Looking behind in order to look forward

Today's post has a number of projects that need to be pruned down to only one or two. But first, a slight digression. Looking out my new studio windows, I can see the woman who keeps bees in our backyard doing some stuff with her bees. I just love these windows. I will forever.

Now, back to blogging.
These projects are from the recent past.

I often get the urge to do cross stitch around Christmas and found this kit online. The information is lost unfortunately because I remember there were a couple patterns I liked. This needs a border and being turned into a small cushion.

This is a lovely dragon I started ages ago. It is from a Baroque Pattern book that has since been returned to its owner. I have no idea what to do next. But I love it and it is staying in the pile.

 

This one was interesting because of the piecing. The single repeating block is simple but it can get confusing overall to not mess up the pinwheels. I've used oldish fabrics. It is about a table topper size. I don't mind the older fabrics, but the infilling ones, especially the dark pink and the mustard green are ick. And the overall colours do not go with anything that anyone in my circle likes. I think this one has to go.

mm

I just can not abide brown. I have a ridiculous amount of it for some reason. This is the second time I have tried to do something with brown, using red to try and give it life. Yuck. Since it is mostly random strips, I am going to add a few more to make it a small table topper and donate it to an upcoming event. In the process of assessing this project I also took my stack of browns from light to very dark and heaved 90% of it. It will also go into donation. Good. That's a plan.

mm

This one is getting fairly old. I started it when we decided we wanted to build a bunkhouse at the camp and thought it might make a good hanging over the bed. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. It is too representational for me. I would have to add in grasses, fore ground and back ground and something else besides the dragon flies and maybe little fish and it just becomes too much like a Northern Reflections sweatshirt. It will have to go, but I feel guilt. What is the antidote to guilt? That doesn't involve chocolate.

mm

My Bee had a sashiko challenge. I love the blue fabric, hated the challenge. I was going to make a box to store things in and these would be the walls and base. This one will go back into the fabric stash and I will rip out the stitching if it gets in the way of another project down the line. Yahoo. Another decision.

mm

These three are fairly small. I was playing with some new fabrics without much of an idea. I think they can go in the box of incomplete samples and be used some other time, someday. No pressure.

 mmm

This little baby began life as an applique workshop with Anne Morrell-Robinson many moons ago. The stork was designed by me and i'm rather proud of it. The 4 brown coloured blocks are typical Dutch images. Actually the two carp are part of the family crest design. Here it is again with hating browns, I don't love this. But I also feel kind of proud of it. It is around 12 inches tall and 18 inches wide. I will add some traditional borders and maybe hang it somewhere. Ambivalence.

mm

This is basically done. The one flower needs a centre, the quilt needs basting and then quilting. Again with the browns. Why???? But I do like the pattern and will tuck this one aside for working on next summer. It is small enough to fit in my lap without being too hot to work on. Which reminds me, I have a double quilt for the camp that isn't fully quilted.

The watering can pattern comes from this book, No Crows Allowed by Jill Kemp. I didn't use the corner motifs at all.

The end is approaching. I have been making circles inside of circles for ages. Why? I don't know yet.

This piece is complete. It marks the beginning of my serious interest in fooling around with randomness, circles, stitching and intersections. But the craftmanship is sub-par. It is a keeper because it contains lots of information but it isn't exhibition worthy. It needs to hang on the wall to remind me that exploration is valid.

Now this one has hung around in a box for ages. It is a double sided work, with happy whales going one way and dead whales going the other. The happy whales get kelp and other good ocean things, while the reverse gets harpoons and whaling ships. It is part of a trilogy. Dead stop. I like it and think this one needs a dedicated couple of months to pull together. None of the stitching or images are complex. Perhaps a good and long mini-series one winter will see this done. But not this winter. See above.

There is another whole stack in the attic that I just can't bring myself to get rid of. Well, actually, if I could figure out a way to get rid of the guilt of not finishing them, I could easily give them away. Hey!
I'm glad I wrote that. Clarity!
Now that I've identified what the real baggage is, guilt, maybe I can go upstairs and do it. Right now? Right now!