Completed project: Crazy quilt button

 In October, Jean M led a workshop on crazy quilting at the not-the-E-Guild meeting. I love crazy quilting, so even though I didn't want another unfinished project, I went to the workshop anyway. A chat while I was still working on the patch at another meeting gave me the idea to think of how it could be made into something useful, or wearable, rather than something to hang on the wall. The fact that the crazy quilt patch wouldn't be machine washable didn't stop me from mulling on the idea.

Years (like a decade) ago, I acquired this cheap polyester scarf, as a freebie when viewing the plans for a development project. It's warm, and an easy to wear shade, but the logo isn't one I'd like to sport. So it has remained in my horde, waiting for inspiration and energy to do something with it. The crazy quilt patch was big enough to cover the logo, and pinning it to the scarf rather than sewing it on will hopefully take care of the washing issue. 

I could define it as a broach, but because it will always be placed on the same part of the scarf, and also the scarf will be wrapped around it rather than pinned closed, it feels better to call this finished object a 'button'. I had thought a 'button hole' would be needed to make this work, but now I think I'll just play with different ways to wrap the scarf using the button as a focal point.

The good: It's used a lot of things I had hoarded over the years. The level of sparkle is much higher than what I usually wear, but it isn't bad, a contrast with the dull colour of the scarf.

The bad: Though I chose blue coloured items, there is a mix of turquoise and indigo, and other blues I don't know the name for. Because there are so many different blue colours, I feel like it works as a crazy quilt, but it isn't a gentle colour scheme.

The ugly: As usual, it isn't tidy on the back. There are two safety pins to hold it on. This isn't elegant, but it is what I have to hand, and working out a better method is beyond me.

Also, since I've finished this embroidery project, I feel like I can join in the workshop next month.

Another Utopia: Begumpura

Excerpt from the introduction to The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF by R. T. Samuel:

In the fourteenth century, Sant Ravidas, a radical anti-caste public thinker and poet, wrote of a utopian city where caste and inequality no longer existed. He called it Begumpura—a place without sorrow or pain. It has excited the imagination of his listeners and readers ever since, down to this day. 

“No taxes or cares, none owns property there,

no wrongdoing, worry, terror, or torture.

Oh, my brother, I’ve come to take it as my own,

my distant home where everything is right.

That imperial kingdom is rich and secure,

where none are third or second—all are one;

They do this or that, they walk where they wish,

they stroll through fabled palaces unchallenged.

Oh, says Ravidas, a tanner now set free,

Those who walk beside me are my friends.”

Completed project: art journal

 I checked in here, and I started this in 2011. Last month, I finished it, or at least got to the point where every page has something on it, something that doesn't feel like it needs more work. So, 13 years. Things have changed in that time. I haven't kept up with the changes. 

The good: I really enjoy collage, a loose, imprecise type of collage. I like doing it, and often like the finished piece.

The bad: My skills have not improved. If anything, I'm less experimental than when I began.

The ugly: Nothing really. There are parts I don't like, but as a whole, it's all okay. 

There is a lingering issue of what to do with it now. I thought about documenting the individual spreads, but that seems like too much work. I also thought about re-working some of the pages, but I just don't feel like doing that. So I have the completed journal, but not a clear idea what to do with it.