Saturday, February 24, 2007

Crafting UFOs

Mom called me this morning. She was taking a vacation from her scrapping project and decided to do some quilting.
While in the process of looking through her supply of quilt blocks, she came upon a set of 48 squares featuring flowers of the states. The blocks had been painted with Tri Chem liquid fabric embroidery paints by one of her four daughters. But she wasn’t sure which of us had done the painting and wanted to know if I would fes up.
Truth to tell, I don’t really know.
I do remember Tri Chem liquid fabric paints. I can still remember the smell and those ball-point tips that gooped up with paint with great regularity.
I can also remember the quilt blocks. My oldest sister made a set of them with embroidery floss, a needle and thread. I’m not really sure what happened to her quilt.
The idea that I would have completed the blocks, but never actually made a quilt out of them sounds like me. But then, it sounds like the rest of the family, too.
You see, I come from a clan of dabblers.
We love our crafts, yes we do! But there are so many projects in the world, we can’t do just one.
At this moment I could be:
Cleaning the house
Paying bills
Playing with the children
Writing a story about amateur radio operators
Making cards for DH school
Finishing the Dogg wedding album
Marking the Relief Society roll
Cleaning up the photos on my computer
Watching “What Not to Wear” ~ which I taped last night because I was watching “Survivor” with the boys because we missed it on Thursday because we were at a Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet.
My world is a half-vast (to quote Wyo. Sis) land of UFO’s (UnFinished Projects).
I have plenty of finished projects lying around, too. Some I made, some made by other family members.
My kitchen cupboards are stacked with plates I made in college, I have a calendar featuring the cartoon styling’s of my younger brother and two of my scrapbooks were created by my mother.
In turn one sister had a set of bathroom curtains I made while doodling on cloth with embroidery thread and a second has a granny-square afghan, my first and last attempt at crochet.
If the kinfolk ever were to print up the “Family’s are Forever, that’s a promise, not a threat” family reunion T-shirts, our best bet for a successful event would be to rent out a Michael’s, put beds in the back rooms, computers and televisions in the front of the building, order out some pizza and play with the supplies.
Even the fringy athletic contingent of the clan could be entertained by a jigsaw puzzle or two … well maybe we’d better put up a basketball hoop for Tracey.

(Artist are, from top: KB; great-nephew Jake, great-nephew Mace, great-niece Abby, me, little brother). I tried to find some paper sculptures by Wyo. sister, but I couldn't locate any of them.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mom called me also. I have my set of 48 states. I don't remember who else did one, but I do remember the liquid embroidery junk. I have yet to put it together, I am either too embarrassed to have it on display or I just forgot I had them. (Probably both) I came across the blocks while I was searching through my fabrics to make my future grandson a quilt. I have also discovered several x-stitch projects finished but not framed yet. (sigh.......) Who wants to do the mundane chores when it is more fun to doodle?

Anonymous said...

I too, must confess to multiple unfinished projects, but, in my defense, I don't like to finish a project I can see is going to be somewhat less beautiful than I originally pictured it, or is going to cost even more money, or is going to require that I get out the sewing machine or iron, or any one of a number of other excuses. (the cat ate it)

Anonymous said...

I have the embroideried guilt blocks, made into a quilt on my bed this very hour. I embroideried them myself. It took all of my high school years a at least a couple of my college years. one day they disappeared and I couldn't find them. I looked high and low for them. I could remember having them when I was working in Yellowstone one summer, then they vanished. Come Christmas they appeared again all put together in a quilt, all hand quilted and hand bound. Mom had somehow managed to get them, and she made them into a quilt.

Anonymous said...

May I say that I am rather talented in the art of drawing dragons.