Playing with Stars

I'm chugging along and playing where I can. Working through this slump, pulling out old projects and trying new things. Last week, on my birthday, I got in the mood for some precision piecing. Rather than create any old random block I decided to add to my star collection.

Sitting in a bin was a little collection of 8 stars. I started them 7 years ago. Yup, that's how long ago. They were a Block of the Month from Planet Patchwork called Celestial Migraine. At the time I started them I did plan on keeping up - don't we always plan that with BOMs?! Then, as now, most of my sewing was improv based so taking a mental break to precision piece was nice. I also chose these soft colours and that provided a respite from the saturated colours I was using all the time too.

Well, I never downloaded all the patterns and the final quilt layout. It disappeared from the site and I could no longer find it. But, I did remember that is was a sampler of star blocks, with loads of Friendship Stars scattered among them. So last week I picked a star pattern (Pat's Star) off of Quilters' Cache to add to my collection. It was a spot of fun sewing and complemented the existing stars quite well.

I must admit, I'm kind of excited about these now. I'm going to make a few Friendship Stars and float them in background fabric. The stars I have finish at 12'' square, so I'm going to finish my Friendship Stars at 6'' square. I'd like to have all my stars float on the background a bit more so I'm going to play with layout.

(Scroll through here to see a version of the original pattern.)

Who knows how long these will stay up on my wall and when I can play again? I am quite enjoying their sunny nature and it was exciting to shop my stash for fabric additions. Another step forward in reclaiming my creativity.

Floral Wraps from A Month of Sundays

With no offence to my awesome kids, the best present for me is a day of no-obligation sewing. Just me and the chance to play. So when Hubby offered that up one afternoon on Mother's Day weekend I took advantage. Sure, it was tempting to sip tea and read but I decided I needed to flex my muscles and take something off the very long want-to-do list: Floral Wraps.

In one long afternoon I got five of them cut and nearly all sewn to completion. I was an assembly line machine. Barely took a washroom break. And it was so worth it. Not only was it satisfying, but now I have these great gifts.

The pattern comes from my book, A Month of Sundays. These days we have reusable totes, shopping bags, and even snack bags. But I'd never seen a reusable floral wrap. Sure, the flowers are gorgeous, but the paper and plastic they come wrapped in, not so much. Now you can buy your own flowers and bring them home safely and in style. Or, you can make a wrap and give it as part of the gift!

The floral wrap uses laminated cottons. There are so many available these days. You could, if you preferred, make your own by laminating vinyl to your favourite material. I am lucky, though, in having a few local shops with a good stash of laminated cottons. (In fact, I may need to stock up a bit more now.) Oil cloth works too, but it is a bit stiffer to work with. If you can't source them locally, make sure to check out your favourite online retailers.

Each wrap contains a pocket to hold the stems and ties to keep it all together. By using the laminated cottons your wrap can be simply wiped dry when you load the flowers into a vase, not to mention the ability to keep them moist as you transport.

These are what my girls' teachers are getting this year as gifts. And perhaps a few other people in our lives. Think of these for Mother's Day, birthdays, hostess gifts, just because...

The Curve of Time (Weekend Reads)

Our summer last year started with a road trip. An epic family road trip that saw us meander through the interior of British Columbia, spend a few days with me quilting (teaching) with the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Modern Quilt Guilds, and then hopping on the ferry for a week of camping on Vancouver Island. It was a magical family vacation for us.

Thank goodness our kids are adventurous travellers and don't get car sick.

We did the trip with the modern conveniences of hotels when we didn't want to camp, grocery stores to stock our bins of food at the campsite, and Goretex. So it was both inspiring and deflating when I started reading The Curve of Time while we were on the Island.

M. Wylie Blanchet wrote The Curve of Time, documenting the summers spent on a boat with her five children. The would leave from the coastal home that looked like a fairy's log cabin to board The Caprice as summer began. Up the water ways of the BC coast, both Island side and coast side they would explore. Just her and the kids, and usually the dog. And this was in the 20s and 30s!

Here I was thinking we were brave for a 2 week road trip in our German engineered station wagon.

The stories in the book are haunting at times, light hearted at times. They tell of the growth that happened among the children, of the joys of discovery, of the tension of travel by sea. Mostly they tell of the challenge of motherhood. Because even when you are battling current, ghosts, and storms you are still raising your children. It is a most definitely enlightening tale of mothering, amongst all the scenery, sailing, and adventure.

On that same trip we were on my husband coined the now often used family quote: It's only an adventure when not everyone who left returns, otherwise it's an excursion. The Curve of Time is certainly a book to inspire exploration and install an adventurous spirit in any woman. And to encourage this mama herself to find a few more excursions for her family.

Slump

Wandering aimlessly and picking bits of thread of my shirt...

