In The Studio 02

The bits and pieces I’ve been making, creating, reading, and doing – stitchy or otherwise.

Well, here we are back in lockdown again – number 6 for Melbourne. And Thursday marks the point of 200 days (total) in lockdown – apparently London is the only other place to have been in lockdown for longer. If lockdown ends as currently expected on September 2, that’ll bring the total up to 214 days… It’s a heavy statistic. And I’ve recently found the perfect descriptor for what many of us here are feeling – languishing. This article from the NY Times covers it well.

One of the ways to help bust the languishing funk is getting into the flow of something – those times when you are thoroughly immersed in a project that takes your mind off of the current situation, like a jigsaw puzzle or sewing. Alas, part of the problem of lockdown and supervising home learning is that I don’t get a lot of uninterrupted time to let my brain float free while I puzzle or stitch! But, I do keep trying to keep my hands and mind busy when I can.

CREATING

Having finished my Geode quilt, I’m in that between-projects limbo where I’m not 100% certain what I’ll work on next. So until I decide, I’m making some throw pillows for a local charity, You Matter, after a call-out in a local Facebook group for donations for upcoming safe havens for victims of domestic violence. It’s been fun to whip up some quick finishes, knowing that it’ll go to good use, and to use some of the more fun prints in my stash that I never quite know what to do with!

I’m also still slowly plodding away with my Plenty of Thyme quilt, alternating between glue-basting more units to the background squares and hand-appliqueing. I’m 8.5 fully finished, and 91.5 to go!

WORKING

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve made two Instagram Reels on quilt binding. The first was sharing how to attach the binding without ever breaking a stitch, and I’m loving how many people’s minds are being blown by the second tip as an alternative for joining the binding tails! The second shows how I machine bind to complete the binding process – I also have a blog tutorial for how to machine bind a quilt if you want some extra pics and words!

LOVING

When I make my next Geode quilt, I had already thought I’d do a version with just Block A… when I saw Kathleen’s version in blue and white, it became a definite plan!

You can buy the Geode quilt pattern here.

READING

My brain isn’t focusing on books very well at the moment, but I did finally read Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend. Yep, a kids’ fantasy book! My son started the series a couple of years ago, and I was intrigued by the premise so I started reading… and finished the first one in a night. It’s a magical, fantastical story!

INSPIRING

The fussy cut perfection in Sharon’s new sneak peek quilt block is jawdropping – lining up the striped fabric is Level Expert!

WATCHING + LISTENING

The longer we are in lockdown, the trashier my TV viewing gets – I need mindless fluff to zone out to at night time! If you too don’t mind a bit of trashy reality, then you might like Are You The One? on Netflix. When the board game, Mastermind, meets a dating reality show and 10 men and 10 women need to find their “perfect match” according to the tests they took to share in the $1 million prize. We got a bit hooked trying to solve the puzzle, and there’s plenty of drama to make it entertaining.

On the complete opposite end of the content spectrum, we then have the Craft To Career podcast hosted by Elizabeth Chappell from Quilter’s Candy. I love hearing the stories and experiences from creative, quilty entrepreneurs.

What about you? I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to lately!