Wednesday, October 24, 2007

I hate housework

I do, I really, really do. Those dust bunnies haven't hurt anyone -- why do I need to go and disturb them? Let's forget the fact that I have Cheerios and pretzels ground into my living room/family room/main room we live in carpet (unhunh -- for any of you who have lived with a small little Tasmanian devil you tell me you've never had that happen to you). Let's overlook the fact that my husband's idea of "cleaning" the kitchen involves moving things off of the counters onto my sewing area (aka the kitchen table/dining table) and ironing board. Let's just suppose that my bathrooms look like some college fraternity has been living here for a moment shall we? Despite all of this I can muster NO enthusiasm for cleaning any of it.

On the plus side, dealing with portions of the mountains of laundry today meant I was able to finally finish my 'Cause I Can't Crochet (gee it only took me a month to finish getting the binding sewn down -- and only three months from finished top to finished quilt, not bad I guess, but the quilting has been done for two of those months). And finally finish means not only is the binding down but it has been washed and all markings removed. Yeah!!!!


And I am loving the way this one turned out as well. Though, I think I may be insane for having done the quilting myself on a twin sized quilt. It's possible to do -- but, um, not sure I will be doing it again any time soon!

I am also loving the way washing and drying it (yes, in the dryer -- for those of you about to faint, I'm sorry -- but, um, really, I wanted to do this -- and if you're really upset by the dryer part -- um, I guess I shouldn't mention that I rarely, if ever, pre-wash my fabrics) made it all wrinkly and bumpy -- which helps hide the faults in the quilting quite nicely. :0)
And really, I think this qualifies as a FWYH entry since until I finally got around to finishing the binding last night it was sitting over the back of my couch and my daughter has been trying to use it as a nap blankie on the couch for the last month or so.

Ok, ok, at least the health hazards the bathrooms represent has me thinking that MAYBE I should be cleaning. Oh, yeah, and Mom is coming to visit um, well, tomorrow since it's after midnight. And I still have lots of laundry left to do as well as attacking the poor defenseless dust bunnies. Maybe some sleep will make it seem less daunting? Oh well -- maybe Mom will be so impressed with the new quilt she gets to sleep under she won't notice the pit the rest of the house is -- right? right?

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

The quilt will definitely distract her from the mess. It looks great. (And I machine wash and dry our utility quilts too -- and have been known to occassionally throw an art quit into the washing machine as well -- shhhhhh, don't tell.)

Tanya said...

I like your quilt! If this is your mother, she probably knows you anyway and won't notice the mess or will at least not be surprised. If it's your hubby's... well, I'd start cleaning!

Karyn said...

If I had a beautiful quilt like that to sleep under, I'd certainly be blind to whatever was happening in the rest of the house.

I love the quilt! Love it!

The Calico Cat said...

(yes, in the dryer -- for those of you about to faint, I'm sorry -- but, um, really, I wanted to do this -- and if you're really upset by the dryer part -- um, I guess I shouldn't mention that I rarely, if ever, pre-wash my fabrics)

me too!

Mama Spark said...

HAHAHA. I had to clean the house this week too. Sad, really to pick all the sewing up and put it away just to kill all the dust bunnies and clean the bathrooms. I love your quilt and I do things exactly the same way as you did so we can go to quilt jail together. Maybe share a cell?? = )

Samantha said...

My favorite moment with a finished quilt is taking it out of the dryer and seeing how my un-pre-washed fabrics have puckered up! It always makes them look so loved and lived-in. LOVE that quilt!

Anonymous said...

oh wow ! I'm loving it too !!!!! I don't quilt/patchwork so Idon't use the dryer for those, but I do for linens, towels, t-shirts, shirts. It is recommended for allergic people like me (pollen, dust, mold...) not to dry your landry outside eps. in the afternoon (more dust and pollens of all kind) -- I feel sorry about it because I want to be as gentle as possible for the Earth, but it's better for me. And I guess I'd have a good excuse for maid service, since dusting and vaccuming makes me sick everytime !!! if you add to all this, I live in an old house...
I love the Heather Ross ponies, I was thinking about the one in peach/pink for my daughter....
Again, congratulations on the quilt - not only I like the wavy pattern but I love the colors !

Anonymous said...

Well done with the finish! It's a great looking quilt, and the quilting actually looks pretty good too, from what you showed us. I can't believe you don't preshrink... is that even legal?

It apparently works, though!

Kate North said...

It looks great. I'm a believer in washing & drying quilts myself, but I do admit to pre-washing fabric - I do it by habit as it comes into the house - some of it really needs it - there's some odd sizing and stuff out there which makes fabric weird weird weird to work with...

~Bren~ said...

