Ah, back to almost normal...

After a very busy summer, I am almost back into the swing of work and sewing/quilting. The distractions were all great ones - an anniversary/graduation celebration and a wedding. But now it's time to get back 'real life'.

This small crazy quilt piece is my July BJP - before the beads are added. This has been an interesting process even thought I am REALLY far behind at this point. I haven't even started June or August and here it is Sept.

I was going to put off starting July - even though I knew exactly what I wanted to do because I didn't have June done - then I remembered Robin saying that there are no BJP police and I jumped the line...... I do know what I want for August and will prepare the base for that one in the next few days. All of the bases will be crazy patched, it's the embellishments and stories that will change.

This is also becoming an ever changing work in progress. Each time I think I have worked through all of the kinks something seems to happen and I am back to re-thinking. Right now I am back to trying to figure out if I want to be able to display these pages as one whole unit or do I want to display them as individual pieces? Initially, I had decided that I wanted to be able to hook them together into a 'whole quilt' using the borders as a form of sashing. The problem is finding a border that will suit the different color that I already have in mind.....and until I figure the single vs the whole out I can't finish the edges......a proverbial Catch 22.
The next blog will have some pix of the piece with some of the beading done and an explanation of the fabric/color choices......

It is with great pride that I introduce you to the beautiful Bride and the handsome Groom!!
I wrote in my previous blog about our daughter Katie getting married this summer. Here she is with her handsome husband Jimmy.
We couldn't be happier for them!!

Where has the summer gone??

In my last post I thought that I had life in hand - I didn't. What I thought were bruised ribs were actually broken ribs and from there an entire new set of problems arose. But all is finally well and I'm back to about as normal as life gets.....



Since that last post I attended the Vermont Quilt Festival.www.vqf.org. This is an annual trek for me - some people go camping I go to Vermont. The show was as wonderful as usual and the time away was rejuvenating.



Once I was back it was time to get into the serious work of having a large party to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. Since our two children had also just graduated from their respective universities we decided that we would celebrate that event as well. Katie received her Honors B.Sc from Western here in Ontario and Mike received his BA from TRU in BC. Whew!! The icing on the cake was the upcoming nuptials of our daughter Katie to Jimmy McLean. Talk about a month of events. All went well and we all had a lot of fun!!

The picture of Katie and Jimmy will appear in the next blog as I am having trouble figuring some of this blogger stuff out.

I am also going to post my BJP in another blog as it too is in another form....this techie stuff is great when you get it but the learning curve can be steep for us non-techies.....

Be right back

Argh!!!


I have decided that bruised ribs are more annoying than serious. They allow you to do mundane stuff - like washing dishes without twinging - but don't allow you to do fun stuff - like crazy quilt patch sewing - pain free. Seems there is a motion in there that I have been totally unaware of before, that pulls on side muscles as I use the rotary cutter and raise and lower the presser foot on the sewing machine.


This wouldn't be really annoying if I weren't signed up for the Bead Journal Project - BJP - http://beadjournalproject.blogspot.com/. And I have my June page all figured out, but I need my base or crazy patch to stitch on.....double argh!! The hand sewing of the beads doesn't bother my ribs, so once I have the base done I'm off to the races.....


I have had a few setbacks to my original focus - which is to try and translate embroidery stitches into beadwork. Seems it's already been done and is in a published book - Embeadery by Margaret Ball. I'm still going ahead but also plan to pick up Margaret's book and see how she approached the stitches. Just seems to re-enforce the feeling that there aren't any truly new ideas out there.....just different interpretations....

Oh, well - that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger......one way or another I will figure this out......

I'm In!!
Yesterday I wrote about two other blogs that had caught my eye - the TAST - and the Bead Journal Project. I contacted both of the list masters and was accepted.
You will see the link to the TAST ring on the sidebar of this blog - and a BIG thank-you to Debra for wading through the techie stuff for me and putting that link in. I sure have a lot to learn about blogs, links, rings, etc.....but if you learn a little each day it amounts to an awful lot by the end of the week, the month and the year!!
I also got accepted into the Bead Journal Project - I didn't realize that there was a cut off date of May 30 - so I slid in under the wire. I have posted my intentions on that blog but will also keep track of my progress and work here on my own blog. In reading some of the intro blogs I can see that I'm in with some pretty amazing people - here's hoping I can live up to the standard!!
Basically I will be experimenting with beads and embroidery stitches and creating a beaded journal page about it once a month....now I just have to figure out how to get my camera to take better close up pix than it does so that I can post some of the WIP (Work In Progress). The pix above is of some of my previous crazy patchwork but the photo doesn't do the work justice.....
Here we are again with that two steps forward, one step back....

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back




Ever feel like you're a hamster on a wheel that just goes around and around but you never seem to arrive anywhere?!? I'm feeling a bit like that these days....


