Fins

Hello dear readers. How are you holding up? Are you doing okay right now in these challenging times? As Jon Batiste says, “I love you even if I don’t know you”.  I feel the same and am sending love out to all the good people right now. My wish is that you have found helpful coping strategies and a means to disconnect from the chaos, while also connecting with others and nature. It’s so damn tough and I empathize with the despair and heartache. Over at the Quiltunes headquarters, I have been recalibrating my coping mechanisms on a daily basis. Being a meliorist and an empath and also an engaged citizen has me evaluating where I can expend my limited energy and also what deserves my attention (and anger). There is so much that is out of my control and the current events impact my household on a personal level. Meaning that the turbulence is here and there is no sign of calm waters ahead. To manage this onslaught the last few months, I have worked to direct my energy into positive endeavors where able, as in more reading, more mindfulness and yoga (even if for only 15 minutes a day), knitting an emotional support chicken (look it up!), and holding tight to the little joys that still abound. Little joys like drinking the good coffee every day. Reading poetry in the morning instead of the news. Extra sleep and vegetables. And music, always. 

Faithful readers know where this is going — yep, quilting has once again been a balm and an escape for me. When I’m sewing and in the groove, I am present and experience calm and joy in a way that can often feel elusive elsewhere in life. It is soothing and healing for me to create right now, to be focused only on what is in front of me and not the cacophony of atrocities happening throughout the world. The bonus is a profound, deep peace knowing that I can make something by hand that will bring comfort to myself and my people. Nothing like a hobby to delve into when you need some good medicine with only positive side effects. 

One of the most frequent questions I receive on my quilts/projects is, “how long did that take to make?”. The answer to this legitimate inquiry is often “I don’t know”. Because crafting is often done in spurts and I usually don’t have a mechanism to track my time, unless say I make a small piece in a weekend. But the thing about tracking my creative time is that it never takes into account all of the time it took me to build up my skillset. I can only whip out certain blocks like half-square triangles because at this point in my quilting tenure, I have made hundreds (maybe thousands?) of them. Whereas with clothing, I am still learning a lot so something can take me much longer to make than a more skilled sewist. (Damn autocorrect keeps wanting to change this word to “sexist”. Ugh, see AI doesn’t solve our problems.) I have the ability to spend a lot of time and energy on my creative endeavors without project deadlines or conflicting priorities, therefore I craft in this almost time warp where our societal standards of time and productivity don’t apply.

My latest quilt was made for very important people in my life, my Dad and Stepmom. The palette was created from a fat quarter bundle from my stash and supplemented with complementary colors that remind me of my home state of Colorado. Just like the secret symbols in a Bizarro cartoon, keen readers will note the colors of all the major Colorado sports teams intentionally embedded in the quilt because my folks are big sports fans. The dramatic triangles are meant to emulate the Rocky Mountains, where my dad an avid and skilled downhill skier still manages to log over 50 days on the slopes annually. The design itself is courtesy of the ever versatile half-square triangle that can be arranged into endless geometric patterns. Bonus that since the quilt is a square it can be arranged in 4 different directions for a slight alteration in the pattern. As I’ve mentioned/lamented before, I often do not use a written pattern or intentionally plan out a big quilt beforehand. My creative time is very free and while I love this approach, there are risks and hiccups, like running out of cohesive fabric. Which happened on this quilt. So add a month to the timeframe right there! The real cherry on top of this quilt is the extraordinary longarm quilting finish (abacus pantograph for those interested). The quilting patterns creates an all-over effect of movement that I am just gaga for. The end result is a quilt that really personifies the recipients in every way.

This blog post is named after a Jimmy Buffett song; I feel he must be referred to by both names as neither Jimmy nor Mr. Buffett sounds right to my ears. Yep, the folks are also Parrotheads and Jimmy Buffett was a very frequent guest on our stereo growing up, along with “the other Jimi” Hendrix, The Beatles and The Beach Boys. I can still recall most of the popular Jimmy Buffett song lyrics just because his music was always playing in the house or the car. “Fins” is probably a strange tune to name a quilt after given that the song is about being a woman at a bar with sharks circling. However while making the almost black triangle blocks, the song popped into my head because, well obviously this needs no further explanation. As an honest person I must confess that no Jimmy Buffett was actually listened to during the making of this quilt. For shame, you say! Believe me friends, I did not need to as I have heard enough to know how to capture the artist’s vibe without the aid of the tunes. Fun fact: Jimmy Buffett spent many years in New Orleans and you can hear the impact that city had on his music. Another positive thing about Jimmy Buffett was that his sole vibe was to promote and embrace the simple pleasures of life: the sunsets, sand, relaxation and yes, cheeseburgers. There is probably no other musical artist in recent history who could also be called what is now referred to as a “lifestyle guru”. His music makes millions of people extremely happy and there is so much to be said for promoting a community centered around fun. 

To quote one of Jimmy Buffett’s more popular lyrics,”If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” In a world that is increasingly dark and hostile, we all need to find our own ways to create joy to sustain ourselves. Whether it is through music, art, nature or community, we have to hold on to and protect the beautiful good things. It is not easy, but it is essential. The systematic dismantling of progress right now is intentional and the opposition wants nothing more than for us folks with hearts to just give up and cover our eyes. Photo journalists have long captured moments of joy found amidst tragedy – think children playing ball in refugee camps or folks dancing among ruins. I think of these amazing and resilient people when I begin to despair. I am also inspired to live like these bountiful yellow buttercups emerging from months of darkness and cold underground to dazzle us all. It feels like it is my duty to myself and to others to still find and embrace joy right now. My wish is for others, who are still able, to find the small joys that can sustain us while we navigate this new world. While we continue to hope and work toward a better future ahead.