Sucked in By a Quilt Block

I said I was quilted out, but I sewed yesterday anyway. The husband went out to the new shop to finish rebuilding the outhouse (the story is on his blog if you’re curious) and I went upstairs to commune with fabric. I got sucked in by that Laura Wheeler Beginner’s Choice block—the simple version, not the Jinny Beyer version—and decided to make one to see what I thought. One block led to a few more and now I am about a third of the way through a wallhanging comprised of thirty-six 6” blocks.

These are four of the blocks sewn together. The black print and the light glitter fabric are Christmas remnants I picked up at Joanns after the holidays, and the gold is some metallic Grunge. I’ve got another Christmas print with these same colors that I plan to use as a border.

I am so lazy—I set up the Janome for piecing half-square triangles (two at a time) and the Necchi for piecing the blocks so I wouldn’t have to keep changing feet. My Necchi’s quarter-inch foot has a blade on the right side and it’s not good for making HSTs. The two machines sit at right angles to each other so it works out nicely.

I also made the strap and strap connector for the Sandhill Sling. You would think that with as many supplies as I have on hand that I would have what I needed for this bag. Nope. I had the waxed canvas that I wanted to use, which is the Klum House canvas in royal blue. I have a couple of byAnnie purse zippers in royal blue, but the blues did not match. The pattern gives the option for making the strap from webbing or from fabric, but that canvas is so oily that I don’t want to use it for the strap lest some of the oil come off on my clothes. I had navy blue 1-1/2” wide cotton webbing, but the navy blue purse zippers in my stash don’t match the fabric well, either. I finally settled on some dark beige poly webbing from the stash and I think I can find purse zippers in a color to match it. If not, I have some lighter beige purse zippers on hand and will use those.

Then I went stash-diving to find hardware. I had some of what I needed in the appropriate size but the wrong color. And I had some of what I needed in the appropriate color but the wrong size. I found a hook in antique gold and a D-ring in antique gold, but the D-ring was just a bit too big, so I made the D-ring strap in the pattern a bit bigger to accommodate it.

I think I am on track now. I made the strap and strap connector yesterday and I am ready for this week’s set of instructions.

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I’ve been watching this debacle in Texas unfold and I have some thoughts. I understand that people are suffering—there are always people in situations not of their making who don’t have the means to prepare for these kinds of events. These comments aren’t directed at them. These comments are for the people who are whining on social media about how awful things are, that they haven’t had power for 36 hours, they’re cold, and they have nothing to eat. They are also on the hunt for someone to blame—preferably someone of the opposing political party.

Think about that for a moment. If you can get on social media to tell the world that you’ve been inconvenienced by something for which you had days to prepare, I have no sympathy for you. I understand that not everyone can prepare for cold weather like we do here in Montana. (Even here in Montana, we have people who act like winter is a surprise.) There are plenty of things you can do, and should do, however:

The number one thing is to stop behaving as though someone or something is going to save you in an emergency. If you are a functioning adult human being with even basic resources, you are responsible for you. If you are a functioning adult human being and you choose not to be responsible for you, you are taking emergency resources from people who truly need them.

Americans seem to think that they are entitled to always-and-perfectly-functioning infrastructure. There are so many things that can take out power for hours or days; you should operate with the mindset that this is something that can and will happen and prepare for it accordingly. No electricity? Have flashlights and batteries. No heat? I am rather baffled by all the people who said they ran out of propane during this storm or were waiting for propane deliveries to almost-empty tanks. It’s February. Keep your tanks topped off during the winter. Yes, it would be nice to have a backup generator, but they are big and expensive. Figure out how to conserve what heat you do have. Close off rooms. Hang blankets. Have warm clothes on hand. Non-electric heaters are out there, but you need to be careful about carbon monoxide. No water? Before the electricity goes out, fill the bathtub. Fill the sinks. Fill all the pots and pans and containers you have. You can get large plastic carboys in the camping section at Wal-Mart and fill them ahead of time. No way to cook food? Have a bunch of stuff on hand that doesn’t require cooking—granola bars, jerky, cans of fruit (make sure you have a can opener). The camping section of Wal-Mart has freeze-dried foods available. Store some. Worried about pipes freezing and bursting? Know where the water shutoff is and drain your pipes ahead of time. No bathroom facilities? You can buy a toilet seat for a five-gallon bucket and some plastic bags and turn it into a camping toilet.

Bottom line: It won’t be fun and you probably won’t enjoy it, but there are ways to get through these kinds of events and come out fine on the other side. Expecting the government to fix things so you never have to be inconvenienced is not one of those ways. (When did we become a country of people so unable to take care of ourselves?)

Some resources you may find helpful:

The Survival Podcast: Jack Spirko has been doing his podcast for years, and the tagline is “Helping You Live a Better Life If Times Get Tough, or Even If They Don’t.” That says it all. And guess what?—Jack lives in Texas. He’s got lots of specifics.

Living Free in Tennessee: I have said before that this is one of my favorite podcasts. The “Holler Neighbors” recently did a YouTube video where they talked about all the things they did to prepare for this storm. Community is a big part of this. Your neighbors may have resources that they are willing to share in an emergency (but don’t be a mooch).

Read the book One Second After by William R. Forstchen. It may terrify you so much that you won’t sleep for days, but it may also spur you into some action. And if you can stomach that one, read the sequel called One Year After.

Or e-mail me. I can tell you some of the things we do here, many of which are relatively inexpensive. The key is to make these preparations when things are quiet and stable.