I am a champion procrastinator.

As I’m writing this post on Friday night, I’m supposed to be cutting out pieces for a few new blocks to take with me to my first ever quilting retreat tomorrow; instead, I noticed that I’d completed 25 blocks, a nice “square” number like the number of squares on a Bingo card. So, naturally, I needed to take a picture of all the completed blocks arranged like a Bingo card, and post it here.

Sure, cutting out pieces is not my favorite thing, but I also procrastinate on the interesting parts of quilting. When you’re sewing by hand, it’s kind of a slow slog, and I get bored with it pretty easily – even the fun parts.

My best defense against this boredom is to have something to occupy my mind while my fingers are busy sewing. The blogging actually helps, because I’m composing my next article in my head as I stitch.

On all my quilting projects, I also try to leave some design decision undecided until the last minute, so my brain can keep working on that. My Dear Paulette quilt has an extra advantage on the boredom front, in that every block is different, so there are plenty of opportunities to make design decisions on a per block basis.

I’m even making a game of deciding which block to do next, so I can think about the next block while I’m working on the current one.

In fact, I’ve got a black and white printout of the quilt, and have been playing Bingo by marking off each block as I complete it. I’m pleased to announce that as of block #25, I have at least one block done in each column and each row of the 13 x 13 grid of square blocks.

As I look at my Bingo picture, I also notice that in 25 blocks, I haven’t repeated a single fabric yet (excluding the red that’s in every block, obviously). 25 blocks, 25 fabrics. Now I need to make a game of using each fabric in the quilt at least once, before I repeat any fabrics.

[Brief interlude while I check the number of fabrics in the quilt … now I’m even procrastinating on my procrastinating!]

There are 74 fabrics in the quilt, excluding the red and the backing fabric, so I’m about a third of the way through my new game.

And yikes, it’s 11 PM! I’d better go get those pieces cut out for my first ever quilting retreat tomorrow morning!

UPDATE Sunday, 11 AM: Well, naturally, I got too tired to cut out all the pieces on Friday night, so I had to finish it Saturday morning, thus making me fashionably late for my first ever quilting retreat.

The good news is, my first ever quilting retreat was awesome! Nestled in a cabin in the Cascade foothills, I spent a relaxing day working on my quilt blocks and chatting with other quilters.

I’ve been averaging about 2-3 blocks per month, but yesterday I completed one and two-thirds blocks during my seven hours on site, and wrapped it up after I came home – two blocks in a single day! Okay, technically, I redid one of the seams this morning, but I’m still counting it as completed yesterday. Either way, it was a very productive weekend.

So, I guess the real formula for overcoming quilt procrastination is a tranquil setting, good company, and nothing to do but quilt. Bingo!