Tuesday, October 11, 2022

 Young Quilters, I Can Hope!

The most terrifying moments of helping grandkids start to sew is when their little fingers get really close to the machine needle.  

I'm really hoping that the stern (grandma's face looks like the wicked witch) warning about where fingers go, and where they do not!




Before the needles came the rotary cutter, I'm just not ready for that yet.  I did the cutting, and we practiced seam allowances.  Of course, part of quilting is pressing and those iron's are pretty hot.
We did suffer one burn, broke my heart.  We did try rolling the seams flat first.


After a few more lessons, trials and errors, the grandkids were off and running.  Sewing like a boss.  At some point, early in the game, seam allowances were "just a suggestions".  I let them run amuck, they were on a mission.


As most quilters know, there's a lot of intense "study" in the actual sewing part of a quilt.  These fine ladies worked hard and then needed a little break, it's exhausting.


Blessed are those who use their talents and efforts to produce beauty.

Calamity



Monday, June 29, 2020

Good thing I'm a quilter And If you're not, maybe you should be

Both my husband and I are RN's who have seen spikes of contagious diseases that made us think about how we would isolate or quarantine.  Seems like the preparations we've done have paid off, even if we are very sad that we have to do this.

My quilting and many hand sewing projects are endless, and even if this isolation phase keeps me in the basement quilting, I probably won't see a big dent in my "to do" pile.


As a quilter, I'm a really good project starter.  I've purged a few projects over the last year, but every time  I find an unfinished project that I haven't seen for awhile, I get a renewed interest, and the pile just stays the same size.

My quilting friends are trying to figure out how to get together for some type of quilting event.  One of my friend groups is still planning on doing a quilt retreat in about 4 weeks.  I'm not going, even though I love them dearly, I don't want to get Covid.  I had a really bad bout of bronchitis about a year and a half ago.  There were times when I was coughing so hard I couldn't catch a breath, thought I might pass out.  After about 6 weeks of treatment I finally got better, but my lungs have never felt the same since.  While I'm not short of breath, I feel resistance in my lungs, like I've lost some elasticity.  Covid has the ability to damage lung tissue, and some have reported shortness of breath after recovering.  I don't want that feeling.
I'm hoping that I can join a few quilt retreats in the future, but it might be a year or two before I feel safe.  In the meantime, I'll be quilting in the basement.

One thing I started to do, as a way to brighten my community both in the neighborhood and on social media, is to post a quilt on my fence.  It's really been fun, and the response has been very pleasant.  I apparently have a lot of quilts, because I love making them.  They become a treasure that I like to get out of the closet and hang somewhere in my house or decorate with on a bed.

Take care everyone,
Wear a mask when you can't social distance,

Calamity Quilter