Whew it’s been a while since I did one of these posts — nearly 18 months! That’s either an indication of 1) less sewing and 2) less blogging. And *checks notes* yep, both of those are true.
I’m currently in the thick of prep for my trip to Raleigh and QuiltCon next month. Woo boy, late February is FAST approaching! I am giving a lecture on quilting challenges, teaching 2 sessions of a quilt design workshop, and co-teaching 2 seminars about organizing successful group sewing projects. I am excited, but at this particular moment I am also feeling overwhelmed. Between teaching, MQG board member duties, and spending time with my mom (who is coming up for a day!), my QuiltCon schedule is pretty packed.
(Perhaps too packed! To the point that I’m considering taking a break from teaching in 2025.)
In the longarm department, I’m currently in the middle of a deep dive on tension. I’ve been testing my machine at different top thread and bobbin thread tensions, different thread weights, etc to get a better feel for how my new machine performs and where there could be pitfalls. I’m trying to be as methodical as possible, and learning a good deal along the way.
On the “biz” sewing side, I’m working on a pattern for my Alpha quilt — or more accurately, a pattern for the letters. This one will be a bit different from my other patterns in that it won’t necessarily walk through the exact steps and cutting for a specific quilt. Instead, it will focus on how to make the letters, and then apply that in a number of ways. (This means the pattern is solidly intermediate skill level.) I haven’t written a pattern like this before — I’ve been thinking of it as “building blocks” or “choose your own adventure” in my head — and will be curious to see how well it is received!
On the personal front, a few months ago I was lured by the shiny object that is Alison Glass’s Cozy quilt sew-along. I ordered the dark green knit fabric and have a few ideas about what I want to make, but have done zip to actually start working on it. (Which was entirely predictable, ha.) I want to keep my middle layer simple, and am thinking of just pulling a fat quarter bundle from my stash to make a large patchwork top. I’m going to make my own custom stencils for the reverse applique, so that’ll be another step in the process.
This year’s “official” 100 day project kicks off February 18, so I’ve been thinking about that as well. Given my recent interest in crochet — and the fact that 100 days projects are a great way to learn/hone a new skill! — I’m leaning heavily towards a crochet-based project this year. I’ve picked up two books that look promising for both 100 day project and skill-building, but I need to look through them to see how complicated the tiles and squares get. My goal as always will be to keep the project fun, not stressful.
I feel like overall there’s a lot of planning going on — like I’m in the calm before a storm of making. I hope to be making more soon!
There’s nothing like over committing at QuiltCon to burn you out a bit. I feel like I am decidedly under committed this year, but it will be interesting to compare how that feels in the end to the way too busy and not sleeping enough version of the conference. I think the alphabet letters pattern sounds like a great idea and I hope it is well received. 🙂
I have no doubt you will be fully occupied seeing the show and visiting with friends! I’m hoping that on my end, going in knowing my schedule and knowing I’m at risk of QC burnout will help me manage things while I’m actually there — i.e. make sure I get enough sleep and accept that I cannot do it all!