Almost Herringbone

There is cutting and sewing and pressing going on! Check out what those strips of Shades of Grey are turning into.

I was completely influenced by the fabric itself. Jan's bold graphics are so inspiring to me. Such a great change from florals these days. The one Ragg Tagg print fit perfectly into a concept I'd been exploring. So I essentially have taken that one fabric and made it large-scale for the quilt pattern itself. It was so easy to do and I love the effect.

And check out how well it all works with our patio chairs.

Depending on how my evenings go I should be able to share the finished project in a week or so.

Please stay tuned for another project I'm launching next week. This one's a biggie!

Revelations

I've had a revelation over the last few weeks. It does not at all coincide with my birthday. Or the hours spent in the ER with The Evil Genius last week. It started when I came across this particular blog, Can You Stay For Dinner? She chronicles a massive weight loss and living her new life - the triumphs and the struggles. In one post on her weight loss she mentions emotional eating. Many of us do it, myself included. But when I read her post something twigged for me. I was convinced that I ate for the hug that it gave me - beer or chocolate at the end of the day to come down from the stress. In truth, comfort eating for me is a way to simply hide under the covers when I'm too drained to face the world.

This revelation hasn't caused me to suddenly stop eating cake at night. I mentioned that it was my birthday on the weekend, right? But it is making me stop and look at all the things that have been hanging over my head, keeping me down. By not tackling some things on the to-do list, simple and large, I'm effectively hiding my head under the covers instead of moving forward with life.

In that spirit I'm on a kick to catch up with bee blocks and knock out some WIPs. Not all of them, only those that are holding me back from starting some new work. These are commitments I've been avoiding in the interest of doing things for me, but in avoiding them I'm not able to move ahead. They need to get done so I can really pay attention to myself and the fun stuff.

This first set is for Shea, as part of my Pieced Together Bee. I am now addicted to Moda Crossweaves. These are gorgeous! Her only request was right angles only. I found out on this block that you can still do improv, it all matters in how you prep the pieces. I see more challenges like this in my future. And more crossweaves.

The next ones come from the Mid Mod Bee. Every single block and participant in this bee inspire me. I've had so much fun working on these blocks because they are all different and all come from such different places. But the inspiration from mid-century modern design prevails. It's been great to see the interpretations.

This is Robin's. She wanted a loose interpretation of Mondrian, a little less precise though. Mine isn't quite as curved as she'd probably like, so I left it large for her to trim down.

And this is Blair's. She was inspired by some images of fireplaces in a mid-century modern design book. I have the same book, so I totally get the inspiration. What a great combination of solids she has here.

I've got a couple more bee blocks to go and some tops to put together, then I can feel comfortable moving forward on some of my own projects again. Including some baby and wedding quilts. No rest for the wicked! Or the sick as the cold the girls gave me for my birthday is indeed begging to have me hide under the covers.

No Pretense

I've tried to muster the enthusiasm for brisket, eggs, and the coming asparagus. I've tried to cook my family a dinner that is worthy of attention. I've tried to care to want to serve the girls more than bread with butter and honey. I've tried. I've tried. I've tried.

The truth is, I just don't have it in me.

Shopping, planning, cooking, writing, and even reading about food is at the bottom of my list of tolerable activities right now. My energy is devoted to not killing my kids when their energy gets the better of me, to answering the calls from my family when the last thing I want to do is talk, or avoiding the constant crooked finger beckoning of alcohol, sugar, and fat.

It would be easy to say that it's grief. And that would be true. My Dad, my dog, even grief over my old professional life. It's also burn out, insecurity, and the extra weight of life, life, life. I could say that the last 3 months have been killer, but so have the last 6, the last 9, hell the last 18! I could wallow in the crap that has happened from ski accidents to deaths. I could wallow, but then I really wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. And frankly, I don't actually want to wallow - it takes up too much energy.

