August Morning Make 2021

Morning make Euroa Quilt Cheryl Arkison.jpg

August was set to be a busy month with a lot of motion. Camping and a vacation in between the reality of working and caring for kids. I started the month wanting something portable and to keep scratching the hand stitch itch. Committing to the Euroa quilt was an obvious choice.

Morning Make Euroa Quilt Cheryl Arkison.jpg

From start to finish in the month I made 7 whole blocks. That might not sound like much but considering that, on average, I made 20 blocks per year for the past 3 years I think that is pretty good! This gets me to 70/100 in my goal for this quilt. I started the month cutting fabric and prepping to baste and piece the first block. I worked one or two blocks at a time, the same way I’ve been making the entire quilt. So some days I was prepping, some basting, some assembling. Some days I had an hour or more, some days only 20 minutes. But like always, I was doing my Morning Make before consuming anything - social media, caffeine, the news, or even hot water in the shower.

Morning Make Cheryl Arkison.jpg

We had the opportunity to go camping a few times in August, once to the Jasper area and once to the Sheep River. It was about connections with family we haven’t seen and connections with the outdoors. I still started the day with Morning Make though! Then we could hike and kayak and and swim and wander the forest and laugh together. The best of all worlds, even with the dirt and outhouses. Later in the month we visited Waterton for more of the same, but we splurged on a hotel. This was to make up for a cancelled lake vacation because of forest fires. Still more family connections, kayak time, forest time, and sewing in a fancy lodge while tourists stared at me slightly less than the magnificent scenery!

Morning Make is often portable, unless I commit to a sewing machine project, so there is no excuse to miss it. Besides, while vacation is also good for my mental health, the daily creative practice of Morning Make is even more important.

Morning Make Cheryl Arkison