Quilting and hacking

Two blogs to which I subscribe had new posts this week, and they just fitted together:

• http://googletesting.blogspot.co.uk/ on Hackable Projects, and defining Hackability as “That lends itself to hacking (technical tinkering and modification); moddable.”
• https://knitnkwilt.wordpress.com/2016/08/18/practice-stitching-curves/ on a Quilting Project that was about reuse, repurposing and revisiting some fabric, and modding it to a quilt.

Now I know sometimes I can be a little obsessive about the analogy between sewing and IT; the need for a workbox, the need for new ways of using old methods, the way the projects are similar… but I urge you to read them both and compare.

A project works when you understand the materials you are working with, how they fit together, and how you can modify them. Repurposing happens with fabric and with code. Hacking can be a good thing – with code and with fabric. But you need to understand the pillars for success. The Googletesting blog suggests to me:

• refactoring old code so you can reuse it
• consistent formatting giving patterns that you can follow and
• use of structure and architecture to hold everything together

Knitnkwilt suggests to me

• working with what you have got by reusing/repurposing old things
• using a consistent pattern framework to hold the design together and
• enhancing the old with new structure/fabric.