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.

 

2019 In Review

 

January 8- February 27 - Two Timer Quilt Along with Gudrun Erla

This quilt along was really unique, in that using the same fabrics, we created two entirely different quilts at the same time.  We used Gudrun's Two Timer Pattern from her Stripology Mixology book.  See her blog post all about the project here. This time I decided to go outside my comfort zone and use colors that I wouldn't ordinarily choose.  Some very bright primary colors for my 'darks' and a single white fabric with polka dots in the same primary colors for my 'lights.'  I actually loved how my Two Timer "A" turned out - that will show up in a later blog post.   Not so wild about Two Timer "B" shown here - blocks made and laid out prior to assembling into quilt top.  We'll find out later how I feel about "B" when it's finished.

January 23-27 - Road to California!

Have I said how much I love going to this show?  

This year I had some exceptional classes.  First of all, a class with my favorite quilt teacher, Gudrun.  This year there was a choice between her patterns Lupine and Aurora, both found in her book, Quilts of Iceland.  This being my second in-person class with Gudrun, I knew what to expect and was ready to hit the ground running.   

The two quilts studied in this class are hanging in the corner for inspiration.  Also noteworthy are the sewing machines provided for the class.  These are Baby Lock Aria machines.  They sell the now-used machines after the conference at really good prices - so I'm now the proud owner of an Aria.  I needed a new machine.  Yes, I really did!

 

We had instructions to cut out all our quilt pieces prior to the class, which I did.  Here's what I got assembled during class.  I chose Stonehenge fabrics for my project because I love the variations in color - There are 12 different colored fabrics plus a dark solid here and IRL the colors just glow.

 

 

Eleanor Burns put on one of her shows, complete with costume changes.  She is just one of the most entertaining and charming people in the quilting industry.  My sister and I helped with her product sales before and after the show - then she sent us each the an autographed book of  our choice as a thank-you. 

 

 

 

Also took a longarm class - I still stink at longarm quilting but I'm a little less intimidated by the machine. And a class called "Borders and Finishing Touches" taught by Bonnie Browning.  Another excellent teacher.  

 

March 9-13 - Short Road Trip   

 

I was forced to attend a business conference in San Diego.  You know those luggage trolleys they use in hotels?  Well I had to use one to transport everything I brought with me into the hotel.  Got a few wierd looks because it was only a three day conference.  Would have gotten even wierder looks if people had seen what was in my luggage.  Because only 1/2 of one of my suitcases contained clothing and personal effects.  The other half, plus a second suitcase, a large cardboard carton, and a rolling cart contained my sewing machine, tools, and fabrics and patterns for half a dozen different projects since I couldn't decide what I wanted to work on.  

 

Conference events didn't begin until the evening, so I started my day out early and shop-hopped every fabric store between here and there.  And every shop I could find in San Diego County.  Had a marvelous day discovering some new-to-me shops.  I made it to the first event of the conference, then came down with a terrible virus - so bad I spent the next three days in bed.  at least I had all that lovely fabric to comfort me.  

 

May 27-June 6 Alaska Adventure

 

 

Juneau, Alaska.  May 27, 11:00 PM.  The sky is still quite light - look at that beautiful blue!

 

Alaska has been on my bucket list since before it was called a bucket list. 

 

When you're dedicated, you can always turn a trip into a fiber adventure. We did our research and found a quilt store at every port of call.  My favorites were  Whale's Tail Quilt Shop in Ketchikan and Rushin Tailors Quilt Alaska in Skagway.  

 

Just a few of the items that made it into the empty half of my suitcase:

 

 

Of course, we did a lot of sightseeing and there were many spectacular sights to be seen.  I'd love to go back on a quilting cruise one of these days - if I get through the rest of the stuff on my bucket list.

 

August 6 - The Electric Eel Nano Spinning Wheel Has Arrived

I don't know how I first heard of this project, but a gentleman named Maurice Ribble, owner of Dreaming Robots, was brought to my attention in late 2019.  He began crowdfunding by offering a low-cost electric spinning wheel on Kickstarter way back in 2015.  And has continued to successfully fund several additional projects ever since.  When I saw the Electric Eel Nano, I just couldn't resist hopping on the Kickstarter train, and made my pledge. 

Isn't this cute?  It's small enough to rest in the palm of your hand.

I can't explain why, but whenever I spin on this little wheel, my yarn is instantly much finer than my default yarn on the Hansen or a traditional wheel.  I was VERY happy with the singles I produced the day the Nano arrived.

There were a few issues with the original Nano - it tends to run hot and some of the motors failed.  Maurice promptly replaced those motors.  Mine runs pretty hot and slows down, but partially my fault because I tend to put too much tension on the yard and resist the draw-in. So I bought an inexpensive USB powered notebook fan and problem solved. That's the fan in the photo below - I just set the Nano on top of the fan and continue to spin.  The purple thingy on the left is a battery pack which powers the Nano and the fan at the same time.

