A tentative hello

Well, this is all new and not-quite-shiny-yet, isn’t it? I’m not sure whether I want to dive into playing with css and theme customisation, or if I should just bow to the inevitability that I’m not likely to keep up sort of any regular posting anyway, so the more sensible path would be to just pick a default theme I don’t hate and not invest hours in making everything perfect.

The trouble is, I actually know enough about WordPress to be dangerous – I’ve built a few highly-customised sites for work, so it’s tempting to throw everything I’ve learnt at this one. On the other hand, at work I’m getting paid to spend hours making the drop-down menus exactly the right shade of blue (actually, that particular project was a bit of a nightmare, so maybe not the best example) – at home I already have way too many demands on my time, and my creative energies. But maybe if this place was prettier, I’d want to spend more time writing in it?

Anyway, we’ll see. For now, it’ll be enough to just get a post up, and maybe update a few things here and there… (yeah, I’m going to end up making this way more complicated than it needs to be, aren’t I?)

Maybe a good place to start would be what I’m working on at the moment. There will of course be a video in due course detailing the full design process, but I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to show you an in-progress photo 🙂 (especially as there’s likely to only be a couple of people read this post anyway)

This is the beginning of a wall-hanging I’ve been commissioned (officially I still don’t do commissions, but this is a special case) to make for the new “Rainbow Room” on campus. The circle is (hopefully!) going to look a lot more circular once I actually attach it to the background (which I haven’t totally designed yet – I think I know what I want to do, but I’m still working out the exact details. In the meantime, it’s just pinned on my design wall.

The overall design is supposed to be reminiscent of the logo for Q-Canterbury, the student LGBTQIA+ group. Their logo is a circle of rainbow ribbon enclosing hands that are making a heart shape. So after consulting with the club president, I sketched out a rainbow ring around a heart (not made out of hands – that would be way too complicated (and beyond my drawing skills!), plus I don’t want to make a direct copy of their logo, I just want something that echoes it a bit).

The ring itself is the most complicated bit (especially because of course I had to make it scrappy and interesting!) – it’s taken me a couple of weekends to get it to this stage (good thing I don’t have a deadline on this quilt!). So in theory it should be smooth sailing from here, but I’m sure I’ll find a way of over-complicating it some more.

I may or may not keep you posted on progress. That would involve me keeping my blog up to date though, so don’t hold your breath…

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8 Comments

  1. Good to see you posting doesn’t seem to be too many updates since the switch over, I have not done much customizing I need to spend some time on it I guess but with spring finally here will be hard to find time I will however continue to update I hope you are happy and healthy
    Tim

    1. I know what you mean about not being able to find time – I’ve always got more things I want to do than I have time to do them!

  2. Oh I really like those irregular pieces!

    And of course I totally relate to the daunting task of the configuration labyrinth. I have tried on a couple of the other themes, but quickly run into issues. I’m quite fond of the two column format and can’t seem to make the other themes do what I want. It’s a funny feeling to give up like this, because I usually go all OCD when it comes to the look of my diary. But for some reason, this time, it is just eluding me. I’m not happy about it. But I think I am resigned to what I have up right now.

    Anyway, nice to see you here. 🙂

  3. Hey there. Without any update alerts any more, I nearly missed this. Good to hear from you again. I’ve somehow gotten locked out of my diary, but I’ll deal with that later. Anyhow, I really like the piece you’ve posted. Can you give a size?; there’s nothing to reference it to. It gives the impression of being quite large though. Glad to see that you’re safe and doing well.

    1. It’s about 30-ish inches across, so a reasonably large size for a wall hanging. I’m not sure yet how big the whole quilt will end up – probably about 40 inches or so.

  4. I am one who would like to hear more from you. What you share is worth reading and seeing your projects and thoughts. I am also getting used to new format since the move, and I have made it this far. I think we patreons can help one another, encourage one another, and be there for each other. I also believe the move was necessary. I am glad Steve was able to move DD even though it took a few days to get it up and running. I enjoyed reading this today — your latest entry.

  5. I just posted an entry after a few months absence and I wanted you to know. The notify function no longer seems to be working and it keeps us from knowing what’s going on on DD. I was feeling nostalgic for the old community that we used to enjoy. Wondering if we could at least stay in touch with the few that are left.
    I have a list of interested readers and I just email the link when I post. If you would be interested in that, I can add you. Let me know if that would be helpful.

    Much love. Y.

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