Sunday, September 21, 2014

Old habits…

In anticipation of cooler weather, when I would enjoy having a quilt in my lap as I quilted it, I made this lovely armchair sewing caddy (Sit & Stitch Pincushion, pattern by Cindy Taylor Oates, Taylor Made Designs).

Sit & Stitch Pincushion (pattern by Cindy Taylor Oates)

It’s a great improvement over my previous setup, involving lining up my gear along the armrest, and knocking it off the armrest, and losing stuff.  That pincushion, however, is possibly defective. Well, it isn’t the designer’s fault.  I followed all her directions to get a well formed pincushion stuffed with crushed walnut shells.  You may, however, note that there are no quilting needles stuck in this lovely pincushion.

Old habits die hard.  My family is still hearing “Shoot, where did I set my needle?”

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If we’re lucky, the quilt is doing double-duty as a pincushion.

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I am making progress, slowly, on my as-yet-unnamed kaleidoscope quilt.  This week I printed out a line drawing of it to help me keep track of how much I have completed.

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I didn’t touch this quilt all summer, so there hasn’t been much progress. My husband thought this looked discouraging, but I find it motivating.  I can’t easily spread the quilt out at the end of every little bit of snatched stitching time to survey what my progress looks like as a part of the whole, but it’s easy and satisfying to colour in those bits I just finished quilting and watch the coloured part of the page grow.

This evening I hope to sit and quietly hand quilt for a couple of hours, then break out the coloring pencils again.

Linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching over at Kathy’s Quilts.

13 comments:

  1. What a great idea to keep track of your progress... I would imagine it would be very motivating! I lose my needles regularly... finding needles is all part of the joy of sharing life with a quilter!

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  2. I love your armrest organizer. And I would find the chart very encouraging. You are watching it fill in, rather than dwelling on what is still empty. :)

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  3. Everything comes to a screeching halt when I've lost my sewing needle. Often the couch cushions get upended in trying to locate it. So I know how that goes!

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  4. Glad you made that armrest organizer and shared your finished design.. it is awesome! I also use my quilt as my pincushion for the needle I am currently using.. lol! Lovely patchwork you are quilting and maybe I will think to print a diagram for the next big quilt I make... would be nice to chart progress that way! Kathi

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  5. I think coloring your progress is a great idea and definitely NOT discouraging. It is time to gear up for handwork season. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Hehe... I put mine in the arm rest of my recliner =) I usually remember to take it out and pop it into the top corner of a little blue and yellow basket I made. It holds the thread, scissors and I put the pins in the quilted corners. Sits great in the car too. Good idea on the progress chart.

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  7. I think I have the same quilt frame. Misplaced and dropped needles are such a bother.

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  8. Great idea to keep track on progress! And maybe I should make myself an armchair sewing/crochet caddy. How often did BF jump when he wants to sit down on the sofa and I lost my needle. *lol*

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  9. The caddy is such a good idea - I am forever knocking my stuff off the arm of the couch...grumble...grumble.

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  10. Your sewing caddy is a great idea. Try filling the pin cushion with flax seeds(whole not ground) they are more pliable and the oils are good for the needles.

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  11. Your organizer is great, very pretty! Fortunately I have a table next to my chair that I can put my pincushion and other sewing "stuff" so it doesn't get lost. Occasionally I have to get up to do something and leave the needle in the quilt. I have lost it once in a while, but have always been able to find it, at least so far! Your chart is a great tool. Watching the colors fill in would be a great motivator. Slow but steady will see the quilt finished soon.

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  12. Very pretty! I can be bad at keeping track of needles too. I try to keep them contained by putting them in the same spot every time, but I'm not sure the arm of my chair really appreciates doing double duty as a pin cushion. :) Great method of keeping track of your progress. It's always nice to see how things are coming along while you've got the whole quilt twisted around in the hoop!

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  13. There you are with two more great ideas! I try to keep my retractable magnet picker-upper nearby for when I lose my needle. That usually happens on the loveseat when whipping down a binding, so I have to do a search until I find it! ---"Love"

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