If you’re like most quilters, you buy a pattern/book and then set it aside to make later.

Before you start pulling fabrics and cutting, take 2 minutes to look on the designer or publisher’s website to see if any changes have been made to the pattern. Most of the time, you will find any updates under the ERRATA or PATTERN CORRECTIONS links. If you are taking a class, the teacher should be aware of any pattern corrections and advise students accordingly.

Case in point: Trendy Table 3 from Anka’s Treasures is a popular book used by many quilt shops for their monthly table runner clubs. I participate in such a club at my LQS. Instead of buying a precut kit for each project, I prefer to make my own kits. I am grateful to the group leader who told me to check the website for corrections and write them directly in my book using a Sharpie marker.

Sure enough, when I went to cut February and March project kits during Christmas break, I found a correction on the website for the March project. I needed pieces cut 1/2″ wider than what was published in the book. You can always trim down large pieces, but it’s much harder to make too small pieces larger!

Mistakes happen. We’re all human. Many pattern designers utilize testers, proofreaders, tech editors, publishers, graphic artists, illustrators, etc. The more hands in the project, the more opportunities there are for boo-boos to happen. Here’s a shout-out to the designers, publishers and companies who point out the errors and publish corrections so we can find them. Thank you.

My local grocery store shelves are bare. Not merely an empty spot here or there, but entire sections where products are MISSING. Refrigerated biscuit dough, butter, cream, yogurt, crackers, potato chips, paper products, soup, cereal, granola bars, breakfast meat and juice to name a few categories.

It’s like reliving the early days of COVID-19 all over again. What gives?

Is it supply chain woes?
Is it lack of staff to restock the shelves?
Is it holidays and just needing product deliveries in order to restock?
Is it due to winter weather predicted for this evening?

Whatever it is, it’s disheartening. Hopefully, it’s merely temporary.

Today, I took Sadie to visit Miss Pat to wish her Happy New Year and buy some fabric that I needed for upcoming projects. Sadie got her allotment of cookies and lots of pets from customers in the shop. As one of the employees was ringing up my purchase, she asked, “Are you planning to teach again?”. I paused for a minute and responded that I probably would teach again, but right now I was enjoying sewing for me.

That’s the truth.

The monthly table runner club is strictly for me. I’ve already pulled fabrics for the next two projects.

I have to add the finishing touches to A Quilter’s Cottage, which I am going to submit for entry into the Georgia Celebrates Quilts Show in June. Then, I have the two neighbor girls who want to make blocks for the show’s children’s exhibit.

I committed to making a charity quilt in January/February with an online group affiliated with Quilts for Kids.

The other truth is I do miss teaching classes.

I have ideas for projects, but samples need to be made and I’m really not in the mood to do that right now. COVID is running rampant (again). I scheduled classes for spring, summer and fall of 2021. Only about 1/3 of the classes were actually held. I’ll just wait it out this time. It could mean I don’t teach any classes until summer or fall. I’m good with that. There are projects on my biz calendar for 1st Qtr 2022 – technical editing, t-shirt quilts and reopening the Etsy shop. These are all things that involve minimal F2F contact. Then, there’s the day job. Who knows what will happen spring semester? Hopefully, not too much drama as I wind things down.

Hmmm…fall and holiday project classes are starting to sound like a possibility.

Happy New Year!