Philosphy Friday: Lightbulb Moment

One of my favorite friends ended her blog the other day. She called her post "Expiration Date."  I totally understand her reasons. Blogging takes a lot of thought and a lot of time, time that could be spent doing other things: family, friends, sewing. Ah, sewing. As much time as I spend thinking and dreaming about color, fabric, and quilting, and actually doing some sewing,  I spend nearly as much time dreaming about writing about it: blog titles, content, pictures. And time "staging" pictures, taking pictures, downloading pictures. Wow, it all takes a lot of time. And that time is such a precious commodity.

Reading Anne's post has made me do more thinking, thinking about why I blog in the first place. I know a lot of people have written about this topic. There is even a button for "blogging without obligation." And I understand all that. But why, I asked myself, do I blog?

There are times when I consider stopping the blogging treadmill myself. When it all just gets to be too much--when what I really want to do is just sew, not think about sewing, not think about what to write about sewing. And not share it with anyone else.

But then I had one of those lightbulb moments, one of those moments when something just "clicks."

I used to be a scrapbooker. I have invested lots of $$$$ in scrapbooking supplies. Printing out pictures. Documenting those pictures. Then a couple of years ago I realized I didn't have the time, or the desire, to devote to traditional scrapbooking anymore. My passion was quilting.

I wondered: Will Aaron, our son,  even care to have the scrapbooks of the cruises Mark and I took? Maybe.... probably not...Maybe Charlotte and Levi will think it's cool to look through some of them. And a lot of what I was scrapbooking were the same things that our daughter-in-law Christa is scrapbooking--the kids growing up, shared family events. It seemed a bit redundant.

That paragraph might sound like I just digressed. But I didn't really. My point is that blogging is my way of "scrapbooking" the passions in my life, quilting, my family, Lakeview Cottages.It's a place where I can record the creative journey I'm on. I don't mean this to sound self-centered but maybe it's really about me, for me. It's my diary--the "live out loud" version. And then by extension, it's for Charlotte and Levi, and the new baby coming in September.

We live in such a techie age now. My grandchildren have absolutely no fear of technology. It's all they have ever known.

I hope they will look at this blog in the years to come, scroll through the blog posts, kind of like I turned the pages of my grandmother's scrapbook, and learn a little something new about me.And that is my lightbulb moment.

So tell me. Why do you blog?

Philosophy Friday: More Oprah wisdom...

I wrote about some things I was taking to heart when Oprah had the last episode of her show. Well, the other day I was checking the listings and saw that she was going to be on the Nate Berkus Show and give a tour of her home in California.

Nate Berkus. Such a cutie. But I digress...

They were sitting in her "tea house" and talking about decorating, knobs, hinges, how she is really "hands on" with every decorating decision made. And then she said this:

"My eyes light up when fabric enters the room."

Enough said.

Sunkissed by Sweetwater

 

What will make your eyes light up this weekend? Do tell.

Philosophy Friday: I'm the one in charge here

Memorial Day weekend is traditionally when our owner group goes up to our rental cabins at Huntington Lake to open them up and get them ready for the fifteen-week rental season, which should start a week from tomorrow. Last year we lost the first rental week due to snow. Someone told us that was a once-in-fifteen-years type of thing. They were wrong.

So what we should be doing: painting, cleaning the cabins, hanging the curtains, plumbing maintenance, etc. Not happening.

George and Cheri drove up yesterday to see just how close they could get to the cabins. Their progress was blocked by the snow plow. And the water hasn't been turned on yet either, which is a big turn-off for me, because no shower, no potty? No me...

Mark has some plans for projects around the house. This is what I will be working on, the Amy Butler Weekender bag. Which probably won't be completed in one single weekend. Thirteen steps, each with a gazillion sub-steps...

Mark and I have been taping and watching the final episodes of Oprah for the last month. We have been sporadic viewers. But these final episodes have been interesting, especially as she looks back over the last twenty-five years. And remember. She and Mark are "tight" since they both started their careers in the same year.

Last night we watched her final episode, where she stood on stage and talked about what she has learned over the past twenty-five years, what her guests, audience, and viewers have taught her. I watched it again this morning to jot down some of the best parts:

*Find you passion. Whatever you are supposed to be doing, embrace the life that is calling you and carry it forward.

I'm working on finding my passion. I know creativity is an essential part of my life.

*People make bad choices, blaming everybody else but themselves for the state of their lives.

This one really hit home. Choices and consequences. Choices and consequences.

*When you know better, you do better.

Keep on learning. Keep the spark of knowledge burning.

*Nobody but you is responsible for your life. You are responsible for the energy you create for yourself and the energy you bring to others.

We have the choice to be happy, to love, to forgive. We can't control what other people do for us or to us. But we can make good choices because we have that capacity, and our life is our responsibility.

