Monday, February 10, 2014

Guess and Test Method

I enjoy the challenge of trying to figure out HOW to make stuff.  It's not necessarily the end product.  Or the process of making it.  It's the figuring.  It's the problem solving.  It's the math! Yes, I AM that weird.

I don't use patterns.  Don't recall I ever have.  I may have figured out how to do each of the little parts via books and pictures, but I rarely ever follow a pattern.  I learned how to knit and crochet around the age of 5 when my mother handed me a book with the basic instructions.  And when I started sewing, I just did it.  I made mistakes and learned from them.  There were a few things I referenced, for example zippers.  I didn't know what the different feet were for until I had to sew a zipper.  Manuals, YouTube and Pinterest are my friends.

That's why I like custom orders.  Preferably custom designs, rather than custom colours of an already made design. Once I've figured out how to do it, it's not quite as fun any more.  I wrote in previous blogs about the apron I made for my mom.  I just got her to show me a picture of what she wanted and I did it.

Inspiration:
Result:

And now my sisters both want one of their own for the coming Yule season.  Should be fun.  :)

I just finished working on a quilted dog kennel mat.  It's a great way to use up my scraps while trying to figure out quilt block patterns to fit the 22" square kennel.  

It is a learning process.  As you can see (or maybe wouldn't have noticed if I weren't pointing it out) the blue triangles' tips are cut off.  That is because I made the brown triangles too small and rather than waste all of them by having to cut out bigger ones, I just cut the squares with the blue triangles in them a little smaller.  But now I know for the next time I do this pattern what the correct size would be for the brown and cream triangles. 

It's the adventure of figuring everything out that's exciting.  So bring on the custom orders! I love a challenge.

Check out my treasury, Challenge Yourself, on Etsy
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1 comment:

  1. I love my apron! I can't wait to wear it again next Yule. And I love that you can do this. You see, you are the engineer that you wanted to be when you were a child. You engineer happiness.

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