Fast food, slow quilts

Have you ever heard of the Slow Food movement? You can read more about it here, but basicaly it's a movement to appreciate the process of growing, making and eating food. It's about taking the time to enjoy food, especially with friends.

Well, I adore food -- fast or slow. But I've been thinking about the concept of "slow food" as I've been working on my dotty circles quilt. You all know that my usual and favorite method of quilting is what I call "slapdash." That's when I get to work on something that is pure fun and fast sewing--no careful measuring, just quick and creative assembly.

Well, I don't know why, but lately I've been unusually contented to just sew, calmly and slowly and without rushing to finish. I had fun sewing the arcs on my dotty circles -- still no big thought required, except to alternate a light fabric with a dark fabric -- but I just worked along, having a good time making arcs. Anyway, yesterday, I spent a happy few hours assembling blocks, and now here's where I am:



I've decided that this needs a pieced border, which I'm working on happily at the moment. With all the polka dots and circles, I decided it needed something zig-zaggy. Stay tuned.

I decided a while ago that I wanted to make some sort of Christmasy quilt to throw over the couch for the holidays. At PIQF in early October, I looked at every piece of Christmas fabric I could find...and I didn't like any of them. I didn't want any cute Christmas scene, or gold-embossed stuff, or goofy looking snowmen and Santas. But I had a stroke of inspiration and decided to do something funky with red and green geometrics. Today, I pulled my assortment out, and got them all washed and folded. Here they are, ready for cutting when I figure out what I'm going to do:



See that one in the top row, second from the left? A white background with red and green and yellow funky square shapes? I LOVE that one and bought a huge hunk. It's my inspiration fabric. La di da. (Or should I say "fa la la"?)