Sometimes the title for these posts can nudge toward the trivial, but the first thing I want to talk about was anything but trivial.
My family.
Our four children do not live near us, for some, the far-away is very-far-away, and for others, it’s a bit closer. My husband proposed taking me out to dinner for my milestone birthday, but to “prepare for photos.” And “maybe don’t wear your sneakers.” We went to our local Fancy Dining Place, The Mission Inn, which was still decked out in holiday lights. When I rounded the corner to our table, the kids were all sitting there. Oh, My! I was quite touched that they would come to celebrate with me, and they spent the next day with us, too. Quite the loveliest of birthday surprises. By Sunday, they had all gone home, and the house was very quiet.
When an opening became available, I rejoined the Gridster Bee. It was one I’d started several years ago, but I’d bowed out last year. Patti, ever capable, took over and has been a steady hand in keeping it going, as many bees dissolve after a short time. We had our kick-off Zoom call at the beginning of the month (one positive from the 2020 pandemic is this technology):
I loved seeing Carol’s Christmas quilt, one done in an earlier iteration of this Bee.
I finished this. It’s a free pattern, here on the website (keep reading). I’d started writing it ages ago, but who knows where time flies? Inside is the color key for both this 2023 (softer) version of Painter’s Palette fabrics, as well as the (bolder) version used in 2019:
I haven’t yet finished the 2023 quilt; for one, I’m still embroidering the temperature range numbers onto the Circle of Geese block that I’ve used for a key.
And about this geese pattern. It was originally made by Kelly Liddle of JelliQuilts. If I could find her again, I’d link to it. She seems to have vanished without a trace, and it’s a pretty good pattern for this sort of thing. I’ve even written to the last email I have from her, when I paid for and downloaded the pattern: Zip. Nada.
Which brings me to the podcast I listened to this past week, where Ezra Klein and his guest, Kyle Chayka, talk about how the internet isn’t fun anymore. Boring, too. And part of it is what Chayka calls the SEO-ification of the algorithm. Everything resembles everything else, as we use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to get a wider reach. While this can have benefits, Chayka and Klein argue that we seem to be homogenizing our world, as every website looks like another as the robots send you to whatever you’ve liked before, and assume you will like again.
I’m fine with that, especially when I do a search on Temperature Quilts on Instagram. But I’m also not fine with it as it seems to have flattened out what we see. Like hashtags used to be an interesting way to get a range of images, from temperature quilts that began as crocheted blankets to the most recent version of houses, leaves, and birds. Now we just get the “TOP” images. Are they the top “eye-ball-getting” images? The most colorful? The most interesting? And how will we ever know what the robots, aka: algorithm, have come to choose what they are showing us.
Chayka says he misses the curated web, where various people wrote random things, like a writer went flying through a rainbow and put the colors up on a blog. A blog!?! Who writes those anymore? Well, I do. Maybe that is why I also write about quilting, but also more-than-quilting, trying to avoid being boring, and maybe to avoid having to clean up my sewing room:
One more thing: this week is Road to California, a local, national quilt show. I’m signed up for two classes: one from Lori Kennedy (FMQ on Monday) and one from Annie Smith (Design Your Own Appliqué on Thursday). I’ll also go one more day, Saturday, so I can stay to get my quilt that is hanging in the show: Aerial Beacon.
I would take a closer photo of this, but it will have to wait until next week, when I get some pictures of it hanging in the show. If you are headed there, find me and say hi!
Here’s the Temperature Pattern download. It will stay here on my website for a bit, then move over to my Pattern Shop on PayHip. Enjoy!
UPDATE: The pattern is now over on PayHip, so head over to my Pattern Shop to download your copy.
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I found anther person who did a temperature quilt using flying geese in the same way. https://pin.it/5cN0uQGbM I don’t know how much help it would be, since I do not use Instagram. I agree that when you search for things the options seem to be less and harder to find a variety. I love reading blogs still. The blog sites seem to not be as efficient any more either. I will get an email with a new blog link and the next week it finally shows up on the blog site (like bloglovin for example). It is a shame. I used to sit for a while and search pinterest for inspiration and I would get a link to go to a site to read about it. Now they are images mostly with nothing to explain.
Happy Birthday Elizabeth! May this year be happy and healthy!
That hubby is certainly special…. and thoughtful as well.
Funny, I have been snuggled under that quilt since new year’s! Needed something extra large to get me through. I looked at every tree and one thing I regret on my Gridster quilts is not having the makers sign every block like you did with your ladies.
