To the nines

By the end of the day Thursday my throat hurt more than I imagined a throat could hurt. My eyes were watering like little face faucets and I felt generally crappy. I called in sick on Friday and agreed that book club should be canceled for Saturday. Crap. Who has time to be sick?

The worst part is that somehow over the years, being sick makes me want to start quilts. Not work on a quilt -- I'd have a few possibilities there -- start a new quilt. Showing more restraint than I thought possible, I resisted the urge only because I knew starting something new would, in the end, not make me feel better. It would simply add to my anxiety over the myriad of other things I really need to get done. Plus, I was too sick to get beyond the thinking about it stage. If I had, however, actually put my inclination to use, I would have made 9-patch blocks. 3-inch nine patch blocks of blues and golds, I think. (Still have plenty of golds and a sufficient amount of blues to get by.) My feverish vision included 9-inch blocks made of nine 3-inch nine-patch blocks arranged with alternate blocks yet to be determined. I love the simplicity of the nine-patch.

Wisely, instead of starting yet another project, I decided to trade out my quilts today. Put the wintery looking ones away and bring out the brighter ones. In the process, I gave myself a little back yard clothesline quilt show. Interestingly enough, I noticed that my exhibit (notice, too, how I've elevated myself to an artist with just one word -- or, downgraded this to a courtroom scene, depending on your point of view) was a perfect example of the versatility of my friend the 9-patch. It also stands as testimony to my quilt starting urges. On the far right is Evan's quilt, which is a 90" square made of six-inch 9-patch blocks. Started on a whim similar to the one I am currently fighting, it is one of my all time favorite quilts. At the far left is the maple syrup quilt that has the trusty 9-patches serving as the corner stones of each maple sugaring scene. Even the quilt in the middle has uneven 9-patch squares playing the background role to the stars. It's not one of my favorites, with the exception of the border, which saves the entire quilt from the mundane, but it is a reliable companion to the couch nappers all winter long. It, along with several others, will be packed away in the trunk for fall, when I'll take them all out and wonder why it is that most of my winter quilts seem to be 9-patch based. Maybe I'll have to make a summer 9-patch just to throw myself off. Maybe some golds and blues ...