Where are we now? Many weeks into lockdown, a slight easing of restrictions in the UK but for our household, little has changed. We are mainly staying in. Husband is working from home, daughter is studying and taking University exams at home, I am also working from home too working on social media stuff for gorgeous fabric store Clothspot and also for a new venture, CraftyMonkies & their online crafty workshops (including sewing, quilting, papercraft and screenprinting!) and lots of sewing.
Twins were born in my husbands family just before all the crazy COVID stuff began so these quilts were started mid-March, and finished a few week's later. I used a pattern in Lori Holt's Spelling Bee book and stash fabrics. I added a couple of teal/turquoise prints bought at the last meet-up I went to in March. I wanted some subtle colour differences between the two but also a pair. They are now with the new arrivals who are doing well. It may be quite a while until we can see them in person but we catch up with their progress via photos and videos, they are unbelievably cute!
Last night I started a mental list of all the stuff I'd sewed since my day job stopped and we started living life at home. My hands were aching yesterday, a bit overstrained and as I totted up my makes, I'm not surprised. I do tend to throw myself into something in a stressful situation, often with a high degree on intensity. This has been one of those times. Part of me loves the time stretching ahead. I've made so many things I've wanted to make for years. My fabric and thread stores have provided all I've needed and my wardrobe is getting refreshed- I'll share all the makes once I get myself photographed. And then there are the obligatory masks - mainly for others, I try to avoid situations where I would need to wear one. I've used lawn and poplin, including Liberty to concentrate on comfort to encourage the wearer to keep it on when required. These ones are using Monica's Happy Zombie pattern. I've made some others mixing this pattern with the Dhurata Davies Mask. I like a mask with some shaping- both these patterns use darts, and they both avoid a centre seam.
Spring has been spectacular. In our daily walks, we've seen so much beauty. Our little city is so quiet right now and the pathways are often less frequented than the parks and open spaces so we've seen many beautiful sights, often unexpected. Most of the time, I try not to think far ahead, just concentrate on the day we are in and enjoy it. The time together has been a treasure and I feel very lucky. But I won't lie, some days I'm flat, tired, worried, scared and on those days I hide away, sleep the time off if I can. Then the feeling subsides, I make stuff, work, cook, garden (not this one, ours is a tiny courtyard), walk Joni and repeat. I try not to dwell, just keep on keeping on and looking for the positives.
