Notes From the Neighborhood

We have a whiteboard in the greenhouse where we can make lists or write notes. I noticed one day that Ali had written something on the board. The next day, the husband had written another note underneath:

I love going out to the greenhouse—it smells wonderful in there with all the little plants coming up. Ali, Mike, Elysian, and I all have plants started and sometimes we have short confabs when we’re out there at the same time. It’s a great gathering place.

And just for the record, I have zero qualms about disposing of pests that are competing for my food. If it comes down to me eating or the rodents eating, I am going to win that battle every time.

I think the peeps may get moved in with the big chickens this weekend. We have a separate area within the coop where we put the babies when they are too big for the brooder box. They have just about doubled in size and it’s getting crowded in the box. One also tried to escape yesterday. I have to scoot the wire lid over to replace their food and water and one chick got a bit too curious about what I was doing.

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I parked myself in my office chair yesterday morning and worked on patterns for most of the day. Once I get into a groove, I hate to stop. The layouts are started for Big Top, the wallhanging, and the green and purple quilt, and most of the verbiage for Big Top is written. Next up will be making the illustrations and doing the math for different sizes.

One of the issues I struggle with in these quilt patterns is whether or not I should try to write them for precuts. The Big Top quilt could be done with charm square packs and jelly rolls, but the instructions for doing it that way are completely different for the instructions for cutting it from yardage—so much so that I would be writing two separate patterns. I don’t use a lot of precuts, so I am inclined not to write patterns for them even though I know how popular they are.

We’ll see. Patterns tend to evolve along the way, just like quilts.

I also figured out exactly how that not-White Kona got into the purple and green quilt. I was writing through the process of making the Big Top blocks and remembered that after I cut those, I had some of that background fabric left. (It was Kona Natural.) It was lying on the cutting table and I grabbed it thinking it was Kona White. Note to self: Do not cut fabric for two quilts with similar background fabrics simultaneously. Or just don’t make quilts with white backgrounds.

My new cutting table is scheduled to arrive next month. I ordered it from Tracey’s Tables on February 5 and knew that it would take some time as each one is custom built, but I hadn’t heard anything from them since. No updates, nothing. As the order involved a fair chunk of money, I decided to e-mail them and see what was going on. I got a very nice, very prompt reply from customer service with the anticipated delivery date.

I’ve noticed that tiny quilt blocks are starting to become a thing now. Fat Quarter Shop has been running their Sewcialites sewalong for several months, with the option to make 3”, 6”, 9”, and 12” blocks. Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life has been making the 3” blocks. And yesterday’s Accuquilt launch party on Facebook Live was for their new 4” Qube system. I thought making those 6” blocks was tough—I can’t imagine making 3” or 4” blocks. I’d have to buy a 55-gallon drum of Best Press.