I want to think about Happy Foods, to enjoy cooking, to get excited about being creative in the kitchen, to grab the girls and hit a farm. It just isn't there, though. I frankly don't give a rat's ass about food right now. I'm desperate for people to bring me casseroles or a pot of chili. I would do anything for my husband to decide to make Spanish Rice every single night.

On top of that, I really don't care to photograph or write about anything I do eat or cook. Hell, I posted a picture of a ridiculous can opener last week. My blog needs some quality control. Or a serious kick in the butt.

I wish I was the kind of person that could stock up on frozen meals or processed food. It really would make life easier right now. The fact that I haven't got there yet means something. It means that not all is lost. Somewhere inside is the person that I do know that I am, the person that ultimately does care whether my kids eat fruit in season and that we know our farmer.

Food blogging started as an outlet for me, a way to practice my writing and get me out of my comfort zone. Then it turned into my comfort zone. Now I'm not sure what it is. Mostly, it's a challenge and I don't mean that in a good way. But I made a commitment and for now I'm sticking with it. That commitment includes being honest and open. In doing that, however, I feel like the tone here hasn't been great. My frustration with life is certainly evident. Coming here must be like hanging out with a whining pessimistic friend - eventually it gets to you.

That doesn't mean I can suddenly pretend to be chipper and fake enthusiasm for another brownie recipe. Perhaps the asparagus will indeed snap me out of things, or maybe I'll find some fiddleheads somewhere? Or maybe time will simply allow my creativity and motivation to slowly creep back? Those girls of mine don't give us much choice. Just the other day, out of nowhere, The Monster asked me to cook some Czech food. Know any good recipes? I've got to find something for some new explorations or the middle aisles of the grocery store just might become my new home instead of the farmers' market. That gives even me a little shudder.

But I would still take any cheese covered casseroles left on my doorstep.

Heartening

Heartening

72'' by 72''

A few weeks ago my sister turned 40! To mark the occasion my sister-in-law and I (she's also a quilter) decided to make her a quilt. Everyone deserves a quilt on such a momentous birthday. This is the result of some late nights filled with cider and crass humour. Oh, and some love too.

It was an easy quilt to put together. We used the Chopsticks method. I love taking a pretty modern design idea but using it with unexpected fabrics. The softer quality to these greens and neutrals would usually be seen on a more traditional quilt. With this design, though, they are totally different. We chose the colours to coordinate with my sister's house.

The quilting was done entirely with a walking foot. Yes, a walking foot made all those curves. They are such gradual curves that you can easily do it without dropping the feed dogs. I really wanted some curves to contrast the sharp lines of the quilt top. And even though I confident with my free motion work, I needed something that I knew wouldn't provide me with a single challenge considering the timing of when I was quilting this. One little tension issue and I would have lost it.

The back was pieced from fabrics I had in my stash. A few yard cuts and some fat quarters. Fabric I bought and loved but still hadn't used. The pops of blue work because a few of the greens on the front have some bluer tones. Besides, all those neutrals were getting to me, I wanted to more colour!

Here is my brother putting on the label. He hates this picture because he says his hands look old. I hate to point it out to him that he is.. ahem, older than my sister. I love it because here are the surgeon's hands sewing. Meticulous and caring, perfect for a surgeon and an older brother.

Just a simple striped binding. It has all the colours of the quilt. It was a lucky find as I was picking up the batting I saw it by the till. I didn't actually have the quilt with me, but I was pretty sure it would work. It was perfect - the right colours but soft enough not to overpower the quilt itself.

We gave it to my sister the weekend we were cutting down a pile of trees at my Mom's house. I couldn't help but snap a photo with some wood. Aside from the trees there is a lot of wood that my Dad gathered over the years. It comes with the territory when you work in construction.

And here is my sister celebrating with her quilt. I hope it is giving her plenty of comfort. I bet she and her son are already spending some good time snuggling.

Happy Birthday Jan!

This quilt is a part of the Bloggers' Quilt Festival.