Skip to main content

No Story Friday

Thanks to taxes I did not get a story written this week, but to give you a break from the tedious April Fool's jokes and pranks I thought I'd do some updates on my other creative endeavors. In typical me fashion I forgot to post any stats or pics on the textile art I accomplished in February, but I didn't finish anything for the entire month, so there wouldn't have been anything to report. :) For March my big accomplishment was completing my koi quilt project.

In pursuit of being a zero waste quilter I also made a storage bag for the quilt out of the leftover fabric scraps before I sent the lot to Kat.

For the rest of the month I worked on smaller practice pieces in preparation for my next quilt, which will be made from recycled linen and slow stitched with perle cotton threads. This piece I made from some old cotton I recycled from a lumpy cutter piece.

Slow stitch practice is a constant exercise for me, not only to keep my fingers limber but also to keep my head where it should be when I'm working on quilting and embroidery. I did a lot of thinking while I worked on this piece, made from two vintage hankies, and made peace with yet another old rift between me and my mother.

Although it's been almost a year since Mom died I'm still processing the loss, I guess. It's different than it was when I lost my dad. His death was (and sometimes still is) like a physical wound, as if part of me had been ripped away. With my mother it's more of a debate with myself and my emotions, some of which I'm now suspecting will never be resolved. I'm still going to work on it because I do want to make peace with her on everything.

During the month of April I plan to begin work on the linen quilt, but I think I'll line up some small side projects, too. They will give me opportunities to take breaks while I'm working on the quilt, and hopefully prevent me from becoming overwhelmed.

Labels:

Comments

nightsmusic said…
I loved my mother though I didn't always get along with her and some days, I think she would have been happier had they not ended up adopting me. I think she wanted a child desperately, they'd tried for a few years, and they finally did 'get' a little boy that they had almost a year. They were getting ready for the hearing that would have finalized everything when social services, whatever they were called at the time, showed up unannounced with a person in tow, told my mother it was a relative of the boy that they'd managed to locate from somewhere down south, took the baby from her arms along with a blanket and a couple diapers and left her standing on the doorstep in shock. When they had the chance to adopt me, she never really got close to me. Maybe she was always afraid something would happen and she didn't want that hurt again until it became a habit with her. I don't know. Maybe she wanted a boy. But it was a private adoption and I wasn't born when the arrangements were made so they had no choice. I have days where I miss her terribly and days when I don't and I feel guilty about it. But I deal with it and move on. On the other hand, my dad too left a gaping wound. There's no doubt I was daddy's girl.
April 2, 2022 at 4:30 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Love Means This

Invested in a couple of hand-dyed bundles from one of my favorite fabric artists. This one said "Make me into something for Valentine's Day." So I went for a quilted and embellished tote. I kept thinking about what love means to me as I worked on it. Here's the finished tote. Although I was tempted to embellish with beads and pins, I got sick and only felt well enough to do a little stitching every night. As I worked I thought about how often love seems disappointing to us, especially when it fails to live up to our expectations. But now that I've experienced love in many forms, I can say that it's made me a better person than I might have been without it. Love is a precious thing, and should be appreciated in all its forms. I am very grateful for the love of my guy, my child and my friends who have stuck with me all these years. That's you two, in case you're wondering. :) Also finally found something to do with a ve...
1 comment
Read more

Goodwill Gamble #2 Arrives

My second Goodwill gamble arrived; this is one I paid ten bucks for last month. Just inside the lid was a big roll of plastic mesh that I think is for latchhook work. In the auction listing it looked like fabric to me, so that was unexpected. Someone at the seller's end was nice enough to put a note on this pinned fabric. I'll put on my gloves before I take it out to inspect it. The embroidered green fabric turned out to be 1-1/2 yards of sequinned and three-dimensional designer fabric. I'll guess this cost somewhere between $20.00 to $30.00 a yard, and it's in pristine condition. But here's a shot of everything in the lot, which is mostly crafty odds and ends with a small amount of cotton fabrics, a large amount of synethetic fabrics, and some other surprises. The original owner of these was probably a Catholic school teacher; these beads, crosses and medallions are the kind of rosary kits for kids to make at Sunday school or Bible camp (and s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fabscrap for 2023

In December I made two orders from Fabscrap. The first arrived with this giant spool of variegated taupe yarn; it's more than enough to make a nice big wrap or a lap blanket. I also added two pounds of mendable sample garment tops in this particular order. I made a mistake and clicked on large for the size, and then later read that they were out of stock. I expected they would backorder my order, but instead they made some delightful substitutions. This pretty pink top doesn't need any mending or alteration. This is a dress, I believe, and it looks to be in perfect condition, too. A white eyelet blouse, also in new condition. Keep in mind that all these garments are $8.00 a pound, which works out to $4.00 each for this order. That's cheaper than Goodwill. I even got a coat. That neon green faux fur on the cuffs definitely has to go, but I love the coat. This is a yard pack of neutral naturals. The linen alone (on the right) is worth about $25....
Post a Comment
Read more