Saturday, December 16, 2017

More Decisions for Fifth Chinese Coins Quilt

For once I remembered to take photos while finalizing the design. Four of them are grouped to hopefully enlighten my thought process. At this point many Coin sets are sewn. Each column still has three to five sets so some movement or insetting is possible. And there's always the seam ripper.

Putting the upper coin facedown on the lower coin and aligning the left side before sewing means a wider column in the end. When they are sewn the left side is smoothly aligned and the right side is uneven, only that right side is trimmed much. It also helps me remember how they go back together.

Top left: All the Coins are laid out for the first time. It looked good in large scale but the photos shows a horizontal line of greens, some of which are too bright. I pulled greens from columns one and nine then added a few quieter green coins at the bottom of column one.

Top right: Column one now has a long section of light in the middle while column ten has darks weighing the bottom. I switched a set between one and ten.


Bottom left: Better but column one has too much bright blue while column ten has too much purple.

Bottom right: Before using the dreaded seam ripper, I folded out one blue coin on the left and covered two purples with white on the bottom right.

This is the old-fashioned, quiet look I want. It reminds me of my grandparents although none of this fabric came from them or even their era. A bit of bright to liven things up but not too much. My opinion of the whites varied as the quilt grew. They were moved and rearranged more than any other section. Scattering throughout is my final decision.

We're ready to launch!


Thoughts about Mobile Devices
When answering machines appeared years ago I wanted one immediately. Finally a faster way to contact people combined with a more convenient way to receive messages. No mislaid phone messages or depending on sisters who forgot to relay the message. The caller only had to phone once and the callee could pick up a message when she was free.

Then came pagers. All my engineer friends proudly clipped one to their belts, ready at a moment's notice for any emergency. But how many of those calls were really important? I remember them leaving concerts, school events, dinners... just to answer a question that might have waited until tomorrow.

So when mobile phones came out I was not an early adopter. My children argued people could reach me anywhere. That's exactly my point. Sometimes I don't want to be found. Sometimes I want a little "alone time."  Mobile phones make it impossible. Like one of our favorite scenes from White Christmas:

  • Bob Wallace: What's all back of this?
  • Phil Davis: Nothing. Only your happiness.
  • BW: My happiness?
  • PD: Yeah.
  • BW: You know, when you get an idea that's for my sole and ultimate happiness, there's always lurking behind it a little angle for you. Now what is it?
  • PD: Do you really want to know?
  • BW: Yeah, I really want to know.
  • PD: All right, I'll really tell you.
  • BW: Then lay it on me, will you?
  • PD: Ever since the day we became producers, you're a changed man. You've gone absolutely berserk with work. And the strange thing is you like it. You like being Rodgers and Hammerstein.
  • BW: It was your idea.
  • PD. Sure it was my idea but I didn't think I was going to create a Frankenstein. From that day on I haven't had one minute I could call my own. 
  • BW: What do you want to do about it?
  • PD: I want you to get married. I want you to have nine children. And if you only spend five minutes a day with each kid, that's 45 minutes, and I'd at least have time to go out and get a massage or something.
I do have a cell phone and in many ways I like it. But {especially with my sister's nagging gentle suggestions} I've come to realize I use it too much and miss real events. I don't watch a parade; I film the parade and watch is later. And miss the excitement of the actual event. And my photos are never very good.

Tristan Harris believes companies design cell phones to addict us. He's begun a movement to change phone software. He wants a "Hippocratic Oath" to stop enhancing our psychological weaknesses and return power to the people.

Addicted to your mobile phone is quite an interesting read. I doubt companies will change but I can make my own changes. The phone goes off after nine; I practice leaving it behind. We played board games at Thanksgiving. Still working on not taking it out during meals. But I'm not addicted. Ha.

Enjoy the day, Ann