This is a picture of a quilt owned by my daughter.  This quilt has started lots of things.  First of all, I LOVE English Paper Piecing.  I find it relaxing, convenient, and most of all a very easy process.  Now you won't be finishing it overnight, but you have to remind yourself that it is the process you will enjoy.  The other thing that came to pass from this quilt is a relationship with a northwest company that makes the paper shapes for us.

My quilt like this is coming together very nicely, in fact, it is in ten pieces now.  So soon this vision will be a reality.  I admit to having an on and off relationship with most of my hand pieced projects, so when the get close to reaching the finish line it gets very exciting.

This one has been put on the shelf for a while do to Shop Hop preparation and summer in general.  But I have a goal and it will be done by the 1st of August.

EPP is a perfect anytime project, but I intend to sit on the deck this summer with my bag of pieces and thirty years from now my family can say, this is one Granny did.

I did it!

Amazingly I got something real done today, something that will last.

Yes, I did it, finally got the borders on a batik confetti quilt.  What a rush it is to get something ready to go to the shop to be quilted.  

I love the fact that while I still can't do a lot of things, I can sew.  I can create, I can make something that will last longer than I will.

What would my life be without fabric, color, and creating?  Hmmmm.... let's not go there.

I love batiks, their colors are so rich and deep, much better than these photos, but trust me, this quilt is so pretty.  I can hardly wait for it to be quilted.  Love the rich colors.

Two weeks......

Have you every looked back at your life and thought nothing happens, everything stays the same?  I do that all the time, feeling very much in a comfortable routine, work, grocery store, home, repeat.  I have to say that the last two weeks of my life have been very different as I am recovering (exceptionally well) from a hip replacement.  Two week ago today I had my hair cut very short cause laying around never makes for good hair.

We, (the girls at the shop) had been batting around the idea of moving things, like perhaps the civil war fabrics should go up front where there is more light, and then the batiks could all go where civil war was, and 30's where the batiks were, and it is non-stop from there.  Well, a couple of phone calls and we (they) were off to the races.  I feel pretty lame in this process as I was laying in the hospital and they were working themselves to pieces.  Now I wasn't there, but I have participated in this kind of process enough to know those girls rock!  That is hard work and I am just amazed as to what they have accomplished.

It is just so much more amazing in person I do hope you will come in and visit.  I have the privilege of working with a great team of women.  They work together, they laugh together, they pitch in for each other, and I can't imagine my life without them.  

So in the last two weeks they shop and I have both been transformed.  I will be back, not soon enough as I miss my freedom and the social aspect of the shop.  But I am trying to soothe myself with what I  have accomplished in the last two weeks, and some sewing projects are getting done albeit slowly.  It is  good to have a creative outlet and to be able to say I have at least accomplished something while healing.  Back to sewing on borders!

The Sewing Room

So interesting to me how life takes twists and turns and how you think that things will never change.  But they do.  Lately I have had some dramatic changes in my life dropped like a shoe that was stored on the top shelf of the closet.  Whack, right on the head.

This is when I crawl back into my comfort zone, start to cozy up my house, have dates with my grandsons and make sure that those around me know how much I love them, appreciate them and need them.

The other thing I depend on is my sewing room.  It is like being in my very own little "Panic Room", or "Bomb Shelter".  It is all mine, things are where I want them, and who gets in is up to me as well.  I used to call this a sewing "hole" because it is really a small space, but things have changed in there and it deserves more respect now.  It is truly my "happy place".

Just off the middle of the house my room sits and waits for me.  Every time I walk in there I can feel myself saying "AH".  Recently my little room has gotten a facelift and it is so pretty now, much more organized, and useable.   Still have some collections of fabric to put away, but it is a process.  And yes, I totally share this space with Fuzz.

Having your own space is important, no matter if it is a closet, or a corner, or the dining room table.  We all need a place to be ourselves, to be creative and sometimes just to hide from the real world.  My sewing room has seen me in lots of circumstances, it has been abused at times, but still is constantly there, waiting for me to walk in and it just makes me happy.

This is my inspiration.  This wall of organization!  This is the way I want to live.  I have done the footwork, the planning, the construction, and have enjoyed the appreciation of the accomplishment.  The interesting part that I didn't count on was the constant work involved in keeping things this way.

It is a process that has to become habit.  I know how wonderful this is and it works for this application.
AND I can achieve this in other spaces in my house, but the sewing room (hole) is a different story.

I have a very small space, right in the middle of the house where everything gets "dumped".  It is the "out of sight, out of mind" area.  There are no windows, just one door.  It appears that I need to give this area more respect.  To change it into my space for creativity.  I want to sew more, I feel the need to sew more, but first I have to once again, take care of my space.  

Time to weed out the things I know I won't do and the things I won't use again.  I have a busy couple of weeks ahead, but hopefully there will be some progress in there as well.

Last week I had the pleasure of a three day escape to the Oregon Coast.  There is something so mysterious about getting away.  The time goes so quickly, much faster than if you are home doing your normal routine.   If the anticipation wasn't so enjoyable one would really wonder if it was just a blink.


For three days I didn't cook, do laundry, answer the phone, relay messages, run errands or anything else that I wasn't sure I wanted to do.


What I did do was sew, share, and reflect.  I finished three quilts that I had started, and now they are done.  Made one more from start to finish and now I just have the quilting part to do and the memories to keep.  I go with a good friend who seem to be able to relate to my crazy life.  She has worked in the quilting industry, understands the process from both sides of the counter, she is married, has daughters, grandchildren, a mom and me.  We neither one have a siblings, so she is my sister friend.  


I see women come in the shop who belong to groups and the bonds they have with friends is strong, and valuable.  The
have relationships that are gifts.   I have been fortunate to cultivate some very special friends from  the shop.  Strong, smart and incredibly talented women they too are gifts.


So today, the first day of my 59th year I am grateful for all the women in my life.  The older ones who share their experience and wisdom, who have been there and done that.  The ones who are in my similar situation, working, fighting their daily drama, and sharing along the way.  And the precious ones who are younger, have great creativity and enthusiasm for all of life still ahead of them.   


It is my wish for this year that I live and love more than before.  I want people to know what they mean to me.  And I want to make the most of each day.   


Going to go with Ellen's advice.....be kind to one another....

Summer Sewing

Summer is such a busy time of the year for people, we have so many things that we want to do, and then there is the added work from caring for the out of doors.  I do love my flowers, but they do demand daily attention.

But, I really feel like I need to stay in touch with my quilting, I need to be able to create something during this busy time.  In the course of a conversation with a friend she was saying the same thing.  We needed a summer, sewing project, perhaps a commitment.  From that conversation we are going to start a Sister's Summer Sewing Spectacular!

If every day from June 1st thru August 31 you made a nine patch block, you could spend Labor Day weekend putting together the fruit of your summer sewing.  In fact you probably wouldn't have to do one every day, you may choose to do five one day and that's it for the week, but still at the end of summer you would have a great project to show for your time.

Now of course I tend to be excessive compulsive at times and I think how I could do a nine patch AND I could paper piece a flower every day so I could have two quilts.  We will see how that goes.

In preparation for this project I will make a hand out with some picture ideas of nine patch quilts to help get your creative juices flowing.  At the end of summer, those who have participated will get a coupon for savings on batting and backing for their quilts, AND their name will go into a drawing for a super gift basket.  Join the fun.