Fixing it yourself can save a LOT of money, if you know what you are doing or can follow instructions. If you don't know, it's usually cheaper to pay for the regular maintenance and repairs by a professional. I change light bulbs, paint, and minor woodwork. Power tools are usually for those who know how to use them well and safely. I've replaced electric and light fixtures but if I currently have a professional I know and trust at the time, I figure it's worth it to have someone else to it.
When considering whether to hire for something we CAN do, it often isn't just the bare monetary cost that I consider, though that's part of it. The other big piece is the time: do I have any, will I get to it without having to give up something else valuable or important, like leave time, family time, or time for twenty other projects that I actually prefer to do myself, like cooking and crafts as well as things that could earn me an eventual income (school, work...).
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Observation of the Day
I have this wonderful drawing of the knights of the round table standing in front of their chairs with their swords all drawn and pointed toward the elaborately decorated center of the table. It's been on my desk for ages and I hardly ever notice that it's even there. Today, i looked at it and thought how much it could easily be seen as a bunch of guys all pointing to the different places they want to go on a map, or different directions they wanted to take to get there, as offering the the classic all for one and one for all sort of salute.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Crazy Quilt tips
Crazy Quilts have somewhat lost their meaning over time, but a certain essential core remains in most understandings of the craft form, the most basic being that the quilt or sections of the quilt (a largely patterned quilt can have a crazy border or other sections) don't follow a symetric or even semi-symetric pattern and typically don't have even a non-symetric pattern with repeating colors or fabrics. In the most limited form of a crazy quilt, it can be made with repeating patterns which are "crazy" within each block and randomly mixed fabrics for each block. While this gives the look of a crazy quilt for observers, it is as repetitive for the maker as any pattern quilt, although by its very nature, precision is not required.
I suppose, ultimately, that's why I like crazy quilts. Precision is not required, which makes the sewing a little less demanding, but I especially like more truly crazy quilts, where nothing is repetitive, except maybe the use of set of core fabrics that serve as a theme, a unifying factor in the overall presentation of the quilt. Traditionally, that would be a single color that unifies the quilt: the classic Victorian quilts used black velvet and red satin and a mix of other bright colors. In some modern crazy quilts, the opposite tack has been taken, with more garish results: take a print with a wide range of colors to use throughout, and add in any and all the colors that might match, either solids, color-on-color, or prints and batiques with their own mix for even more wild effects.
I prefer a little less chaos. I usually go with a single theme color and use fabrics that have the right color in them: whole or in part. Alternatively, I might go with a mix of colors on a single spectrum, such as country/fall colors, two or three jewel tones, or pastels. I rarely limit myself to "quilting cottons" because I will use anything in my fabric "stash" that has the right color, so long as it is something with the right color(s). While I have a lot of cottons in the collection, I also have a lot of old clothes, remnants from all kinds of projects, and stuff that was cool and on sale. (The use of mixed fabrics is often associated with crazy quilts, but it's really just an extreme sort of "scrappy" and mixed fabrics can be used in patterns, too.)
There are many ways to achieve crazy effects without going overboard or getting bored with patterns. The easiest way, in some respects, is applique. Scraps of just about any shape will work. The base can be almost anything form an old blanket, a selection of old towels, or a backing and batting, whole or in sections. Of course, applique has it's own challenges and not everyone likes it as a way to sew, even though it can replace both the piecing and quilting stages. This way is most commonly used when the sewing is to be visible and may include embroidery. Doing block sections allows multiple contributors and machine stitching. The backing and batting should be neat squares but the top pieces can hang over or leave gaps that can be stitched down and filled in with a little hand applique after the backs are pieced together. This will make the blocks disappear and blend the crazy pieces for a more continuous effect.
