Sunday, June 5, 2005
6:15 pm

I just put Berny away for the weekend.  I finished the sitter's quilt and I made our BOM squares.  I also took pictures of everything I've had sitting here - so, I'm calling it a good, productive quilt therapy weekend!

I still need to figure out a pattern for MIL's bday heart quilt, and I have something brewing in my wee brain for it - but, I have a load of work to do this evening so I decided to just put away temptation so I could concentrate on paying the bills!  The kids will go to the sitter's tomorrow (all morning), so I'll have time to work without much interruption ... that'll put me WAY ahead of the week!

Will post the photos when MT gets them downloaded from the camera!

Miss Skye's Happy Graduation Quilt Crazy Squares from Crazy Kids

Progress on our BOM Quilts

Aunt Cindy's Birthday Quilt Yellow Brick Road

Saturday, June 4, 2005
5:53 pm

I have been AWOL from the Quilt Therapy Blog, but not from quilting!  Things have just been hectic with the last few weeks of Puffy and Fluffy's schooling, the 'deer in my headlights' feeling of what the heck these four are going to do all summer and then trying to figure out what I am going to do all summer!  Not to mention my work has taken me above and beyond anything I ever expected (though I did dream it) and I've worked day and night trying to keep up with everything.

AH, but the THERAPY is WAY more important, to keep everything in perspective!

A couple of Fridays ago, I told the girls I would take them summer clothes shopping ... but, as a test of our ability to stand each other (their behavior and my patience), I made them go with me to the quilt store.  There, I found a lovely lap quilt pattern that I liked and we bought a kit with browns, maroons and yellows.  The pattern is called "Yellow Brick Road" and it was so much fun that I pieced all the squares together on Saturday morning and then sewed the top together after the kids went down on Saturday evening!  The quilt is going to my SIL in TX, so it really doesn't need to be heavy with batting.  So, on my way to a meeting this week, I stopped at a fabric store and picked up some maroon flannel.  I am going to run everything through the washer and then quilt the pieced top to the flannel!  I think it'll be the perfect weight for those chilly <ahem> TX winters!

Then Fluffy picked out a heart pattern so I could make a quilt for my MIL for her July 1 birthday.  I *thought* it would be ok to make, but I'm not liking the pattern one bit.  I finally figured out it's because it's not a traditional pattern -- it's more like a 'put this piece here and sew it however you want until it looks like a heart' pattern.  I am just a traditional type of gal, I guess, because it's just NOT been fun for me to make!  So, I'm going to try some other things (still with a heart theme) and see what I can come up with.

But, first, I *still* need to finish our sitter's graduation quilt!  All that's left is hand-sewing three of the four sides of the binding, but I've been procrastinating and enjoying my new projects instead of finishing the other one.  My goal is to GET IT DONE this weekend! 

On another note, my Texican and I had quite an eye-opening discussion about life choices one evening this past week.  I had invited a friend and her husband to accompany us to a dinner for a local outdoor coalition (our valley combined a number of small groups like the National Wild Turkey Federation and Pheasants Forever groups to make one big coalition) ... her statement to me threw me off-guard.

She said, "Isn't that the one where the tickets are like $25 each?"

"Well, yes, I think that's what they were last year."

"Oh, then no we aren't interested.  We'd NEVER spend that kind of money on a meal out."

I stared at her for a minute and couldn't quite believe I heard what she'd just said.  I couldn't even answer, just went about my business.  We were at a meeting, and as we got ready to leave, we were saying our goodbyes in the hallway ... when I noticed she had a very expensive basket in her hands. 

I said, "You mean to tell me you'd spend $300 on a basket, but you won't go out and enjoy a nice meal with friends for $50?"

"Well, I got the basket for half-price, but yes, I guess that's what I mean ... this basket will last forever, a meal only lasts about 15 minutes."

THAT is the reason I need quilt therapy, I guess!

As I was telling MT about it, I told him I just didn't understand people.  Oh sure, I make quilts so those I give them to will have them for years to come ... but, the memories I have of those I make the quilts for far outweighs the quilt itself!  Dinners with friends are the basis of relationships with ones life.  Those things are so much more important than making a quilt ... or buying a basket!

MT said, some people are like his parents (and the older generation).  They work so hard in their middle-aged years to buy things they want and grow a retirement fund.  My next statement was ...

AND THEN THEY DIE BEFORE THEY GET TO ENJOY THAT RETIREMENT!

That's been my experience my whole life!  One person after the other has died, without being able to enjoy all of their hard work.

That is NOT the way we are, and we both agree on that.  We want to live life NOW and enjoy every moment of every day.  We still work towards retirement, but not at the expense of losing ourselves today.  The memories we have and the relationships we've built and the love we have for RIGHT NOW far outweighs whatever we MAY have in the future.

And my quilt therapy has helped me see that!