Learning

I'm bit of a late-bloomer, me.... Somehow, as an Aussie kid, I missed out on learning to do a basic Aussie crawl. I had no confidence in my ability in the water, and with good reason.

At 26 years of age, I booked myself into weekly swimming lessons and practised every day until I was a competent, confident, daily lap swimmer. People commented on my perfect swimming stroke.

Throughout 5 years of living in Ireland, I dreamed of Fitzroy Pool under a clear blue sky.

These days I swim when I can, and it feels like... home. I struggle to remember what it was like to NOT be able to swim.

Photo of Fitzroy Pool by Laura Naomi

Similarly, I learned to drive late (and despite having a natural inability to coordinate the whole driving thing...). I practised.

I was even a late-comer to computers.

And so.....

Lately, I've been playing around with the BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator) gizmo on the fancy-schmantzy sewing machine - trying to teach myself to freehand quilt with nice even stippling.

I have no probem with artsy-fartsy free-motion machine embroidery, but I've never learned to do that controlled squiggly stuff. It's a strange experience to feel out of my depth in front of a sewing machine. It's usually my comfort zone.

There has been much making-of-pot-holders and table-mats at my house lately ....to the point where comments were made about the possibility of a badly-quilted cover for every appliance in the kitchen.

So I made a bathmat (out of a home-deco panel from Spotlight and a towel backing .... which will probably shrink horribly out of shape at the first whiff of water). It felt more useful than practising larger-scale stippling on calico.

If you squint and turn off the lights, you won't see too many jagged or crossed-over lines in my stippling, and I can begin to see improvements on the early potholders. I hope to - one day - look back at this bathmat and scoff at its amateurish mistakes.

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The BSR kept up its end of the deal - the stitches are nice and even!