Soul

We've just returned from an almost garish weekend trip to the East Coast. Yes, I jauntily flew 5 hours (one way) for a weekend. What an indulgence. And oh so necessary. Now, if only the lottery folks would understand that I need to do this more than once every 3 years.

My soul is well, better now. I was reminded of my love for my husband, my love for friends (old and new), my love for Halifax and all its rotten charms and tourist traps, my love for the ocean and falling leaves and leaves falling in the ocean, my love for foghorns and even cruise ship bellows, my love for beer, my love for simply strolling, my love for me and my soul.

Just a sailboat, as seen from our sailboat.

Coming home with Kate and her family after we sailed and ate. A day spent with friends old and new. Capped with beers cuddled under Kate's mom's quilt and quiet conversations about love, grief, picky eaters, firefighting, vegetarianism, health care reform, friends, creativity, writing, boats, and love again.

PS Barb, I'm sorry we missed each other. Next time!

Celebrating the marriage of one of my oldest friends to the woman who clearly makes his heart dance and leap.
Boys being boys at the Seaport.

Colourful inspiration at the farmers' market.

Waterfront details that warm the cockles.

Halifax details that blow your mind with stories.

Late night shenanigans with the best man on Earth. We got ourselves sorted out in Halifax over 14 years ago and did so again this weekend.

It's a good thing I have my soul, because I'm pretty sure my heart was wrenched from me, tied to a heavy rock, and thrown in the Atlantic. At least I'll have a good excuse to go back.

Inventory

Now that I am home full-time I thought it best to take inventory of the projects on the go. This pile represents what I would call active UFOs. That is, as opposed to the ones that have long since been abandoned... From the top to the bottom:

The crayon rock inspiration quilt. I now have the top done and backing cut. On to basting. I might get to it this weekend, if my knees are up for it.

My Slaveship quilt. Inspired by the novel The Book of Negroes it got to this point and I stopped. Then I picked up some African fabrics to add to the top at Quilt Canada, but I haven't put it together.

Water quilt.  Oh the water quilt. I haven't touched this in a year, but I think about it constantly. As soon as I get a semi-permanent design wall up and a full day to myself with no interruptions I plan to get the top done.

Values quilt. This was my first values quilt using HST, a la Katie. I love, love, love it and really wanted to get it basted. I already know how I'm going to quilt it.

Improv Sampler. This is one that should be at the top of the pile. I want to teach Improv again and this quilt should be finished. To be honest, I might bite the bullet on this one and get it done by a long armer.  Maybe.

The Low Volume Circles. This top came together so quickly in the late winter, and I even got it basted quite quickly. And I know how I'm going to quilt it, but I just need to actually do it.

So, now what? I refuse to pressure myself to finish, nor do I give in to the pressure to have something new to blog about. If you've read here for a while, you know that I like to talk about quilting as much as I like to quilt!

I do believe that it is good to stop, take stock, and prioritize every now and then.  Considering that I'm doing that in the rest of my life's activities, it only seemed appropriate that I do it here too. And I'm happy with where I am.  Sure, I wish the pile was a bit smaller or I had the ability to get through the basting process a bit easier. But it is what it is.

And really, it means a little time to stop and savor the process along the way.

Just Playing

This has been a rough few weeks for our house. As a result, not much quilting is getting done. I just can't motivate myself. I'm picking away at commissions, but I hope the recipients understand. Did I mention its been a rough couple of weeks?

Two weeks ago we had to leave town for a funeral and that necessitated a 2 day road trip, in each direction. Just prior to leaving, feeling the need for some retail therapy, I went shopping at an art store. I'd decided it was time to get some dedicated sketching materials that were all mine. Up until now, if the notion of a quilt came into brain it was usually sketched in black pen on whatever paper I could find, or with my daughters' markers on their craft paper. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and it will still always happen. But it was time to treat myself a little.

And boy, could I have treated myself. I had no clue that fancy markers cost so much! I had it in my head that I would be able to get a set of about 50 colours for a pretty reasonable price. Uh, no. At least not at the store I went to. I had to settle for a set of 20, decent quality markers for a good price. I really wanted more colours, but I couldn't justify the expense, no matter how bad of a week I was having.

In the end, this was a good purchase. A smaller set means that it it all transportable. And all I really want to be able to do is to capture a notion of the idea in my head, not a precise pattern. Besides, nothing can replace actually playing with the fabric.

Then, this week, I was at the grocery store and saw a pack of 50 markers for less than $10. At first I sighed in frustration. But I've realized that the best part about my markers is that they are mine and all mine. The girls know they can't play with them.  That means I will never run out of the red.

City Quilts Winners

I'm back with the City Quilts and Robert Kaufman winners!

Thank-you so much for joining me and the other hosts for a great blog tour for Cherri House's new book, City Quilts.

The City Quilts book winner is:

465

Sandi at A Legacy of Stitches come on down! 

The Robert Kaufman fabric bundle winner is:

374

Stephanie from SeaSteph's Creations.

Congratulations to the winners here and in all the blog tour spots. And congratulations to Cherri for sharing a fantastic first book with us!