Knitting As A Lifeline

"Literally holding my breath.  Waiting for the next thing to happen.  Not feeling a foundation underneath me."

That’s how I feel if I'm not knitting every spare moment.  Between projects, to let my hands heal a bit, makes me feel a bit like flotsam in the sea.  Tensions rise, bickering increases, boredom sets in. 

I used to be able to fill in the time with other productive things while not doing patchwork or knitting.  It was a break time to catch up with organizing, or cleaning, or just leaving the house.  Now, not so much.

  There’s been an increase in the amount of stress here in the last year, and it’s almost the anniversary now of all the beginning of that stress.  The year has pretty much flown by.  I still hope this coming year will be better and bring some relaxation and more happiness.  It’s not looking to promising right now.

So, I still need my lifeline - knitting - to carry me through.  I can take it with me like a security blanket small enough to fit in my purse, but now I have project bags that are easy to carry.  I can sit with it in any room, and keep my mind occupied no matter what’s going on around me.  I have something pretty to look at and concentrate on too.  I can shut out what ever is going on, but still be present and aware of what’s happening.  Or I can just totally shut everyone out, even if they try to get my attention.

After all that’s happened in the last year, I feel like I just want to be alone.  That’s not going to happen for a while either.  And probably when it does happen, I won’t like it very much.  Then I’ll be craving for the chaos.  It’s either is going to rain, or it’s going to pour.

  I never know what’s going to happen anymore and I realize more now than ever that my plans don’t mean much.  I can’t predict with any certainty what ‘s going to happen next.  So, should I throw caution to the wind??  No I think I will just try to make myself as happy as possible and not care too much what other people think of me, and just continue to do my thing, no matter what that is.......

Treasures - Worth More Than Money to Me....

"Blue Vase" - painting by moi - circa 1974

Grandfather's ledger - 1930

Blue Vase - on my shelf, where I can see it every day.

~

Some things are worth more than money, in any amount, to me.

I had a very happy day the other day because

I found some misplaced treasures.

I found my "Blue Vase" painting,

that I painted around 1974.

My mother had this pretty blue vase, which I loved,

and we had some zinnias growing, so I put them

in the vase, and painted it.  I was influenced by the impressionist

painters back then, so I made that background.  I love this little painting.

It brings back good memories, and it makes me happy.

~

My second treasure is my Swedish-American grandfather's ledger

from the Depression Era.   It is so precious to me.

This is how they made their living- by farming, selling eggs, an occasional calf,

selling apples and produce.  It lists what and how much they paid for all their expenses.

It wasn't easy living, but they lived off the farm.  I love them for that.

Farming is in my blood. 

~

O happy day!

My Therapy Card

On A Lighter Note Today:

Here's a card I keep pinned on the wall

in front of my sewing machine:

Here's what it says on the inside:

Here's the back of the card:

And here's where you can get them: (Click on the words)

The Greeting Place

 Happy Sunday!



I'm a Pastel - ly Girl!

Issue #17 of Fresh Vintage from Fig Tree and

Free Pattern: "Chantilly"

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Look what came in the mail today! (above photo)

Minus the cotton--- it's cotton pickin' time here,

so had to include my favorite fiber!

~

Granny Lil's Bowtie Quilt, circa. 1970

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Back around 15 year ago, or so, I was fairly new to making quilts. I was told by a friend that I was "pastel-ly", meaning all my color choices were of the pastel kind. You know, pinks, pale colors of the feminine kind. For some reason, I took that as a bad thing, and I felt I had to change. Dark country colors were (and are) popular then. I felt I had to make a concerted effort to stay away from choosing pastel colors, so I did. I still have my fabric stashes from back then-- the choices I made were all dark and subdued. These still come in handy if I'm making a certain style quilt.

~

But now, many years later, I am more comfortable in my own skin and am not afraid to say "I am a Pastel-ly girl!" Fig Tree and Moda fabrics have been making the colors I truely love in their fabric lines. They have the colors now, I wish I had back then, when "pastel" seemed to be a dirty word in the quilting world.

~

I learned a lot about value and contrast in fabric colors, so I can't say all that time was wasted while I played with those dark country colors.

~

Now I'm proud of what I choose and am confident in myself. And if anyone said to me now that I was a "pastel-ly" girl, I'd say, "Why yes, I am!" and not be afraid of anyone else's opinion of me. By the way, I love the bright colors too, such as those designed by Kaffe Fassett. I was told once, by a passerby, "Well, I guess someone has to like that stuff!" Give you two guesses who said that? Yeah, it was a person who was buying dark country colors at a quilt shop.

~

It takes all kinds to make the world go round.

~

Don't be afraid to show YOUR true colors.

~

Be true to yourself and you will be a lot happier earlier in life.

Granny Lil

Bebe: This is my Granny Lil. This is about how she looked when I got my Raggedy Dolls!
Granny Lil is a drapery/curtain maker, dressmaker, good cook, quilt maker, always happy and always smiling! She also crochets (she taught me how). Most of all, she is a doll maker! She inspires me every day!!