Stitching the pieces together
Comments
-
Hope to get on to DD's quilt this week, will take pictures when finished.
This though is my quilt made for me by my dear friend - we flatted together at University and have been friends ever since.
It is actually going to be used in a quilt exhibition and hope to put it in the NZ quilter. Janet made it while I laid out the colours. It is beautiful - well I think it is. We are going to visit in July and will get it then.0 -
That is beautiful and I love the colors!
0 -
the quilt is beautiful Alyson - the colours, the symmetry. Looks like it is woven. That is a lot of sewing very small squares and it is so precise!
I wish more women who have to deal with BC and it's ongoing effects would find the joy we do from crafting. I also enjoy my gardening but that comes and goes. Quilts, pillows, etc-era are things to pass down to our children or so that's how I think. ...or hope. Having a son is different than a daughter. Max (son) has two of my stained glass lamps in his city apartment but no needlepoint pillows and I can understand as his decor is modern, chrome, black leather, timber, grey tile floors. Flowered needlepoint pillows need not apply!
0 -
Aly that is to die for! Love the mix of color.......hope it does well in the exhibition.
Debbie your sons decor sounds lovely and I do believe that you are right when you say flowered cushions need not apply........lol.
Twenty six dream catchers complete.......fourteen to go and then the train...........
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Very pretty Alyson.
0 -
chrissy: wow your fingers are flying! How big is the wedding dress train?
0 -
Debbie thank goodness it's not huge.......the dressmaker gave me the measurements of 20cm x 1.27m.......it's like an overlay of the dress train....should look lovely when done.
0 -
Alyson, that is STUNNING!!! Love, love, love the colours!!!!!
Chrissy, can't wait to see a mass of dream catchers in one shot!! We saw a couple some pages ago..will be neat to see them en masse!
0 -
Georgeous quilt, Alyson!
0 -
I am looking forward to seeing them also, Crissy!
0 -
As soon as I'm done girls I will post a pic of them en masse.
0 -
Chrissy, my fingers get tired just thinking about it.
0 -
Are you feeling any pressure yet, Crissy? Or, are you feeling comfortable about how much time you have? Sometimes I just get panicked for no real reason.
0 -
Meece, the panic hasn't set in......yet, but I'm sure if I don't keep the pace I've set for myself it definitely will sooner rather than later.....lol......and we all know stress is not the best condition for us to have......so,......I will just keep plugging along and make sure i keep my time table.......lol.
0 -
That's what you have to do. Please don't stress!
0 -
Chrissy, it's NOT stress, it's intense EXCITEMENT!!! Come on, put a different spin on it and your body will react differently if you're excited about it. That's what I HAVE to do to endure what I do. There's an expression "Fake it till you make it". So if you get your brain to interpret that "feeling" as excitement it works. Trust me, I know!
0 -
Barbe I think you have something there....lol. I'm not stressed, I'm extremely excited! Well the excited bit is true that's for sure and right now I'm not stressed so all is good.
0 -
Stress is a human condition. I refuse to allow it to affect me. Your brain can turn off the signal of stress so your body doesn't allow you to feel it. Trust me on this one. Over the years I've been through stressful situations (I'm not an idiot, I DO know what stress is!!) including my DH and I last year having to go 10 days with only $9 in the bank!! I don't know anyone who could handle it with the grace and excitment that we did. Friends and famlies would have DIED to be in our position!! (We don't have savings or any kind of back-up. At that point we didn't even have a credit card!!!!) So I do know that it can be done. My DH and I became very creative to go over a week with planning meals with what we had in our cupboards and fridge/freezer. It taught us to have some pantry items always on hand (pasta, peanut butter) but also showed us you don't need a stuffed fridge to eat well.
People that meet me and hear even a tiny bit of my history cannot believe I'm not a bundle of nerves. I just refuse to be. They ask why I am so happy and I ask them why wouldn't I want to be happy??????
You are just using the wrong words. We know you're not stressed out, just excited. We use that word to much to cover a whole bunch of feelings; fear, excitement, overwhelmed, underwhelmed, nervous, tense, scared, etc....
0 -
Barb - you are my IDOL!!!
0 -
Awwww....shucks!!
Always glad to help a sister!!!0 -
I like your outlook and will attempt to try it myself.
Being unemployed (at least with a FT job) since December, I know what it is like to stretch your food and budget. I had no job and fought for Unemployment from Dec until I got one check for $300 in March. I had quietly put a little of my paycheck away for 2 years so I had some money to pay the bills I take care of. I also had stuff in the pantry. It isn't as full now, so I need to work on stocking it once again. Luckily, because I was somewhat prepared, I didn't stress too much. Now I need to turn that into excitement.
0 -
Anticipation is another feeling that is often called stress. I am being sent back to work on Fentanyl patches!!!! I can't believe it, but am looking at it as another chapter in my life.
0 -
My severance pay ended 2 wks ago and have applied for unemployment. We will be okay...we have a good home equity LOC. I would have freaked out a couple of years ago, now just take it all in stride... life is too precious to waste on fear. Besides, the fear of something is so often much worse than the situation we fear. Knitting, gardening, cooking, on-line artist's colony.... much better path!
