Quilting Is My Therapy ~ Much Needed Therapy

After weeks without quilting, I was turning into a cranky mess. My back, grumbled from all the furniture shuffling during painting and staged a full protest. Clearly, it was time for a break and some good old fashioned fabric therapy. The 2025 Thangles “2 bucks a block” from our local quilt shop was just the ticket. I’m behind on my blocks, and the final one drops this week!

 Instead of making one block a month for this BOM, I decided to make two each month because I prefer making big quilts. So, the 12 block BOM has become 24 blocks for me. I made the blocks for 2 or 3 months earlier in the year.   For the remaining blocks it took a couple of days to cut the fabrics and prep them to be sewn with the Thangles papers.  I was in no hurry and took breaks as often as needed to rest my back. 

Normally, the mess in my sewing room would bother me, but not this time. I simply turned my achy back on it and enjoyed playing with my beautiful fabric...pure bliss!  

The tiny Thangle blocks finish at 7.5" in the quilt, which means they’re fidgety and leave little to no room for error. Taking my time, I pinned like my life depended on it and savored every moment. Each block took about 30 minutes, sometimes longer, thanks to the distraction of Christmas movies playing as I sewed.

By Wednesday of last week, I took a break from sewing and headed to the kitchen to start prepping the Thanksgiving feast. We spent all of Thursday visiting with family and eating. By Friday, I was back in my happy place making more quilt blocks and watching more Christmas movies...Elf...several times...I love it!

The quilt shop created a pattern for those of us who love big quilts and chose to double the blocks. The pattern was great, but I enjoy putting my own spin on things.  I experimented with designs using the 24 blocks. After six or seven ideas, I settled on a quilt set on point with an alternating block, but it needs 25 Thangle blocks, not 24.   I could have made another of any existing block, but instead, I decided to design a brand-new one, the one shown below with the arrow.  

I’m finally caught up on the quilt blocks and plan to grab the last two sometime this week and finish them ASAP.  I’ve pulled some scraps of Lori Holt fabric along with a few fat quarters with hopes to find time to start on the alternating blocks.  We’ll see how it goes, as my back is feeling much better after the week of quilting therapy, so it’s back to tackling the home updates.