Signs

These are today's signs that tell me I should stop trying to sew step three of the mystery quilt:

1. I stitched 36 squares along the wrong diagonal
2. I stabbed my finger with the unpicker while removing thread from 36 squares
3. It's hot
4. The sewing machine needle broke
5. The bobbin ran out of thread
6. And did I mention it's hot (but only 61% humidity - ha!)
7. I spilled water on the instructions
8. I dropped my scissors on my foot

I am going to watch a DVD instead. So there!

Plodding on

I'm not feeling overly inspired today. It hurts me to walk (I could show you my foot x-ray, but you probably have more interesting things to look at) and I can't start physiotherapy on it until Saturday. The humidity is 98% (again) and it is draining. 

It's just as well I have some lovely no-brainer sewing to do. I've finished step one of the Bedford mystery quilt this afternoon. I haven't bought a kit for about 20 years, let alone a kit that contains all the fabric pieces cut to size. All I had to do was sew them together, cut them in quarters and sew them again. Easy peasy. No walking required. I even pressed the blocks sitting down at the ironing board. On to step two tomorrow.

Facebook

I joined Facebook a week or so ago, after wondering for some time whether I really wanted another time-wasting reason to play on the internet.

You need to be a member of Facebook to see my profile, so perhaps I'll hear from you. I can't say that I find it totally compelling yet, but maybe you can change my mind?

Bedford mystery quilt

Remember last month's post when I said I was signing up for a mystery quilt to help raise funds for the Bedford Foundation? Well the kit arrived today.

Each set of fabric is packaged in its own bag, along with the instructions for that step. Those sneaky quilters who organised the kit know that there would be a temptation to take a peek at the picture of the finished quilt, so they sealed the final instructions in an envelope. Guess I'll just have to be patient.

There are some groups planning to get together to make their quilts in May and June, so I won't show you my progress, in case that spoils the mystery for someone else. I'm looking forward to getting started.

Gee's Bend quilt kits

I discovered yesterday that Keepsake Quilting is selling kits to make Gee's Bend quilt designs. Patricia Cummings has published a very thoughtful post on her blog Quilters Muse about why this disturbs her and I found myself nodding as I read. 

There will always be a market for kits for people who choose to make a quilt exactly as it is shown in a photo. There's nothing wrong with that because the makers will end up with quilts they love. I suppose this is no different, but somehow it is a little disturbing that the very notion of improvisational designing has had the improvisation part removed. Definitely worth pondering.

A lull

I've reached a challenging stage with my latest quilt. Having finished all the seed stitching on it, I can't decide how to stitch the remaining sections.

So I've been doing two quite different tasks for the past few hours instead. The first is updating and tweaking the software on my netbook so that it suits me, not the people who installed all the software that came on it. Amazing how much time that takes, so in between waiting for downloads, I've been knitting some more of my scarf. A simple rib pattern, made with Cleckheaton Vintage Hues 100% wool, shade 1279. Not that I can imagine the temperature ever being cool enough again for me to wear it...

Thriller reading

I haven't read a political thriller like this for a long time. It is very, very scary, mainly because it is so plausible.

Set in England in a few years' time, it explores how the meshing of corporate interests, current technology and the lust for power can result in totalitarianism by stealth. Some of the factors are already in place in today's society, which is why I can see that the fictional aspect could easily develop in real life - if we let it.

If you live in a democracy where individual privacy is respected and protected and you want it to stay that way, this novel will be an eye-opener. 

The title of the book made me recall the quote from Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, the day before Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914:  "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime".

The Dying Light is a thought-provoking novel that shows how a country's democratically-elected government can go so very wrong and stomp on its citizens' entitlements. We've seen it before through history and there's no reason to think it won't happen again.