Lest you think I’ve been slacking, I should probably report that the Storm at Sea Quilt is still on schedule. There were some minor mishaps though. First, while ironing the completed quilt top I forgot the third rule of Quilt Club: “Don’t try to iron while watching James Bond and drinking Diet Coke.” (The first and second, of course, are “You do not talk about Quilt Club.” But I’ve broken that one too.) Anyway, yeah, I spilled it everywhere. Luckily a quick wash fixed it right up. Then when I finally went to put the damn thing together, I found, like, a gaping hole in one of the rows. Some emergency slip-stitching was performed and the patient recovered well. Eventually I got it all basted together and was finally able to start quilting. On my mother’s advice, I’m using a dark blue thread that matches the backing fabric. I did this so my inevitable mistakes won’t show so much. I’ve got about a square foot done now, and it’s going okay. I was pretty stressed at first, thinking that it needed to be perfect since it’s going to be a wedding present. But seriously, if they wanted a store-bought blanket they could just buy one, right? I’ve spent months on this thing, and I know our friends will appreciate that. So now I’m happily stitching away. I figure the sooner I get this thing done, the better. Summer’s coming and sitting under a quilt in hundred-degree heat will not be fun.

That said, I think I’m going to take a break from the quilting after I finish this one and learn to knit. Then again, maybe I could actually find a hobby suited to the climate I live in, huh?