I did it!

I am almost finished with my two blocks for my house bee. I am so excited that I actually finished them and I like them! Next month is my month and I think I bought enough fabric for about fifty people. What was I thinking? I love my idea although it is based on someone elses so it will be very interesting to see how 11 other people interpret it. I'm just so glad to be getting things done and I have so many ideas for the next few quilts and enough fabric for about 100 quilts and I keep buying more. I've become one of those crazy people whose stash is taking over the room. I just love the fabric and the colors and the way I start thinking about combining the fabrics. I wish I could do it all day, every day. Time goes so quickly when I quilt. Hopefully someday... Pictures to be added tomorrow.

Moving right along...

To everyone's surprise, especially mine, I've actually started a few quilts so I can feel even more scattered and overwhelmed than I usually do, but I actually like them all. Of course they are all for different people and different occasions and the occasions wll probably have long since been over when the quilts are done but at least they'll always have the quilts to remember them by. I have taken some pictures and as soon as they're in the computer you can take a look. I've started doing some crewel embroidery and hope to incorporate it into some of the quilts. It's a wonderful handy craft that's easily transportable. My youngest daughter is home for the week before heading back to school and I'm going to try to make her a skirt before she leaves, let's add one more project to the list. Does everyone do this or am I a small handfull of people who seem to get overcommitted very easily. To the person who wrote a comment on my last post, would you mind identifying yourself, at least by your blog name? Thanks. Enjoy the remains of summer. Winston got a summer haircut yesterday and looks like quite a handsome little guy. Pictures will have to be added. Saw "Eat, Pray,Love" today.
If you've never been to Italy,you have to go, even just for the food. There is not word to describe it, nectar of the gods. Oh what I would give for some pasta and Italian wine and of course, Gelato!!!

A New Craft Interest

I recently saw a book on Crewel Embroidery online so I ordered it. This turned out to be a great book with beautiful, modern Crewel designs. I did what I usually do when I get interested in something. I bought more books. Luckily and by chance, Rochester, New York has a fantastic store just for embroidery. They had everything I think anyone could want. The owner was quite knowledgable and when I showed her the book she was interested in why I got interested in this kind of embroidery as opposed to the more traditional embroidery. I told her that it generally went along with my style and I thought it would be a great addition to some quilting projects so she started me off with a hoop and thread. Usually I begin to get too anxious to start something at this point, afraid I won't be able to do it but we were going on vacation and it seemed the perfect time and size to try something new and so I did. As you can see (pictures to follow) I'm just at the beginning, but it's pretty easy and the shapes are fun and there are hundred, if not thousands of colors and types of yarn. Now I'm anxious to add a little embroidery to a quilt I started. I'll try it out soon. If you're interested in it, try it. It's really pretty easy. The book I bought first is entitled, "the new crewel by Katherine Shaughnessy. Have fun if you try it!

Where are the pictures?

I haven't gotten around to getting my camera and taking pictures of what quilts I'm working on and what I plan to work on. I think I'm going to change the name of my blog and the banner picture to more accurately suit what the blog represents or what I want it to represent so keep your eyes on it, the photos are coming. I think maybe a new camera that can get closer would be more helpful too. We'll see....

This Time for Real

To those of you who dont know (and that can't be anyone who reads my blog, which aren't many people), I've been in two car accidents where I was rear ended in 2007 and 2009. I won't go into all the gorey details but at age 58 I've ended up with a significant back injury which I only recently was told may not get any better than it is. I'm not the type to give up so I got a new physical therapist and contacted my old, wonderful Yoga teacher and my forever, terrific chiropractor and we're all going to work on building up my muscles which have forgotten how to work and stop the muscles which are working and causing me pain to stop working and give up their job to the muscles who are supposed to be working. My core muscles (meaning, now my very flabby stomach) don't even know they're supposed to be doing anything so they're in for a big surprise because it's their turn now! I feel after three years all of "my team" is on the same page and doing the same things to turn this body into the best body it's ever been. The injury will clearly never go away but it's the muscles that are the culprits now and with a lot of work (on my part) things can really turn around. It may take a while but I'm optimistic. I'm going to be one of those 95 year olds you read about doing all these miraculous athletic feats.

