Crafting, mostly

I got The Lurgy over the weekend, alas. I took a 2 hour nap Saturday, woke up and called off for D&D, and then flopped around until going to bed early. And was betterish yesterday, but still took another 2 hour nap. But I'm feeling really good today, so I'm hoping to get in some crafting time.

Now that I understand how to make half square triangles, I'm dashing ahead into planning All The Quilts. *wry grin* I won't make 'em all, but it's nice to know I can do stripes and waves and pinwheels all from some very simple pieces. But! That is not going to get this quilt finished, and I wants it, precious. So, blocks to sew and pieces to cut. Then we're on to The Ironing and The Trimming. (not stoked to see how inaccurately I have been cutting/sewing)

In this time of Social Distancing, it's been interesting to see what online services are able to withstand the heavy traffic. Roll20 was stable for my Sunday early afternoon game, but was apparently down/slow most of Saturday and again Sunday evening. (small benefits of playing 12-3 Eastern US time) Discord has been solid for me, which means I've been able to stay in touch with pocket friends as normal, and we were able to use it for voice chat during our game. I have never been one for online multiplayer games, so I cannot speak to those. Shared console co-op, on the other hand, is working just fine and the household put in some time together over the weekend.

I knit on a sock! The sock I cast on the day before my grandmother died, apparently. (yay project notes) And I turnt that heel, worked the gusset and now I'm on the foot. I will be so happy to get this thing off the needles. It looks good, but I am Over cables. Also I am ready to have another pair of handknit socks.

I am also ready to cast on for a headwarmer/headband/not-hat for SIL J, but don't want to have too many knit projects out right now. With the Gryffindor scarf and the quilt top I'm working on, I've got kind of a lot going on and don't want to get myself overwhelmed. 3 projects at once is probably enough.

And I have had a couple of bad pain weeks, so progress on the quilt top has stalled. :/ The fabric is still out and I see it every day, but I just can't make myself do something I know will make me hurt more than I do right now. Even when I really want the end result. Well. We'll see what happens this week and if I need to reassess the goals.

The scrapbook project is looking a little more like a journaling project. I've started transcribing my notes into a character journal where I can then add the 'stuff' my DM has sent for flavor. We're really having an adventure! We might even get to punch some sewer rats next session. Last Saturday was all RP and really fun, but I'm ready for some combat where I can maybe use my spells.

None words, but seven stars done last night! Seven to go, then a shit-ton of cutting, then piecing of blocks, then blocks into a quilt top, then pinning the quilt sandwich, then hand-quilting.

I mean...

It's a lot. I know it's a lot. But even looking at all the work ahead, I'm still stoked to get there and figure out what works and what doesn't.

I cut the first fabric! It was scary but I did the thing. And then I pinned pairs together and even sewed a square. It's still wonky and not quite straight, but great for a first effort. Nine more squares of that fabric, and I don't quite know how many total squares I will have for the quilt because I'm winging this and also math is hard. But the stars fabric is cut, I have only the plaid to wash, and I have confidence. Not skill, just confidence.

In a fit of I don't know what, I hit Joanne's for quilting supplies and made great progress on a cat mat quilt top. I think I want to add one more strip to attempt to balance things a bit, but then again, maybe I just want to finish the project and say I did a thing. Then I can take those new and dusted-off skills and apply them toward something else.

And that's a bit of a lie. I do know what prompted this craftspiration. My grandmother recently passed and she was the quilter in the family. But I was thinking last week, after the funeral, that it was a shame that there wouldn't be any more family quilts. That my niblings wouldn't have that same feeling of wrapping up in a quilt made specifically for them by someone who loves them. And I looked at the knitting on my coffee table, looked at my hands, and had a revelation. I can learn how to quilt. So I made that Joanne's run (came out of there just under $25!) and started cutting squares.

As I get into this project, the more I realize I had some idea about how quilts are made. After all, I did spend a lot of my summers reading Archie comics in her sewing room. I suppose I picked up more than I realized; I can see where I went wrong, what I should have done, and that there's no real fix. Once it's cut, it's cut. I doubt the kitties will mind too much, and the skill acquisition is worth the mistakes made along the way.

I was still rejecting anything that whiffed of homemaking the last time she was able to offer to teach me (about 15 years ago, before her dexterity was completely shot), so I turned my nose up on a lot of knowledge, but I do know I'm far kinder to myself about mistakes than I was then. And she never did have much patience for novice fumblings. She'd been quilting since she was a small sprout so she didn't really remember the learning process and how difficult it can be the first several times.

Oh dear. I need to reorganize my apartment and make room for quilting supplies. Well, I've been meaning to clear out the closet anyway. New storage tubs!