The physio that I have been taking to rehabilitate my back has been wonderful - but it turns out that the bruising in my back may not be what slows my recovery - a strained rotator cuff - that's a muscle in the shoulder - may be my downfall. Seems when I flew back my arm/shoulder also whipped back, straining the muscle and like any muscle that hurts - you don't know that you are using it until it hurts.....but I am dutifully doing all of my exercises as I can't afford the downtime.....


What does any of this have to do with quilting? Lots - it makes you very aware of just how lucky you are not be be suffering with any of the many ailments that are associated with aging or overusing joints. Ask anyone who uses their hands what it's like to deal with carpel tunnel syndrome, arthritis, strains, MS, fibromyalgia - the list goes on. This little injury has been a wake up call to make me realize how lucky I am to be able to enjoy quilting as I have for the last 20+ years - relatively pain free.



On to other thoughts..... I am using this more sedentary time to catch up on my reading and stitching handwork. In following some blog links I came across a group that is doing a TAST - Take A Stitch Tuesdays - an embroidery stitch is listed and the members of the group learn that stitch and then they try and come up with new variations of it. Too cool!! Then there is the group that are going to do a year long Bead Journal like the Quilt Journal. I have been playing with using beads to replace embroidery in crazy quilting - I call it Crazy Beaded Patchwork - and I am playing with the idea of joining both groups - the TAST to get the basic embroidery stitches but then 'play' with the variations while journalling in the Bead Journal. I find that I need deadlines to make me get the ideas that I have in my head into the fabric/fibre I see....and the journal sounds a lot better than the sampler book idea that I had come up with to try out the stitches in..... I'll contact each of the moderators, get their permission and let you know how it goes......

So Much for Resolutions....



I looked back at my last blog and realized that my last posting was not just a few weeks ago - but almost a full 6 months ago.....some of my resolutions remain - others went quickly by the wayside.....



In my quilting life I have been busy but not as busy as I would have liked. It seems that I caught a Catch-22 type spiral. I had hoped to have a bit more time for personal stretching and growing in my quilting, but when a big proposal was rejected and a number of classes cancelled due to lack of sign-up I went into a funk. I should have just picked up my socks at that point and said - there, the fates have given me the time to play!! But I didn't do that.... I futzed and putzed and can't even begin to tell you what I did with that precious time....but time - once spent - is gone - never to be returned or replaced.....



Now it's serious sock pulling time!! Some deadlines have passed and still others are looming. And are coming quickly! I did manage to get my work together and shipped to the International Quilt Festival in Waterloo - the opening is this next week, May 22, 2007. My Crazy Beaded Vest and Clutch Purse will be there - I won't. I did also get my article written, directions and samples done for an upcoming issue of A Needle Pulling Thread. So I haven't been all bad - just not as productive as I could have been......





I also had a bit of a wake up call these past few weeks. While leading a bus trip to Intercourse, PA , I suffered an injury on the bus that left me with bad bruising in my back and very painful muscle spasms. A word to the wise - when you see the sign that says 'No Standing On The Bus' - there is a good reason for the sign. I finished up leading the tour - we didn't miss anything except the Framers Market in downtown Lancaster - and promptly went to my family GP upon arriving home. The injury was 10 days ago and I already feel a lot better - but still have a way to go.





What does this have to do with wake up calls - since I have been home I can't use my left arm/shoulder fully and that is affecting my ability to rotary cut and use my sewing machine. Something that I hadn't expected - so now I have to re-arrange some of my classes and work that needs to be done. If I had used that time that was 'given' to me in the winter - I would be in far better shape.....so there is my wake-up call - use your time wisely - and if the fates appear to conspiring against you - well, maybe they are just reminding you that you should adhere to the premise of making the most of each day...





Carpe diem........

Ah, New Year's Resolutions.....

What an amazing time of the year - it's out with the old and in with the new - but wait - that also seems to happen when we spring clean and for those who still have family in school, it's September that marks the new year!! Whatever category you fall into it's good to take a healthy look at your life - both where you have been and where you are headed to.....

I have made my share of resolutions over the years - to lose weight, get organized, get things done well ahead of the deadline date - not right up to it. Like so many fellow resolution makers, I am still working on these.....

So this year I decided to make a New Years resolution that was attainable - to adopt my Father's adage ' Carpe diem' - which translates to 'seize the day or the moment' .... this doesn't mean that I am not going to continue to plan ahead and set myself goals - but that I am going to try and seize those moments that pass us by while we're too busy trying to get all of our 'got to do its' in. Whether it's taking time to smell the roses, taking time to spend a quiet moment with a friend, or taking time to just stretch physically or artistically - I am going to try and steal some of those types of moments......

What are your resolutions? Where do you want to be a year from now? What do you hope to have accomplished in this next year? You don't need to have climbed a mountain to feel good about yourself - just chose an attainable goal and strive for it. The journey is begun with a single step....

Having said that, the sun is shining, the air crisp and clean and the puppy is full of energy - I think it's time to take a walk - one step at a time......