Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The First two Songs

Good Morning. I am so happy to say that I have begun work on the quilt! At first I felt daunted; I kept thinking about all of the small pieces that had to come together to make a whole and I was getting bogged down by the big picture. I spent lots of time looking at various quilt patterns, and finally decided to re-invent the wheel, yet again. Those of you who know me know that I struggle with following patterns of any kind: when cooking, I think, "Wouldn't this soup taste amazing with a little ground mustard?" When knitting I think, "I love the drape of this sweater, but wouldn't it be great with a shawl collar instead of a turtleneck?" And on and on and on.... So right out of the gate for this project I decided that I needed to just get started on the sewing and worry about the big picture later. I hope that you quilters aren't cringing too much. Well, it's my first quilt, and therefore a learning project for me. I think I learn more when I have to do it from scratch than if I follow a pattern anyhow. Hopefully it won't be too horrible for the recipient!

I thought about the project that this quilt is for: Kids that have experienced trauma or who are hospitalized with an illness. I wanted the quilt to have a sunny disposition while also be soothing. I wanted the pieces to be large enough that the child could spend a long time looking at it, too, in case they needed a distraction. And I really wanted to incoporate a circular shape because in a circle, no matter what, there is always something right side up. So I made a pattern and started cutting. As I was putting pieces together I thought, "This is a lot like making a mixed tape!" When making a mixed tape, I might have a general idea of the theme, or mood, but I would start with one song, and then find another song that I thought either carried the mood or transitioned to a new mood smoothly. Just like putting pieces of a quilt together, right? So here are my two circles: one in a red, and one in a blue. I will sew the circles onto squares and then put the squares together to make the blanket. I have no idea what color the squares will be; I haven't gotten to that part of the tape yet.

7 comments:

Pam Corwin, Business of Crafts said...

I can';t wait to see this grow. You are amazing!

Colleen MacDonald said...

Thanks, Pam. Love you!

Helen said...

Love your train of thought and the way you are creating. GREAT JOB!

Hugs

Colleen MacDonald said...

Thank-You Mimi!

Anonymous said...

I love your mix of fabrics Colleen. If you ever want to trade some of the letters and numbers let me know!

Anonymous said...

Do ou know about the modern quilt guild in seattle? You should come.

Colleen MacDonald said...

Oh, *gasp* a modern quilting guild??? that sounds divine! I probably won't be able to come, but I will e-mail you to get some more details! And to possibly swap some letters and numbers!