From rags to riches

Saturday, November 22, 2008

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What make you feel rich? I mean apart from family, friends, having a roof over your head, a job and so on. When it comes to more earthly stuff I can’t help myself but to sing along with Madonna: “I’m a material girl”. Oh don't get me wrong - I’m not a compulsive shopper and I don’t crave diamonds every month, but there are stuff out there that really get my juices flowing and make me feel rich, rich, RICH.


First of all I love books and after having suffered quite a few years with a concentration disability. I mean it – really, really suffered: I have not been able to read anything more than the morning paper and some trade magazines. But for the last six months or so I’m back again and with the “help” of online bookstores (and a very dear and generous friend in the US) I manage to build a nice little stash of novels. I feel such a pleasure to be able to stand in front of the bookcase and choose one out of several to read next.


Secondly I love all my natural perfumery raw materials (and some perfumes too) and I have been known to sit in my studio whispering presssiousssss while sniffing a jasmine essence from Grasse or a deep dark patchouli that I have aged myself. Or one of my own tinctures; Bourbon Vanilla beans, saffron, citrus flowers or my very own invention – bee-goo immersed in high grade alcohol.


Thirdly – all love quilting fabrics and just viewing the colorful piles on the shelves in my studio. Most of them is not bought for any particular project, but because they spoke to me. And when they arrive in the mail after their merry journey across the world, and I sort through the different pieces, stroke their surface and go into that prrrrreeesssiousssss state again ;-) Well, the same thing goes for quilting threads….bought only cause they where beautiful and I have this passion for variegated threads – the spools are like jewels and I get almost the same pleasure going through my boxes of threads as I get for choosing a book.


Fourth (but it ought to fall into the third category – neh??); Jelly Rolls. Okey I admit, it does sound a bit wacky but bear with me. It's like with the threads - I simply can’t figure out why they attract me so much, but they do. Not all (cause I don’t like all fabric collections that are out there), but the occasional ones that just shouts: Buy ME!!!! So far I have been a good girl and only purchased four (and got one as a gift) since these things are not cheap; the newest Moda rolls go for round 37USD and with the shipping cost to Sweden added, the cost for one roll is simply too steep…. So I save up and wait for this or that online quilt shop (or an eBay seller) to have them on sale and then I splurge on a roll. Just to be clear – a jelly roll in this context is not something you can eat, even though some of them are so sweet you could be tempted LOL. A Jelly Roll is fabric strips rolled and tied up with a ribbon and IMHO they should be from the same collection of fabrics from a specific manufacturer for a short time and each roll contains round 40-42 2-1/2 in.strips.


As for what you can make out of them rolls, here is one thing:


It's the very first project I made from a roll and it has taken it’s own good time to finish. But let me tell you this – I’m sooooo mighty pleased with the outcome, both front and back. It’s approximately 180x180cm, thin batting (for table cloths) and almost all quilting was made with freezer paper templates of my own design:














The big question now is: what to start on next. I have absolutely no friggin idea - do you?

4 comments:

Mary in H. Va said...

Wolfie You rule~! I love the new blog, I love the photes of everything too! I want the pattern the pillow you made for DH ! outstanding work as always.

Ann said...

Can't help ya there. I never have a problem starting something new.

Trish Frankland said...

I'm laughing at Ann - I have the same problem ... starting's no problem, it's the finishing I have issues with! Of course, that could be partially blamed on the fact I seem to believe every quilt needs to be king size! I need to learn to work smaller?

Wolfie said...

Mary - Oh I blush and honestly - the layout of the blog came with the Blogger account. Contact me off list and we'll see what we can do;-)

Ann and Trishia - I envy your abilities to have new projects lined up. For me it's like a writers block whenever I have finished a major project...just a wide blank space LOL.