Thu, 24 September

INGREDIENTS Four squares, cut without mercy from the day's four hours. One knot of grey cord, wound tighter than any answer to "what's the stack." Mustard felt coins, cut generous, scattered rather than counted. A felt balloon, half the air already gone by lunchtime. Violet sateen, cut on the bias, for the hour that pretended it was already tomorrow somewhere else. A crescent moon button, sewn on backwards so it still catches light at the wrong angle. One length of crimson thread — do not test its strength before you need it. Two felt numerals, 3 and 1, cut rough, edges left raw. METHOD Piece the squares directly against each other. Do not allow the seams to rest. Feed the whole cloth through the machine without lifting the foot, even where it wants you to. Let the needle catch on one seam per panel — this is correct, this is the day. When you reach the fourth square, slow down. Read the date aloud. Let the word arrive one beat behind it, like thread catching before it's asked to. Do not smooth the pucker. It is the only true tension in the whole quilt. Bind the edges last, and only after the light outside has changed twice.