Valerean

I thought I’d check in with my Tumblr friends here to let you know that so far my family and I are well.  Several of us are high risk health-wise, so we’re isolating ourselves as best we can.  

I also wanted to share this, which I wrote in response to the news this morning:

1% is Not the Solution

I checked the current population of the US this morning, which the internet says is 327,700,000. 3% (the mostly frequently touted mortality rate of Covid-19) of that is 9,831,000, but it's possible that it's as low as 1%, which would be 3,277,000. It's safe to say that if this highly infectious virus spreads unchecked, somewhere between three and ten million people in this country will die.

About three million people die every year in the US anyway, so the best-case scenario is that we'll double the average annual death rate -- if nothing else factors in. If the virus doesn't mutate. If our healthcare system is not overwhelmed and more people die because they couldn't get care. If the people who initially survive the virus don't relapse or experience complications that shorten their lives. In other words, if we're very, very insanely lucky, only three million will die.

Who are these three million? Some of our elected officials will have us believe they're the elderly, as we're the most vulnerable. But we'll also be sacrificing people with pre-existing conditions or suppressed immune systems. A good portion of the dead will be neither old nor vulnerable; that's just the way this plague seems to work. So, let's say three million random people will die.

If someone rounded up three million Americans and executed them, we would call it a holocaust. Even if they were old, or not as healthy as others. I can think of nothing that would make our government do that – or I didn't, until I woke up this morning.

Here's an alternative plan: let's just kill everyone who is infected right now. At this point that would cost only, what, a hundred thousand lives? Peanuts compared to three million. We don't really need those politicians or celebrities who are infected. By summer the US would be virus-free, and the economy back on track. It's just as heartless, yes, but the numbers are better. And that seems to be the only thing that matters to the government right now. The numbers.

Just one problem with both plans: We are not numbers. We are human beings. We are all important.

I thought I’d stop in to wish all my Tumblr pals a happy holiday season, and make good on my promise to reveal my secret art project for 2019.

The project was to make quilts with fabrics selected by other people, and use patterns I’ve never tried for the patchwork.  I also decided to hand quilt them.  I got two of these finished, both pictured here.  

My goal with the project was to step outside my comfort zone, which I definitely did. It was nerve-wracking, especially with the unfamiliar patterns. More than once I questioned my sanity. But it was a chance to stop being such a control freak and do something very different with my quilting, and I loved the results. I also learned that allowing other people to be part of my creative process will not kill me. :)

Valerean is going on hiatus while I catch up on some work and figure out if I want to keep posting on Tumblr.  It might be a good time for a switch to a less problematic service.

Made binding last night from a piece of ivory linen and sewed it on to finish the recycled linen quilt.  I started this project on August 23, 2018, put it aside for a long break and then came back to it this summer.  I’d say altogether it took about seven months to complete.  

It’s been an intense experience all along.  Making something this large without a plan was intimidating to me.  I’m not a spontaneous soul so I had to fight myself most of the time I worked on it.  

Some of the fabrics I chose for the top fought me as well.  I thought the old white curtain with the eyelet lines would be a fun addition.  It does look neat, but that fabric in particular did not want to be stitched.  Most of the time I had to employ pliers to get a needle through it.  

Old linen also frays and pills.  A lot.    

I worked exclusively with a limited palette of perle cottons and silk blends for the embroidery.  This was the best choice I made; I think the threads held up beautifully with the often heavy needlework.  The colors make the work look more cohesive, too.

Spending months slow-stitching this quilt helped me grow in many ways.  I’m definitely more mindful now whenever I pick up a needle.  I love being able to give new life to old fabrics.  This gave me a chance to find out more about myself, too.  If there was ever a visual expression of my soul as a quilter, this is it.