Time Crunch
I’m in a time crunch this week. So what else is new? Two out of my three days set aside for studio days were completely booked, along with the rest of the week. Sometimes I can use those other days to sneak a few hours of sewing in, not this week. The good news is that those busy days included quite a bit of art.
Tuesday I was the presenter at the Crosstown Quilters Guild in Weymouth, Massachusetts. My lecture was titled My Journey from Quilter to Artist. SEDESO (Senior Executive Director of Studio Operations) was by my side. He setup and ran the projector and laptop for my presentation. Needless to say he was a hit.
Before it was my turn to speak the guild had their meeting which naturally included show and tell. One member shared her Modern twist on the Drunkard Path block. Then when I shared Celestial Celebration I mentioned that it was made up exclusively of Drunkard Path blocks. It is a privilege to watch that transitional moment of uncertainty, confusion and incredulity turn into understanding and hopefully spark some creativity.
Bernina 990 Progress
No FSL (free standing lace) this week. There was simply too much of a time crunch to set up the embroidery side of the machine and play with that. So, instead I focused on moving my Autumn Table Runner forward. First I finished piecing block #2.
Next I worked on FMQ (free motion quilting) the background of block #3.
I was tempted to let the Bernina do the work and use one of their motifs designed for square blocks. That would have been speedier. The actually time the machine spends quilting a block, even a complex motif is about 4 minutes. Of course there is setup time. Still it is way faster than FMQ a block myself. Why make things easy on myself? The runner is designed for autumn. So I thought I would enhance the background fabric, by quilting around the leaves and flowers, then micro quilting in tiny loops. Even the Bernina 990 can’t do that. It has it limits. 🙂
Rainbow Scrap Challenge
Confession, I did very, very little work on moving my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts forward. Since my time was short, I decided to start thinking about what I might do for 2026. Research feels as though I am doing something even if I have very little to show for it.
I’ve featured cats in several blocks and small quilts over the years, but never in a full sized quilt. I spotted the Cats in an Attic pattern on Pinterest. It had been for sale through Etsy and apparently is no longer available. I am thinking of it as more of an inspiration. I love the idea of different cat poses, but am thinking of doing black silhouettes against different colors of the rainbow as the background.
Question of the Week
When up against a time crunch how do you cope?
I’m linking up to the following posts:
Beautiful quilt!
Thank you, Daryl.
Your plan for the cat design sounds fun. I’ve been thinking ahead to 2026 as well.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with, Sara.
Some weeks are just like that! I think working on a smaller project is perfect for when you don’t have a lot of time – that is often my strategy when life gets busy. Your fall runner is going to be so pretty, Gwyned! I like the way your FMQ is emphasizing the leaves in the background. The cat idea for a 2026 project is intriguing, too!
I agree, Diann. Still, it is amazing how even the projects we think are small take more time than anticipated. The runner is quite unexpected. My way of combining orphan experiments.I’m looking forward to moving on to the cats, but they will have to wait as I continue to “clean up” from 2024 and 2025. 🙂
Like the quilting on Block 3. I like quilting and like to see the hand of the maker. Computer quilting can look fabulous but a machine did it not a quilting person. I do not work well under pressure. I cope by trying never to be under pressure. If I find myself in a crunch, it ain’t pretty, and I just don’t function well. Therefore I plan my days carefully!!
Thank you. I’m blown away by what long arm machines and my embroidery machine can do. But they can’t FMQ without the quilter guiding every single stitch. Precision is overrated. Reminds me of the Greek myth about Arachne.
Yes, avoiding time crunches/pressure is an excellent way to avoid self disfunction.
I love your autumn table runner. That purple/lavendar quilt is beautiful. I don’t have many time crunches any more as I am retired and taking advantage of that fact.
Celestial Celebrations is one of my favorite quilts. I’m glad you like it. Retiring is one way to avoid time crunches. At least you don’t have work deadlines or need to work extra hours.
I like your idea for the RSC for next year. I’m thinking of a block too as January will be here soon! As for your question, I cope with lists. I make a list and stick to it. . .no squirrels are allowed!
Can’t wait to see which block you choose for 2026. So many wonderful possibilities. Squirrels are so cute/tempting, they can be very hard to avoid. Still putting on blinders and charging forward is a good solution for not getting overwhelmed by too much to finish.
I actually love a deadline as inspiration
Deadlines do tend to focus you.
Congratulations for the lecture! Love to see Celestial again. Your runner is coming along nicely, block #3 looks pretty all FMQ, it’s great to have a skill that even the greatest sewing machine can’t match 😉 Those cats look fun and cute, I too have plans for RSC 2026! Thank you for sharing and linking up!
It has been a while since I gave a lecture. So, I was thrilled to be asked again. It is good to be able to do things that the sewing machine can’t on its own. The trick will be to figure out how to combine my skills and the machine’s abilities is a pleasing way. I am making progress. Aren’t those cats fun. I loved how the tail of each cat extends beyond the border and in one case dips below that. Should be fun to create next year.
I confess I’m not a cat person, but your idea of black cats on rainbow blocks sounds genius! Congrats on your presentation going well.
Out of my 72 years of life, I’ve probably shared my home with a cat(s) for close to 60 of them. So, yes, I admit my favorite pet is a cat, so that is what drew me to the blocks. Of course, I am already letting my mind drift on how to expand on the original concept. Think black cats with white splotches, whiskers, etc. The idea of rainbow colors as the backdrop is my stealing from Andy Warhol and his painting of Marilyn Monroe. Bottom line – I simply like challenging myself to do something different each year that won’t take me away from art work.
Thank you for your kind acknowledgment of my lecture. It was fun to write. Gave me chance to look back at my roots and discover all the stepping stones that took me to where I am today.