0 -
I unfortunately am a person who will FIND something to worry about if nothing is obviously near at hand. I keep working at letting go - but haven't been very good at that in quite some time. The good/bad part of retirement (which will be in four months and 3 days - but who's counting...) is that I will no longer be working at a stress-filled job with a bunch of people I cannot abide. The bad part is that our income will be slashed in half. We are both good cooks who can make pretty tasty food out of not much stuff, but I know it's going to be a shock to the system - and I'm really really stressed about (lol) looking forward to retirement.
I've thought of possibly trying to turn my hobby of dyeing silk scarves into a business - but - well - shoot, I just don't know. I truly truly HATE trying to sell ANYTHING!!! Sales material I am not!
We've got enough money set aside to subsidize us for quite sometime, though. When Medicare kicks in (a little over a year after I retire), we'll get a "raise" of about $400 a month, and then when I start drawing social security we'll get another raise. Hubby isn't worried - I on the other hand am sweating bullets...
0 -
gardengumby: many artists are sales people - artistic endeavour and sales don't always mesh in one personality. That's why there are art gallery's and boutiques! Try approach a high end boutique with your scarves and see if they will buy them first outright or next on a commission basis (then they are out nothing if they don't sell). Also, go to art galleries. The kind with pictures, sculptures. Often people love to go in and look but can't afford what's hanging up on the walls or if they live far away don't know how to get it home, but a beautiful scarf will travel well. Scarves are the rage here and I would love a beautiful silk one! Maybe an art gallery would have space to set you up and you could dye some of your material right there so people can see - buyers like that.
I always worry about money - my husband not. When I was having the 5 surgeries, chemo, rads, all I could think of was how much it cost as Australian government doesn't cover much and our private health insurance sure didn't do much, so my hubby said just give the bills to him. They upset me too much but by the time I got to rads he couldn't deal with the paperwork anymore. Breast Cancer not only scares us and effects our bodies and mind, but takes our money to stay alive! I make it a game to save, especially when buying clothes I use discount stores or shop sales racks at the end of season or go to boutiques with high turnover with bulging sales racks so they can put the latest merchandise out. At the grocery store, I stop and read how much something cost per gram or pound.....it adds up. Worrying doesn't make it better. Investigating and planning does bring assurance.
0 -
Shellshine - online artist colony --- love it!
0 -
Garden, Don't forget that your expenses will go down too when you retire. You won't be commuting, buying lunches out, contributing to office gifts, or buying clothes that aren't even comfortable to wear to work. I would say dry cleaning, but I quit buying clothes that needed dry cleaning years ago. I wear jeans, slacks, capris with T-shirts year round. One dressy outfit for weddings, funerals, anniversary dinners. And at least here, there's no shame in wearing old or used clothing.
0 -
Shellshine, you got a plan!!! Garden, you gotta get one!!! hehehehehehe I, personally am not a planner. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants. Wren has a very good point!! Also, think of the gas you'll save by not going to work, and the impulse shopping, and the hair expenses...all valid points.
My sister once said that she thought of life as a Monopoly game. I took that one step further; it's like Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother and Hero all in one!!! I'm like Justagril and I WILL buy if something is one sale AND tax free or I get something free that I need. Stores are not quite desperate, but needy. Big box stores can't discount on the spot, but mom-and-pop and boutique stores certainly can!! My DH got a leather jacket at a discount outlet, they took another $50 off only because he asked if it came in another colour, AND gave us the tax free (13%)!!! We would have been stupid to not take the deal as he was already looking for a jacket. Impulse shopping JUST because it's a sale is dangerous though......
0 -
We'll be able to make it (I fervently hope), but it will be tight. I think the idea of taking my scarves to store is a good one, as I'm really bad at selling things myself. I find myself giving things away just to get out of there. --- maybe hubby can take them to stores. It's odd, because my son, who is a glass artist, does quite well at the selling part, too. I just can't do it.
I really am looking forward to retiring though and spending more time with my husband - and more time sleeping!!! I'll also have more time for hobbies - but they have to be able to pay for themselves. Neither silk nor dye are inexpensive - but I do buy in bulk, which certainly reduces the costs...
I also want to take up some glass work again. I used to do glass stepping stones, but realized that I hated concrete, so quit. I'd like to start fusing glass. Hubby said I could put a 220 line into the garage for a good kiln, but I may start with just a little one and do small items - or not... 
0 -
I think it's part of the artist/crafter's spirit to have such creativity in using the materials at hand to make things work. I, too, enjoy making the food and clothing dollars stretch to make something delcious to eat or beautiful to wear. It's just part of who we are, like Meece's wedding art, the stained glass and quilts you all make. Did I go out and buy a wedding dress 26 years ago? No, I paid $100 for material and had a seamstress make it from an old antique dress pattern, then beaded it myself. I did my own flowers, husband made my ring, patient of mine made bouquet, another patient made my haku head lei - it turned out so beautifully. Life is art. Gardengumby - I'll buy one of your painted scarves!! My favorite color is no longer pink - its indigo blue / purple.
0
