Why Be So Tough on Yourself?

Recently, when sewing with friends, I got a little lax on basting a quilt.  I skipped a whole section because I didn't want to walk across the room and get more pins.  I went and started quilting this section first.  Of course, it bunched up on me and the back was all twisted up.  It looked something like sewing your homework into the back of a quilt (for those of you non-sewers).  Traditionally, sewers will seam rip.  That would have taken me about three hours for the 20 minutes of wreckage I'd created.  So, I just went for option B....just cut a row off the quilt.  And none too neatly, I might add.  My sewing friends were shocked.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THAT QUILT?  I am just making it a row smaller.  Me thinks it was too big anyway!
And my mama called me lazy....I am just resourceful.
All the Best to You...jill

Too Grown Up for Easter Baskets

Easter is my favorite holiday of the year.  I love all of Easter but mostly because it is incredibly simple.  When our kids were younger, I would usually start making Easter dresses on Good Friday.   Now, I know that doesn't sound simple, but doing this at the last minute oft forced me to do things simply and efficiently.   Unless you are a sewer, you might not understand this.  But, for me sewing is a way of collecting my thoughts and sharing my love.  So, pulling together outfits in a matter of a few days is a very loving act for me.  Imagine how much energy some people put into preparing a meal for a family get-together, that is akin to what I do as a sewer.  While I always had good intentions of finishing up sewing well before, it never seemed to happen as smoothly as pulling together dresses for the girls and matching ties for the boys.   The boys will likely never forgive me for some of the things they wore but usually by the time they were ready "to go", they'd had an Easter egg fight and had eaten an ample helping of jelly beans and chocolate and were in different clothes for family visits. 

Monica's Craft Room

 Our oldest daughter Monica lives in Detroit.  Like her siblings, she has sewn most of her life.  Her first sewing project was a mitten for her thumb.  She was trying to quit sucking her thumb.  She did great during the days but struggled with the habit in the nighttime.  Her idea to make a mitten to cover her thumb was augmented with having to pin the mitten to her pajama sleeve.  After a while the hand-sewn thumb mitten truly disintegrated into shreds.  Of course, over time, Monica battled the habit away. 

Doodlin' the Borders

Recently, I shared with many of my sewing friends how I worked on a border.  I filled in a border by only quilting in half of the triangles.  Creating a continuous line design that accentuated the border, I was able to bring out the best in a border without doing a lot of drawing.

OMG....Just One Hour

Tonight I peeled out one hour and did something really fun.  I have two alphabet quilts that I pulled out of my "to be fi
nished" stack.  I loved applique-ing the quilts.  I knew that quilting

Re-Energize & Be Inspired

The full moon coming languishing in the sky over the ocean at sunrise was my beckoning to explore the beach this morning at Fort Myers, FL.  While I am an early riser, I am not often inspired to go outside and push my muscles.  However, that nagging moon called me to the seaside faster than I often venture out of my warm, cozy bed.

Holiday Sewing

When the family is home for the holidays, after many of the traditional holiday rituals, we tend to fall into a ritual of finding our way to the sewing room.  This year the sewing room is sporting a new feature--a television.  It has taken me a long time to make this decision.  However, as our family has matured, I can see that favorite movies, football and laughing at some shows is a together time.  While some of the family who enjoy the action, adventure fair for movies are in the family room, others have picked on favorites and now are loving having music from the 70s.  Nice addition.

Welcome to Iowa, Mr. H.P. Ueltschi

H.P. Ueltschi is the fourth generation owner of Bernina International.   We were privileged that he selected our store to visit on his recent trip from Switzerland to the USA.  More than 120 guests attended our Open House welcoming Mr. Ueltschi to our store.

Best Thing About Retreat

The best thing about retreat is the people.  Our daughters have been attending retreats with us as they were able ever since the beginning.  The girls are ages 18 to 28 and they still love to come to retreat at any given chance.  Our oldest daughter Monica lives in Detroit and while she doesn't get back often, retreat is a special time for her to re-connect with women who have impacted her life and whom Monica loves to share her love of sewing.

Birth of the Aliens

This is my last overnight at our weekend retreat, and I thought it important to announce that three aliens were birthed at this retreat.  The proud makers believed they were a bit weary looking and not photograph ready to be presented with their new-creations, Alien #1 and #2 and #3.  The Alien babies are awaiting appropriate names but it remains to be determined that the gender of the three before naming progresses.  Bill, Will and Tillie were vetoed.

Didn't Know You Could Draw

One day my daughter was helping me clean out a closet.  When she came across a couple of my drawings from high school, she exclaimed, "I didn't know you could draw!"  Funny things we don't much reveal about ourselves.  It is also very telling to me that drawing and creating is hard for me to find time for.

Life Happens...Just My Turn

I have had a couple friends complain that I am not keeping up on my blog.  First off, I want to thank the two of you who have prodded me <grin>.  And of course, you know who you are!  But, more important, it is always a good reminder that life happens and it is my turn.  This is not to say that I am not inspired ("Jill Inspired").  But rather I have been so inspired and have had a chance to see so many insights that I am nearly breathless with all the inspiration around me and haven't been able to juggle the priorities around to documenting this journey.  While I could express regret that I've not done more, I try hard to never live in regret.  So, let's just take the newest happenings....