So Many Paisleys

Despite working on it for about six hours yesterday—with frequent breaks—I still have approximately two square feet of paisleys left to quilt. I was trying to explain the process to the husband last night. He understands the mechanics of quilting. The hard part is communicating what is going on in my brain. Even though the quilting motions are second nature now, I still have much to consider. Which direction should the next paisley go? How big should it be? Do I need to fill in any gaps? Am I quilting myself into a corner? How do I get from here to there? Is the overall design still coherent?

Hence the frequent breaks. It helps my brain rest and reset. This quilt is close to being done, though.

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I’ve been noodling around with Electric Quilt 8 in the mornings over my cup of coffee. I discovered that the EQ8 block library includes half a dozen blocks from the Ladies Art Quilt Company book, although not the ones I’m interested in. EQ8 has tools for drawing blocks that aren’t in the library, but once you get used to using Illustrator, as I have, the drawing tools in EQ8 are frustrating. It’s like drawing with crayons instead of fine-tipped markers. Where EQ8 really shines is in allowing you to lay out blocks and then color them, either with solid colors or actual fabric swatches. One click of the mouse and you can re-color an entire quilt. That’s very helpful.

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We have a leak in our master bathroom. I noticed a tiny puddle on the floor underneath the light fixture, so I alerted the husband. He went up into the attic and didn’t see anything coming from the roof. It’s a very slow drip, so he said he would hunt down the leak this weekend and fix it. He built the house. If he thinks it can wait a few days, I trust his judgment and will stop worrying about the ceiling falling down.

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It is not snowing this morning. Hopefully, the barn slab pour will go ahead as planned. The husband noted that pouring concrete at this time of year is not a matter of picking the best weather day; it’s a matter of picking the least worst weather day. He tells me that the bridge support walls are all framed and they are planning to pour those on Friday. And then it may be time for him to knock off for the winter and play in his new shop.

I am taking WS with me to watch the concrete pour. Elysian asked me last week if I could keep him for a few hours this week so she could get some Christmas preps done. We will stay for the exciting part of the pour and then go run errands and perhaps get lunch in town. Elysian is sewing a lot of her Christmas presents this year. WS is also learning some sewing skills—he made a burrito pillowcase—but there is competition for the sewing machine. I could find him a machine to use. The issue is that he isn’t quite ready for solo sewing yet.

I have a ton of 5” squares. Maybe I’ll set him up with some and he can make himself a quilt. We’re all about the practical life skills here.