Coronavirus and Crafts
March 14, 2020Sorry to those who have come here to hide from the virus, but it si the big thing changing our lives at the moment so it will feature here. I do hope I can help us stay positive and maybe even excited by our reduction in social contact.
I suppose I should start by coming clean, I don’t thrive on being around people. It’t not that I don’t like it exactly, sometimes I really love seeing people, but it is very very tiring and even when fun wears. Having my social contact more remotely is likely to be much better for me. I know this isn’t how everyone experiences the world but I hope I can share a bit of my perspective and technique and maybe make these changes in how we interact a bit easier for those they don’t suit so well.
My students are largely in the high risk category for this virus so I have cancelled my classes hoping to reduce their risks. This means we all have a few more hours to fill a week. Iam hoping we will all use this time to sew. It is what we were doing with the time anyway and it makes us all happier so I would advise we keep doing that, and at the same times. We can’t see the reast of the class but we know they are out there and doing the same things. To help us stay together I am looking at ways to set up chat groups so we can ‘talk’ and show off what we are doing. Sorry but you will need to supply your own refreshements, don’t forget the biscuits.
That leads to my next tip, plan the luxuries first. That is a misquote of Heinlein and I think a very valuable piece of advice. We can’t directly change the pandemic, we can only change how we respond to it and live with it. As we are now having some kind of staycation lets make it as good as we can. So do buy that nice packet of biscuits, that new project you really want to try dig out the insane jigsaw you have been planning to do (or is that just me?). One of my students has already been self isolating and says they have managed a huge amount of silly house jobs. All those things you are going to do one day, one day just arrived. Funny as this may sound I plan to spread out those jobs, so there is always something needing my attention.
I am also working on two show quilts. One has been entered into Malvern, it is for the theme category, but now I suspect it won’t get seen. I may be wrong but I can’t see the show going ahead. However, the quilt can go in the general bed category next year. It won’t go off, it won’t have been seen so I will just be well prepared for next year. That one is currently being quilted, and when finished I have some customer quilts to get on with. Since getting a puppy I have been getting up alarmingly early. I am a night owl, 5am was not a time I expected to see from that direction but it does mean I have had time to do some piecing before work. I have now got the puppy to getting up at 6.30 which is a little more civilised and I am seriously considering sticking with that time for a while just for the sewing time. The alternative is to bring more sewing downstairs so I can sew in the evening with the puppy. I am concerend that he is still too boisterous for that.
The other crafty plan I have for this period is a knitting one. I had a lot of patterns I was looking at on ravelry and chose a nice easy but time consuming one. It is a large triangular hood/shawl/cape thing. It is knitted in the round almost all in a simple knit. I won’t need to think too much but it will keep me busy if i want to watch TV.