Simple Pleasures....and what do you need to find a simple kind of comfort, pleasure, satifaction or contentment in your day? A question with lots of
possible answers. A mug of fresh tea or coffee, a hug from a friend or loved one. Sunshine on your shoulder, a verse of scripture. Maybe all of the above. Any or all of those things and many more, for me. And I would include a needle and thread in my hand. Sometimes I think we(and I suppose I am mostly thinking women) have conquered the world, settled the vast wilderness of these United States, Canada and Mexico with a needle in our hand or carefully tucked away to use in a moment of leisure. I looked up the definition of "leisure" and it is defined as freedom or a spare moment.
These are yo-yos. My yo-yos. I don't particularily like yo-yo quilts. To me, they are not quilts. They are pieced but never quilted. There is no lining or batt, nor any backing unless you do a variation. They are eye catching, and I'm sure were a novelity at some time or another. Thus, we have yo-yo coverlets. I make yo-yos. They are hand sewing, and that is part of what I need to complete my day. Sometimes the hand sewing part comes early in the day, or in the afternoon. Where it falls doesn't really matter.
The yo-yos I'm showing you are fabrics from the 1950's. Mostly funky in their own way. They measure 2" across finished. What I use for a circle might surprise you...LOL. Yo know those darn CD's that we keep getting in the mail, trying to sell us on AOL, or Target, etc?? Yup, that's my template. They are incredibly handy things. Need a half circle drawn for quilting. Grab the CD.
Dawn, I believe, asked about my perfect circle in the utility quilting...LOL. Yup, a CD that I drew around, and probably a mug or glass for the inner one. I like to turn the quarter inch under as I baste around the edge of the yo-yo. I don't use paper to baste over, I just turn the edge under as I go. when it's complete, I gently pull on my thread til it's gathered about as tight as it will go, and then I make a couple of knots and cut the thread.
What will my yo-yos become? Embellishments. Clusters of flowers on something. Stacked circles for one things or another. Maybe even a yo-yo doll or clown. You see it really doesn't matter what their purpose is....I like hand sewing, and they are quite mindless, and a great way to use up larger scrapes of ugly fabric. I think the CDs are about 5". Just measured one...4 3/4".
The other question to answer today is about "Ebby", my kitty-to-be". Sounds like she will be arriving on Friday. Special delivery from her current owner and my darling oldest daughter...*VBS*