It’s been a year. Have you had time to reflect on how your life has changed? Big or little, life is different. Some changes for the good and other changes, not so good. The pandemic had a way of showing us what was important, and what wasn’t.
Looking back has a way of clarifying the way to move forward.“
We changed our business model about May 2020 when we realized things weren’t going to go back to normal. We changed our game plan from vending at quilt shows, teaching and lecturing for guilds, to an online store, and Zoom’ing with different quilting communities.
During Shelter in Place, one of the first things Lora and I did was to host an online Mystery project. We wanted to reach out to our quilting friends. We were all isolated, alone, by ourselves, worried, anxious, and nervously wringing our hands. So our hands got to work and we wrote a mystery project to connect with our quilting community. We partnered with In Between Stitches in Livermore and launched our first Sew-Along Mystery project from mid-March to the first week of April. We had so much fun sewing independently together apart and sharing our work on Facebook. One year later, that Shelter in Place community project is now our new pattern, In Between Gatherings.
In Between Stitches Quit Shop in Livermore has stocked In Between Gatherings. If you’re not in the area, or unable to swing by, we also have In Between Gatherings available as a pdf download on our Etsy store. If you prefer a printed copy, we’d be happy to mail you a copy from our online store.
The block is a fun one to put together. It looks difficult, but it has an easy-peasy trick. You start with 10″ squares. You’ll want 24 light 10″ squares and 24 dark 10″ squares.
Next step is to cut all those squares into three strips. Then sew the strips back together but swap the middle strip so you’re sewing a dark/light/dark square and a light/dark/light square. Easy.
Square the block to 9″.
Next step is to cut the square twice on the diagonal. Swap two of the triangles and create two blocks, a Mountain Peak block and a House block, named by how the triangle pieces look.
Sew up the two blocks (24 of each) and then arrange in one of the five lay-out options.
Lora added a colorful border to her quilt. I’m borderless. The pattern does include instructions if you like to add borders.
That rearview mirror has shown me a lot on the value of community. Without you all, I’d have fallen into a deep depression and continued to bake bread. Thank you for connecting with us. We both have made so many new online friends. We look forward to when we can gather again, until then, let’s connect via social media.
Youtube – we made 53 FREE video tutorials this past year! And we’re making more. Subscribe to our Youtube channel to be notified when we’ve added a new video.
Facebook – on there daily! We have a group Facebook page where you can post your projects and ask questions. Join our group Material Girlfriends Quilting Gang. We’d love to hear from you.
Pinterest – Find a plethora of resources and inspiration from our Pinterest boards. Follow our Pinterest boards to stay on top of quilting trends.
Instagram – Lora is the queen of quilt photography, @material_girlfriends. Check out and follow to see her gorgeous Instagram postings.
Flickr – This is our quit gallery, Material Girlfriends. If you’re working on one of our patterns, our galleries will give you lots of color ideas and layout options.
Thanks for connecting with us! Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. We have kits back in stock. Check our shop if we were out of the one you were wanting.
Lisa W. Norton and Lora W. Zmak
