#look ma two posts in one month

The Year of the Quilt

In 2022 I finished zero quilts. I managed to piece together blocks I had made the previous year (or did I make them in 2020? I can’t remember…) to complete the pieced top of my green Magic Boxes quilt, and I finished the top of the Nine Sisters quilt BFF commissioned, along with pinning the quilt sandwich and some of the actual quilting… but that’s it. (To be fair, I made about a dozen bags, and several sets of hot pads as gifts, but they were quick and dirty projects that only took an hour or two to make, as that’s all my attention span would allow for. There were also some family medical matters to deal with October, November, and December of last year, along with the typical holiday stuff, so even while I felt better those last three months, I did not have much time to myself.)

THIS YEAR WILL BE DIFFERENT.

I was off for about two weeks around Christmas. I was able to sort and organize my craft room (okay, maybe just the fabric parts? but this is still a noteworthy accomplishment) and I feel like I have more of a mental handle on allowing myself to make the time to do what I enjoy.

My plans for this year:

Finish BFF’s quilt – IT IS ALMOST COMPLETE. I am literally sewing on the binding, and then I have another 45ish minutes of quilting to do.
Keep up with the Sewcialites 2 quilt – I am only two weeks behind, and all the fabric has been gathered, ironed, and planned out for blocks – catching up will be easy. This is going to be a gift for my mom, so I’m hoping it finishes up in time for it to be a Christmas present. (I think I might pay to have this one long-armed, since it’s. Complex.)
Do a temperature quilt -This one is going to be super simple, since it’s going to require a lot of focus to keep up with. I have a little over half the fabric purchased (all the purples, blues, greens, and yellows so I can get started right now) and will purchase the rest next payday. I’m using 1/2 yards of Kona solids purchased from JoAnns, because that seems to be the easiest way to manage the unknowns in the future. I’m still not sure of the pattern, so I’m going to keep track of the low/high temperatures until I decide.
Finish my aunt’s quilt – I’m doing another green Magic Boxes quilt (but with different batiks this time, okay?) and I have four strip sets sewn…. and that’s it. I need to finish this by October so I can give it to her as a birthday gift.
Make some more progress on the Kinship sampler quilt. I already have half the blocks done (badly, hahahahahahaalsdkjfalsdfkja, fml, but done is better than perfect) so if I can do another twenty five blocks this year (and maybe fix some of the more fucked up ones) I will be satisfied.
Start Becky’s quilt – Basic plans are to go with the Tea Time pattern using an orange Kaffe jellyroll. (Apparently depression doesn’t keep me from buying fabric, because I already have the jelly roll and border fabric purchased.)
Start planning Aunt Mom’s quilt – Basic plans are to go with four small JoAnn jellyrolls and do a Trip Around the World quilt, but I need to get THE PERFECT jellyrolls.
Start planning a crazy quilt for my cousin – She was part of some kind of quilt block exchange a few years ago, where everyone made ten or so state-themed blocks and then mixed/matched/traded so everyone involved had one block for each US state. She loved the quilt because it was light and large, but it’s starting to fall apart, and she’s sad. So I need to find an interesting and suitable replacement.

I’m psyched, and will be satisfied if I can manage half of this. 🙃

Bad things happen on holidays

My grandfather died on Valentine’s Day in 2016. (He’d been diagnosed with cancer a year before, so we knew it was coming. But still.)

My uncle died on Easter in 2017. (This changed the entire dynamic of our family, and we have not celebrated a holiday as a family since. Four years later and this still breaks my heart.)

My father’s eyeball almost exploded about a week before Christmas in 2018. (Blood vessels behind his eye fused together, and his eye was getting too much blood at too much pressure, and it probably wouldn’t have really exploded, but when I asked a doctor they refused to say that was an impossible outcome. He’s fine now. But if he would have waited and gone to a hospital on Christmas Eve, he’d be dead. Because at this point I’m convinced that’s how it works.)

And not that my birthday is a holiday (no worries, I know I’m not that special), but my grandma died on my birthday in 2005. (I felt guilty for celebrating my birthday for years. My mom said I was crazy, but that doesn’t change the fact that my birthday is still remembered as “the day grandma died” for that side of the family. I have no hard feelings about it and the guilt is gone, but I still hate celebrating my birthday. It feels weird when anyone–with the exception of like, five people–acknowledges it at all.)

All this to say:

Today, my aunt experienced some complications from a procedure she had ten days ago. These complications included heavy bleeding, and she was pale and shaky and clammy, but she still had a five hour wait in the ER where the nurses were rude and dismissive. She’s actually still there, and part of me is getting more and more nervous.

Because nothing good happens on holidays. EVER.

Edit:

Aunt is going to be okay, but my original statement stands.

Using sheets for quilt backings

There’s this stigma about using a sheet as a quilt backing. Like using one makes you less of a quilter.

Why?

Because it’s not pieced? Because you didn’t spend an outrageous amount of money on fabric? Because you didn’t have to go through the agony of searching for a mostly full bolt of fabric? (Is this a problem for other people? We don’t have a lot of places to buy fabric in my area, and the pandemic has caused some shortages and slim pickings on nice fabric at our local JoAnn.)

Nothing against those who want to piece the back, or use a super fun fabric, or whatever. I’m not saying I think there’s anything wrong with doing that. But using sheets can also be a good solution. It saves you time (no piecing), money (way less expensive) and you can get super high quality fabric.

Maybe it’s because when people hear that you used a sheet, they think you used an old sheet. A used sheet. The kind that are 80% polyester at Dollar General and get fuzzbally after one night of use, that live in the back of your linen closet waiting for when you need a drop cloth or a quick car seat cover for your dog.

I agree that using that kind of sheet is super icky.

But I’m a sheet snob. When I use a sheet, it’s new, 100% cotton, with a thread count of 300 or greater. These are sheet sets that would sell for $90+ at a department store, but that go for $30 or $40 at Ross or TJ Maxx. I also open the package as much as I can and feel the sheets to make sure they’re super soft. (And I’m not afraid to return them if I get them home and HATE how they feel.) If I get a king size set, I can use the flat sheet (for king size quilts) AND fitted sheets (for twin/throw size quilts), and I can save the pillow cases to embroider on.

Win win win, right?