 

September 21 - Quilted Amalie

I finally got Amalie (begun January 2018) on a longarm machine and did the quilting.  Now all I have to do is learn to do binding.  Beginning to have hope that I will actually finish something one day.

 

October 2 - Finished The Accuquilt Sampler!

Finally got the binding on my very first pieced quilt - only took me a couple of years to work up the courage.  I am VERY pleased with this quilt!

 

October 6 - Forty Fabulous Year Finished!

I'm on a roll!  Have realized that I actually enjoy hand-binding quilts - except for the corners.  I hate the corners.  But you have to do the corners to finish the quilt so there it is.  And I'm thrilled beyond belief at how this one turned out - exactly how I had envisioned it.   The backing is a single piece of gradient in the Stonehenge line and I just love it. 

October 8 - One Last Burst of OCD

The nice thing about being somewhat obsessive, is that when you set your mind on something, you can't let go of it until it is reality.   I became determined to finish projects, and pretty much did nothing else until they were done.  Amalie is finally finished.  

October 16 - Goosebump Time

Copied from my FaceBook post on that date:

Here’s something to give you goosebumps (in a good way). Two or three years ago  I went in search of a vintage Singer Featherweight sewing machine and found a very nice one. It’s been patiently sitting in its case waiting for me to get it serviced.

This weekend I bought the ‘bible’ on Featherweights so I just now took my machine out of the case to do some research. Take a look at the name on the receipt in photo #2. That’s my late Aunt Marg’s name and address! The machine I bought originally belonged to my Grandma Cowin!

This isn’t the first time I accidentally stumbled onto a family artifact. Several years ago I bought a loom on eBay that turned out to have been my Grandfather Balcom’s.

I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.

 

 October 27 - Nite Owls Quilters Guild Biennial Quilt Show

I'm a joiner.  If I get interested in something, I find a club, guild, society - whatever they like to call themselves to learn more about it.  For someone as pathologically shy as I am, this seems like really odd behavior, but somehow it works for me.

I had been to the Nite Owls' 2017 show, met and liked a lot of the ladies, and admired all the beautiful quilts.  My sister and I eventually went to one of the guild meetings just to see what it was about.  Well, they had a huge group - I'm sure there were over a hundred people in the room.  There were tables around the room - opportunity drawings, books and magazines for sale, fabric for sale, charity quilters...and it was a beehive of activity.   There was a paid speaker who was to give a class the following Saturday.  The guild had Saturday workshops and 'open sew' days.  It was so inspiring and just a little intimidating, but we decided to join up that very night.  

Fast forward to 2019, and the guild was getting ready for its quilt show.  I try to be a good sport, so I applied to enter my three newly finished quilts.  Figuring that they might be rejected, or at best would be hanging in a dark corner somewhere. Opening myself up to criticism is way out of my comfort zone.  Imagine my shock, when I visited my Accuquilt Sampler and saw the blue ribbon hanging on it!   President's Choice Award.  

It was a judged show, so I received a report on each of my quilts.  Guess what they dinged me for?  Corners!  They also said a lot of complimentary things and if my day hadn't already been made, the critiques would have made it.  

October 28 - November 4 - Road Trip to Houston

Somehow my sister and I found ourselves registered for the Houston Quilt Festival, so we decided to make a tour of quilt shops while we were at it.  Is anybody surprised?

This is just part of the showroom floor.  On my first visit I managed to make it through about 2/3 of the aisles before my feet gave out.  My watch logged about 1.5 miles of walking during that time.  

I took a class in beginning crazy quilting.  Another project on my list of fun things to do.  I've been collecting little scraps of this and that to make one for quite some time.  

 

There were fangirl opportunities galore.   One day I very briefly met Alex Anderson.  Alex Anderson!  And the very next day I attended Ricky Tims' class on Smart Phone Photography for Quilters and Social Media.   I enjoyed it so much - hope there will be other opportunities to take a class from him in the future.

 

I have to tell a story that has nothing to do with fiber arts here.  From my FaceBook post:

So we’re on our way home from the quilt show and stopped in Katy, TX for dinner at Midway Barbecue because I’ve been bugging KT about smoked chicken during the whole trip. Get up to the counter.
She orders brisket.
'Yes, ma’am! '
I order chicken.
'Sorry, we’re out.'
What?
'We ran out.'
Sigh. Smoked food bad for you anyway.

Later, leaving the restaurant, I get a hearty slap on the back from a strange man.

Him: I see they let you escape.
Me: Uh...
Him: Every time I see you, your head’s in the computer.
(True enough, but) Me: Um... (nervous chortle)
(Looks closer at my face) Him: you’re always at work down to Katy Hardware.
Shake my head no.
Him Well, you’re the spittin image of the bookkeeper down to Katy Hardware.

Missed the chance to give him the ‘bless your heart’ treatment. Damn it!

All in all, a successful trip.   A fabulous show, 36 quilt shops while on the road, visits to the Alamo, the Silos in Waco, and, of course, several Buccee's stops.  I did have to make several visits to the chiropractor after doing all that driving, but one has to suffer for one's art, no?