A pride flag was one of the quilting projects I really wanted to get done, and it works great as a scraps buster.
This is roughly 40 by 65 centimetres (about 16 by 26 inches) and quilted in the ditch with thin cotton batting. I wish I'd used rainbow thread for the quilting, but I didn't have any on hand, and the goal was to not buy any new materials.
Under the cut: diagram and process.
HST = half square triangle; S = square.
The pieces are listed on the diagram above, but here they are again:
Light blue: 10 HST
Light pink: 6 HST
White: 2 HST
Brown: 12 HST
Black: 12 HST
Red: 1 HST, 7 S
Orange: 1 HST, 6 S
Yellow: 1 HST, 5 S
Green: 1 HST, 5 S
Blue: 1 HST, 6 S
Purple: 1 HST, 7 S
The HST are 9 cm (≈3.5 in) and the squares are 8 cm (≈3.14 in). I used a 5 mm (≈0.2 in) seam allowance. I recommend using a bigger seam allowance if you’re making a larger quilt, or one that will be used as a blanket or as part of a wearable piece.
I worked by washing, pressing, and cutting all my fabric into the necessary pieces. I then assembled all my HST into squares, then pressed the seams open, and squared the squares down to 8 cm (≈3.14 in). I assembled those squares into 1x1 pieces, pressed, squared. Those were assembled into 2x2 pieces, pressed, squared. Then into 2x6 bands, pressed, squared. Then into 4x6 bands, pressed, squared. I then assembled the three resulting bands (two 4x6, one 2x6) and pressed and squared one last time to finish the quilt top.
Some progress pictures to clarify what I mean by 2x6 or 4x6 bands:
After all HST were assembled into squares. I recommend taking pictures of your fabric set up before sewing, so you remember which order you wanted to put your squares in.
4x6 piece and nine 2x2 squares, partway through assembly.
Assembling bands together. Press your seams!
The finished quilt top.
I used the bi flag as a backing, but feel free to do a one-sided flag and use the backing of your choice. I know there’s cute pride-themed quilting cotton out there, or just a plain colour would work as well.
I don’t have a diagram for the bi flag: I used 8 cm (≈3.14 in) squares, 16 blue, 8 purple, and 16 pink. Those were assembled similarly, as I find working in full bands results in irregular points.
A similar process could be used to make any pride flag of your choice! I might make a trans pride one eventually. This is a really good stash-busting project, and a cuter alternative to a polyester flag. Please send me pics or tag me if you sew one!
Happy pride, and don’t forget to press your seams.
The thing about the Cottage is that yes they are making love. Yes they are saying the most emotionally vulnerable shit that they have ever said to another living person. Yes they are going at it missionary style bathed in moonlight and calling each other baby about it.
They are also, crucially, having the filthiest and nastiest sex that two guys in their twenties with an extremely willing monogamous partner can think up. Things are WILD. They are Yes And'ing each other in ways that they are legit going to have to process by sitting quietly alone in a room for an entire day at some point in the future.
They're going at it raw, of course. Ilya is spitting in his mouth and making Shane thank him for the privilege, then calling him a slut when he does. Shane is letting Ilya chase him through the woods. He's wrapping Ilya's fingers around his neck and begging while Ilya tightens his grip. Ilya decides at one point that if Shane can't come on his cock alone then he doesn't get to come. Shane doesn't receive oral a single time at the Cottage without having to swallow his own cum. Ilya walks around with a piece of gauze on his forearm because Shane bit him and drew blood. Ilya fucks Shane with his nose way up inside Shane's armpit the entire time, huffing and licking. Ilya comes on Shane's face in the shower and Shane is so far down and loves the feeling of being marked so much that he asks Ilya to piss on him. Shane is never more than two minutes away from having Ilya's tongue or dick in one of his holes, no warning given aside from a command to spread his legs or get on his knees.
It's a fucking tour de force of debauchery. And this, too, is lovemaking.
Imagining Ilya on his birthday receiving flowers from Svetlana & a cake made by David & Yuna & a birthday video from the Pike children & texts from the entire Centaurs family & of course his husband treating him like a sweet perfect birthday prince. Imagining Ilya Rozanov feeling loved & at peace
Thinking about #myshane as a big “I can do that” guy. Physical skills just work for him. Maybe he’s supernaturally blessed, maybe it’s his superior mind-body connection, maybe it’s maybelline, don’t ask me, I just call it like I see it. Here’s a non exhaustive list of things Shane has watched someone do, said “I can do that” very quietly to himself, and then proceeded to do with little to no forethought or practice:
Backflip (much has been posited about Shane’s skills but this post got me thinking about the fact that Shane probably saw another kid do a backflip one time, thought “I can do that” and proceeded to do it perfectly the very first time)
Beerpong (it’s honestly not even fun to play against Shane. Even the fact that Ilya Rozanov is only average at best, and therefore hilarious to make fun of, is not enough to make up for the fact that Ilya’s husband, no matter how drunk he is, sinks every shot, every time. Doesn’t even ask for re-racks. You can cause all the interference you want it does not matter. It’s UNNATURAL.)
Dunking (originally discovered in Juniors during some downtime at an exhibition match in Michigan, rediscovered when the Centaurs stage a friendly pickup game at a park on a day off, and then after that they make him do it every time they’re in the vicinity of a hoop and a ball)
Any and every viral dance routine (TO BE CLEAR he has no natural rhythm when left to his own devices. Even DrunkShane is merely bopping his head and sort of swaying his hips out of time. But let him watch a few minutes of a choreographed dance? It’s 5, 6, 7, over for you bitches. Ilya takes advantage of this the most obviously, but Harris has been known to use dark powers of persuasion to get a backwards snapback + short shorts wearing Shane to perform a tik tok dance or two for the camera.)