Moving, sorting, and removing piles of fabric...

Taking out old projects to fondle but then putting them away...

Packing up quilts to put in the cupboard because I don't need to see twenty of them laying around...

Blank sketchbooks...

Being way too interested in my daughter's Rainbow Loom...

Procrastinating on promised gifts and volunteer commitments...

Letting the clutter accumulate...

There isn't much sewing going on, other than the mindless nature of my hand sewing. Definitely no starting of anything. I am the major league hitter with a mid season slump.

Finishing the manuscript, I'm sure, has a lot to do with it. With the previous two books I had something to jump into as soon as it was done - like a new baby or the next book itself. So there wasn't any time to decompress or wallow. Just boom! And on to the next thing. Right now there is no next thing.

I've also had to make the very tough decision to back off teaching for a while. I'm still teaching, but I will not be travelling much for it in the next year or so. It was about to take off in a very good way, but that professional success came with personal sacrifices I wasn't quite willing to make. It is absolutely the right decision, but that doesn't make it easy to live with. I LOVE teaching and the travelling and meeting people... I will miss it for sure but am thankful for the local opportunities coming up.

Without a doubt the state of our house is getting me down. Personally, I can't stand clutter. But I live with 4 people who aren't bothered by it at all. They love me, but they can't quite get themselves to tidy up enough. I can nag more, but that won't do any of us any good. I stay on top of it as best I can, but the bitterness grows and the frustration peaks. Then, when I do buckle down for a good clean up I get cranky because I touch the broken cabinets, the tuck tape never coming off the wall, the unfinished bathrooms, the carpet remnants laying around. I try to keep my studio clean so that can be just my refuge. But still.

It used to never bother me that I have so many UFOs/WIPs, but that might be the problem. That is a form of clutter, after all. So I've got two quilt backs now made so those tops can go to a long armer. And I've puttered with a few of the projects to see if that helps. Fine and a little bit fun, good to keep the muscles moving. They aren't getting me super excited though. At some point I should get a bit more motivated and sort through them all while taking a good hard look in the mirror. What is going to get done and what is not? Then move on.

Regardless of the reasons, I'm itching to find my mojo again. 

A bit of it came back over the weekend. We took a gorgeous drive to a beautiful spot to spend the weekend with precious loved ones. I flipped through trashy magazines, stomped in the forest, taught the girls how to canoe, ate a lot of cheese, and obsessed over pregnant elks. Somewhere in there an idea for another book emerged. It was so invigorating to have that creativity spurt forth. And to know that I was still receptive to new ideas.

You see, I believe that we have to exercise our creative muscles and put the work in to keep us going, but that is no guarantee of creativity. It only makes sure we've left the doors and windows open for the butterflies. But if your butt isn't in the seat doing the work, the beautiful creatures will pass right by without you noticing. Creating isn't inspiration, it's work.

In this slump, however, I have been literally slumped over. Head down, moping, shoulders hunched, and eyes closed to the world. My muscles are working, no doubt about that, but I am not open to the space and forces around me. It's just too internal.

In the past I find that pushing myself for charity work is the way to opening up. It gets me out of myself. Thinking and doing for others. Right now I am still doing that though, as I try to wrap up the last Just One Slab quilts. Confession: even these feel like they are dragging me down right now. But I keep plugging away because they are more important than any of my own sluggishness.

It won't last forever, that I know. Sometime soon I will have something to show you. Even just voicing all this seems to be pulling my shoulders back. I've also identified a short list of my own suggestions for getting through.

- Keep sewing. Keep your muscles moving, your brain activated to the process.

- Finish something, anything.

- Take inventory of the WIPs, admit that you won't finish some and pass them on.

- Wash the windows, or get them washed. New light, clean light will highlight the path and let the butterflies in.

- Try a new technique.

- Give away a quilt, a finished quilt.

- Say no to a commitment.

- Get up early to sip tea and do nothing in the quiet morning light.

- Colour, paint, or create with your kids.

- Turn off the computer, walk away from Pinterest and Instagram

- Put away the inspirational stack of fabric you pulled out two years ago. 

- Sign up for a swap or bee.

- Take a road trip, even if just for the day.

- Have faith in yourself.

Do you have any other suggestions of your own to share?

For now I am enjoying my quiet mornings, even if they aren't all that productive. I'm working on a quilt that is a gift (I'll share when I'm done). I'm prepping for a round of teaching gigs and a family trip to Toronto. And I'm writing a proposal for a book I can't start for at least 6 months, but I've got to run with what is getting me excited. Summer is starting soon - the emerging blossoms (such a late spring) and energy of the kids is indeed invigorating. Today, today I will stand up a little straighter and keep my eyes open for butterflies.