ironymaiden | [sekrit project] apocryphal horse

(currently filtered because this is present-making connected to a surprise thing. so if you're reading, it's not for you, but it is for someone else you may know. shhhhh)

i'm using a themed gift as a good excuse to try out a quilting technique. i hate random clutter in my house and/or that moment when you need to throw away things like cards, so i want to give something that will be useful. i started out saying, i will toss off a potholder. this person can use a potholder or soft coaster. it will be a pleasant aside on the way to finishing the bedspread. (i'm almost finished with a queen-sized quilt top that is destined for my own bed. the plan is to send it to a longarm service to be quilted and then i'll hand finish the binding. i'm scared to death of having my work looked at judgmentally by a pro, that maybe my construction won't take the required stretching...anyway, i need to step away for just a little bit.)

right. so i was going to toss off a potholder. but a heart theme brings out that which is most cheezy in my hobby. seriously, there are multiple American-flag print heart appliqué block patterns on the web. and then there are all the defunct geocities and AOL quilting sites still being linked to and i digress. instead of doing something easy but unappealing i decided to learn a new skill.

basically, you take fusible interfacing marked with a grid and arrange squares of fabric on the grid like pixels. iron everything down, then fold on the grid lines and sew. this would be super-easy except for the part where i decided to go the one-inch square route. quarter-inch seam allowances all around, and the finished size of each element becomes half an inch. it also means that what will be potholder-sized when finished lays out at 17" x 17". there will be before and after photos eventually, assuming i pull this off. i always said that people who made doll-sized quilts were absolutely insane, but here i am.

i have it ironed down now, and am experiencing that moment of dread known by knitters doing a felted piece or one that requires cutting. i don't think the wee squares will survive unsewing if i make errors, so it's something i have to get right the first time or throw away. ultimately only my pride will be harmed - it's all scraps and less than a dollar of interfacing.

i'm getting the distraction and the learning out of it regardless. i spent hours last night (mostly happily) cutting and arranging and rearranging postage-stamp-sized bits of fabric and finally committed myself to pressing it before bed - after confirming that C could see the hearts in the pattern but that they were super-subtle as intended.

this morning i remembered that the intended recipient is colorblind...