It's About Time - Getting Satisfaction

I did a lot of thinking after I posted that last entry.  Mostly about how much I self-edited, removing things I felt deeply but was fearful of putting out there in the world because depression is - and seemingly always will be - a taboo subject.  There are some great tweets about that attitude -

I figured out why I am so vibrantly aware of things these days - I'm running out of time.  I have more of my life behind me than I do ahead of me and while I'm good with that (honest!) I've got this whole stupid list of things to do "later", when I get the money, when I will be able to enjoy it, when I have the time (as if!) or some other BS rationalization.  It's time to do it now.  Money will always be a prohibitive factor, but the lovely silks I've been collecting for years are going to get CUT UP and made into a wonderful wall piece.  The beautiful Moda French General hexagons I painstakingly pieced and hand sewn are no longer in the "when I think of what I want to do with them" pile because I cut and bound them and they now look wonderful on various coffee tables in my family room.  My treasured damask and vintage linens are being used on my dining room and kitchen tables and YES I SAID THAT are getting food spilled on them and thrown in the washer and used again and again and I love it. 

I recently made 2 table runners as gifts for the newlywed children of friends. I did the registry gift thing for their bridal showers, but this time I felt like I wanted them to have something more meaningful - well, meaningful to me anyway. Both brides are mature, free spirited women who know themselves well.
I heartily regret machine quilting these runners with variegated thread - while it seemed inspired and dashing at the time, every sin you make with variegated thread screams. I backstitch to anchor starting and stopping points and damn if every time I did it the color of the thread would change just enough to look like a schmeariblik. Once I was on a pale yellow stretch of fabric when the thread turned a dark violet and MAN was that way too much contrast - it looked like I took a Sharpie pen and drew lines, for Pete's sake. This is not to say that I haven't done just that - I have a large and colorful collection of narrow Sharpie pens just for a similar  purpose. I touch up those areas when a bit of white thread pops up out of nowhere, a rogue bobbin thread that doesn't exactly match needs come camouflage - that kind of thing.

I now spend evenings embroidering wool felt ornaments that I consign to a nearby quilt museum. I love those things - each one a little creation that will go live in house of someone I'll never meet.  I used to keep track of where my Mother's quilted runners and wall hangings went when we sold them in my husband's shop. She loved hearing about the ones that went to London or Italy or Germany or Pennsylvania. Now I understand why.  Putting pretty little bits of yourself out there in the universe is a very satisfying use of time. I want my time now to be filled with more of that, whether it is making something or reading something or any one of a myriad of other things that are satisfying.  Time is much more my friend now than ever before, and all because I've been learning to use more of it to satisfy myself.

The Advent of Advent

Even thought I still have to cope with idiots who do not know the meaning of Advent - I like Advent.  It begins on Sunday and is a familiar ritual involving  lit candles and a winter cleaning of the soul. I find myself taking inventory of the past year, what went down (vs. what did not -  like my weight) and thinking about what I want to do with the time I have left. Face it, at my age I know I have less time ahead of me than I do behind me and I'm good with that.  I'm tired, for Pete's sake, but I still want to make sure I use that time wisely and well.

I'm also busy making Christmas gifts because 1) I like to, and 2) all funds are delegated to paying bills and utilities.  I have a place  in the family room all cleared out for a Christmas tree - we can pick up a small one for very little and I have a need to get back to trimming a real tree that smells good, sheds needles - the works.  I like the long observance of Advent and slower Christmas.   I've never been one for the  Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales frenzy even when I did have money to shop.  I just don't particularly like shopping.  It seems a waste of time to me and is often very frustrating.  I like simple things, good lines, fine fabric and appreciate a nice seam finish. Try finding that these days.

Maybe that is why I can spend hours embroidering wool felt and watching Christmas movies.  Every ornament is unique, every movie gets better with another viewing.  Right now I'm watching ELF on an endless loop.  There are more good one-liners in that movie than in almost any other Christmas movie.  This past Sunday was the Downtown Santa Parade and while Santa looked pretty authentic sitting on top of the fire department's ladder truck, I knew it wasn't the REAL Santa and it was all I could do to not yell out, "YOU SIT ON A THRONE OF LIES!"

Slow down and enjoy the season. Life outside of the usual frantic holiday circus is pretty sweet and makes for better memories.

