Let's Just Make it Through 2020 and Try to Pretend It Never Happened

I will say right here and now that I was one of the incredibly fortunate people in 2020.  Although I'm old enough and have enough health issues to have been seriously at risk of Covid, I was able to work from home once it was clear that there was danger.  We also had some great delivery services in our area, so I didn't have to go anywhere except for a couple of doctor visits the entire year.  So I had almost zero risk of exposure.  I was also so lucky that I did not lose any loved ones to the virus. 

I don't know about you, but I was so consumed by worry for so much of the year that I pretty much lost interest in things creative.  Considering all the extra time I had at home, you'd think I would have finished all my projects and be pining for more fabric.  Didn't happen.

Here, though, is a recap of what did happen in 2020.

PRE-COVID:

January  20-26 - Road to California

The BIG event this year was a trunk show presented by Jenny Doan.  What a powerhouse!  She was engaging and fun, and the program was so entertaining the time just flew by.  Highly recommend any talks by Jenny.

 

My first class was Rulerwork Basics, Taught by Kate Quinn.  This was a basic class in using Westalee rulers to make various quilting designs.  I LOVED this class and, of course, came home with a bag full of these templates that very day.   This doesn't look like much, but to be able to do designs that look this tidy is major for me.  I will keep trying, but I'm pretty sure I'll never be a free motion quilter.

From last year's class - one year to the day after I started it, I went home from the show and finished assembling my Aurora quilt top.

 

In keeping with the theme, my next class was Template Tantrum with Debby Brown.  Debby seems like the kind of person you'd want for your next door neighbor.  Just kind, funny, and down to earth.  And what a teacher!    I may have gone home with even more templates after this class.

 My last class of the week was Featherweight Maintenance with John Flynn.  If you've been to a quilt show of any size, then you've probably seen John demonstrating his multi-frame.  In this class, we cleaned and oiled our featherweights and did some troubleshooting.  John's daughter, Kate, who is now a quilting teacher in her own right, helped as well.  They were delightful.   Despite having a dozen people in the class, I felt like I got all the one-on-one help I needed to evaluate my machine.  I would take another class from either of them in a heartbeat.

 I took featherweight #2, not my Grandma Cowin's machine, just in case I messed it up. I re-wired the foot controller the morning before the class, so it was a relief when nothing blew up or caught fire in the presence of the teacher. Did a thorough cleaning of all the innards of the machine (it had all kinds of lint and dirt, and even a few dead bugs inside) lubed and oiled, and test drove our machines. My machine needs a minor professional repair but for a 66 years old machine it sews amazingly well.

Last two days of Road to California and I have to say this was my favorite of all the shows I’ve attended over the years. Took three fun and stress- free classes, ran into lots of friends, and wasn’t tempted to buy any sewing machines.

Attended a lecture by my favorite quilt teacher, Gudrun. 

Had a really fun and relaxing day with two dear friends - looking at the quilt show and shopping the vendor area. A few of my favorite quilts:

 

 COVID DAYS:

March 15 - Panic Shopping, My Way

We were to begin isolation on 3/16.  So on 3/15, I went shopping for emergency supplies.  While some people were filling their carts with toilet paper, I was at Michael's buying out their stock of scrapbook boxes.  These are the perfect size to hold most of my projects.  Figured that if I was going to be stuck at home for a few weeks (how naive I was!), I'd make the most of my free time by organizing all my stuff.  

March 22 - Quarantine Quiltalong

The amazing Gudrun offered this quiltalong with a free pattern to help break-up the monotony of isolation - a QAL on steroids - complete with guest stars and a music playlist. Here's what the prototype queen-sized looked like:

Of course, I couldn't follow the plan completely - I had this panda fabric that I wanted to use so I paired it with black and white tone on tones. With only three colors and this much contrast, I couldn’t come up with a random layout that balanced. So I tried stripes and am happy with the result. 

 

It was a (mostly) fun day. I managed to finish piecing my lap quilt sized top by the end of the QAL. I did have to put myself on an extended time out to sulk about cutting errors. The old adage ‘measure twice, cut once’ doesn’t help when you measure the same wrong way both times.

 

 

May 3 - Making Masks

 

It had finally sunk in that this sheltering stuff was not going to end anytime soon.  Started making masks and mailing them to friends.  Because there weren't any medical masks to be found in stores.

