Quilt-O-Rama

Indie Vibrations.  Quilt made by Amy Friend of Seacoast MQG

In another life I will make it to Quiltcon, the annual quilt convention hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild going on now though Feb 24.  This year it is in Austin, TX, a place I rekon to be quite charming, with a thriving music and film culture, as well as a robust real estate market (think of that!). 
Simultaneously the Moda Friendship Quilt Along is underway from Feb 18 - Mar 1.  Every day follow three Moda designer's blogs as they design a 9" friendship quilt block.

 

Impracticality.  Quilt made by Angela Walters of Kansas City MQG

As a new quilter I am pleasantly surprised at the wealth of creative resources and communities centered around the art of cutting up fantastic fabrics and piecing them back together.  Who would have thought?   


Art of Solitude

Why do we need solitude (and silence, which often accompanies it)?  We need it because solitude makes us more sensitive mothers.  Removing ourselves from constant stimulation and noise actually sharpens our sensitivity.  Also, solitude forces us to face ourselves.  In solitude we learn to like ourselves better because we are faced with our own company.  It helps us heal from old hurts so that we can be free to enjoy the present and it refreshes us in ways that the company of others can't.  Finally, solitude centers us and brings about a deep peace that cannot be achieved while staying immersed in either the good noise of friends and family or the awful noise of raucous media.  We must retreat into quiet aloneness so that we learn to be the women we were meant to be.  

-Meg Meeker, MD

A Swiss Dream Come True

So the birthday is coming around the bend again.  

As I age I am more comfortable with treating myself to high quality, meaningful items that I know will last a lifetime and that have good resale value.  My parents would be so proud.  Thus I've been mulling over investing in a Bernina sewing machine for some time.  Berninas typically accompany a quilter/crafter for twenty years or longer, attesting to the unparalleled Swiss workmanship.  So I continued mulling, and mulling, and waiting for a floor model sale at my local quilt shop, and mulling a bit more, and hinting to my husband, and, and, and...

Then today my son comes in the door after a trip out with Daddy, and tells me "Mommy you can't have your new sewing machine!" in a matter-of-fact three-year-old style, as if to punish me somehow.  But at that moment butterflies batted in my stomach and my eyes welled up.  Could it be?   He took me outside and in the trunk was my new Bernina.  A swiss dream come true indeed.

Happy

What is the science behind our happiness?  See how people all over the world experience happiness.  The more that goes around, the better off we are.

Streaming on netflix.

See the trailer here