Onto quilting. I have taken three months off of work (since mid-May) since my back was getting worse and my doctor and I decided that my life, as it was, needed to be re-evaluated, which you can see that it was. I also rested and hoped to spend a lot of time quilting, which unforunately I didn't, not sure why, but c'est la vie. I now have several quilts started or fabrics and patterns picked out and I feel like I'm on my way. It's hard to stay focused since I'll never be someone who can make a quilt in a week (how I wish I could do that) and the most amazing quilts in the world at that and because new fabric keeps coming out all the time it's hard not to keep buying and buying and not doing anything but I've vowed to cut down my buying at least and start working on what I've got or I'll be one of those people on the hoarding show only I'll be buried in fabric.

I also promise to stop writing so much since no one likes to read all this stuff and start taking a LOT more pictures so today because it's a gorgeous sunny day me and my camera will show you what I've been up to.

I'm also going to change the format of my blog. This one just doesn't seem to work for me so next time you might not recognize me as the same blog but I'll just be an improved blog with a lot less words and a lot more pictures! For those few people who have read or read my blog, "thanks" and that's my other mission, to let people know I'm here so I can get to know more quilters. Since I had to quit the bees I was in I feel very isolated but not yet ready to rejoin the bee world, too much pressure since I wasn't doing any of my own quilting but I'll be back there next year, but will start with one bee, not three and see how that goes before I join any others.

For those people who have corresponded with me your emails mean more than you can know and if you've forgotten I'm here, I am and your emails are still the support that keeps me going.
Thanks to all those wonderful quilters out there who contacted someone they didn't know to let me know they were there for me.

New Beginnings

I've been out of work for a month now, exhausted from all the responsibilities of my job, home, family, etc., after being injured. I wanted to take this time to assess the condition of my physical and emotional health and adjust my schedule accordingly. I feel like I'm still at the beginning of this process but I have learned some things. The injuries I sustained from my two car accidents will be permanent. What will that mean? I won't know for a long time, probably years so I have to focus on what I have control over and can change and improve. I have just begun this process as well. Most importantly I have to pay attention to my body and follow what it's telling me to do. I will be thinking about who has been working with me, doing what and what, if anything has helped. Who are the caring people, who have some investment in my getting better. I will need their support and energy to heal. I've begun to assemble this group and will slowly be adding and deleting people. I want as much as is possible to be surrounded by people who are helpful. Unfortuantely, I am forced by the system to deal with car insurance companies, disability companies and medical care providers who complicate my life and whose aim runs counter to my goals. I am lucky to have found an extremely kind attorney who I believe is my guardian angel. His mission, which he has undertaken himself is as much as possible to keep the negative people away from me and manage them for me (thank you Joe!!) and to support me in my efforts to get healed.

I have actually begun to quilt. Of course in my spare time I've ordered more and more fabric but I have a few quilts I am actually working on and I'm feeling so happy about that. I had everything around me to get going but I couldn't. Now I am ready and I know I need to take this slowly and not start ten projects at once or they'll never get done. I do get bored easily and I know that it's okay to spend small amounts of time on a few extra squares or a drawing but not more than that. My focus is on getting quilts done, from start to finish, maybe working on two at the same time but no more!!!

Tomorrow pictures of my new beginnings. I think you'll like them. This feels right. I couldn't have done any of it wihout Winston, my true guardian angel who is with me always and when I feel desperate has kisses and snuggles ready to freely share. What a great little guy! Someone special brought him into my life. I can't help but smile and laugh out loud at his hysterical behavior and poses. He'll get me through this and I freely repay with kisses and snuggles as well.

I am not a religious person at all but I do believe that the goodness in people is what sustains us all. Why they are like that, why some of us can gain access to them and others don't seem to be able to, I have know idea but they have the power and as long as we leave ourselves open to receive their goodness

Taking a Break

I decided to withdraw from my bees with a lot of mixed emotions. I was getting farther and farther behind and because I wasn't quilting I wasn't seeing any of my own ideas get done either. Fabric kept arriving in the mail and got added to the piles on the bookcase but nothing was getting done. Now I'm slowly getting started again. I've cut out a lot of block of animals prints that will probably just be a block quilt. I've cut out smaller blocks of different fabrics to make a nineblock quilt and I've used one of my favorite Heather Ross fabrics that will be combined with a solid so at least I'm starting. I'm happy with that for now. My life has been hectic with my daughter home from college for a month and then off to New York City for a 10 week summer internship. When she leaves there's a baby quilt all cut up for a friend and my daughter's quilt that was supposed to be done for freshman year that I want to be done for graduation! On the days when I feel awful I just take a break and say I hope it will be a better day tomorrow. It is a glorious summer like week in Rochester in May so something has to be pleasing whoever is in charge!