Sunday, April 13, 2014

Learning to exhale

All I want to do is make quilts. I don't want to go to work or vacuum rugs or make dinner. I don't want to go for a walk or read a book or take a nap. I don't even want to blog. After the years when my 'free' time was not really my own, I am finally learning to expand into my unscheduled hours. I'm (more than) a bit selfish & stingy with my now really free time, but that is beginning to fade.

A dog story I read on Instagram reminds me of myself. A woman I follow there fosters pedigree dogs. She recently took in an adult male dog, a  sweet & good fellow, but very nervous & un-used to freedom. She can only guess at his story -- not abused, but neglected & often confined, maybe from a puppy mill. At his foster home, the ability to run & play then rest was just too much for him; he'd pace until he was weary but couldn't rest until he was back in his kennel. The good news is love & nurture is bringing him around.

That's where I am now. I sew until I'm exhausted. I have to make myself stop. I just finished my 5th & 6th quilts for the year. Tops 7 & 8 are done, basted & ready to quilt. It isn't like I'm in a race, mostly I am enjoying myself, but I'm trying to pull myself back, kennel myself so to speak, so I don't get burnt out.

Quilts 7 & 8 will be Christmas gifts for our 14-year-old nephew & 12-year-old niece. They are terrific kids! The last quilts I made for them were their baby quilts, so they're due some new ones. The tops were made using the Fat Quarter Shop's Charm Pack Cherry pattern. (The whole time I was assembling them I was humming the B-52's song, Love Shack -- I guess because "Charm Pack Cherry" made me think of "Love Shack Baby". Anyway...) 4 charm packs worth of fabric in each quilt, they were easy & fast & are pretty cute -- well, one is cute, the other is manly. ;-)


4 comments:

Nifty Quilts said...

Oh boy, can I relate! I took up quilt-making right after my dad died, and I was a rabid sewer for several years. Finally I'm starting to slow down and clean up the frenzy. Whether you're sewing your way through grief--as I was--or making up for lost recreation time, or both, you're making some beautiful quilts. Thank goodness for quilt-making!

MariQuilts said...

So much food for thought in this post, thanks so much for sharing.

Rachaeldaisy said...

Go with the flow, if sewing is what you wNt to do for now then do it, you can read a book another day, life has these phases. I can highly recommend getting a robot vacuum for your rug.

beth said...

Your post makes me smile! Quilting DOES take over sometimes! Enjoy the creative ENERGY. We're enjoying your creations.