Life after Project Quilting- Think Big

Social Distancing

   I sit at home, day after day, listening to the news from New York which is so far away from my location. I hear it's bad there and here cases are slowly creeping up, one here and there in towns nearby and finally, one in our county. I'm trying to do my best by staying home and keeping away from anyone but my husband and son. 

  All three of us are out of work and have applied for unemployment. For many people who are trying to navigate unemployment for the first time, it's maddening. There is a disconnect between what the news is saying is coming and reality. No money is coming. We are all just waiting through the filing week, the waiting week, the week we should be getting money (but it could be 10 days?) and none of it shows the increased amount the congress spoke about. No big cash amount, no unemployment and no paychecks. None of it reflects the years of loyalty to a company and how often the job came first. It's been shockingly easy for employers to just drop you to save themselves. The lifeline for small businesses is just as chaotic and will be weeks before it all shakes out, if ever. The wheels are turning very slowly, folks. 

  Our state hasn't even declared a state-wide emergency, despite a marked increase in cases. While my family is  social distancing, we do have to shop occasionally and no one is distancing themselves there. I don't feel like enough people are taking it seriously and ever time we go out to shop, we are in danger. 

 

I have been trying to keep myself occupied with quilting. I have been making one small house block a day. My husband likens it to a prisoner making hash marks on the wall. He's not wrong. It's a diary entry of sorts. 

I've been finishing some ongoing quilts and quilt tops. Finished the Cherrywood Challenge, finished a quilt about bees. I made this one for the challenge, "Big". I do not have any batting or backing fabrics, nor do I have a longarm, so I'm not in a position to finish this one.  Even though the "rules" are to finish it, that's my concession to the Social distancing of the moment. This was a layer cake I won last year from PQ. I added a lot of white (and a few darker pieces) to make it more modern, which is not the sort of quilting I normally do. 

I just don't feel up to my normal quilting. Mindlessly sewing pieces is the best I can do right now. I'm just trying to keep going without adding to my husband's feelings and I'm sure he's doing the same for me. 

 I've been trying to just keep busy and upbeat, but it's getting harder. Be well, people. 

Project Quilting 11-6

Vibrant and Vivacious

This is the last challenge for Project Quilting this year and I'm going to miss it. Things have gotten so scary in the world since even our last challenge because of the Corona Virus that has become a global epidemic. The United States has become so complacent about other epidemics that have not quite reached our shores that, now that one has, it is just rippling through our country with dire warnings and one cold stark reality after another. 

  My husband's job is threatened. My job is threatened and we are not even in a risky area. We do, however, depend on the tourist dollar and while his job can withstand a disaster in one or another part of the country, this all encompassing nation-wide shut down does threaten it. My job depends heavily on the tourists coming. We all have so much fear, because of the uncertainty of getting sick, meeting our bills and feeding ourselves. Luckily, I don't have school age children. 

  Being an introvert, I would be fine staying at home. I feel like I have plenty of projects I could do while I sheltered at home. Speaking of Projects...

 It's been a year since I made this top. I have a quilt guild friend who has a long arm and, since I wasn't in a hurry to get it back, she could take her time and do it when she was in the mood. She has finished it and we need to make arrangements for me to get it from her. I'm excited to see what she did, since she had fun doing her own thing. I used years worth of scraps on this quilt top and I was really sick and tired of seeing them all here hanging around so, after I finished this quilt, I donated all the scraps I had left to the guild. OOPS!
I thought maybe for this challenge, I could make a pillow to go along with that quilt, but I had already gotten rid of any similar fabrics. Not to say I don't have other choices of fabrics that are just as bright. So, I made a Dresden Plate flower pillow from other bright fabrics. Some of it came from PQ and some from my husband buying me fabric as he drove by Handcock's in Paducah without really knowing what he was doing. (He did great!) and some pieces I bought in Houston.   I did have the same background fabric  I used on the quilt and the same center, so it should work ok with the Quilt when I get it back. I have a lot of binding in my future if I have to shelter in place ever.

Listening to the news is so scary and yet, so many of us just aren't getting clear answers. Things are changing every day and it's hard to make plans when things are changing so swiftly. For now, I continue to go to work and clean the stores in anticipation for opening (last we heard) March 28. After that, we are unclear if we are unable to open. 

 I am a quilter and an artist and I have many, many more ideas than I can ever do with the time I have. I can keep myself occupied easily with all my projects. I know you can too. As long as we have a sense of wonder and exploration to try new things, to wonder, "what if".. to experiment and plan and dream. We will get through this and be wiser for it. Good Luck!

    

Project Quilting 11-5

Give it Away

This in National Quilting Month and so many quilting groups around the country are celebrating the event in many different ways. Quilters, as a whole, are such generous people. My own small guild have groups who focus on Quilts of Valor and My Very Own. Then, of course, we have people who do so many quilts for family and friends, and many sew for Quilt Day boutique, which benefits the guild. I have done a bit for Quilt day, but many of mine got to friends and family. I especially love making baby quilts. BUT...

This week, I am back to work and I am exhausted every night. I knew I couldn't make a bigger project. I've been playing around with making these bags made with the ruler closings. I've made a larger one for the last challenge, but I wanted to try a smaller one. 

 I had this interesting fabric I picked up from Market several years ago with the alarm clocks. I liked the gear fabrics to go with the clocks. I've been holding onto some iron on vinyl coating for some time and I thought it would be a good time to try using that. 

 

I felt like it really didn't adhere to the fabric as well as I thought it would. I applied it with my iron, but I wonder if using a heat press would have been a better choice. I'll try that another time. 

I forgot to put the small triangle of fabric for a pull handle, so I added these decorative buttons instead. One says , "Sun rise" the other says, "sun set". 

Because I've been waking up early, I have been enjoying the sunrise from my home. Every morning it's been a beautiful show, but some more brilliant than others. This one had such soft pinks and a brilliant yellow on a cloudless morning where the colors just blended from one to the next. 

I like giving gifts randomly. In that vein, I gave my little bag to a co-worker. She was funny. Her first comment was, "you're so crafty". She has a great laugh and loves little gifts like this. It's fun to work with her. I am the second youngest person in my shop at 59. It's been a real blessing to work with a variety of older people every day.