Quilting Fever and the Zombie Apocalypse

It’s a sickness really.  What started out as acquiring a skill turned into a hobby turned into an obsession.  Let's face it, I can't help myself.  I’m never, ever without at least one quilt in some stage of development.  So even though I’m in the end stages of this queen-sized monster, I still picked up the cutest panel for a baby quilt when we were visiting my sister in Florida. 

I always look for fabric when I'm out of town because we have a dearth of quilting stores in town. There has long been one quilting store, but they prefer to serve people who take their classes, otherwise you may as well be chopped liver.  On top of that, they use only fluorescent lighting so it is almost impossible to select fabrics.  After the last time I was snubbed there, I vowed never return.  That left only the chain store where the fabric quality ranges from so-so to fall-apart. Recently a new quilting store opened up.  Hooray!  

Three days ago, my friend and I decided to check it out.  I was looking for fabric to coordinate with the baby panel, and she was in the planning stages of a quilt for her son.  After my choices had been cut and written up, the clerk mentioned something about zombie fabric.

My ears perked to attention.  When one’s daughter is a neuroscientist, the concept of something that eats brains is pretty darn exciting.  [Although if you read a previous blog post, you may recall that my Perfect Grandson Alan has informed us that, “Zombies don’t eat your brains; they just punch you in the nose.  (All Good Zombies Go to Devon, July 20, 2013.)]  I was revved:  zombie fabric! 

Unfortunately I’d used my turn with the stupid baby fabric, and I had to be nice to my friend as she began her design.  I tried to focus, but, hey, zombie fabric!  Once we’d finished with her pattern, my turn again!  There they were, bolts of the most adorable zombies you ever saw.  Since my friend is nicer than I am (hi, Deborah), she coached and coordinated to my heart’s content. 

Home I came.  The queen quilt lurked over my shoulder so I made a pact with it.  I’ll quilt on pink and green in the evenings, but my days are reserved for zombies! 

Now, what pattern?  In the store I was thinking squares and sashing, but when I got home, I remembered several years ago seeing on TV an off-kilter quilt block. What could be better for zombies?  Onto the internet I went.  I found a couple of examples of the finished blocks, but the actual pattern does not seem to exist.  That means each block will be a lurching experiment which is fine because that is absolutely right for zombies.. 

Brainsssss 
(While the outside of the block is square, 
I felt the zombie block needed to be askew.)

Once I decided on the pattern, I realized I was short on one of the fabrics, so yesterday I ran back to the store and bought more of it.  Yesterday evening while I was dutifully quilting the flower garden (Flowers?  Who cares about flowers?), I obsessed over the zombie pattern and decided to have the blocks sashed by a sort of green cabbage fabric and surrounded by walking zombies.  I panicked realizing I might be short on another two fabrics and could use a bit more security on a third.  That's a lot of pressure because you never know when hundreds of people will converge on the quilt shop and buy up all the fabric you want.  Noooo!

The thought of driving yet again to the quilt store again was a bit daunting, but still, a quilter’s gotta do what a quilter’s gotta do. 

The zombie apocalypse has begun.