Rules for Feeding the Stash

Friday, February 11, 2022

Checking In

Hello, friends! I'm here with my promised monthly check-in, and I can't believe January's gone and we're almost halfway through February already.

I released two patterns that I worked on throughout last year, and I currently don't have any designs in progress. I'm not sure how I feel about that—on the one hand, it's nice to have that pressure taken off me, but on the other hand, I've been working on some design or other straight through since 2014, so it's definitely a change.

Classes have started, and I think it's going to be a good semester. It doesn't look like any of my classes will be too too difficult or onerous, which is a relief—I don't have major projects in two of my three classes, and so far my reading load is about half of what it's been in past semesters. I have to do my graduation portfolio this semester, too, which I'm not really looking forward to, but I've come this far, so I'm sure I'll get through it just fine.

One thing I finally did this month, after putting it off for years was sandwich my vintage quilt top. I got this at a church bazaar back in 2014 (I think?) and I've been seriously meaning to sandwich it since I moved into my apartment. For whatever reason, it just never was a priority when I had the time to do it, but a couple weeks ago I decided to go for it. I haven't been knitting as much during my classes as I thought I would before I started library school, and it's really good for my mental health for me to make things with my hands. 

This quilt top isn't perfect—there are crooked bits, and the fabrics are all different weights, so some have stretched out more than others—and that gives me a lot of freedom to not worry about quilting it perfectly. I can just enjoy the process of stitching and not think at all about how even or straight my stitches are. I've really been enjoying being able to just make something without putting any pressure on myself to make it perfect, or even good. No matter how messily it's stitched, as I'm sitting in class or watching YouTube, it will be functional, and I'm sure Lee Lee will fight me for possession of it when it's done. 

There's probably something there about the freedom of doing things badly—even intentionally doing things badly. Sure, there's a lot of satisfaction surrounding a perfectly executed project, but right now I'm really loving the process of stitching without any pressure to make it look nice.