 

 May-June-July-August - ZZZZZZ

Like nearly every other adult in the United States that was in reasonable health, my thoughts turned to dejunking and organizing.  During this time I cleaned out my shop, organized and cataloged all my woodturning tools, had a couple of trees removed, and recycled or gave away carloads of everthing imaginable that you never needed.  The most challenging thing was finding people who wanted the stuff since the usual charities had to stop accepting donations.

 

Also like nearly every other human in the U.S. who has been near a computer since March, 2020, I became far more familiar with Zoom than I ever wanted to.  It has been both a curse (non-stop work meetings for nearly a year before people calmed down) and a blessing (being able to see friends even if at a distance).   I've been fortunate to be able to support my local quilting guild, the Nite Owls, by hosting our monthly meetings this whole time.  We lost a lot of members who either aren't comfortable or aren't able to do online activities - now that we are back to in-person meetings (as I write this in May, 2022), I dearly hope we will be able to grow back to normal.

 

August 16 - Gudrun's Harmony Quiltalong

 

Recent events near Gudrun's home inspired her to design Harmony.  If you're interested, I will let you read about it in her words.   But rather than making it about her beliefs, she asked us each to make the quilt meaningful to ourselves. 

I personally just wanted to reflect optimism in my quilt, so I chose cheerful colors that make me happy.  This will eventually be a gift so I want it to just bring joy to the recipient.  As usual, my inner magpie demanded that I include some sparkle, hence the Makower UK Dotty Reeds fabric.  

 

The dotty fabric is supposed to be 100% cotton and was labeled as quilting cotton, but it is awfully stretchy, as you can see below.  Going to take a lot of steam pressing to get this to behave.

I got my whole quilt top cut out and most of the pieces partially assembled.  But got a bit discouraged by the stretchiness so back in the box with this project.

 

August 22 - Social Distancing in Public

Ventured out long enough to pick up this beauty. It’s a shuttle marked ‘RG Pratt Co’ and I’ve never seen one like this. So I clearly needed it. 

 

September 3 - Joined the Orphan Project Challenge

Having done nothing for months except participate in a couple of quiltalongs without actually finishing anything, when this challenge, associated with Patchwork Posse, came along, it seemed like a really good idea to join.  

This was a 10-day challenge to get organized and get rid of some of the obstacles that keep you from actually finishing a project.  There were very specific goals for each day, daily check-ins with the leader, Becky, some manuals, a project tracker PDF, and a FaceBook group.  Peer pressure does wonders sometimes.

 

My first post to the group:

New to the challenge this year and I definitely need to get motivated. Just now I counted 41 projects for which I have all the fabrics. A few are pieced tops that need to be quilted and bound, several more have been cut and are in various stages of piecing, but the majority aren’t even started.

I’ve gotten really good at buying storage boxes to keep projects together but it seems that when I run out of boxes I buy more instead of finishing projects to empty those containers.

This doesn’t even count yardage leftover from the few projects I’ve actually finished (I always buy extra because I know how many cutting mistakes I make), and yardage I bought without a project in mind because I just couldn’t resist.

It doesn’t help that I feel like I have to be organized and have all my ‘chores’ done before I can have the pleasure of sewing.

 

I started out using the PDF project tracker, and quickly decided I wanted something more portable and also fillable.  I made an A5 size (approximately half-sheet) version that prints on two sides and fits in a zippered portfolio. It has sections for project name, start/finish dates, supplies needed, status, and photo of (usually) the pattern.  The back has all blank lines for notes.  I got dividers and organized my pages according to how far along they are in the process, and within each category, which one I'd like to work on first. The size makes it easy to take along when I go shopping and quickly review any supplies needed.  Also got some clear envelopes where I can store fabric swatches for matching.

 

Lest I deceive anyone into thinking I've got my act together, I have to tell you I  slept in my recliner for a couple of weeks while bed has been covered with piles of fabric and stuff from my storage area. Not showing you that photo.

As part of the challenge, I committed to myself that I would make the Harmony quilt blocks.  Here are some of the blocks ready to be squared up.  Still a little annoyed with the stretchy fabric but I'm liking how the colors are working together.

October - December - Back in Slacker Mode

Did take a brief but temporary detour down Cricut Maker lane.  Made a few gifts involving iron-on vinyl, as well as acid-etching glass jars using stencils cut on the Cricut.   Gave the machine to a loved one as an early not-really-for-Christmas-because-it's-been-used present.  It was fun, but I really wasn't using it.  Maybe after retirement I'll think about another one. Or maybe not.

The only photos I thought to take were snack jars for a Downton Abbey fan.  Hard to see the etching in the photo but I was very happy with the results.