Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

 I think I can maybe see a small glimmer.  I am now on the final section of the pieces for the top.  Then there are some checkerboard sashings to do, before I can actually start sewing the whole thing together.  This final section requires that I construct some triangle pieces out of three fairly small pieces, using a template technique.  I cut several pieces last evening using the templates, and will try to machine stitch those together today.  If I can't do this effectively, I think that the whole section will be done via EPP, or even by hand.

This whole episode has both challenged and pleased me.  Finishing a section gives me a good sense of accomplishment.  But, at the same time,  I'm feeling the urge to do something "arty".  I have wondered throughout my journey, through past more traditional work, if my creative juices might start flowing again simply because I'm working with fabric and creating something, even if it's not really my original design.  Oh but safety is so addictive, especially coming out of the recent pandemic.  Of course, my brain is also saying that I've come this far in "long Time Gone" that it would be a shame not to actually finish it.

Don't you hate it when your heart and brain are fighting each other? 

Finally!!

 Here are the finished 16 Pineapple blocks, each 5 1/2" square and containing 37 pieces.  What's more they are paper pieced, a technique I really don't enjoy.

The next step is to join them together in the pattern they will be used in the final quilt--a row of 3, a square of 4 and a square of 9  That should be a fairly quick job.

But--I have been working full out on this, and need to reconsider.   The pleasure is gone, if I see this as a necessary, priority job, and start to neglect other parts of my life.  I've been down that "rabbit hole" before and don't want to visit it again.  Life's too short, and my health, both physical and mental is too important.

So, for now, I will schedule a certain amount of time to spend on this, and try not to go over.  With my right wrist feeling a little better, I may even try a little hand stitching.

"Long Time Gone"

I've talked about this quilt enough over the years, and now maybe it's time for a picture. Just a reminder that each small piece in all of these squares has been individually cut, and each square is carefully machine pieced.  The first picture is of the squares done, so far.  Some have already been pieced together in the configuration they will be in, in the larger quilt, but most haven't, as there will be sashing to consider.

And here are the pineapple squares I'm currently working on.  Each individual square has 37 individual pieces, each one carefully cut to fit.  Each individual square is only 5 1/2" square, including seam allowances.  Two more have been finished since the picture was taken, but I need 16 in total.

I may not finish piecing the rest of the quilt now, but there really isn't much to go.  I've learned over the years I've worked on this that I will reach a point when I need break from it.  But it will be finishedsome day.

Precision Piecing

 As mentioned in my previous post, my right wrist has been acting up quite a bit lately, so, instead of  attempting anything that might aggravate it, I went back to the Long Time Gone project, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I am further along in it than I had thought.  But any cutting with my rotary cutter is out of the question, so I went to the last part of the piecing--Pineapples using 37-1" strips to produce a square 5" square.  I haven't used paper piecing in years.  I don't enjoy it, and avoid it if at all possible.  But the strips were all cut, and there are 16 squares in this section (OMG!)  The first square took me two days of work to get finished. Admittedly, this was a refresher of the technique, but that amount of time was excessive.  However, the second one was 3/4 done in an hour and a half. It should be finished today and the third started.  And that time included cutting just a few more 1" strips.

So the project is going well--better than expected.  I'm sure I'll get sick of Pineapple squares before they're finished, but the use of my wrist is more important, than my frustrations.

As an aside, in trying to reduce stress on my right wrist, I'm trying to use my left wrist for controlling the Mouse, and doing well, but I can't keyboard with one hand-yet.  Still, I can't believe the mis-spellings that are coming from my clumsiness.

Glad to say I've settled down

 There's nothing like a bit of a shock to make one "sit up and take notice".  Following my little "freak out' as described in the previous post, I concentrated on relaxing over hand stitching, for a bit.  I worked hard on my Frigid Sanctuary box.  The problem there was that I didn't have a clear vision of the finished project, and ended up picking out sections, and re-doing them as I experimented with a different design or technique.  I even resorted to using glue!  Please don't tell anyone.  (Note to self:  try things out first, on a "doodle cloth", as you were taught to do many, many years ago)  I was working on the last bit of stitching, sewing the base to the top section, when my right wrist said "Enough!"  This meant several days of using a wrist brace and a prescription ointment I have, and no hand stitching. But the box is now finished.  This is one of those cases of "Done in better than perfect".  It is not perfect, and I know in my heart that I couldn't exhibit it, nor try to sell it for my usual box price.  But I have found a place to show it in a sale situation, at a lower price.  This price may be still too high for the piece to sell, but I'll have the satisfaction of knowing I tried.

