Silence as a Friend

Its been said that in silence we listen best, and even our own secrets are revealed when we are quiet. Not sure that I told myself any secrets in my silent moments lately, however, I am quite aware that there is an on-going conversation of sorts when the room is silent. This is one of the benefits of quilting as a solitary practitioner.

I loaded a new rotary blade and finished cutting the strips for the April Quilting Retreat project at Claudia's. I brought home the first page of the pattern so I could start it off by using what scrap fabrics I had here first. Then I went back into the store and bought some complementary fabrics to go with the fabric I had purchased for the border. Its a project ready for one of the April weekends. I still hate not knowing how it finishes. Mysteries! Gahhh!

My next cutting projects were for the two 12" Quilt Block Swaps. Although my machine is still waiting for service, I gathered the fabric requests, printed off the patterns and cut away on both. The red and white is going to be a Disappearing 4-Patch that is quick and is really nice. The other in blue/tan/white is a Snowball block pattern that I've not made. White is 36 squares cut at 1.5". Yikes.

And then, lo and behold, one of Pet Beds is loaded with scraps that would have gone into the trash. This represents only two months of trimming. Before I sew up the opening, I will take out the scraps and re-fill the pillow to pack them evenly.