PREPARE: A New Flimsy, A Very Old UFO

PREPARE

68 x 88

It's now a flimsy. 

I made most of the jars for this quilt a loooooong time ago.  I knew I wanted to add a few words but I really don't enjoy free-piecing letters.  I know that because I've added words to a couple of other quilts I have in the hope chest - one has ships and stars and says "Don't set sail on someone else's star" and the other simply says "Get real".   Anyway...along comes the Ad Hoc Improv Challenge to add words to a quilt and out comes this old UFO.  And it now has words. 

Don't just duck and cover. 

You know, those "duck and cover" drills I went through in first and second grade scared the poop out of me.  Even at that young age I think I knew that a desk would not do me any good as protection if the commies decided to drop a bomb on us.  I even had doubts about survival in a Fallout shelter but for years and years wherever we went I made it my business to look for the symbol for a Fallout shelter so I knew where they were. 

Anyway...being scared about survival at a young age plus a few history lessons about Irish famines and Holocausts and Depressions have taught me to be prepared...to plan ahead.  I'm not one of those crazy type survivalists but I've learned to plant trees, split wood, cook on a wood fire, make clothes, sew by hand, darn socks, fish, raise and dress chickens and rabbits, forage, make wine and cheese and soap and jam and candles, bake bread from sourdough starter and continue the starter, garden and preserve the harvest by drying or canning, save seeds, identify some wild plants that are edible or poisonous or have medicinal uses...  I've learned to make do. 

Speaking of making do...

I ran out of black fabric to use in the borders and (since retirement have become a hermit that doesn't venture out much to even buy fabric) so used some glow in the dark eyes one one side (scary, huh? who's there? ) and some fabric that looks like kids have drawn on a chalkboard...

...above the chalkboard fabric I added a window with some zombies trying to get in and above that I "drew" (embroidered in glow in the dark thread) on the chalkboard reasons to prep (no matter how remote).  This is all in fun...kind of poking fun at myself, really.  (Can't you tell from some of those things I've got in the jars? )    I've tried to pass along some of this "plan ahead" mentality with my kids but they say if anything happens they know where to go - mom's house.   And I guess that's planning ahead, too. 

I wish my fabric was stacked as neatly on such flimsy shelves.  I think I might have to add a label on the flour jar.  I used a fabric I thought might look like wheat flour which is what I usually have on hand for baking and bread making.  

 I might have to label the sugar jar too. I used some white sparkly fabric for sugar. 

PREPARE

Don't just duck and cover

Now in the quilting pile.