Baby Quilter in the Making

Well, did you survive the time change? My husband says he doesn't know why it bothers me so much, as I have the time and freedom to just take a nap if I want to. Actually, I'm more apt to get up with the light, so it seems I'm being lazy not to be up til almost 8 am. By June I'll be up before 6 am to go for a walk while it's still relatively cool. 

But Daylight Savings Time means I can be at evening church events again, like Ladies Night Out. With my sparkly ghost vision, driving at night has the potential to be hazardous, and I hate to be dependent on someone else for a ride. I know people would be happy to help; it's just hard to give up my independence--she said while being married to a stroke survivor who has no use of his left side. Insert eye roll.

We had a really warm, nice week the end of Feb. Ziva and I were able to get a couple of good walks in, before the freezing temps and blustery wind chills shooed us back inside. I have no idea what this plant was, but just had to get a picture.

Of course, I don't know what kind of bush this one is, either, but the flowers were just so dainty yet hardy, I snapped it, too. Couldn't get many, because Ziva was running out of patience, but I'm toying with printing these out and framing them. I think they'd fill a small wall space really nicely.

Hazel spent a weekend with us, I think it was over President's Day. She loves to explore in my craft/sewing room, and now that she's older, I feel more comfortable letting her do that without worrying she'll poke herself with sharp scissors or pins, or bump her head on the metal corner of the ironing board while I work on small projects. I love that she's so into arts and crafts and working with her hands. 

Soon she declared she wanted to make a quilt. I have several small quilts she uses as doll blankets, and she decided she wanted a large one for her mom. So we started the process. First we went through my fabric bins and auditioned some scraps, and she actually has a very good sense of color! We didn't have a pattern chosen, because I didn't foresee her getting very far with this, but hey, we all start somewhere, right? 

I sat her down at my machine, put the pedal on a small stool so she could sit in my chair and reach it, and gave her a lesson on machine sewing. She learned how to turn the machine on and off and not adjust the feed dog by mistake, straight forward sewing, reverse stitching, needle down, and why you need to know where your thread is when you start sewing. I threaded the machine and showed her the bobbin but I thought we'd gone over about as much learning as she could do in one session, so we grabbed some scrap fabric and let her just sew on those awhile.

After about half an hour, she informed me she thought she'd better start with the basics before making a quilt. If I'd said that to her, she would have thought I was holding her back. Instead, I agreed that was a good decision, and we moved on to other things.

But I am so delighted she wants to learn to sew. It was not something Dawn was interested in, and actually, the only C she ever made in college was in the costume design class she took in theater arts. It wasn't until it came time to make Halloween costumes for her daughter that Dawn ever voluntarily did any sewing, and then it was whatever she could do by hand.

I scored a Brother sewing machine for Dawn from the Buy Nothing group, but we've not been able to coordinate our schedules for a teaching session. Hazel already knows more about machine sewing than her mom, so she may end up being the one to use the Brother. With her great sense of color and her already wild imagination, I can't wait to see where she goes with this!

Back Again?

 Jiminy! Has it really been 3 years since I posted here? I missed the whole blogging through the pandemic thing. Did you think I succumbed? Has anyone else gotten all caught up in Instagram and YouTube and strayed from blogging? I need to catch up on events and maybe switch to email notifications of blog posts. 

Let's see if I can do a quick summary of the last 3 years, and then I can decide whether or not to continue this blog. 

The corneal infections recurred for several months, but finally healed and I got the cataract removed. The scarring makes lights look like sparklers, and gives me shadow vision in that eye, but I didn't lose my eyesight, so I'm grateful.

Dawn, Hazel and I all got Omicron, but  late in the game, so we all had light cases, and no residual problems. Jack never got it, despite being exposed by all 3 of us, but he has his own health issues. 

His prostate cancer has returned, and has been found in a lymph node, so is no longer curable. They also found liver cancer last summer, but were able to remove the tumor, and the area was clear. Now he gets regular MRIs to watch for more. The goal is to slow the progression of his prostate cancer as long as possible. He has no symptoms, so again--we are thankful!

Dawn is now working at the University's Law School, not teaching at this time, but working with the students setting up internships, counseling, etc. Now she gets weekends and holidays off, works normal daytime hours, and no traveling. Much better for them, as Hazel is in second grade, and will turn 8 years old next month. (How did this happen??)

Finally finished Dawn's sofa quilt!! It was a long time before I could even see well enough to thread my machine in less than 15 minutes' time, and it is not an heirloom quilt by any stretch of the imagination, but they've had it to snuggle under this winter, and it is well used. (So glad to also get rid of the guilt in it taking so long!) Here it is laid out on my king-sized bed:

I have been paring down a lot of things, giving away bunches to members of our gifting group. I've given away lots of Halloween props (kept my skeletons, lights, and sturdier tombstones), given away unsentimental Christmas ornaments and decorations, bought a smaller tree, but put a second one in the guest room, so Hazel can have a tree there when she comes to visit.

The sewing/craft room is also being thinned out. Still have bins and bins of fabric, but have given away quite a bit, and several unfinished projects, as well as non-quilting crafts. I am not going minimalist, but I am finally realizing I can't do it all, so it's time to get choosy. My next project is to put the handmade quilt my great-grandmother (I think it was her!) started onto a frame and hand quilt it for my sister, using the Big Stitch method. I can't see well enough to do the traditional small stitches, and by adding borders to it years ago, it is now queen-sized, so -- Finished is Better Than Perfect, right? 

Most importantly, after years of going my own way, doing my own thing in life, I have come back to God. I was missing Him in my life, though He was always there waiting for me to turn around. I let my disappointment, stubbornness and anger come between us, but He has always been faithful to me, and I feel so much peace and joy now that I am right with God again. I am spending time in studying my Bible, keeping a prayer journal, and have found a wonderful church where I can be with and learn from other sinners saved by grace. 

Will I continue this blog? I think so, even if it's only for myself. I still love quilting and sewing, and plan to spend less time reading those stupid "AITJ" articles on social media and more time doing what and being with those I  love. This blog will still be scrappy, though, with bits and pieces of a journey that may not interest anyone else. So, if you're still around, thanks, and I will be blog-hopping again soon. If you've found this and hung around this long, I'm looking forward to meeting you!