Now that my stuff is here, I’ve been trying to think of what I can do to stay pre-occupied – when we’re not dealing with Army insanity, accidental cultural insults or toilet paper shortages.
I had all my art & craft supplies shipped – watercolors, scrapbook papers, my sewing machine – everything I knew I wouldn’t find easily over here.
I’ve been meaning to finish the family quilt I started back in 2002…ack!…Seven years ago!?…wait, let me think about that…
Ugh…yep, seven years ago. Well, the good news is it’s basically done. : )
But anyway…if I was going to finish-up the quilt, I needed fabric. And since there’s no Joann’s to run to, no Quilter’s Corner to spend a Saturday morning in, or anything that’s not camo-covered on base, I did what I’ve been doing since I arrived. Browsed the online shops.
In my hunt I stumbled on a quilt shop in Quitman, TX (Stichin’ Heaven)Â and they offer a Block of the Month club.
(*For the non-estrogen inclined readers out there, a block is a square quilt block, a block to stitch to other blocks to make a full quilt.)
Pay a small start-up fee, then a monthly subscription fee and every month they’ll send you the fabric you need, the pattern & instructions on how to do it!
For this particular quilt, it’s a 24 month project that starts in January - and it’s perfect for the 2 years I’ll be here!
Ok – so it’s 169 blocks, surrounded by 52 triangles with no pattern the same, no fabric the same…I told you I was crazy.
But it’s perfect that they’ll send everything to me – I don’t have to wander the streets of Anjung-Ri or Songtan looking for American-style cotton quilt fabric.
And perfect because it gives me 5 months to finish up the family quilt! : )
8°F
the quilt is lovely, imagine all the work! my 85 year old mom is a wonder quilter, who would look at this, order it and have it done in no time. i, on the other hand look at it and dream. we are a retired army couple, so have lived many of the same things you are. i remember putting our two dogs and one cat in the tierheim, (kennel) in berlin before we had base housing available. fortunately it was only a couple of months. good luck, life is an adventure to be lived!
Okay Okay Okay …… You’ve officially conned me into this – not only because it’s breathtakingly beautiful, and it will be a family heirloom I can pass down, but also because they’ll send me extra fabric in case I screw up. (I’m thinking at this point to just have them send me 2 of everything to be safe.) Just be forewarned. You will be hit with a barrage of email questions unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
God help me.
Um, you do realize that this is all hand work, right? And they’ll be shipping us over 5,000 pieces of fabric, right? Maybe I’ll just showcase mine in a dimly lit room when I’m done, to the Cataract Society….
Ahh…hello…I’m crazy, remember?…
But no – I didn’t stop to think there’d be 5,000 pieces of fabric. Ok, well 10,000 pieces for you.
Stitching one block at a time by hand shouldn’t be that hard, it’s only straight line stiches anyway. Plus you could do it anywhere.
Love your quilt and your blog. And your puppydog! I found your via Chickens in the Road. Good luck on the sewing.
Hi Kelly,
Well…I’m hoping that’s what the quilt will wind-up looking like. (I’m keeping my fingers crossed on that one.)
But I’ll be sure to post pictures of my progress once it starts in January.
Thanks!
And before I forget…and Maggie Moo says she loves you, too.
I love the quilt. I tried that once…but you know me I am not a very patient person. Keep up the awesome work!!!
PS. I am glad the website is up because I can still hang out with you here! Love ya, J
Happy Quilt is in Songtan. It is very overwhelming with all the cotton fabric they have there. Of course, you may know this by now, but I am reading your blog from the first entry & going forward. I have been here for 5 months & absolutely love it. You are so funny in dialoguing your misadventures here. I do it through facebook photo albums.