Thinking...

I'm finally linking up to Think Tank Thursday with Rebecca Lynne!  Oops, just realised it's actually Thursday Think Tank - I've been reading that wrong for months!!  And I'm not sure there is a TTT to link up to this week but it's taken me so long to have a post to link up that I'm leaving the button where it is!


This week I've been thinking about a few things which, to be honest, is hard when you're as tired as I am at the moment.  I currently have the concentration span of a gnat and can't seem to keep hold of a thought long enough to actually think about it.  I tend to just notice it as it passes through my brain and say to myself 'That looks interesting, I hope it's still there when I come back.' and sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't.  After writing some of this post it appears I've thought more than I realised this week (well, over several weeks, if I'm being truthful!) so you may as well make yourself a cup of tea and grab a biscuit, you may be here some time!  Feel free to skip the writing and jump straight to the photos!


One of the things I've been thinking about is Pinterest.  When I first joined I wondered what the company was getting from it - how did they make money given that there are no adverts, what's in it for the company directors, etc.  And then I read this blog post by Heather@Little Tin Bird and followed her link to this blog post about Pinterest and suddenly I became rather worried.
 

I'll wait while you go and read the links - don't forget to come back!


I've stopped pinning until I work out what to do - is it just the stereotypical 'I'll sue' mentality that seems to be growing evermore ridiculous (like 'caution this coffee is hot' labels - it'd better bleeding well be hot, that's what I asked for!) and yet frighteningly pervasive or is it more serious than that?  I've since read the update post and also the date with Ben Silbermann post and whilst it seems that Pinterest may be working on possible solutions I won't be using it until I'm sure where I stand.  I'm contemplating deleting my boards but I'm going to wait for a bit and see what happens (and I want to go through my pins and bookmark my favourite tutorials, etc. so I don't lose them) - please let me know what you think.  I love pinning and really don't want to have to stop.  I suspect I'm being a little ridiculous about it and would love to think 'sod it, I'm going to carry on' but I'm not brave enough...not today anyway!


I've also been busy cutting blue and white squares for the nine patch/snowball quilt which also involved more thinking than I anticipated (when doesn't it?!) and a slight change in plans but I'll save that for another post as there's already far too much in this one!

The final thing I've been thinking about this week is my hexy quilt.  Over the past few weeks I've prepped the pieces for another 23 hexies and they're in a queue, waiting to be stitched.  I was getting slightly concerned that I wouldn't have enough white on white background fabric to make the 202 hexies I was planning but I'd forgotten (until Nicky reminded me!) that I'm also going to add in some whole (unpieced) hexies like this one so it may work out all right in the end.  I'm going to keep going until I run out of background and then see where I'm at.

Unfortunately one of the hexies I've made isn't as attractive as the rest and although it wasn't evident when I set out the pieces or even when I was stitching them together it soon became apparent when I finished that I'd made an ugly hexy.  I put in the last stitch, knotted and cut the thread, finger pressed the seams, turned it over and exclaimed 'Bloody hell!' and then laughed.  Want to see an ugly duckling hexy that will probably never turn into a swan?!  Promise not to laugh?!  I don't believe you!

How did I not realise what I was making?!!

Yup, best get your protective suit and Geiger counter ready...still, it'll be handy if I ever watch When The Wind Blows again, I can make my own shelter and pin this up outside...

I've been hoping that it wouldn't look as bad when it was with the other hexies but I think I'll always look at it and think 'There's the radioactive hexy' (as I've come to call it!) which could be rather annoying after a while so I'll have to change it.  And after all the effort of getting the gingham squares to match up too!  If this was your hexy what would you do?!  Live with it?  Replace the three big triangles with three of the grey/white/yellow pieced triangles?  Give it up as a bad job and chuck it out?   Unpick it, salvage the fabric and hope to use the bits in future hexies?  All suggestions welcome!

Fortunately I've also made some prettier hexies in the past few weeks so these might take your mind off the ugly one!

I love these hexagon in a hexagon (in a hexagon) designs.

I think this is my new favourite (design from this book) 

and I'll be making lots more!

I love how different fabrics change the way the star in a hexy looks

I was planning to make a whole bed quilt of hexagon stars but when Lynne started the hex-a-long I was thrilled by all the possible variations on a hexagon so I abandoned my plans and decided make lots of different hexies instead.  I'm glad I did but this photo makes me wonder what the abandoned quilt would have been like.  Mind you, the thought of hand piecing 202 identical blocks and with only the changing fabric to keep me entertained is a little overwhelming!  Maybe one day I'll start one as a long term scrappy project - it'd be really good for using up all my scraps of white and would be nice to do in between other projects!  Looks like I've just talked myself into making 202 identical blocks!!


