Bread & Roses

baker, cook, fiber artist, lover of all living things. seattle kraken.

[life-on-the-spectrum]

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkein

[catastrophicallykat]

Pattern block quilt progress!

I assembled the first set of shapes and played around with a layout. I'll be making this up as I go

[catastrophicallykat]

Finally starting on this EPP quilt. It makes me feel like a little kid again, playing with geometry blocks at recess

[catastrophicallykat]

Another night of hand sewing progress! I'll be deciding the next sections as I go and mirroring them around the quilt.

[catastrophicallykat]

Another round is attached, and my actual pattern blocks arrive today so I can plan out the next sections.

[catastrophicallykat]

Thank you, pattern blocks! The first set of the next round are assembled. They'll get attached once I make the second set. In the meantime, it looks like a rainbow snowflake 🌈❄️

[catastrophicallykat]

Finally - another geometry block quilt update

Now that I'm settled in after my move, I can finally get back to my geo-block project. I got to spend several hours hand sewing today as part of my guild show's volunteering requirements.

The latest blocks are all attached and I'm ready to get going on the next set! I'll likely make more modifications to the design to maintain a pleasing distribution of pieces. The modifications are part of the fun after all.

Most of the reactions today were positive - amusement or amazement or joyful. One woman walked up, leaned in close, sneered, and went "yuck". Rude much? Hand sewing isn't for everyone but you don't have to yuck someone else's yum.

[catastrophicallykat]

4 of 6 sections done for the next round!

After these are sewn on, it will be approx 43 inches across. I hope to have this finished (pieced) by the end of the year so I can spend another month or so doing the topstitching. I'm planning to do a different design in each color of block with top/bobbin thread matching and a white backing. That way it will almost be a double-sided quilt, with the stitched shapes showing on the back in the same colors.

As a side note, it makes my whole day that y'all are enjoying my project. I really do read every reblog comment and tag, and find myself grinning at your responses. Thanks for being here for the ride!

[catastrophicallykat]

Behind The Seams

This quilt is made with the English Paper Piecing technique - fabric wrapped around pieces of paper to make the shapes (these are cut with my cricut machine), then hand sewn together. I glue baste my pieces with a tiny drop of white glue that is immediately heat set with an iron. It creates sharp creases that hold up well to the folding and general jostling that comes with a hand sewn project, but the papers can pop out easily enough when it's done. For the sewing part, I use a sashiko needle and hand quilting thread from Joann's (RIP) that I had on hand, but really any needle and thread works.

So far this project has taken about 10 months of off-and-on stitching. I prepped all my pieces already, so when I'm out, the quilt is done. I'm using the actual pattern blocks to map out how I want to make the next sections, taking time to try to balance the appearance of each fabric within the quilt and not have two of the same together. It's a slow steady test of my patience. It's not perfect because it is made by human hands. The stitching shows, the corners aren't all perfect, it likely won't lie exactly flat. I love it for that.

[catastrophicallykat]

Been a minute. My shoulder has been hurting so hand sewing has been limited. This quilt is SO CLOSE to done and I am so ready. The pieces for those open corners are done and ready to attach. I’m low on the remaining pieces so it’ll probably just be one more ring around the edge after the next addition.

[initiala]

As much as I think it would be fun to have emotive anthropomorphic ears, I also recognize I can barely control my facial expressions. Like hell can I keep from Angry Ears-ing during meetings

[initiala]

This is who you’re having a meeting with, by the way.

[sleepyseaslug]

romants

[sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog]

I have 100,000 followers on here (i know; tumblr power user jmg) and i think it gives me, like, zero social capital? Which I think might be why it's still good.

Like, when my agents are pitching me for something, they'll be like, "Look at his facebook! Look at his tiktok!" They're never gonna say, "100,000 people follow him on tumblr. Remember tumblr?"

But the thing is, I don't actually use facebook or tiktok (except for promo). This is the only place I use, the only place where I'm interested in the community and shared creation and all that shit.

So long live tumblr. Nobody who's gonna hire me to do anything has ever heard of it. It makes for a terrible space to promote your forthcoming book tour. And that's literally why it doesn't suck.

[slowlikehoney1996]

If your lover lives in Hong Kong and cannot get to Chicago, it will be necessary for you to go to Hong Kong. Perhaps you will spend your life there, and never see Chicago again. And you will, I assure you, as long as space and time divide you from anyone you love, discover a great deal about shipping routes, airlines, earthquake, famine, disease, and war. And you will always know what time it is in Hong Kong, for you love someone who lives there. And love will simply have no choice but to go into battle with space and time and, furthermore, to win.

James Baldwin, Nothing Personal

[depsidase]

[androfagus]

Can you imagine trying to be sexual wearing Vegan Leather. Oooh are you turned on by my unsustainable plastic. Does the wear and tear from 2 years make you wanna rub clit on the holes in my boots? Get real.

[butt-berry]

Like if you think he should be allowed a sausage

[naamahdarling]

[dogpuppy]

[king-carnivore-creations]

embroidery practice

[echointhewindwind]

Being an Eridian scientist has to be so funny. You train your entire life as a biologist, becoming specialized in your field, probably giving lectures or educational speeches to other Eridians, and then the star savior Rocky comes home with his weird pet dog. Your job is now to cultivate food so the weird dog who is the age of average baby doesn’t die. The dog also saved the stars. Your job is making dog food out of the dog. You also learn that you and the dog have the same job. You are the happiest scientist on Erid.

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

The dog knows more about how the universe works than anybody else on your planet. The dog understands how relativity works and how the universe began. The dog has access to complex machines that can store and process massive amounts of information, launching your society into a new age of scientific and technological advancement.

You later find out that these machines were originally invented because the dog's species has a memory like a sieve and struggles with primary school level maths.

[fxlthyangxl-deactivated20240122]

[rain-44]

The embrace that feels like home

[kaylmao]

work like a red onion

play like a white onion

fuck like a green onion

[nitewrighter]

Couple + Sibling/relative third wheel is honestly an S-tier trio dynamic and I wish we saw more of this in media.

"You are my soulmate. We are forged together by battle and tears and love. Also my brother's coming along."

"Yo."

[nitewrighter]

Bonus points if the non-related half of the couple is just as committed to keeping the third wheel around as the related half.

"Isn't it weird that your brother in law is always hanging around?"

"You've got a problem with Andrew?"

[notebooks-and-laptops]

[baleful-meat-worm]

apologies to anyone who followed me for tma. cow studies :) ❤️