Image by Lyn Millett via Flickr
I am not sewing a Halloween costume for my son. I will be surprised if I ever sew a Halloween costume for him. It is just not something I can imagine wanting to spend time on. I recognize he may some year wish to be something at Halloween for which I can't purchase or easily improvise a costume. But I hope not. It's not because I don't sew -- I have a sewing machine and even use it from time to time. But I use it to make quilts, not clothing. And I can't hand sew anything. Well, I could probably sew on a button if I had to, but I've never properly learned to hand stitch. And, almost of the quiltmaking I do, though, I do with the help of technology.
A few years back I decided I needed to find something to do with my hands. I was spending way too much time with words, concepts, analytical frameworks, and just bits, bits, bits and words, words, words. It was time to find a way to incorporate atoms back into my life.
A couple of friends of mine were into quilting and one offered me a quick lesson. I borrowed someone's sewing machine, got the basics, and off I went.
But, I can never leave the bits far behind. And making quilts off of other people's patterns didn't appeal to me. So I bought some quilt design software and have been using that to design my quilts ever since. In many ways I find designing quilts more fun than the actual cutting, piecing, and quilting. And I've designed many, many more quilts than I've actually made. Although up until I got pregnant I was making quilts at a reasonable clip. Here is one of my favorite as-yet-unmade quilt designs.
When my son is a little older, I think the quilt software may be a neat way to introduce him to design. I have long planned to make him a quilt some day. But he received many, many amazing homemade blankets when he was born, so he is well-stocked for now. Not to mention that he refuses to use a blanket (or socks!) while sleeping. It will be fun to work with him when he's a little older designing his own quilt. Maybe I'll even make him a Halloween quilt. We'll use software and bits, but then we'll work in fabric and thread and atoms. Come to think of it, cooking and music-making are other activities that parallel this bits-to-atoms transition. I love the digital world, but it's important to make the connection to the physical world, too.
But, I can never leave the bits far behind. And making quilts off of other people's patterns didn't appeal to me. So I bought some quilt design software and have been using that to design my quilts ever since. In many ways I find designing quilts more fun than the actual cutting, piecing, and quilting. And I've designed many, many more quilts than I've actually made. Although up until I got pregnant I was making quilts at a reasonable clip. Here is one of my favorite as-yet-unmade quilt designs.
When my son is a little older, I think the quilt software may be a neat way to introduce him to design. I have long planned to make him a quilt some day. But he received many, many amazing homemade blankets when he was born, so he is well-stocked for now. Not to mention that he refuses to use a blanket (or socks!) while sleeping. It will be fun to work with him when he's a little older designing his own quilt. Maybe I'll even make him a Halloween quilt. We'll use software and bits, but then we'll work in fabric and thread and atoms. Come to think of it, cooking and music-making are other activities that parallel this bits-to-atoms transition. I love the digital world, but it's important to make the connection to the physical world, too.
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