Catching a frisbee with his teeth (ok technically he saw a dog do this. And technically he was a little tipsy, on the beach with the boys. And technically he did chip an incisor but it was a fake one to begin with so what’s the harm???)
In the background of the video clip, posted by a fan at the hotel breakfast just before Christmas 2018, Shane Hollander is talking on the phone. He looks tired but he's smiling, pushing scrambled eggs around his plate with a fork. "I saw, baby," he says. "No, definitely, no way that was slashing, I'm with you. You'll get them next time, though. Beautiful goal you got in the first, that was so fucking sexy. I can't wait to see you tomorrow. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Love you."
Which leads to a bit of an uproar because omg Shane Hollander has a girlfriend?? who plays hockey???? that's so on brand for him like. okay who was playing last night and got a goal in the first period, we need to find the woman who has Shane Hollander crooning into his phone like a lovestruck teenager. and the consensus lands on an unsuspecting and entirely unrelated CWHL forward who has never even been in the same city as Shane but the Internet is running with the story and there's journalists harassing her and Shane has to get his agent to call her agent so he can apologise for this mess and she's like, dude, I know it's not your fault, but Shane feels so fucking bad about it, you know?
And unfortunately it doesn't really let up as quickly as they thought because it's right before Christmas and isn't this a great story, fucking Hallmark movie shit, so a very unimpressed Leila (her name is Leila) has to look a reporter in the eye after her team just played a really good fucking game of hockey and everybody wants to talk to her about some fucking guy, you know? so she looks him in the eye and says, no, I am not dating Shane Hollander, I have never dated Shane Hollander, I will never date Shane Hollander, I am literally a lesbian. I have a whole-ass girlfriend. She plays for the Blades.
And Shane Hollander is so consumed by jealousy he almost chokes.
Loving the idea that after some time has passed and everybody has calmed tf down, it becomes a silly little joke like yeah, how's my girlfriend's boyfriend doing?, they mostly hang out at hockey events especially once the Irina Foundation is a bit more established and Shane is putting more effort into his charity work but then they just always end up getting tipsy in a corner together, talking puck and bitching about the press and how physios torture you for their own sick enjoyment, all three of them laughing and it's genuinely fun and he's fine, it's fine, Shane is not burning alive with greed at all.
Leila sends him a photo the next morning at buttfuck o'clock of her gf in running gear like "i told her Shane Hollander would bring me breakfast in bed, not abandon me to go exercise" and Shane replies "so sorry to disappoint you also does this mean Marie got the code for the hotel gym?" and then they gradually become real friends and the next time they’re at some gala Leila's insta story complaining that "they’re ganging up on me" because Shane and Marie dragged her out for a run goes a bit too viral and of course the tabloids run all sorts of bullshit about how he's cheating in Rose Landry with Leila or on Leila with Marie or
once Hollanov are out and public the running joke is that everybody thought Ilya was the womaniser but Shane somehow managed to land three girlfriends at once
the first time ilya meets the two is after hollanov gets married and when shane introduces them ilya is immediately like "it's so nice to finally meet my girlfriends in law" which starts a whole new thing where leila and marie refer to ilya as their "husband in law"
ok i'm still thinking about the branding thing. au where your soulmate leaves a brand on you in some way when you touch them - maybe their ring leaves a mark when you shake hands, or you both come away with marks from brushing arms on the subway - and they burn hot, just for a moment, just enough to make you notice. and shane and ilya both think they're fine because nothing happened when they met. they shook hands, and slammed each other into the boards, and kissed and touched and fucked and nothing. and it's perfect. until it isn't. until they both want more and want to stop wanting more but can't bring themselves to break it off despite the fact that they're both sure that any day now the other one will meet their soulmate. and it'll all be over. and then the tuna meltdown happens and then rose happens and ilya feels sick. constantly, every day, desperately wishing he'd been able to leave a mark on shane, that shane had left his mark on him. wishing even more desperately that he didn't want that. he's so sure that she's left her mark on shane that he almost doesn't go to tampa. almost comes up with some bullshit excuse. but he goes and shane walks into that bar looking so beautiful, his eyes and his smile and his freckles. and he's preparing to have his fears confirmed, but then shane says they weren't compatible. and he thinks he knows what it means and there's hope stirring in his belly, and when he finds shane on the beach and he asks for ilya's room number the hope crawls up his throat. but their thumbs brush and still nothing. no heat, no marks. and then up in that room, shane tells him he's gay, and ilya tells shane about his father, and shane kisses him and rocks him and just holds him. and when they finally fuck again it's slower and more reverent than ever before, and he flips shane on his belly and grinds into him slow and deep, leans down to whisper russian in his ear, because shane seems to like that, and his necklace lands on shane's shoulder. and it doesn't quite light up, not exactly. but ilya can see it. see when it goes hot and hear when shane cries out and comes, clenching around ilya and pulling him over the edge with him, and then ilya looks at the mark, traces it, kisses it, and shane whispers was that -?, and ilya doesn't really know what to say. yes doesn't seem like enough. nothing he could say does. he just lays his head on shane and nods. and feels tears prickling his eyes again. and shane pushes him off and goes to the bathroom to look and ilya's stomach drops again. he's sure shane is going to come back and tell ilya they can't. that he doesn't want him. that it must just be one sided. but instead he comes back and lays down and wraps himself around ilya, burying his face in his chest, and then ilya feels it - white hot, for just a moment. and shane sits up and they both look down and see a perfect imprint of shane's freckles right over ilya's heart.