-and back on track

Since I have been out and about a bit over the last couple of weeks I have lost track of my craft projects for a while. There has been no quilting or stitching of any kind since I finished the kite quilt. On a sudden impulse I stuffed some skeins of yarn into my suitcase before I left, and good thing that I did :-) It was nice to have something to do in the evenings while chatting to friends and I'm well into my second Clapotis by now. Now the challenge is to keep at it after returning home. I'm not the quickest of knitters - it's a case of too much time being spent admiring what I have knitted so far and not enough time actually working the needles... Still, I am getting there, and I must say I like this version a lot more than the first one I made (long before I even started this blog). I used the only kind of variegated yarn I could find in the local yarn shop at the time, and the result is a skimpy scarf, not the lucious wrap it should be. This one is made with the "original yarn" used in the pattern: Lorna Laces "Lion & Lamb" and I just love the colours and the feel of it, so I can't wait for it to be finished. I think this will go really well with my denim jacket, and also with my grey winter coat. I'm posting it as my WIP today as a further incentive to finishing it soon.

The only danger is getting sidetracked by a new quilting project. I have a few smaller ones in mind, one of which is something for the abstract challenge in the latest issue of Quilting Arts. I'll have a go at that tomorrow and see if the idea I have in mind works the way I think it will when translated to fabric.

I have decided that I am going to spend more time experimenting and having fun with quilting now that I have finished all those kiddie quilts and I must say I am proud of myself for being firm today: I had a phone call from a lady who had heard from a friend of a friend that I was a quilter, and she wanted me to make a quilted tablecloth for her daughter's dining table in Christmas fabrics. She would supply all the fabrics and she was very specific about what pattern she wanted, and as she explained what she had in mind I had a sinking feeling - "no, this is not what I want to do at this stage at all, I want to have fun!" Her closing argument was what convinced me that I did not want to help her out: "I will pay for it", she said! Well, of course she would!! Did she actually think I was going to do something like that for free?? I have taken on a few projects in the past, but I've come to realize that I hate it. When someone is dictating what I am to do and have preconcieved ideas about what it is going to look like there's just no fun in it for me - I like to play with fabric and thread and see where it takes me. If somebody wants to buy something I have made, and is willing to pay the going rate, fine, I'll consider it, but churning out some boring thing just because somebody promises money, forget it! I told her firmly, but politely that I didn't do that sort of thing. The strange thing was that she got all huffy about it - didn't I want her money?, etc... but I kept refusing as politely as I could, and eventually she gave up, but I had the feeling she was offended. However, that's her problem, not mine. I said no, and I'm glad I did!