Pandemic Crazy - Accuquilt Go Stash Buster Quilt

The bad news is time flies.  The good news is you're the pilot. 

Michael Altshuler

Hey there,

One of the best things about being a crafter is having tons of projects calling to me from my craft room for some long overdue attention. I've been feeling a lot of emotions during the quarantine, but none of them is boredom.  Time is what I have right now, so I'm determined to use it while it lasts to happily finish accumulated projects.  Quilting is at the top of my list.  And what better quilt to express my creative emotions during this wonky time than a "crazy" one.  I used the very large Accuquilt Go Crazy Quilt die to cut my blocks and, in the process, my Accuquilt Go Big electronic machine took its last breath.  I knew it had been feeling poorly lately, so I was excited to get a shiny new one. This time I proceeded with caution, as the large dies can be tricky. It took a little concentration to piece the blocks, but I was very pleased at how they turned out in the end.  I used white shashing and colorful corner stones to calm down the colorful craziness.

I have a fabulous long arm quilter who doesn't have a fancy computerized machine so she is very adept at hand guiding the machine to make fabulous designs. Since we needed to social distance while discussing my design choice, I told her I trusted her to choose the pattern she thought would look good.  She chose a beautiful template with flowers that match the whimsical ones in my fabric and quilted them using a warm orange/gold thread.  The results are beautiful!  (Marilla, my beloved sugar skull friend, says "hey.")

Each block measures 10 inches, so with the  2 inch sashing and binding the finished quilt measures    50 x 62, a good lap quilt size. I'm amazed at how a bunch of random fabrics can come together so scrappalisciously. 

I used my left over fabric to piece the back.  I've just started doing this and I think I'll stay with it.  It's a good use of my scraps and I like the back of my quilts to be as happy as the front.  Now if I could just get the labeling thing down.

So what have I been doing with my smaller scraps?  What most of my crafty friends have been doing, of course, making masks.  The ones on the left are made "in the hoop"  with my embroidery machine and the ones on the right are made with a fancy pattern I found on YouTube.  The fancy ones fit way better and are more comfortable, but both types work just fine.  I've made several for friends and family.  It's so nice to be able to use some crafty skills to join in the effort to combat Covid-19.

Hopefully, when we all get out of Pandemic prison, I will have a much smaller to-do list, and can support my neighborhood quilt shops in the way they have become accustomed.  Until then, I'm so blessed to have unlimited time and a boat load of supplies in my craft room to keep me busy for the duration.  

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and use this temporary gift of time skillfully.

Nancy