April 2021

 

President’s Message
Michele Barnard

 

“When the groundhog casts his shadow

And the small birds sing

And the pussywillows happen

And the sun shines warm

And when the peepers peep

Then it is Spring”

― Margaret Wise Brown 

 

The spring peepers are loud and insistent in my neighborhood, the daffodils are blooming, and things are starting to green up. Quilting time has to compete with gardening time at this point in the year, but it’s worth it. I’m not a fan of the cold at all, and knowing that soon I get to be warm all the time is exciting!

This time last year, our April meeting was cancelled due to COVID. I’m so happy that we’ve been able to adapt and move to Zoom meetings over the past year. I miss that in-person feeling, though, and really look forward to the day – hopefully soon – when we can all meet and be able to actually see our presenters’ quilts up close and personal. And maybe share a hug or two. I’m so happy for all of my friends that have been able to get their vaccines so far, and am VERY excited that I will be eligible myself soon. The pandemic has impacted my quilting space as well – since I’ve been working from home my “desk” has been the top of the machine I normally use for quilting. (Yes, I did write a different version of this paragraph in my last letter!)

I’ve been reading books on habit formation recently. I have some bad habits I’d like to get rid of, and some new habits I’d like to establish. A couple of years ago, I decided to try to sew every day – and that’s a habit I’ve mostly been able to keep up. Some days, that means I sew one seam. Other days, that one seam turns into blocks. The next quilting habit I’d like to work on is to clean/tidy as I sew. The bad habit is throwing all of the fabric I’ve pulled and cut from into a big pile on the end of the cutting table – which then becomes a HUGE chore to fold and put away. The first step I’ve decided to work on is at least FOLDING what needs to go back to the stash. Hopefully your quilt habits work for you!

Until we can meet again, I’ll see you on Zoom.

Yours in quilting,

Michele