This is what happens when small children get a hold of your phone!

Quilting with Confidence

In September I attended my first Triangle Modern Quilt Guild meeting in hopes of gaining the courage to begin digging into my Grammie's quilting stash and WIPs.  Since then I have attended a second Guild meeting as well as three free quilting classes at a fun fabric printing shop in Durham called Spoonflower.  I have really enjoyed open studio time at Spoonflower as well and look forward to many more sessions.

But although I have found the courage to jump into a quilting community, I am still hesitant to do any quilting without a class structure to guide me.  So I am linking up with Quilty Habit's "Sewing with Certainty" linky party in an effort to hold myself accountable for quilting a little more fearlessly!

These are my goals for the next few months:

Completing the binding on the postage stamp mini quilt I began in the Postage Stamp class I took with Claudia from Snuggly Monkey.  Binding is a little bit scary but I want a FINISH!  I feel like completing my first project would really be a confidence booster to dive into the next one.

Sharing my postage stamp mini quilt at Triangle Modern Quilt Guild show and tell.  If I can find the courage to finish, I can find the courage to share!

I have projects in mind for my big girl, silly guy, and my mother-in-law that I need to start!  I cut material for A's quilt but I am nervous that I don't have enough fabric, or that she won't love it and my effort will be wasted.  This is an act of love that I hope she will cherish and I fear her rejection (4 year olds aren't exactly known for their praise!)  I have fabric for D's Wolfpack blanket but I don't have a plan for cutting or piecing so I need to work on that.  And then for my mother-in-law, I have some various fabrics that I think she will love but choosing blender fabrics has been a challenge so I hope to conquer that as well.

So many goals!  Thank you for the push Jessica!

Rejuvenate

My mom has taken a trip with her mom and 2 sisters each fall for many years. When my grandmother passed away a few years ago, my mom began to invite me and her cousins to join them. Each year the three of then take turns choosing a city to visit for a long weekend and off they go. Last year we went to savannah, one of my favorite cities. This year, my aunt choose because it is her 50th birthday and she wanted a big party - so off to Key West we went!

I have never been to Key West and really didn't know what to expect. For a town known for it's parrothead parties, I was surprised at the charm that abounded.

I will write more about the island in a later post but what I want my children and husband to know is that everyone needs time to rejuvenate and refresh. We cannot be at our best when we go day in and day out without a moment to step away and breathe.

Sometimes that breath is a quiet, secluded beach. Sometimes it is a glistening, snowy mountain. Sometimes it is a bustling city block. But sometimes it a simple time out from what is normal even in your own living room. I hope to cultivate more of those moments for all of us in the near future.

Creative Outlets

I am really excited to get home tonight.  I am excited to go home to my family most nights, but today when I get home, there will be a package waiting for me.  A soft, squishy package full of fabric.

I know, that doesn't sound exciting to most people.  That's okay.  Quilting isn't for everyone.  Yes, I said quilting.  The activity we envision older women or women of the 1800s doing all together in rocking chairs.  And no, I'm not either of those women (although sometimes I feel that old!).

There is a movement of women of all ages in the quilting world - modern quilting.  I'm giving it a try.

My grandmother spent a number of years quilting - mostly as a social activity.  She made some beautiful quilts.  Quilts that I now use in my daily life.  They are a reminder to me to see beauty in daily work and craft.

When my grandmother passed away last year, I received the majority of her fabric stash and her unfinished projects.  I have to admit, I let it sit on shelves for almost a year.  I found it intimidating.  I didn't want to mess up the beautiful things she had started.  I'm learning that it's not really possible to mess them up.

The amazing thing about quilting now, compared to the 1800s, is the vast blogging world!  There are endless blogs dedicated to quilting.  Who knew?!  I have spent the last two months reading a lot of them.  It is such a community - something I have been craving.  I also went to my local modern quilt guild meeting for the first time this week.  I am excited to have a local community to ask for advice and some guidance to finish many of my grandmothers projects.

So today I received a soft, squishy package with something I hope to infuse with love for my kids, and for my grandmother.

The ones who love you

Why is it that the people who are supposed to love you the most are often the people who hurt you deepest?  Our family is often times the group of people that take you for granted as an individual.  I find myself anxious when I know time with my family is approaching.  For a group that is supposed to support you, lift you up, encourage you, I find myself feeling excluded, unimportant, and discouraged most of the time.

I don't ever want my children to feel that way about their family.  I want them each to know how much I cherish them.  I want them to know that I already find their uniqueness and individuality wonderfully exciting.  And I want them to encourage each other in their endeavors.  I want them to be kind to each other and curious about the others passions and interests.  I want to cultivate a sense of belonging, inclusion, and security so they can strive to be great at whatever they want to be.

The question for me is, how do I cultivate that environment for my family, especially when I don't feel it myself?

Blog Ideas

I am sitting at my desk thinking about all the different types of things I would like to write about in my blog, all the things I want my children to know about me when they are old enough to see their mom as something or someone more than just "Mom".  "How do I keep track of all of these things?" I ask myself.

Then it occurs to me - "Put them in your blog sillyhead!"  I love when Ashlyn calls me a sillyhead.  We use the term with such endearment at home.  I adore that my children are silly.

So here it is - a completely incomplete list of possible blog post topics :)

Money issues
Why do I work?
Debt free plan
What I want in a house
The journey to get the house we want
Organizing
Sewing - clothes, toys, quilts
My grandparents
My children's grandparents
Family history
The UN and International Politics/Relations
Our family religions and faith
Siblings
Family traditions
DIY craft projects
Instilling values in our children
Photography

There are so many more but I am glad I wrote these down - now I can get back to being focused on the task at hand rather than trying to hold onto those ideas before they got away!