Interesting times

There is an old curse that I’ve been thinking about lately. It goes like this: “May you live in interesting times.” This current situation in which we find ourselves certainly qualifies as an interesting time. My husband and I have been on lockdown here in our cozy condo on the North Fork of Long Island since the end of the final week of February, which makes it now a full two months that we have been hunkering down due to COVID-19. It’s been . . . well . . . interesting.

We took a little mini-vacation in Florida back in February, which didn’t really go so well. Instead of the nice, relaxing vacation we had planned, we discovered that the location we’d chosen was not the best. Instead of the lovely resort we expected at a well-known, high-end hotel brand, we found a rather run-down, pathetic and slightly dirty-around-the-edges place that had obviously seen better times (like the ones that had been glowingly portrayed on their website). We tried to make the best of it, but when my poor husband spent the next-to-last day of our getaway suffering from a horrible case of food poisoning, any pretense of a pleasant vacation flew right out the window. It was a relief to return to our nice clean home. And poor Fred doesn’t want to even think about Chinese food for a very, very long time.

We’d heard about how the virus had affected China before we left on our ‘vacation’, and while we were in Florida we listened to the news about how my beloved Italy was being devastated by the deadly scourge. And then, it showed up here at home, with a major outbreak just one town away, in Southold. We’ve been lucky. We’ve stayed healthy, and the infection rate in our own hamlet of Aquebogue has been very low, although all around us the virus has been affecting families, some of whom we know. Luckily, those close to us, our dear friends and family, have been unaffected as of yet.

I was able to join my my quilting group, the North Fork Quilters, for one last meeting after returning from Florida, just before the virus hit. We were already cognizant of the threat. Chairs at our long table were placed further apart than normal, and there were no hugs exchanged, even when I shared with them my very, very good news that my book proposal to C&T Publishing had been accepted. It was wonderful to receive their congratulations and encouragement, but I really did miss those hugs I knew I’d have received under more normal circumstances. 

So, a few days later, when the lockdown was announced, my good friends the North Fork Quilters began to produce face masks by the dozens (and in some cases, by the hundreds!) while I contributed a few dozen for first responders, my family, friends and neighbors and and then concentrated my efforts on producing content for my book.

And I’ve been at it since. Part of me is glad to have the distraction of a job to do, since my face-to-face quilt instruction business as The Quilt Whisper has come to a standstill. I’ve been busy making projects and writing for the book, but another part of me is feeling slightly guilty for not producing face masks to aid the front line workers and those who now have the need to follow the New York State guidelines for wearing a mask when out in public. Even more guilt-inducing, I’ve been jealous of those quilters who have lots of time to finish up their longstanding ufo’s and just fiddle around in their sewing rooms, having fun exploring U-tube and Pinterest and Facebook and other fun parts of the internet (although I have made time to watch the adorable Pluto from Canada-land every time his two-legged mom posts a new video — little Pluto with her squeaky voice and great advice is just too cute to miss!).

I can’t reveal the topic of my book, to be released in the early fall of 2021, except to say that it’s about a technique very close to my heart, one I’m passionate about. Those of you who know me and my passion for this particular technique will probably be able to guess what it is, but for the general public, the topic must remain a secret. It will contain a gallery of my own art quilts, a second gallery of quilts and projects produced by some of my students who learned the technique in my classes, it will be scattered with stories I learned in a place I cannot mention and it will contain some brand-new projects that introduce the technique with step-by-step instructions. Is that mysterious enough?

I can say that I am thrilled beyond words to be writing a book to share with quilters around the world. It’s been a long held dream for me. I’m honored to have it published by such a renowned and respected company like C&T.

To my friends, colleagues and customers, I wish you all good health and the patience you need to get you through this challenging and interesting time. I miss you all and can’t wait until we are able to hug each other again!