I am a Quilter

I can say that now.  I completed a quilt and it is beautiful.

My first ever quilt.  A simple baby quilt - black and white to help the little premie eyes develop with a pop of pink for the girl that she is.  I am proud to give this new tiny person my very first quilt.  It will be used, played on, loved, and washed a million times, and that is just what a quilt wants to be.

As I was quilting away in the final hours before the gift was given, it was just me and the whirring sewing machine.  I began to think:  Why did I think this was so difficult?  Why have I been putting off such a lovely way to make something beautiful?  What is quilting anyways?

- each quilt is a one of a kind

- you can follow a pattern or make it up as you go

- they come in any shape or size

- if you mess up, you just pull the threads out and start over

- you pick the colors, style, and difficulty level

When you make a quilt, no matter how big or how small, you pick different fabrics that are pretty boring on their own, cut them up into small pieces, mix them up, rearrange them until they are pleasing, and sew them all back up into one beautiful quilt.  Well, the same can be said of life too, right?

Your life is a mix of lots of little pieces, put together to make you who you are.  You are one of a kind.  There are patterns for life but you just might learn a little more if you make it up as you go.  We all come in different shapes and sizes.  If you mess up in life, you can either pull those life threads and start over or you can choose to work with the error and move forward.  And, the best part is that you are in control (for the most part).  You choose the difficulty level of your life - challenge yourself with a life of learning and growing, or choose to be content with who and what you are.

Here's where quilting and life are so similar:  quilters are always looking to learn and grow from each other, to try the next pattern, to share and swap and improve their skills.  And that's exactly where you will find me - learning and growing and extending myself to ask the questions and try new life patterns.  Sure, I have found the tricks and tips that have worked well for me, but I want more.  I want to expand my life and my repertoire.  Now I know why my mother and so many before her quilt, and why I will continue to do so for the rest of my life.  It's not just a gift for someone else, it's a gift that gives back to the maker as well - and that's the best kind of gift.

excuses are so last winter

About, I dunno, two months ago, I finished my Crossfit Fundamentals.  "Your what??!!"  Crossfit.  Fundamentals.  Essentially Crossfit is an intense training program that works your muscles in ways you didn't know was possible and rocks your little happy workout world.  Treadmill junkie?  Go run 400m outside as quick as you can.  Weightlifter at the globo-gym?  How about 95lb. deadlifts as many as possible in 20 minutes.  Think you've got some spring in your step?  Double-unders.  150 of 'em.  You get the idea.  So, I did my fundamentals a while back with my hubby.  And he's been once since (and injured himself, but that's another story) and I have never been.  Why?  Why would I go through all of that time, effort, soreness, and money just to never again set foot in the place.  Well, let me give you my list of excuses:


- My schedule is already very full
- The workouts make my muscles stiff and I have worked so very hard at yoga to make them long and lean
- It's my hubby's thing - I don't want to interfere
- See above husband injury
- My priorities changed and I just want to focus on my current regimen
- and on and on and on....

*my inspiration and trainer with no excuses at all*

I think we can all make excuses for pretty much anything when it comes down to it.  Especially when it comes to exercise.  All of my workout clothes are dirty.  I have to go out later and don't want to get sweaty.  I. am. too. busy. (I know way too many people who say this one)  So, I'm not perfect.  Yes, I have a regular and content pilates and yoga workout schedule and am pretty fit.  But I like to try new things and experiment around and see what I might like... so why can't I commit to Crossfit?  To top it all off, it's across the street from my yoga studio so I see it all the time.  Why not go in?  I have the training.  I can join in a class if I want to.  Why not challenge my thinking?  This is the real question.  Without barely giving it a chance am I going to say "This isn't for me.  Thanks, but no thanks." or am I going to give it a shot- 5 or 10 classes and see how I do?  


This spring is about changes for me.  I am awakening an inner voice and living my life with full gusto.  I am going to see, experience, feel, and do - even if it's out of my comfort zone.  While I may not say yes to everything thrown my way over the next few months (I do still have to honor who I am at the core), I am pushing my boundaries and grow grow growing like the little spring flowers.  And so, tomorrow at 6pm I will be lacing up my shoes, heading into Crossfit 757 for the Tuesday night group workout.  I'll be the girl in the corner, ready to learn and grow (and drink a lot of water after!). 

Spring!

This is one spring that is going to mean big change.... it is roarin' in like a lion!  Our rainy week last week led to a glorious weekend of sun, sun, and more sun.

*daffodils courtesy of Betz White*

We spent our days outside and our nights with our windows open, basking in our latest projects.

*spring brings new projects- my first quilt*

Happy Spring!  What does this season have in store for you?

So far, so...okay.

Life without television.  Sounds easy, right?  Not so, when your living room is dominated by a 50" plasma behemouth that stares you down as soon as you enter the house.  We could rearrange the furniture to how it was when we first moved it with a little less direct focus on the TV... but I would only suggest that to my darling husband when he is in the best of moods and willing to crawl under the house again to satisfy my furniture arrangement needs.  Or, I could get out of that room altogether, move to another room to relax and read or sew..... hmmm... my sewing room??

While the post was written 5 years ago, the sentiment of Kathy Sierra here still applies.  It's not the shows you watch, it's the television.  So far in my hiatus, I have watched one night of Monday night sitcoms (2 hours in total) and one night of a PBS series on food (yummy, glorious, exotic food!).  I'd say that's pretty good for a former television addict- a total of about 4 hours of TV?  I'll take it.  But here's what I discovered:  the sitcoms served to be an easy way to unwind with my hubby but they did nothing for my soul.  The PBS series was another way to unwind but it was educational... good for me... and fulfilled an interest of mine.  So which was the better of the two?  Clearly the latter, and not just because it was PBS.  It's because my mind was stimulated- ta da!!  I was interested in what I was watching, I was learning something, and I actively chose to watch it.  It was actually quite liberating. 

I know that after Lent is over and all of the Easter chocolates have come and gone, I will still be a television watcher.  The 50 inch-er is not going anywhere (unless it breaks or dies).  I will still watch, just a little more selectively.  And that is something I am really looking forward to.

So far this week...

* cute! *

* I now have a vision *

* the calm before the storm *

* cake for dinner *

How's your week coming along?

Fabric fabric everywhere!

A sweet friend from my husband's work, Mary, was reading my blog (someone read my blog!  yayayayaya!) and saw that I am climbing on the quilting train.  And she gave me fuel for my fire... all of these beautiful fabrics!  Of course I had to immediately organize them by color and type....

And she says there is even more where these came from!  Her mother used to quilt but can't anymore so she is happy to see these fabrics go to some use -- and I am happy to use them.  Much love to Mary and her beautiful fabrics.  Bring on the sewing fun!