Another way is to do one-time or stack-and-hack patterns to piece blocks that are then attached together. Precision is not required so long as they are trimmed to the width of bars to allow a reasonable fit. They can be pieced like any other pattern or like paper pieced patterns. So long as all the internal pieces are made of strait lines and not too many interior-only pieces, almost any combination of pieces will work. The outside may need to be trimmed down to a square afterwards. Hack and slash just takes the one pattern, cut several fabrics in the same pattern, then mix-and-match the resulting pieces to get different combinations. Using many of the same fabrics throughout the quilt will pull it together into a whole regardless of how inconsistent the size and style of patterns, making this a good way for a group to make a crazy quilt. Pick a compatible set of block sizes to aim for, such as 41/2, 8 1/2 and 12 1/2 or 6 1/2, 9 1/2, 12 1/2, and 15 1/2. They can be formed into squares or into long stripes for assembly. The use of several fabrics throughout and allowing like fabrics to be adjacent will cause the squares to disappear, or they can be pieced in bordered sections to frame, shape, and add a little structure to the final results. Mixing in fussy-cut print blocks or embroidered blocks can also add texture and a sense of structure or theme.
Fitting more-or-less random scraps together (on a color theme or not) can be done but should probably not be tried by a beginner. Prior experience with bars and complex patterns helps. Sew together along only straight seams. Attach pieces of similar size in the shared direction, iron, and trim to straight edges and work up to larger composite pieces to keep the quilt top flat and avoid rippling and bulging. The trimming will result in a large number of scraps: ones of modest size can be used but trimmings will eventually be too small for use in the quilt; they can be used for toy stuffing, bird nest material, and mulching.
However you do it, a true crazy quilt allows the most creative and technical freedom of any quilting form. But the informality that results will also encourage freedom of use, so don't expect these beauties to hang on a wall or be folded up for long term preservation if they are big enough to use for lap, shoulder, or bed!
I suppose, ultimately, that's why I like crazy quilts. Precision is not required, which makes the sewing a little less demanding, but I especially like more truly crazy quilts, where nothing is repetitive, except maybe the use of set of core fabrics that serve as a theme, a unifying factor in the overall presentation of the quilt. Traditionally, that would be a single color that unifies the quilt: the classic Victorian quilts used black velvet and red satin and a mix of other bright colors. In some modern crazy quilts, the opposite tack has been taken, with more garish results: take a print with a wide range of colors to use throughout, and add in any and all the colors that might match, either solids, color-on-color, or prints and batiques with their own mix for even more wild effects.
I prefer a little less chaos. I usually go with a single theme color and use fabrics that have the right color in them: whole or in part. Alternatively, I might go with a mix of colors on a single spectrum, such as country/fall colors, two or three jewel tones, or pastels. I rarely limit myself to "quilting cottons" because I will use anything in my fabric "stash" that has the right color, so long as it is something with the right color(s). While I have a lot of cottons in the collection, I also have a lot of old clothes, remnants from all kinds of projects, and stuff that was cool and on sale. (The use of mixed fabrics is often associated with crazy quilts, but it's really just an extreme sort of "scrappy" and mixed fabrics can be used in patterns, too.)
There are many ways to achieve crazy effects without going overboard or getting bored with patterns. The easiest way, in some respects, is applique. Scraps of just about any shape will work. The base can be almost anything form an old blanket, a selection of old towels, or a backing and batting, whole or in sections. Of course, applique has it's own challenges and not everyone likes it as a way to sew, even though it can replace both the piecing and quilting stages. This way is most commonly used when the sewing is to be visible and may include embroidery. Doing block sections allows multiple contributors and machine stitching. The backing and batting should be neat squares but the top pieces can hang over or leave gaps that can be stitched down and filled in with a little hand applique after the backs are pieced together. This will make the blocks disappear and blend the crazy pieces for a more continuous effect.
Another way is to do one-time or stack-and-hack patterns to piece blocks that are then attached together. Precision is not required so long as they are trimmed to the width of bars to allow a reasonable fit. They can be pieced like any other pattern or like paper pieced patterns. So long as all the internal pieces are made of strait lines and not too many interior-only pieces, almost any combination of pieces will work. The outside may need to be trimmed down to a square afterwards. Hack and slash just takes the one pattern, cut several fabrics in the same pattern, then mix-and-match the resulting pieces to get different combinations. Using many of the same fabrics throughout the quilt will pull it together into a whole regardless of how inconsistent the size and style of patterns, making this a good way for a group to make a crazy quilt. Pick a compatible set of block sizes to aim for, such as 41/2, 8 1/2 and 12 1/2 or 6 1/2, 9 1/2, 12 1/2, and 15 1/2. They can be formed into squares or into long stripes for assembly. The use of several fabrics throughout and allowing like fabrics to be adjacent will cause the squares to disappear, or they can be pieced in bordered sections to frame, shape, and add a little structure to the final results. Mixing in fussy-cut print blocks or embroidered blocks can also add texture and a sense of structure or theme.