I think that's all my thinking...I thought there was something else but you know what thought did, don't you?
(Followed a dust cart and thought it was a wedding, for those of you who are wondering!)



I'd also like to say thank you to Tanya@Second Chance and Tina@Holy Scrap! for nominating me for the Liebster award.  I'm honoured and thrilled to be nominated again (I've received this from several people in the past few months - thank you to you all, I really appreciate it!).  I'm afraid I'm still going to break the rules and not pass it on but this time I'm going to explain why.  I love the way it supports and encourages small/new bloggers (it's always lovely to know that people enjoy reading your blog and I can't imagine that changes, even if you have thousands of readers) and it's always lovely to get a recommendation for a great 'new to me' blog from someone you know.  It's amazing how a really great blog can completely pass you by and then one day you find it and spend ages reading through the archives and leaving comments on posts that are six months old...Just me then?!!


But...(and I know this may seem silly to some but it's a gut reaction and I believe in listening to those) it makes me uncomfortable when rules say you must pass things on - for me it feels too much like a chain letter (which I had an unhappy experience with as a child - threats of nasty accidents followed by a painful death if you broke the chain, etc.  I did break the chain but it took ages for me to stop worrying about when something was going to fall on my head and kill me).  I know that blog awards are lovely things to passed on and chain letters are not but I just can't get rid of the negative association and so it's not something I feel comfortable doing.  I hope that doesn't upset or offend anyone who likes to pass them on, that's not my intention at all.  In fact I've debated deleting this whole paragraph but I'm going to be brave (even if it does give me the collywobbles) and leave it in and hope I don't accidentally cause a scene...

Instead I'll carry on with the random facts until you get sick of them (let me know when that happens/if it's happened already!) which means it's time for...

A Random Fact  I'm really scared of the dentist.  I hate the noise.  I hate the smell.  I hate the feeling of those cotton wool sticks in my mouth.  I hate sitting in the waiting room and knowing that soon I'm going to have to face my fears.  In fact the only thing I don't hate is leaving!  Every time I go for a check up (and I avoided them for years until the 'my teeth are falling out' dreams got so bad I had to acknowledge I was avoiding the issue and actually go!) Once I'm in the chair I concentrate on my breathing and slowly count backwards from 300 - one count for every breath in/out.  I'm not entirely sure it works but at least it gives me something to think about other than 'Is she nearly finished yet?'  'Has she found something that needs treating'  'Will I get away without a scale and polish?'  (Yup, I even find those hard to tolerate!)  And I cheer when I'm allowed to get up and then feel really proud of myself as I walk back to the car.  I would quite like a sticker to acknowledge my bravery but they don't tend to give them out once you get past 10!

Which leads to
Another Random Fact I had quite a few teeth removed as a child and once slapped (or tried to slap, now I think of it I'm not sure which it is!) the dental nurse as I came round.  You can imagine how well that went down!  (And I was far from a stroppy child - I wouldn't say boo to a goose!)  And after an operation on my knees I bit through the intubation tube (and my bottom lip - ow!  That hurt more than my knees!) and tried to jump off the trolley as they wheeled me back to my room.  Both legs were heavily bandaged from mid calf to mid thigh and wouldn't bend so goodness knows where I thought I was going!  Let's just say I don't react well to anaesthetics!!



That's it from me (told you it was a long one!) I'll leave you with a cute photo of Archie, who spent the day enjoying the sun in his favourite place (the conservatory)...

I love the sun!

...and evidence that he's been learning semaphore

N.

F.

N.

N.F.N. - Need Food Now.  It is distinguishable from N.F.N. - Need (a) Fuss Now as it has the addition of an occasional high pitched short whine (moving to a low pitched whine after ten minutes or so) and is lacking

1. a front paw grabbing your hand and dragging it to the desired 'fuss location'
2. Archie's head suddenly appearing under your hand (often when it's holding a camera!) and then tipping backwards until the heel of your hand and fingers are resting upon his ears, at which point a plaintive whine will be issued.  If that fails the 'how can you ignore me, I'm so cute but hard done by' gaze will be deployed which rarely fails!

Thanks for popping in - please don't forget to tell me what you think about Pinterest and the ugly hexy!

P.S.  If you're quick (and a UK resident) you just have time to enter Susan's giveaway - it closes at 12noon today (Friday 16th March) so rush on over and enter!  Sorry for the short notice!

P.P.S.  I can't remember if I've already blogged about this but did you know that Judith, formerly of Rags to Bags and now recently moved to  Just Jude has opened an Etsy shop Just Jude Designs selling cushions, bags and patterns?  If you're looking for a present or a pattern it's well worth a visit and the patterns are easy to follow and very well written - go on, treat yourself!