Saturday, December 08, 2012

Calendula Embroidery Quilt

This rainy December day finds me in a mood to do nothing, not even sew.  There's wash going, and groceries need to be shopped for.  Maybe tomorrow.  Seventeen days until Christmas and I just don't give a flip.  I have come to hate Christmas more and more.   It is too commercial.  Candies go into the stores on November 1.  They can't even get the Halloween candy on sale before they are stocking the Christmas stuff.  Stores are mobbed with crazies.  I'm not a fan of shopping whatsoever, but somehow managed to go out a couple times this week to try to get started.  I'll probably take much of it back in the end.  That's the problem with gifts - nobody really needs things.  I have no idea what people really want, and I just hate blowing money just to give something.  I miss having time with my mother -- something  she and I apparently don't share.  We never get time together at the holidays, because she always has the other family at her house.  During the school year, either I have work to do or her visiting time is only for the kids.  Now, things are just a mess and I'm caught in the middle of her obtuse insensitivity.   How on earth can someone not see how horribly they are hurting another person?  She's upset with me this year, and has decided to go away for Christmas.   It's going to break my kids's hearts.  This year, I am just mad.   Super mad.  And right now, I want to stew in it so don't tell me to get over it.  Not yet.  I deserve to be hurt and upset.

I have some pictures of a client quilt finished recently.  It's a Halloween-ish quilt (I think), called Callendula, by Crabapple Hill designs.  It has an absolute boatload of straight-stitch embroidery.  
 Here's some close-up shots...The embroideries are mostly outlined.  This took me quite a long time, but it does help to define the details nicely.  Then I just quilted around them with different designs to help to define the scene.
The motifs are colored with something - colored pencils or crayons?...I'm not sure what, but it makes them stand out from the neutral background.
 The Witching hour clock and books, which are rather amusing...
 Here I quilted a spider's web and some flames.
 You would not believe the amount of lines in this broom!   I guess it's probably not sweeping bats, but I wasn't sure how to quilt dirt.
I mixed up the fillers on the pieced blocks.  It didn't seem cohesive with the design to custom quilt them each differently, so I treated them as a background unit.  They got  some feathers, and some whirly swirls.
 Gotta love the crows.


6 comments:

Lynette said...

Well, I don't know what all happened, but I do know how much family can hurt. I'm sorry you're going through such a bad time. :(

The quilt is really neat, Margaret. I like how you complemented the stitcheries.

Susan Lawson said...

the quilt is unique as is your quilting. I agree commercial christmas is absurd. No one waits around for christmas to get what they want, they buy it throughout the year! Our culture of instant gratification has seen to that..I've decided to give my kids cash, let them go get what they want, I'm sick of wasting my time/energy shopping for something they usually take back. As for family dynamics, well I'm afraid most of us aren't the Waltons..my mother hasn't spent any holidays with my family in over 6 years, I've managed to let my anger go on that issue, simply because my feelings haven't changed the situation....so "Merry Christmas!"

Ms. Jan said...

You are going to inspire me to get off it and make my Calendula.

Margaret, I feel your pain. My mother was pretty insensitive to my feelings too and the hurt is hard to get over. I finally did, but not until after she died almost 20 years ago. I miss the idea of having my mother more than I miss her, since I was #3 of 3 on her favorites list. When I was your age, I never understood my anger, nor the situation, and you are way ahead of that. So sorry this is happening.

Anonymous said...

I,too, understand what you mean
about the insanity of the season.
That is why we all agreed that we
would "make" things for each other
this Christmas, no bought items.
You have quilted my daughter's quilt (haven't gotten it back yet) and my husband is working on making our newly-wed children some wood-carved names, and a "dog" toy chest for our grand-dogs. My son from N.J.
just called and said his Christmas
present to us was "HIM" - it has
been 10 years since we have had
him home for Christmas! Even
if your mom won't be there, please
cherish the time with your young
ones; make some cookies WITH them
(not for them), sing some Christmas
songs and try to have fun "family" style. Thanks for being there when I needed you. Best wishes.

Jan K.
near San Diego

Judy said...

Margaret, I am so sorry about your family problems. It's not easy, I am sure. Too bad children will be hurt also.

I love your quilting on this quilt.

Judy

Maggie said...

Hey Margaret,

It finally dawned on me that my mother's feelings toward me weren't personal. It wouldn't have mattered a whit what I said or did, she just didn't care much for me. She couldn't help it; that's just the way it was. Once I realized that I was fine. Happily took my own path.

Maggie in Arizona