Oooh I just love that quilt. I did NOT gasp at the dryer as I always throw my quilts in the dryer, but the not pre washing gave my heart a little jump!!! You are a rebel!!

Suzanne Earley said...

I have mostly converted to prewashing, but I too do a lot of machine-drying -- as it appears a lot of your other commenters do!

CLean house? What the heck is that???

Helen said...

Beautiful soft colours Atet. :) I woke the other day to Miss Nearly 3 having scattered half a box of Cheerio's in the lounge room! I understand where you are coming from! LOL

Nicole said...

Nothing like having company to get the house tidied up! It works like a charm for me.
I love the look of washed and dryer dried quilts. They get all homey and puckery and the quilting shows up better. My theory is they are meant to be used.

Nicole said...

Oh, and I never pre-wash either! Life is too short and there are too many quilts to be made for that step.

Erin said...

your quilt is just beautiful so looking at that is what is going to be most important..very nice.

corry said...

Well done! Who cares about dust?
I don't prewash new fabric either, but I never put a quilt in the dryer! Yours did come out oke, it's beautiful!

Libby said...

Love the quilt - it turned out fantastic *s* I follow the same plan . . . I never pre-wash before I piece a quilt, but as soon as the last stitch is in the binding - it's on its way to the washer and dryer. There is just nothing like cuddling up under a brand-new, crinkly, warm quilt fresh from the dryer. *YUM*

Quilts And Pieces said...

ooo I love the zig zag quilt. And I prewash my fabrics, BUT - always wash and dry (in the dryer) my quilts when they are done too! I love the old crinkly look!

Anonymous said...

RIGHT ! If I were the happy recipient of such a beauty, I wouldn't see ANYTHING ELSE !... and I would fall on my knees and praise you !

Hugs and a biiiig smile,
NADINE

Unknown said...

oh dear, looks like I'm a rebel too..who'd a thunk it??!!

the ONLY concession I make when I wash my quilts for the first tiime is that I toss a couple of color catchers in the wash, in case anything runs...

also use the dryer, I don't like adverstisng my quilts to the neighbors.

Kim said...

Hey, I wash and dry all my quilts and never, ever prewash! And I've never had a problem--I LIKE that crinkly look. Of course, if I'm making an arty farty quilt, I'm probably using hand dyeds which are prewashed already, so that's not a problem either. Oh, and if I was you, I'd "let" mom do the house cleaning--they like to feel useful when visiting! ROFLOL!

Greenmare said...

I love it! That is so much better than a crocheted one! and I love how it looks after the washing and drying- no fainting here!

Magpie Sue said...

I'm totally with you on the housework front. There are so many other, more interesting, things to do!!

Your quilt is fantastic. I'd rather have it than the crocheted version any day :- )

Felicia said...

My dream is that someone would come to my house twice a week to help with the mess that accumulates. And I can so relate to the moving things off the counter so now its clean line of thinking from a certain person.

Your quilt is completely lovely. You did well!

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

I love the quilt, it evokes memories for me of the ripple afghans from my childhood too. Mom is sure to be WOW-ed by the quilt, that and your whirling dervish daughter, no worries about dust bunnies. She'll never notice.

Carole said...

Geeez, thanks for the reminder that I have laundry waiting to be folder in the dryer! You know, I could have been quilting without giving it a thought! ROFL When you've got a hold of house cleaning motivation, please send some this way! I don't have carpets but my wooden floors do need a good washing after last weekend. Nice quilt! Thanks for sharing! Gosh, my dh just walked in and said "you're not quilting?" I told him no, I'll be folding laundry thanks to this blog! He just laughted! Keep well!

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

It's fabulous, though the dryer makes me shiver!!! lol Trace

FatQuarterQuiltFarm said...

Glad to have found you in your cornfield!!I'm soooooo with you on the (not) housework thing!! Your quilt looks fab and I too use the dryer for the last step for my own bed quilts. Besides 3 out of 4 cats prefer a warm quilt fresh from the dryer!!I'm quilting surrounded by a cornfield this year (beans next year...Boring!) someday when I get a tractor of my own I'm going to plant something way more interesting like sunflowers or lavender.....

Rose Marie said...

Love this quilt and looking at it the way it is quilted up, it actually does look like crochet! The washing and drying bit just added to the effect. Well done!

Anonymous said...

this is stunning! I love al the fabric you chose...

Beth said...

I tell people I give my quilts to..NOT to hang them to dry. I had a problem once with the batting stretching. I prewash AND wash after..and I still get a nice quilty look. Suggestion? use a color catcher if you don't prewash. (ask me how I know!..not all fabrics are color fast!)oh, and I tell everyone who enters my house "the house was clean yesterday..SORRY YOU MISSED IT!" (it really was NOT clean yesterday..but oh well!)