I am a crossword puzzle aficionado and even do the puzzle in ink (with a tube of white-out nearby, just in case...). I look forward to picking up my morning paper, sitting down with a cup of coffee, the puzzle neatly folded, the radio on low in the background and I jump in (is this anal or what???). I've been doing the puzzle this way for so long that on Monday thru Wednesday, I actually time myself. This past Monday, I completed the puzzle in 11 minutes (my best time EVER!). Thursday and Friday's puzzle are a little more challenging and then ... Come Saturday morning, they are darned near impossible. Is my brain in weekend mode, are they really harder, or do I have so many other things going on - that I don't want to waste the time and brain power to do a crossword puzzle? Yep, I have a 15 minute limit -- if I can put a dent in a chunk of puzzle, I'm off to work on something else.
I like Sudoku, but not nearly as much as the crossword puzzle. However, a sudoku puzzle did inspire me to make a quilt. And jigsaw puzzles are kinda fun, too, if you have a lot of time. I would rather be sewing, however, doing a jigsaw puzzle is a lot like putting together a scrap quilt.
This must be why I love quilting so much -- all those pretty squares cut and sewn back together to produce even prettier squares/blocks. And, speaking of squares -- don't we all love those Charm Packs (pretty 5" squares either tied up with pretty ribbons or a cardboard wrapper)? To me, they are like potato chips, "Betcha can't eat just one!" Everyone is starting to sell these Charm Packs now and I just drool looking at all of those gorgeous fabrics put together.This morning, since I couldn't put a dent in the crossword puzzle, I decided to venture up to
my sewing room and try taking a chunk out of my scraps and FQ's. Aha, I could make up my own Charm Packs out of my own stash -- is this a "light bulb moment", or what? I have been addicted to FQ's for ever - I can't go into a quilt or fabric shop and not buy at least one and if they are tied up with a pretty ribbon, I'll buy the whole pack. Even my family members know that I will squeal with delight with a gift of FQ's and this baffles them. Yes, I am weak when it comes to FQ's. But, I just can't seem to cut down the entire FQ. I have only taken a 5" hunk out of them. Maybe, if I tie them up with a pretty ribbon, I'll even think that I have new fabric.
my sewing room and try taking a chunk out of my scraps and FQ's. Aha, I could make up my own Charm Packs out of my own stash -- is this a "light bulb moment", or what? I have been addicted to FQ's for ever - I can't go into a quilt or fabric shop and not buy at least one and if they are tied up with a pretty ribbon, I'll buy the whole pack. Even my family members know that I will squeal with delight with a gift of FQ's and this baffles them. Yes, I am weak when it comes to FQ's. But, I just can't seem to cut down the entire FQ. I have only taken a 5" hunk out of them. Maybe, if I tie them up with a pretty ribbon, I'll even think that I have new fabric.I've been doing some Blog-hopping this week too and lo and behold, it seems like a lot of other Bloggers are cutting up their stashes into little squares, too. So, does this new craze of cutting our stashes into squares save time? Does it inspire us to make new things out of these pre-cut squares? Will we be seeing a lot of new book on charm squares? And, finally, how small is too small? Personally, I don't save anything under 2-inches.
13 comments:
On my way back from picking our little Midnight from the Vet (snip, snip) I stopped at the LSQ. There was a charm pack that begged me to buy, but I was strong and resisted the temptation. It was the new 1930's line. They are such a reasonable price at $2.00 a FQ. sign I too have seen some wonderful quilts made from squares. Some amazing talents out there. Keep well!
I giggled a lot while reading your blog today made me think about the pretty basket I have with a FQ in it all tide up in a pretty bow. It's amazing huh what makes us happy! It's good to know though we arn't the only ones just a little crazy. LOL Good Luck though with cutting yours up, I'm not there yet! LOL
I do crosswords online every day. That way I don't need the white-out. Some of them will check for mistakes and that enables me to finish the hard Saturday ones.
I think fat quarters get to us because they seem so cheap. I think they make great souveniers when I travel. I always try to pick up at least one in each quilt store I find.
I have seen those blogs with cut up squares. Probably makes sense if you actually use little squares in your work. I remember back in the day when Little Quilts recommended that, strips and square etc. I don't cut stuff till I know what I need. I'm lazy that way.
We are so similar in so many of our likes. I'm such a sucker for a bundle of fat quarters tied up with a ribbon! The sight of even one starts my heart beating faster, and if the shop has lots of them I have to wear a bib because I start drooling. They are one of the major reasons that my stash is now out of control! I did switch to the 5" charm packs, which I find almost as satisfying now as they are so much easier to store. :-) And I've subscribed to the Moda Jelly Roll club on the Fat Quarter Shop site. What is it about a ribbon tied bundle of fabrics that sings to our soul so sweetly?
O how I can relate to your post!!
I love to do crosswords, but am not so keen on the sudoku- I think it me & figures... we just dont go together.
But here in OZ a lot of the LQS dont stock charm square packs, so they are harder to find, but FQ packs are easy to find. And how I love them.
What a great post. I used to do the Sunday crossword but haven't done one in ages. I can't even fathom Soduko.
But charm packs are another story. I bought a couple when I first started quilting and I couldn't figure out what to do with them so I ended up giving them away. Now that I've started working with scrap quilts I love them. I purchase two set of Valentine prints and am trying to decide what to do with them.
Quarter your fat quarter for a quick scrap quilt. Look on my blog and my DH's. Can't resist them fqs either.
How funny...I wonder how many quilters love crosswords/sudoku (I'm a sudoku addict--but with a time limit, like you!)
LOL - my DH says I would buy a baggie full of compost if it came tied with a pretty enough ribbon! So true - those bundles are irresistable. Great idea to make our own bundles; they might actually get used!
Great post! I, too, love FQ's but have decided it's time to cut up some of my stash... what am I saving it for anyway? It's good for the brain to have activities like crosswords and sudoku to keep that muscle working!
I'd been thinking of cutting up some of my stash recently. Mostly to use up the piles of fabric that I tend to hoard for that "perfect" project... Great idea to make your own charm packs!
I just heard somewhere this week that the crossword puzzles get harder as the week progresses - with the hardest ones alway on Saturday. So there you go - it isn't you.
And charm packs - boy what timing, I just order about 9 packs of charms from the Fat Quarter store this week, and these were on sale with little fabric bags - what is better than fabric tied up in ribbon? Fabric in little bags of fabric!! LOL
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