 

August Wool

The dog days of summer are here with a vengeance.  Living so close to the icy Atlantic used to mean an afternoon sea breeze that cooled things off to the point where you had to close a window at night.  Not any more.  I am a climate-change believer.  I used to have at least five or six summer weight cardigans I needed to wear in the evenings out here.  Now I'm slicing the sleeves off old t-shirts to find something cool enough to wear around the house.

In July and August we crank up our trusty R2D2 air conditioner in the family room and I haul down my embroidery floss basket, a tub of wool felt and start  cutting up birds, stars, ornaments and mug rug pads so I can embroider my little projects that I sell locally.  I've set up a corner of the room that now looks like a wooly tornado hit it - complete with splattered bits of color from the bits  of wool and knots of embroidery floss that get snipped off as I work.  I could clean it up every night after a session of sewing, but what is the point?  A sample of works in progress:

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There is always that bit of a re-learning curve that comes with taking up embroidery after a long break.  I fumble around trying to remember old stitches and sometimes invent new ones in the process. I get very frustrated that the work isn't spacing evenly until I hit my rhythm and I'm back in the groove.  Then I wonder why I ever stopped - hand sewing is the most relaxing thing (well, next to a cigarette and a martini but I had to stop  smoking years ago and you really should not #gdas).

BTW, I  highly recommend the "R2D2" style of AC for a single room use.  I've put up heavy (upholstery remnant) curtains in the 2 open doorways to the room so it stays remarkably comfortable.  Joe rigged up a little template so we can tuck the exhaust hose out one of our windows. The only other work is to make sure there is a bucket next to it because it needs to "pee" every 5 hours or so.  (We don't leave it on overnight.)  The water gets taken outside to the porch to water the flowers.  It's a win-win.

I wait until I have a bunch of them finished before I bag and tag them - it's a very gratifying part of the process.  My tag reads "MSQ" as a tribute to my mom who used to make and sell small quilts and table runners at our shop here in Gloucester.  Since her last name was Major, she tagged her products, "Major Stuff Quilts" - hence,  the MSQ on my label.  I like sewing in the evenings while we watch a movie, surf around the DIY channels, or just discuss (and solve) the world's problems.   Joe is always there to bounce ideas off of and give me solid tips on getting the most bang for my embroidery buck.  Best part  -  he really gets it about my sewing, quilting, etc. and that is a remarkably redeeming quality in a partner.

EDIT:  If you were wondering, #gdas is a Twitter  hashmark for a Friday evening TweetChat where spirited, earthy sewing enthusiasts pop a cold one and discuss projects, tips, good food, and whatever else strikes our fancy.  (The name Get Drunk And Sew tells you all you need to know.)

Think I'll Tie One On.....

Well, not in the usual (for me) sense, but there is nothing like the awareness of the great needs of others to put  your  family Thanksgiving in perspective.  It's also a good way to take a break from your troubles and remind yourself that others everywhere are with you, either  neck-deep in their own troubles or offering you a hand to help you out of yours.  No wonder Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

Continuing my "be useful" theme -  check this out and Tie One On!

Out of the Frying Pan...

.......and in to the fire.  It has gone from hot to "heat wave HOT" in a matter of days.  We're looking at a five-day heat wave and that means working on something I can do downstairs in the company of R2D2 (our portable AC machine)  in the family room.  R2 does a pretty efficient job of cooling the room but eats electricity like a big ol' hog.  I'm OK with paying the higher electric bill if it enables me to breathe and sleep like a human being.

This heat wave prematurely jump starts my annual fall side-excursion into wool felt.  I like the change-up in fabrics and textures (and skills -  I have to remember how to embroider).  Bonus - you can watch TV or a movie while you do this  so what's not to love?  The only downside is that there is a hurricane named Earl lurking out there in the Atlantic.  This alone is not a problem, but every local TV station is working terribly hard to manufacture a frenzy about "this might" or "it could" and frankly I just do not need the drama.  Keep us reasonably informed and if something actually materializes you may  THEN push the frenzy button. The  weather reporters out here are epic at crying "wolf" about hurricanes . 9 1/2 times out of 10 these earth shattering predictions have  fizzled to nadda far offshore.  If and when one actually does materialize  there is a danger that  people are going to ignore the hysterical warnings just out of habit.  I need one of those "easy" buttons to edit the level of hype in news these days.  Since I do not have one, I will content myself  by making like Donna Reed and embroider my little ornaments.  It relaxes me to do these things and I could use that these days.......

