Quilting and Teenage Roosters

I finished the black corduroy skirt and wore it to church on Sunday. I like the slightly shorter length. I may move the zipper to the back seam rather than the side seam on the next iteration. I don’t think side zippers work well with my high hip curves.

I have had a slew of meetings over the past couple of days. I have also been reminded lately how easy it is for people who aren’t doing anything to criticize the efforts of those who are. Do you ever wonder why people are reluctant to take leadership roles in your church or community? It’s because they often feel like they are under constant attack for the decisions they make in situations that no one else is brave (or stupid) enough to shoulder. I really appreciate the people at church who come up to me and say, “Hey, I know this is a hard job—I am praying for you.” It seems like such a little thing but it means a lot.

One of my meetings went really well and I am looking forward to the work that comes out of it. That meeting also gave me the chance to reconnect with someone I haven’t seen in about 10 years.

My thread class that was scheduled for yesterday afternoon was canceled due to lack of students. I wasn’t too busted up about that. Not having to teach freed up some valuable time for other tasks, but it is frustrating for both the store and the teacher when classes don’t fill. If the store stopped offering classes, though, customers would complain.

Complaining, criticizing, and fault-finding seem to be the default setting of most human beings.

Joann Fabrics has filed bankruptcy again (Chapter 11). I know of at least three stores in the US that are closing. Every time I drive by ours, I expect to see a big “Store Closing” banner hung across the front.

I’ve hired someone to help me with social media for the podcast. So far, so good. I knew what needed to be done, but I got mired in the muck on my way there. Have I mentioned how much I hate Instagram? I am sure things will evolve as we go along, but at least it’s a step in a forward direction.

I spent yesterday afternoon working on a class sample for my ruler quilting class in two weeks. (That one has students enrolled, because I talked to one of them the other day.)

This is a series of four classes on quilting with rulers. We’re starting with the straight ruler, so I made up a sample showing what kinds of quilting designs can be made with simple straight lines.

I adore 60-degree diamonds:

Clean and unfussy.

The sampler shows examples for overall quilting, small blocks, and borders:

Little Roo found his voice and spends an inordinate amount of time every day practicing crowing. He sounds like a rusty gate. Also, having hit puberty, he has started chasing hens around the chicken coop, which annoys both the hens and Dave. I’ve seen Dave go after Little Roo a couple of times. Dave is about twice his size, so I am hoping this doesn’t end in bloodshed. 🫰🏻