Sunday, September 16, 2012

Slow Sunday Stitching - Hoops

Thank you so much for all the wonderful suggestions shared last Sunday re: my sad quilt. I read all of the creative ideas and here is a summary list:
*give it away to a new home/donate it to a worthy cause
*listen to an audio book to distract from the sadness
*consider the misery as a prayer for someone
*finish the quilting by machine
*postpone the hand quilting and put it back in the UFO closet for a while
*pair up a new positive association and happy memories
*work through feelings by hand quilting in short bits of time
*add applique to bring good memories/energy to the quilt
*a wonderful friend even offered to rescue me, and finish up the quilt for me!
All great ideas! I have been thinking about these great strategies and how they are generalizable to dealing with many of life's unpleasant tasks.  Because this quilt is so symbolic to me, I don't want to give it away. I do want to keep it, and finish it someday, but not now. So it's going back into the UFO closet as soon as I finish all the white space outline quilting. 
This week I have also been thinking about quilting hoops. What started this train of thought was that my favorite quilting hoop BROKE! Yes, broken...as in the same state as my sewing machine was last month...BROKEN!  I just bought this hoop at Joann's in June and I am still shocked that the staples did not hold, since I am very gentle and careful with my equipment. Luckily for me I have several other hoops that I could use, but what on earth would we do without the glue, duct tape, staples and thread (and hope) that we use to mend broken things?!?
I have a variety of hoops, as most hand stitchers do, and each one has their functions and strengths. Hoops provide structure and containment for our stitching, although I know that some people don't use them at all. I have a small Qsnap frame, a large oval hoop on a stand (which is currently holding the sad quilt), 2 medium wooden hoops(1 is now broken), a small wooden hoop for machine embroidery, and a
small pink plastic hoop (for hand embroidery).
Do you use a hoop for your hand stitching?  Post a photo on your blog of your hand work, and link up to Slow Sunday Stitching, and you will be entered into the draw for this harvest charm pack of fruits and vegetables, and a cute little pair of scissors for your hand stitching. 
If your photo shows us the hoop you are using, I'll put in a second chance for you to win the draw!
The draw for this prize will take place when the link up ends, which is Friday Sept.21.
Happy Slow Stitching Sunday!

9 comments:

Vesuviusmama said...

I don't know what I did wrong, but my image isn't showing up. Sorry about that. It looks like the link does work, though.

Vesuviusmama said...

Ok, I did another link to another post where I did use a hoop. This time the photo shows up. User error, I guess!

Denise :) said...

Boo on broken hoops! (And sewing machines, too, for that matter!) Glad you've got backups! I've been doing a lot of hand stitching lately ... I'm going to have to start linking up!! :)

Ellen in Oregon said...

Sorry to hear you have another sewing tool that broke. Can the hoop be repaired by using hot glue and clamping it by hand for the minute it takes for the glue to dry? Also, I was thinking that when you call your UFO "the sad quilt" even the name of the quilt is negative. Maybe if you could give the quilt a more positive name it would allow you to feel more positive towards the whole project. I hope you will someday be able to see your quilt project as something beautiful that you managed to create despite all of the stressful events you were coping with while working on it in the past. The fact that you were able to be creative at all during that difficult time period make the quilt amazing and I hope someday it will come to symbolize comfort during stressful times. I just know that if I had a "sad quilt" I would not have any motivation to see it any other way than sad. Maybe a new name could be a 1st step to seeing the quilt as something besides a reminder of the bad things that happened. If you decide to finish the quilt one day it could serve to remind you that you managed to get through those difficult times and remain a determined, strong & creative person.

Deb A said...

It sounds like you have a solution for the quilt for now. Boo on the broken hoop - Think they would give you a refund?
I have not used a hoop yet for my hand quilting... but I do plan to try and use one with my next project. It is a bit bigger than these little 12 inch blocks!

Kate said...

Putting the quilt away for a bit seems like a good idea. Maybe more it ages, the less the sadness will be when you are working on it.

I have a whole collection of hoops I used for hand embroidery, both plastic and wood. I prefer the wood ones, they seem to hang on to the fabric better.

Sue said...

Kathy, you will know when the right time is to work on your quilt. I often use a hoop when doing embroidery and cross stitch. I prefer to hand quilt without a quilt. My favourite hoop at the moment is a wooden one that has the part which goes under your seat. I like having both hands free to stitch.

Quiltdivajulie said...

I suspect that no matter how many times you put away the sad quilt to work on later, the memories will remain firmly attached. Perhaps finishing it, a little at a time, can be viewed as a celebration of the wisdom and insight you've gained over the intervening years? Best wishes as you process all of the nuances and issues!

audrey said...

A little at a time on your painful project--that sounds like a good approach.