute!