Gratitude Quilt

Before Thanksgiving, I had an idea. I had just seen a blogpost by Amy Smart about her gratitude quilt, and it lit a fire in me. The wheels turned quickly, and even though I usually mull things way longer than is necessary, I quickly jumped to work. I pitched it to my kids and they liked the idea too, so we went for it! 

I largely used Amy Smart's pattern for the gratitude quilt, but I made some changes. I think I made more blocks, but I omitted the border. And instead of using a sharpie to write on the blocks, I opted to embroider them. I had my girls all come up with 10 things they were thankful for and then I color coded the blocks and had the girls all sew their own blocks. So, my oldest daughter's blocks are all the same yellow fabric, and my second daughter's are all the same blue. I added their name to one of their blocks so we'd be able to figure it out easily later.

My girls have a whole week off of school for Thanksgiving and we never travel, so this was a great activity for them while they were off of school. I did need to unpick and resew a few blocks, especially for my seven-year-olds, but they mostly did great. And I sewed all my husband's blocks, of course. 

Once they were done, I laid it out quickly and stitched the rows together, and then I had a stroke. I knew it wouldn't be done by Thanksgiving, since we were sewing the blocks the day before Thanksgiving, but I still hoped to finish it before the end of the year just to wrap it up.

That did not happen. But I got it up to my quilter in February (I couldn't easily get down on the floor to pin rows together after I was discharged because I was so stiff), and I got it back this week.

I put it aside while I worked on my Sewtopia challenge quilt (will post on that later!), but once I had sewn the binding down to the front of that quilt, I opted to bind this one. I used the brown fabric that I used for some blocks, and I don't love the print (it was free from a neighbor's destash) but it's a great color, especially for an autumn quilt. I think it's a great binding for this quilt. 

I'm so glad it's finished!

Blog Revival

I think I might try to revive my blog. I’m dissatisfied with Instagram for a couple of reasons, and haven't posted there for over a year or so now, but I really like having a log of my makes. I haven’t blogged much because of the photo factor...getting pictures with my big camera doesn’t happen often anymore, and getting them from my phone to my computer isn’t always easy. However, pictures are the best part of quilty blogs, so I best figure it out, right? 

I also miss writing. I have dabbled in various writing for years; I majored in English literature in college, returned a few years later for a master's in English literature, and naturally spent those years writing papers. When there was an opportunity for slightly more creative writing in non-creative writing classes, professors complimented my writing. I didn't get as many (or any...) compliments in my creative writing classes, but that's okay. I've dabbled in children's fiction, and have several picture book manuscripts gathering dust on my hard drive, one of which I'm decently proud of, and one and a half rough drafts of children's novels. Those drafts were pandemic projects, and I really like the finished one, but revision is not a skill I've finetuned. I've always wanted to be an author, but the publishing world has shifted and changed over the past decade and I honestly don't think I would feel welcome or really want to participate in how it currently runs: marketing is not an interest I have and there is so much expected of authors today. 

The dream of publishing looms still, though, and I've had what I consider to be a good idea for a quilt book for several years. Will I ever pursue it? Likely not. There are too many other things, and I don't consider myself especially good at diligence. Look at my blog and Instagram page! :) I tend to be consistent for a few months, maybe even a year or so, before I lose steam. This revival may prove to be the same. However, this time, I am using it more selfishly. I won't be trying to drive traffic here through instagram or other socials. I welcome readers, but want to use this really as a platform for documenting my quilts, which I miss now that I am not posting to Instagram any longer. And for writing. 

So, here I find myself. 

What's happening in my sewing room right now? Lots. And lots has changed in my creative journey over the past couple of years. I'm still churning out quilts, more than maybe I should. I'm finished up a top this week, and I already have two ready to take to my quilter when I pick up the one she finished. One was a leaders and enders, so that doesn't feel as excessive as it sounds, and the one I'm finishing is an improv log cabin scrap project. Here are the blocks laid out. They are 10" finished, so this will be 60x70. And I still have loads of solids scraps...

 I'm not sure I'll finish it before I go get my quilt, but there's a good shot since this week is the last week before my kids head back to school (and my babies are off to kindergarten!) so I'm busy with preparations and last-of-summers. I want to clear out some of my leftover cuts of solids for the backing since it's a scrap quilt, so that may hold me up from delivering it with my others. 

My kids have largely highjacked my sewing room this week as well. On Sunday, I asked what they wanted to make sure we did before the end of the summer, and 3/4 said they wanted to sew bears. The one that didn't said she wanted to go to the beach. Sorry, kiddo, no beach days this week. *shrug* Sewing bears in a service project we worked on last summer. There's a local organization that has created a doll pattern and a bear pattern and they collect handmade dolls and bears and send them all over the world to other charitable organizations that request them. These organizations then donate these bears to refugees, victims, and other children who could use a little love. Last summer we made 27 bears and the girls loved it, mostly because we would watch movies in my sewing room while we worked. Here's our finished group last year.

But I love helping them serve, and so of course I'm happy to let them commandeer my space. I know we won't get 27 done, but that's okay. We've completely finished 12 already, and several more are stuffed and need to be closed. We'll get a good number done in the next few days. I'm proud of them for their desire and willingness to do something for someone else, and I love using my talents and skills to serve.