Except when Mother Nature decides to take charge...

Philosophy Friday: Thoughts from Minnesota Hayseed Psychologist

Do you remember when my husband, Mark, was a guest blogger? He analyzed the many acronyms he reads in quilting blogs. Well, apparently he has more to say. So I wanted him to have a "handle." He comes from southern Minnesota, close to the home of Little House on the Prairie. In fact, his brother, who lives in The Cities (Minneapolis/St.Paul, for anyone not familiar with Minnesota...), often mentions going "to the prairie," where they grew up For the longest time, I kept thinking, "You're going where exactly?"

(It must be painfully obvious that I have barely started my Photoshop Elements 8 class. Ignore those two random grey dots...)


So we tossed around a few names. He was partial to his college football number, 54. Thoughts from 54. Um, maybe not.

I suggested Thoughts from the Prairie. And then got really excited when I came up with Prairie's Home Companion. After all, he is from the prairie, and he's my home companion. Not to insult any Garrison Keillor fans out there, but Mark is NOT a fan of Prairie Home Companion, so that suggestion totally did not fly with him. He finds PHC (throwing in that acronym, just to keep you all on your toes) a little too realistic, and therefore not so funny.

You know the saying "you can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy"? Completely true in this case. So may I introduce a guest blogger who will intermittently have thoughts on various quilting topics: the Minnesota Hayseed Psychologist (because you learn many of life's important lessons by growing up on a farm), also known for his now-and-again photography series, Driveby Shootings.

Where is all this going, other than an introduction?

I received this email today from him:

"Subject: Oprah and I have something in common.
I just realized that Oprah and I have something in common. We both started on a new adventure in 1986, we have both been doing the same thing for 25 years (Note: Mark has been designing kitchens and selling  cabinets with the same company since 1986). The only difference is that she has  made a little more money and is having a little bigger celebration for her 25 years than I will. Anyway, no wonder Oprah and I are so tight."

What?? You're not giving away an entire kitchen full of cabinets to everyone in my reading audience??

He definitely needs one of these mugs:

Pictures from here.

Do you think he would mind if we start referring to him as MHP?

I'm spending the weekend in a sewing frenzy. What about you? 

Philosophy Friday: Leaving a Legacy

I have been going through stacks of papers in my office--patterns, quilting ideas, things ripped from pages of magazines. I came across this poem by Jean Ray Laury, who lived in Fresno until she passed away in March. I pulled up her bio to refresh my memory. Wow. She definitely attained greatness.

This is from 1978. Definitely has a "modern" feel to it, don't you think?

Among other things, one of her quilts was included in a book titled "America's 100 Best Quilts of the 20th Century." Think about that for a minute. Think about all the quilters...making all those quilts....many thousands to choose from...and to have one of your quilts selected to be in a small group of 100 quilts, spanning 100 years. Amazing.

So anyway, that brings me to the point. I had saved a poem written by Jean Ray Laury, titled "I Knew I Could Do It." And since I have a way of doing a lot of other "stuff" in preparation for quilting, it definitely struck a chord with me.
***
I know of a quilter who recently said,
"There's a quilt I am planning to make for my bed,
An heirloom, a quilt that comes straight from my heart.
The one little problem is where do I start?"

Needing a picture of how it might look,
She went to the library for a good book.
She scanned through a best-selling novel (well, two),
Then read about redwork and Sunbonnet Sue,

And scrap quilts and albums and those which had stars,
the plain and the simple, like Amish with bars.
"I'd better go check out the cloth at the store,
And their rotary cutters, and patterns galore."

She looked at magentas, at yellows and blues,
At turquoise and crimson and violet hues.
She pulled out the bolts to make sure they'd all blend.
(They'd have reached to Kansas City, if placed end-to-end).

She was struck with a thought, then flew out of the door.
"I can't put this quilt off for one minute more."
Her workroom was packed, not a clear spot in sight.
"The place for my frame is right under this light."

"So I'll toss out my sofa, this desk someone built,
And hold a garage sale so I can quilt."
And then the whole driveway was piled with stuff,
She cried, "Really, I've put it off quite long enough."

But her car needed gas, and an oil change was due,
So she rotated tires and then washed the car too.
The next day she said, "Now my quilt will come first.
Though I need a wee snack and I feel a great thirst."

She got out the cheese and the pickles and bread,
And remembered the garden tomatoes, now red.
Three days were spent canning the veggies in jars.
"Now," she said, "Now, I'll cut diamonds and stars."

"But first, oh I really must write to my sister.
She'll worry if I don't complain that I've missed her."
She drove to the mailbox (and drove really fast)
With a stop at the cleaners (she's going right past).

