I am in the middle of a wedding quilt that I can't show, because the bride to be has admitted that she is the kind of person who can't resist surprise busting. She knows she is getting a quilt from me, and although I have banned her from my blog, I don't quite trust her, so I won't be showing any progress shots. Suffice it to say that it has many small pieces and it's taking a long time. Whenever it stops being fun, I look around for something else to do. Today I started another project: more gongs! I'm using Curious Nature by Parson Gray and Essex linen/cotton blend in Carrot for the background. I'm playing around with two different layouts. The colour isn't really true on these photos, but which layout do you like best?
This one?
Or this one?
On another topic, I recently saw
this article about the perils of too much sitting. It says that even frequent exercising is not enough to completely offset the effect of too much sitting. I was thinking about how much we sit when sewing. Does anyone stand up when they sew? I had a discussion about this with another quilter who did stand while sewing but I have forgotten all the details. I wonder what it would be like to rig a stand-up sewing situation. I'm pretty sure I would like it for FMQ, because I have a hard time at my table feeling like I am high enough above my work. I'd be interested in giving a try to a standing situation for regular piecing.
9 comments:
I love the first layout the best.
I have stood up to sew. It hurts my back to do it for too long but I have tried it. I've also wondered about sitting on an exercise ball instead of a chair, than at least it's a wee bit of exercise.
First layout. In the second one they look a little like you know whats...
I like the first one best!
I stand when I sew, ever since I had two slipped disks and wans't allowed to sit down for 8 weeks! No way was I not going to sew that whole time! I bought a kitchen-counter height desk for my machine, and also use it for cutting. It's great. The only problem comes when machine quilting big things, because I can't let them rest in my lap. I move the ironing board round and use that instead.
I like the second layout better. The first one reminds me too much of a man's certain body part.
I like the first version better, but both are great.
My husband and I were just talking about standing sewing desks. I read the ikeahackers blog sometimes, and there are a lot of standing desks posted there. Seems like it would be nice, what with all the back and forth from the ironing board to the sewing machine (I say this as a beginner, maybe more experienced quilters/sewers cut down on t his), to just have them the same height. But then would it be easy to press the foot pedal while standing? Now that I see the comments above, I know it's possible; whether or not I'm coordinated enough to do it is another thing, hehe.
Second, I think? :) I stand to sew. I stand for cutting, piecing, quilting. It is great. I also just learned to have my left foot on a book. Better would be a foot long length of a 2" X 12" board because my foot pedal is fairly thick. This eliminates that hip stress on the lower side. I luv standing as there is no twisting to sit, turn, etc. It is way quicker to work this way not to mention easier on the ol' body! Wish I'd thought of this before I spent $$$ on a fancy cabinet which is now a so/so computer desk.
I definitely prefer option 1. That said, I don't know how many repetitions you're planning and whether I'd want to see several block like this lined up end to end.
(And I hope the wedding quilt starts being fun again soon.)
Did you finish the quilt. I like both layouts so well and the pattern in general. I'd have a hard time choosing. Maybe the first one.
Post a Comment
Thanks for dropping by - I'd love to hear what you think, so please leave me a comment!