It's So Fluffy!!!

Haven't seen Despicable Me 2? I'm gonna die!

Well, maybe not unicorn-fluffy, but the project on my design wall sure is some-kinda-fluffy.

Working on a super-soft rag quilt.

I have this excess Minky--thought I was in loooove with it for a backing, but now I'm all "meh."  Which means, I have yards and yards of said Minky.

And look what I found: links on the Internet for making a rag quilt with some Minky (or Cuddle, or the like) and some flannel.  No batting needed, just two (or three) layers of the flannel.

And I'm off to the fluffy races!

Here's the link I initially followed.  It is a tutorial site with lots of helpful video (but beware, it is super commercial feeling).
http://www.fleecefun.com/how-to-make-rag-quilt-beginners-guide.html

Design wall bed: the flannels

My goal here is to make a lap blanket 36" x 54", using Minky as the backing and flannel as the front.  Since both dimensions are divisible by 9, I'm cutting 10" squares and using 1/2" seams.  This means I need a 4x6 grid--24 squares.

And, after cutting 48 flannel squares (one set in place of batting) and 24 Minky ones, I know where to find the fluffy: my cutting mat, the floor of my sewing room, and the sweater I was wearing today...

Any hints on dealing with all the fluff? I'm a little worried about what will happen to my washer and dryer when I get to the ragging step.

Professional Sewist? Maybe Not

Since quitting my full-time teaching job and moving to California, I have been exploring alternate career paths.  I lucked into part-time work at a quilt shop, which had always seemed like my dream job.  While wonderful, the low pay and very-part-time hours remind me regularly that this is not to be my next career.  (Since when is entry-level retail called a career?)

But... my daydreaming aspirational mind keeps pushing me to try mixing my hobby with a career:

Sew Together Bag: class at Always Quilting on January 10th

Maybe I should write up some of my designs and try to sell them?  Maybe I should start a long-arm quilting business?  Maybe I can become a (famous) quilt teacher, traveling far and wide and plying my expertise to eager audiences?

Triangle Techniques...

And maybe, if I tried to do any of that, sewing would cease to be as fun as when it was only my hobby.

Yep: it already has happened.  The last four things I have sewed have been for marketing purposes, not for fun.  I can't even remember what my own UFO's look like because I have put them away in favor of striking out in the Big Girl world of quilting teaching and designing.

Sew. Together. Bag. Again...

Which begs the question: how do they do it???  You know, They. I'm talking about the Elizabeth Hartmans and Angela Wolfs and Lee Heinrichs of this world: they clearly have design careers.  I see them on their blogs, and on television, and on the bookshelves, and on and on and on.  Do they still enjoy sewing for fun? Do they have any time to sew for themselves?


How about you?  Do you dream of being a great designer (or something related)?  Have you found your sewing/crafting hobby becoming stressful? What do you do to keep a balance, keep the fun in with the creativity?

Triangle Techniques: class at New Pieces on December 5