She borrowed some books, and she went to the store,
Buying rulers and patterns and fabric (and more).
She picked up some needles, selected her thread,
Then came home, exhausted and crawled into bed.

She answered the phone (in between her long naps)
Saying, "Oh. I'm so weary. I'm near to collapse."
"I never had any idea," she said,
"That quilting would force me to take to my bed."

The one thing I crave, and the thing I desire,
Is a quilt for my bed that I make. Or acquire.
I know I'd recover, it's easy to tell,
That if given a quilt I would quickly get well."

A nine-patch arrived from the neighbor next door,
And her club brought one from the Collectibles store.
Her sister, who may have felt tinges of guilt,
Brought her their grandmother's favorite quilt.

"So take my advice," she said, "Here it is, free.
You can always have quilts just by working like me."
She nestled in all of the quilts on her bed.
"Oh. I knew I could do it. I knew it," she said.
***
Thank you, Jean Ray Laury. What a legacy you have left. And now, without further distractions, I really must go to my sewing room. Happy weekend, everyone!

Philosophy Friday: Color stacks

You know what I like the best about this stack of Kona cotton solids? Other than the fact that they are clearly happy to hang out with each other?

I like it that playing with fabric can be so therapeutic and calming. I like it that you can move the colors around, give them new neighbors, and they still get along.

Don't you think this particular stack will have a good time playing with some scraps in a quilt called "Bottled Rainbows"? Just saying "bottled rainbows" out loud makes me smile.

Do you have some fabric therapy going on this weekend too?

Friday miscellany

Because I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with these two this week,

I didn't spend much time here. And I'm totally okay with that.

This morning I purchased supplies

for this. Thanks to so many good suggestions, I'm feeling quite confident about getting a lot accomplished on the machine quilting this weekend.

I added another contender in the battle for who "rules" my sewing room. It looks promising.

And stacked up the coordinating solids for Single Girl. (Excuse the weird shadow on the fabric; that would be me standing in the way of the light from the window...)

How will you be spending your weekend?

Philosophy Friday: How to say what you REALLY want to say

You know. Like this:

I really really won't be offended if you hate this. The gift receipt is in the bag. Seriously.

Or this:

This seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm not so sure.

Or even this:

I made this, just so you know. So don't say anything mean about it.

I was reading Lisa Lam's blog yesterday and she had lots of links to great gift tags. For free. The ones above really caught my eye. They are by Amy Karol of Angry Chicken fame. And you know you have really wanted to say something like:

Shopping for you is so hard, you should give me an extra gift for even trying. I mean that in a loving way.

Check out Lisa's blog for all the links (she has lots of cool stuff herself, especially if you like making bags, in which case I totally recommend getting her new book, The Bag Making Bible).

And then thank Amy for putting our thoughts into words...and on to our gifts.

Philosophy Friday

Hope everyone had a thankful and relaxing day. If not, here is my recommended solution:

Available here in lots of different colors!

And the winner of the Gobble Gobble Giveaway is lindaroo, who said:

"I really enjoyed seeing all the creativity and beauty on BQF. I started quilting a year ago, and blogging only recently, and I'm not confident enough to make it public, yet! Happy Thanksgiving!"
  
Happy Weekend, everyone!

Friday Philosophy

I read this quote yesterday and have been unable to find the source, but it really crystallizes a lot of what I was thinking when I wrote this.

"It's not who you are that holds you back. It's who you think you're not."

Too often lately I have been comparing myself to quilters who are able to produce so many quilts in such a seemingly short amount of time. Beautiful quilts. They amaze me with their creativity and style. Why can't I make a quilt every week? Why can't I discipline myself to even walk into my sewing room? Why can't I be improvisational and wonky?

It has been making me feel frustrated and guilty because I'm not "measuring up."

Measuring up to what? It's not a contest. There isn't a winner.

Do I want to push my creative boundaries? Of course.  But I want to enjoy the process along the way. There has been a lot of discussion lately about "modern" and "traditional" quilting.  I admire the less rigid quilting style, the kind of design-as-you go. I value the traditional construction techniques, the traditional quilt blocks that I have grown up with. They are the fabric of my heritage. It's possible to embrace both. Thanks, Crystal and Jennifer, for encouraging us to Modify Tradition!

Lately I have spent way too much time concentrating on who I'm not, and beating myself up for it.

From now on, I plan on concentrating on who I am. So far this is what I know: I am someone who adores fabric, takes pleasure in choosing it and playing with color,  enjoys the process of making the blocks, sometimes really detailed blocks, then watching the quilt top come to life by sewing the blocks together, no matter how long it takes.

So no more holding back, not just about quilting but life in general. Who I am may change in the next couple of months. But it's time to embrace that and not worry about who I'm not.

I'm curious. Who are you?