Fitting more-or-less random scraps together (on a color theme or not) can be done but should probably not be tried by a beginner. Prior experience with bars and complex patterns helps. Sew together along only straight seams. Attach pieces of similar size in the shared direction, iron, and trim to straight edges and work up to larger composite pieces to keep the quilt top flat and avoid rippling and bulging. The trimming will result in a large number of scraps: ones of modest size can be used but trimmings will eventually be too small for use in the quilt; they can be used for toy stuffing, bird nest material, and mulching.
However you do it, a true crazy quilt allows the most creative and technical freedom of any quilting form. But the informality that results will also encourage freedom of use, so don't expect these beauties to hang on a wall or be folded up for long term preservation if they are big enough to use for lap, shoulder, or bed!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Travel observations--retaining culture
I like areas that put some effort into retaining or restoring local flavor. In a well-connected world with shared technologies and supplies and ideas, uniqueness tends to disappear, cultural features blur, chain restaurants take over, and modern at that may or may not convey something of the artist and typically fails to to convey much of the culture or place they are from.
New Mexico is especially good at it, in some ways. They tried to capture and display local culture on the major highways, for example, with turquoise and terra cotta-colored overpasses, tiled sound barriers, and native traditional figures like in petroglyphs on bridge arches and some of the larger tiles. Texas as a whole didn't offer a lot but some of the newer overpasses were a nice shade of clay instead of the usual grey concrete. Waysides had native trees and plantings, and a few empty stretches had been left or planted with native plants to reinvigorate the nature and wildlife of the Rio Grand valley and other areas. In many cases, stores are recognizing the value of fitting into the expectation or desirability of local culture, building stores with the traditional roofing material or look-alikes. Or perhaps they've recognized the functionality that made them traditional in the first place. Steep roofs up north keep the snow from building up; domed terracotta allows cooling air flow in the south. generic may be cheap in the short run, but not always so much in the long run if it requires more electricity, more repairs, more other costs.
For myself, I just like the variety that local culture offers and generic modern culture rarely does. Chain restaurants, generic contruction techniques and materials, cookie-cutter houses, none of them have flavor, uniqueness, and the things that make a place visited memorable; all the things that make travel worth the doing.
New Mexico is especially good at it, in some ways. They tried to capture and display local culture on the major highways, for example, with turquoise and terra cotta-colored overpasses, tiled sound barriers, and native traditional figures like in petroglyphs on bridge arches and some of the larger tiles. Texas as a whole didn't offer a lot but some of the newer overpasses were a nice shade of clay instead of the usual grey concrete. Waysides had native trees and plantings, and a few empty stretches had been left or planted with native plants to reinvigorate the nature and wildlife of the Rio Grand valley and other areas. In many cases, stores are recognizing the value of fitting into the expectation or desirability of local culture, building stores with the traditional roofing material or look-alikes. Or perhaps they've recognized the functionality that made them traditional in the first place. Steep roofs up north keep the snow from building up; domed terracotta allows cooling air flow in the south. generic may be cheap in the short run, but not always so much in the long run if it requires more electricity, more repairs, more other costs.
For myself, I just like the variety that local culture offers and generic modern culture rarely does. Chain restaurants, generic contruction techniques and materials, cookie-cutter houses, none of them have flavor, uniqueness, and the things that make a place visited memorable; all the things that make travel worth the doing.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Sea Rim State Park
Sea Rim in mid east Texas is empty this time of year, so shelling is pretty good but services limited to porta potties and beach access maybe a little challenging due to pools if it's rained recently. The absence of visitors doesn't hurt the shore bird populations, either, including plovers and pelicans. The fee is called an honor system but checked regularly, so if you don't already have a State Park pass that includes the day, get one. They are per person, not per car. They'll waste the time of park rangers even on an empty beach. On the other hand, no one will tell you that a pass at one State Park is a pass at all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