Having managed this hurdle, what comes next?  Perhaps a temporary escape into past successes and try a bit of precision piecing. A few years ago, I started a commercial pattern "Long Time Gone" by Jen Kingwell.  I did okay, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through, until I got to a section on mini-log cabin blocks.  I just couldn't stitch them well enough, and put the whole thing away.  I still have it, and it has been preying on my mind.  My new sewing machine seems to be quite good at precision piecing, and I believe there are good instructions in the manual.  Maybe I need to give this a try.

An "epiphany" of sorts.

 Yesterday, I spent some time checking out the greeting card blanks I was planning to use, and discovered that they aren't at all the type I'm used to and will require a bit of thought before attempting to complete them.  So I decided to clean up the studio area as my first step, while I was mulling things over in my mind.  I found a pair of jeans that I had bought a few months ago and never got around to shortening.  Lately I've been paying to have my pants shortened, but these were cheap jeans and it looked like a simple job.  It's been quite awhile since I attempted anything related to dressmaking, but I confidently sat down to do it.  But, like the Frigid Box, what could go wrong, did go wrong, especially in figuring out how to do the job, on my newer sewing machine.  Finally, the thought occurred to me that maybe I had forgotten how to do simple jobs on a sewing machine?

Well, maybe and overreaction, but this whole idea struck at the very basis of my self identity.  I've heard people say that they were "devastated" about something.  Now I know what that means.  This may be the first time I can honestly say I had a panic attack.  I was almost rigid with stress.  Talk about a "fight, flight, or fright" response.  I had one. I was in such a panic that I just stood there shaking-frozen on the spot.  I couldn't think of what to do.  Thank Goodness, I have some past work experience in addressing milder forms of this, but not much worked very well, yesterday  The need for physical action took over. I did all of the chores I had listed on my task list, but that only helped a little bit.  I couldn't read. I couldn't settle to anything, but the tension/stress was very slowly diminishing.  More physical activity.  Then, David took me out, to the casino, for the evening.  We had fun, and casino vlt's have always provided a bit of stress reduction for me. (Not a Good Thing!) After a couple of hours, with minimal losses, I was ready to come home, feeling much.  A bath, some Cherry whiskey, and I was able to sleep--a bit of restlessness, but still, some sleep, and everything is better in the morning. 

So, what have I learned, and what am I going to do about it?  I think I've said, in the recent past, that, following Covid, it's almost been as though I was re-living, my lifetime journey through the various techniques and strategies of art quilting.  I think I might be wise to lean into this by going back and re-learning, or maybe just doing a lot of practice, in those techniques that I rely on, such as using my machine for machine quilting and Free Motion Quilting.  Now is not the time to be worrying about craft sales, especially when my heart has never been there in the first place.  What will be, will be, and if something turns out to be worthy of a sale, so be it.  The group in Lorette has already told me that I can come to the sale and just sit there and enjoy the day if I want.

Several of my recent posts had indicated a sort of restlessness in my studio work.  Maybe a sub-conscious sense of loss of ability, but more a sense of seeking a sense of direction.  Again, maybe I need to lean into figuring that out, before I start worrying about things I cannot change.  And, yes, the Serenity Prayer came to mind several times yesterday,

Decision time

 The box "Frigid Sanctuary" has been in progress for almost two months.  It's a case of "what can go wrong, will".  There are so many steps to making this sort of box, that even the smallest step can influence the image and structure of the box.  I am thoroughly tired of it, but still think that it can be salvaged, and may even be good enough to offer for sale.  But I need a break.

This is the final appearance of each of the five sections.  Yes, the large darker beads have been discarded, and will hopefully find their way into another project.  Interesting, in that the whole concept was based on the those beads. The lining has been fused to the wrong side, and I have started to hand stitch the crease that will form each corner of the box.  The next step is to stitch it to the bottom section.  That, itself, isn't at all finished, and the five feet haven't even been cut out.  But, when I tried to see how things might fit, I discovered that the structure isn't strong enough to hold itself upright.  I had forgotten to put in either strong interfacing or a cardstock support into each of the five sections.  This means trying to open the very bottom of the lining section and insert some sort of support into each section. This could be a a tedious and somewhat nasty job.

Then, after taking the previous picture, I realized that the final beading up the center of one section is off center. 

I'm tired and discouraged.  I need a break.  This will be set aside for awhile, and I'm going to consider making some stitched greeting cards for sale at the one Christmas sale I'm committed to.