Creative Play Newsletter – Let it All Go

Over the last few months in this newsletter, I have been writing about how to overcome your COVID block and how to use your sheltering-in-place time to craft a vision and strategy for your creative work. But, it’s still hard to focus and to create right now, isn’t it? There’s so much uncertainty and life […]

Creative Play Newsletter – COVID Block

I have heard from so many fellow artists that they are having trouble creating right now. And, it’s no wonder since every single one of us is under stress unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before. At the same time, many of us feel like we should be producing a lot of work because we have […]

Quilting Through Corona – Week #$%&^%$^

Do you feel like the world is going to Hell too? It was already catastrophic that we’re in the midst of a global pandemic that has claimed more than 100,000 American lives. It was already catastrophic that because of institutionalized racism COVID-19 is disproportionately killing Black and Brown Americans. And even in the midst of […]

UFO Workshop title slide

Quilting Through Corona – Week 9

When I started this blog series about the changes in my quilting practice because of the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, I didn’t realize that it would last more than a month, much less more than two. I’m sure many of us were blindsided by the length of this quarantine time. I also didn’t foresee what a […]

Quilting Through Corona – Week 8

We’re going to be here for a while. The Governor of Massachusetts held a briefing today to outline the plan for re-opening the state, which is great news. But, I am certainly not in the first wave of people going back to the office, or the second wave, or the third wave… I expect that […]

line of handmade cotton masks

Quilting Through Corona – Week 4

There wasn’t as much “quilting” going on in my studio this week. Instead, there was a flurry of mask-making, 17 to be exact and I have the same number on my To Do list for this week. Last Saturday, after the CDC recommendation came out that we should all be wearing masks in public, I […]

Joan Shay's African Violet Pattern

Quilting through Corona – Week 2

Of course I have plenty of projects from which to choose as I hole up in my house and practice more social distancing than I normally do. But, I decided today that I wanted a change of pace. So, I dug into my UFO drawer (oh yes, I have plenty of those too!) and pulled […]

Dear Daughter quilt under the sewing machine

Quilting Through Corona – Week 1

A week ago, I was all shiny and enthusiastic about the prospect of being at home for weeks. Yes, I was going to still be working and yes, I’d be at home with an energetic 7 year old, but she would be having school. I made a pile of quilting projects and thought about all […]