I would have loved to see your face when you saw those kiddos sitting there! What a great day!!
X
Each of the paragraphs you wrote could be the topic of it’s own blog…especially the one about your kids. Where do they live? What do they do? What are they like? But I guess most people come here for the quilting, not the kids.
Sounds like the best kind of birthday weekends.
I hear you about the Internet; instead of broadening our outlooks, it brings us more and more of the same.
I’ve recently started reading Cal Newport. Although he’s a computer scientist, he is very much about making a focused, and thus more meaningful life. One of his tenets is digital minimalism. I interpret it as filtering out the junk and then being more intentional with the time saved. To use the Internet as a tool for your greater goals.
It doesn’t solve the problem of searching for and finding more of what you need, in greater depth. But it helps remove some of the clutter.
I wonder if the Internet has become more blah is because at the start, people who took the time to learn how to use this brand new thing were probably passionate about what they wanted to share. And they didn’t get likes or money from ads. And no one else was making money off their content, either.
Anyway, before I start sounding like Homer Simpson’s dad talking about the good old days I’ll sign off!
And Happy Birthday again!
Happy birthday from a grateful blog reader.
Happy Birthday. Sounds like it was wonderful.
What a lovely birthday surprise!
I will be going to Road to California and I look forward to seeing your quilt! I thought about signing up for a class, Lori Kennedy’s being one of them, but didn’t pull the trigger. Maybe next year.
What a delightful birthday surprise! I too have lost interest in the main internet sites. Not only the similarity of suggestions but the increasing abundance of advertisements. And I still like blogs, especially thoughty ones like yours.
The video on Insta of you seeing your kids at the restaurant touched my heart. Such a wonderful surprise. Happy Birthday friend. I hope this year is a really really good one for you. You deserve it. I agree that the internet is becoming more and more homogenous. I can’t stand the ads everywhere including Pinterest which was once a favorite place for me to browse for inspiration. I would be more productive if I simply turned away from my computer and phone for longer periods of the day. And yet . . . they have me. uggg. It is big reason why I still enjoy reading a handful of blogs like yours. No ads. Just you and your thoughts. It’s for that reason that I have considered blogging again and yet I know it’s just not what I want to do with my time. Have fun at Road. I’m trying to stay warm today in our below zero temps.
Oh goodness, what a delightful birthday surprise. Happy belated birthday, I hope this year is a good one for you and full of other delightful things. ❤
Happy Birthday !!! Your birthday surprise sounds like the best birthday a girl could ask for!
I am disappointed I’m not able to go to Road2CA this year. I was so looking forward to it, until my son and daughter-in-law asked us to have our grandsons ages 3 & 9 for the weekend. We couldn’t say no and really look forward to having them. Road will have to wait until next year. I look forward to seeing photos on your blog after the show !!! Have fun!
That was such a lovely way to ring in the new decade. Well done, Dave! Happy birthday!
Thanks for the temperature quilt information. Both are beautiful, but I love the colors in that brighter one.
I hope you have a great time at Road. I’ll be looking forward to the photos.
What a great birthday! I am currently engaged in trying to clean (not just straighten up) my sewing room for the first time in many months – dusting, vacuuming, etc. – so I enjoyed seeing your cluttered sewing room and knowing I’m not alone 😊. Such a tough job since everything has to be moved to get at the dust and dirt! I totally agree with your frustration re only getting “top posts” on Instagram 🙁. Thanks for sharing your patterns; love the softer version of the temperature quilt. Have fun at Road to California – so wish I could be there!!
I will be at Road too. Didn’t make registration in time to get into a class I wanted but life last year was tough and I’m glad to just make it to the show. I’ll be there on Thursday.
What a nice Birthday Surprise!
I love your temperature quilt – a great color pallet and very lively.
Your sewing room diagram is fabulous! I get it….stuff here, there and not related just about.
Your temperature quilt is gorgeous! I think you’re the first pattern-writer I’ve encountered who’s written instructions to make one. I hope that proves lucrative for you! Love how you’re embroidering temperatures on the geese. That will be the perfect key. I know what you mean about continuing to blog. It isn’t easy, though you’ve obviously honed-in on how to capture your audience! Look at all the comments you receive. Makes me realize my posts have turned boring, and that I should look for ways to enliven content. Thanks for making me think about that. Your posts are always interesting, and your pictures are gorgeous. Have fun at Road2CA, taking classes, and seeing your quilt hanging. That’s the best!