note: I actually wrote this about ten days ago. On an actual piece of paper. With a pen. It was kind of a breakthrough moment for me, and I want to share it with you.
One of the reasons I started quilting again a year and a half ago was that I wanted something in my life that no one could take away from me. It's the same reason I started volunteering with GENaustin. Whatever might come my way, whether I lose my job, have a falling out with a friend or get dumped — those outside things didn't define me.
No one but me could take those things away. Today, I realized I had taken something away from myself. It had been more than two months since I turned on my sewing machine; my desk was covered in a fine layer of dust. Hemming those jeans, taking a step back and seeing tangible results of my time and effort, made me realize all I had been missing.
A lot has happened in my life over the past few months to make me rearrange my priorities. But in the rearranging, I lost balance. I lost part of myself. So I've started a new blog with the intent of finding balance. Balance between work and play, academics and creativity. It won't be just a quilting blog, but if you're solely interested in that, there will be a separate RSS feed and archives page.
I will be double-posting in this blog as well, at least for a while. And I'll still be posting updates to Flickr. (My next post will be about this project I've been working on.)
maybe that it's addicting? I may want to start hand quilting everything.
I fully own my stubbornness. If it weren't for my stubborn (sometimes bordering on obstinate) nature, I probably never would have gotten these blocks pieced, much less assembled this quilt top. (My last post about this project has more info on fabrics and the pattern.)
While making this (which I'm calling "drunkard's garden"), so far I have stabbed a bone in my finger with a pin — it kind of felt like hitting my funny bone, but very precisely, and in my finger (no blood) — and used my seam ripper more times than I care to remember. And I haven't even gotten to the fun part yet! This will be my first attempt at hand quilting. I bought some DMC Perlé 8 in black, some crewel needles (size 2), and an 11"x17" Q-snap frame. Though after reading a few more hand-quilting tutorials, I think I need to pick up a rigid thimble. My nimble thimble may not cut it.
This is where the stubbornness comes in again. Sure, I've never hand quilted, but I'm determined that it will happen. Just like I was determined I could conquer curved piecing. Wish me luck!
Wow, I got so much done during the Austin Modern Quilt Guild retreat last weekend! In an effort to avoid an overly lengthy post, I'll just show you one project today, and I'm linking up with Workshop in Progress. I meant to post this on Wednesday, but it slipped my mind with the many trips my poor car has had to make to the mechanic.
