Wednesday 29 April 2009

Hexagon Love.

Most days I travel to work by train and it's takes about 3/4 hours each way. The prospect of this would probably make some want to gnaw off their own limbs, but not me. It means that I get an extra 1 1/2 hours a day to sew....yay!!!

English paper piecing is the perfect train project as it's small and I can be keep my space small enough to avoid jabbing my fellow passengers (unlike knitting!). The added bonus is that's it's a real conversation point and that means that I get to chat to people who I probably wouldn't have otherwise (although some do avoid sitting with me like the plague and look at me like I’m a loony!)

I never thought I’d be a hand piecing kinda gal but this has turned out to be the thing I love to do more than anything else. I find it strange that the projects are so slow but somehow they manage to hold my interest, but maybe that's not strange at all? It has probably become my way of meditating without me realising it. Meditation often involves focusing attention on a single point of reference to achieve a more relaxed frame of mind - so I suspect hand piecing has the same affect on me.
Anyway, This is what I'm working on at the moment (the 3rd quilt I’ve hand pieced on the train):



I saw it here and loved it so once I’d stopped being blonde and realised that each piece was a half hexagon, and raided the scrap box, I was off!!

I am going on holiday in a few weeks and am planning on taking this with me. I could lie and say that as it because it will involve about 12 hours of flying that I need something occupy me, but if I'm honest the thought of being separated from any kind of craft project for 2 weeks brings me out in cold sweats! I did consider holding off doing any more until my hols but (and this is when my counting OCD tendencies become obvious!) at the average rate of 4 pinwheels per work day, I’ve calculated that with 73 pinwheels done, even If I do 4 a day for the 29 working days leading up to my hols then that is only 189. I need around 280 to complete it so that leaves me 91 to do, and then they’ll need all sewing together. So phew, I needn’t have worried!

3 comments:

  1. This is awesome! I love sewing on the train, its load better than sitting all unproductive for hours :)
    Ma thought you might like these links, for a tailoring course?
    http://www.schoolofsewing.co.uk/school.php (rather expensive) but you could also try...
    http://www.sewjanetmoville.co.uk/default.asp?pgid=home
    http://www.uniquecouture.co.uk/index.htm
    http://www.northerncollegeofcostume.co.uk/
    Hope these help!
    T. x

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  2. How neat! I love it.

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  3. Wow, these are great, this must become a wonderful quilt.

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