It has been nice spending quiet time at home. I haven't watched nearly as much television as I thought I would, and while I have been reading, it hasn't been the book festival I expected, either. Right now I am reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. It is smug, hilarious, and hard to put down. I think some of the smugness (and hilarity) may be the translation from Japanese. I didn't know my socks needed a holiday, but now they are peacefully at rest. I'm only halfway through but the book has already prompted a massive re-organizing effort and purge of clothes and objects that do not "spark joy." I know, I'm doing too much. I seriously need to stop.
I've also managed to do some sewing which, thankfully, is relaxing and not hard on my body. I finished up a baby-sized quilt top (36" square) with some of my favorite Cotton + Steel prints, and it is so cute and so sweet that I'm not sure I can bear to part with it. The minty colors match my kitchen perfectly, so it may just have to be a wall-hanging. Or, I might just have to keep going and make it bigger. It definitely sparks my joy. I used the Arithmetic Quilt Pattern tutorial by Jeni Baker @In Color Order as my guide.
See that Melody Miller floral print? That there may be my most favorite print ever. It's a border print and, while the border is super pretty, I sure wish it was an all-over floral...
Since I'm getting my sewing mojo back, I decided to take on a couple of DCMQG opportunities. First, I signed up for my very first swap ever! I'm a little nervous to make something for someone else. What if they don't like it? What if my sewing isn't up to snuff? It's one thing to make gifts for family and friends who don't sew. My swap partner SEWS.
And then, I signed up to make a quilt block for a quilt that the DC Modern Quilt Guild (DCMQG) will gift to one of our members who is going through her own challenging time. This is big, people. This is only the second time I've contributed to a group quilt. I'm working on getting over my fear of "not good enough" (not everyone appreciates approximate). This seemed fun and easy enough so I dove right in; here it is!
This was my first "improv slab" block and I really enjoyed the process. We were asked to make blocks in one of four colors. I had to be a little generous with my definition of cobalt, but I think it came out well. I had a blast sorting through my scraps to find enough different prints to throw together. The robot head cracks me up. Robots and giraffes in the same quilt? Err...
So that's it for now. I'm taking it easy -- well, easy enough -- and finding my joy in recovery. Quilting definitely sparks my joy.
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