Wordless Wednesday

Fabric SOS - Where is all the Broderie Perse Chintz?

Looking forward to an exhibit of contemporary broderie perse, my co-workers and I have started our quest to creating our own (much less complex) attempts at this  beautiful art.   (So much less complex that our PR maven has nicknamed it "faux bro".  I love that.)   One problem - we can't find chintz anywhere.  There used to be reams and rolls of lovely polished cotton chintz, just ripe for cutting up and arranging artfully on a plain background. I bought a bunch of it for my bridesmaid dresses (and yes, I made the leftovers in to curtains. I'll post a picture sometime). So what's up with disappearing chintz?  Anybody out there have some leads?  Help!

Image:  Margaret Young Stansberry, c. 1830

Collection of the New England Quilt Museum

Lake Day

Finally home  from a long day of work - day one of the auditors coming in to prepare the financial reports for the past fiscal year. It is comparable to a colonoscopy -  honest -  except a colonoscopy is better because you get drugs. But I digress.

On  my way home I stopped at a local gourmet shop and treated myself to some nice cheese, a little pâté for Joe, a bottle of wine, and something to nibble. When I got home the answering machine was blinking and it was the  accountant,  telling me she needed to reschedule and would not be coming in on Friday.  OH.  EMM. GEEE.   Are you serious?  This means I do not have to make the commute and go to work tomorrow either.   A DAY AT HOME.  Alone. And it is supposed  to rain all day.  Does it get any better than that?

I opened the bottle of wine, made a little plate of the gourmet nibbles and put my feet up. I'm completely intoxicated with the possibilities and options of doing everything and nothing. Kinda like a snow day - or, since it is spring, a "Lake Day."  Lake Day was an unannounced holiday at my college.  The bell tower would start ringing at about  7AM and it meant classes, tests, anything and everything was canceled for the day.  We would go down to the lake and lay around on blankets, reading or sleeping or drowsing.  It was always on a really beautiful day, with no warning, no planning. It just happened.

Even with the rain (which I love), tomorrow is my Lake Day!

Ready for Easter

And it's a good thing, it is only a week away.....

I finished my little wool felt Easter egg tree, I tried to take a picture but the room is too dark and the flash is too bright. Maybe I'll try again in daylight. Whatever.  I did have one egg turn out particularly well & included it here. I finally got the hang of stuffing them just so -  with the result that they look more like 3-D eggs than the ones I did earlier.   I added a few Easter postcards from my antique postcard collection - they are so beautiful, so innocent! The colors are just extraordinary, but they don't photograph well. I had to fill in the "Easter Greetings" one, otherwise all you would see would be a large "E" and a large "G". You get the drift.  Happy Easter, everyone!

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Olympic Eggs

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I wanted to do something during the Olympics - and since Valentines Day had passed (so I could not make more hearts) I decided to make Easter eggs.  When I moved here 25 years ago, I noticed people would hang plastic eggs outdoors on trees during Easter.   (I thought it was VERY strange.)  So -   I've adapted.  I started sewing these with no pattern or idea of what to do.  As I make progress, I throw out ones I've already finished (and did not like) and replace them with better eggs.  It's easy to do, and a great hand sewing project. (Did I mention how much I miss the Olympics?) As per usual, it led to ordering more wool felt in springy colors, and I can't wait for it to arrive. So I'll keep plugging away until I have a tree filled with lovely eggs. The bird is one I did long ago, I love doing the birds.  I thought this bird looked Easter-y, all spring colors and such. It makes me feel good to look at this little tree, it reminds me that spring is just around the corner.

Major Stuff

My mother was an accomplished quilter, and used to make and sell little wall hangings and things under the label "Major Stuff Quilts". (Her last name was Major, get it?) Anyway, I decided to honor that legacy by calling my "stuff" MSQ Folk Art. I don't sell my quilts (they are usually gifts), but I do like to needle around with wool felt and pearle cotton embroidery floss. So that is what these are, and I sell enough to buy more wool felt and floss. It works for me.