For my October projects I’ve stepped away from the current master class assignment and concentrated on projects already started. I did the sketches for the October assignment but that’s it.
I divided my stuff into work in progress and work abandoned. The work in progress is mostly past master class assignments that I need to complete. The work abandoned is an attempt to be honest with myself.
Why abandon work? I don’t like it anymore/ I don’t have the quilting chops to finish it well/ I lost momentum all apply. I began some work in a fit of enthusiasm and then got bored. My fifteen by fifteen inch interlocking squares series is one example. I just can’t bring myself to make any more. Other work I can’t figure out how to quilt or know it will require free motion quilting skills I don’t possess or am physically incapable of. (My shoulder issue turned out to be an inflamed rotator cuff.) I may turn some over to a long arm quilter.
To return to work in progress, I decided to concentrate on four projects. I plan to quilt two already pieced tops (correction, one already pieced top), complete and quilt another, and piece a large project I began last spring.
My silk organza layered piece has been sewn down and I’m working on a quilting design.
My lines master class piece is quilted and faced. Never again will I make bias strips from silk crepe. It’s like sewing worms. It’s also impossible to photograph.
I finished the individual blocks for Transgendered and am working out a design. My concept is to change from pink to blue in a diagonal line. Here’s a much earlier picture of this project.
The top of Mean Streets is mostly complete, but it needs some final touches. I have yet to figure out how to quilt it.
Then, there are small hand work projects hanging around that I pick up very occasionally, mostly when I’ll be a passenger for some hours.
One further goal – I won’t start any more projects.
The Snarky Quilter 
I like the concept of the Transgendered quilt and look forward to seeing it progress. And the lines project is really effective: my eye moves all over it and I especially like the way the quilting extends the bias lines.
I like the lines one, but I regret the technical errors which make the flow of the bias strip lines look jerky. And I’ve been working on Transgendered. It’s almost ready for me to sew the columns together – just a bit of fine tuning and then it’s all the mechanics.
What? You won’t start any new projects? You mean just for October, right?
I hope your shoulder heals quickly!
Very funny. I mean for longer than October. My goal was to decide what I want to finish and do just that. Thanks for the good thoughts about my shoulder.
I was actually a little worried this was your good-bye to the quilting world, but then I thought about your silk organza piece and knew you had to finish that, and then probably work in that direction for a while, and I breathed easier. 🙂
OH no, the kind of work I do will change to adapt to my physical abilities, but I don’t see stopping quilting. I have too much fabric to use up.
Good words of wisdom…listening to our bodies and knowing when to part with things. I have said good-bye to projects I know will never become anything more than unhappy hours spent! So far I have no regrets! I’m looking forward to seeing your silk organza transparency piece when it is finished.
Yeah, that piece is one I’m concerned about messing up in the quilting stage. Organza can take just so much ripping out when quilting isn’t right. I think I’ll need to mark my quilting lines, so I get to dither about the best tool for that. I’m inclined to a hera marker, but will need to do some samples.
A Hera may be the best bet. For quilting on soft/fussy fabrics I sometimes use 1/8″ wide masking tape near the outside edge of the larger shapes/areas, then quilt next to the tape so that the pieces will be secure for quilting the inner areas. Then I may use more tape or something else to mark the inside area; but often I just free-motion the inside area without marking. Of course, using tape does mean more time and more stops and starts, which may be a idea breaker!
Good idea for the really thin masking tape, but I think the quilting on this one will be curved. The hera marker should allow me to mark those more easily.
Inflamed rotator cuff–that doesn’t sound good! Will it heal on its own, if you give it time? I think you’re smart to just accept that some projects aren’t worth your energy–I need to learn to do there same thing, I think . . . .
The inflammation has been healing with the help of prescription anti-inflammatory drugs, but I have to learn to listen to the discomfort and stop doing work that aggravates the problem. For some reason, sewing is a big culprit. I also can’t do autumn flower bed cleanup as the reaching and cutting do a number on my shoulder. My poor husband gets to do it all.