Boreal Witch

Last year, I decided I needed to go on a fabric freeze (with the exception of backing fabric - I never have enough large cuts). I had plenty of choices in my stash, I reasoned, to be able to use up some of the scraps that had been sitting for so long. I did quite well, actually. The only fabrics I did buy for my stash were a few half yards on my birthday at a lovely quilt shop in Shipshewana. (Happy birthday to me!) 

Then the pandemic happened and I found myself stressed, depressed, and spending all my free time playing video games. 

Long story short, I made two quilts last year, but often wished I felt more motivation to sew. It's fun to see a pattern come together and even more fun to see the stash diminish. Sewing makes me feel accomplished. 

This year, I've decided to continue my fabric freeze since I (still) have more than enough scraps and stash for fifty-plus quilts. (So much for good intentions, right?) 

To encourage a quick exit of the scraps, I've started to consciously dedicate my weekends to quilting - something I haven't done in a long time. My sewing room is covered by an explosion of fabrics. I'm currently working on three or four different quilts (this is normal, trust me) and trying hard to get rid of some of the triangle scraps I no longer have room for. Scrappy bear claws, I think, make the best design. Two sizes, a seven inch and a fourteen inch. Easy enough to put together. I'm eager to see how it turns out. 

Another current project is a scrappy 9-patch. I rarely make quilts with so much white. The picture of it here doesn't do it justice, but it's lovely, trust me. I have a second 9-patch in mind, black prints and white. A little more modern, minimal, dramatic. A gift for a friend. I hope she'll be able to have her wedding this year. It didn't happen last year because of COVID. 

I'll be gone in less than a week which means unless I bring scraps up to Alaska with me, Quilting Weekends will have to stop for a short while. Though I could use my mom's sewing machine, it's a matter of finding the time before I leave to prepare the sorted fabrics I'll be using. (Scrappy quilts are so much fun to look at but can be such a pain to make! Perhaps I need a better system for sorting triangles?) Helping my dad with various tasks will eat up most of my time, along with revising my second novel while I'm in quarantine when I first get there. There will be plenty to do. There always is.

But Quilting Weekends will still be here when I get back.