A Picture a Day

For the past several years, I've felt like life was just flying right by me at warp speed. If you asked me what I did 3 hours ago, I probably would have been able to come up with an answer after a bit of a pause.  Ask me what I did 3 days ago and you'd be met with a blank stare.  It just wasn't going to happen my friend.  I blamed it on so much going on in my life, age, memory...whatever.  Regardless of the cause, I knew that I was just downright sick of it.  The problem was what to do about it.

Late last year as I was pondering my 43rd year (and closing in on beginning my 44th year), an idea formed.  I've taken a lot of pictures in the past 6.5 years and more often than not I can recall events of the specific day I took them when I browse through them all these years later.  Why not use pictures to help me remember the days to come, no matter how "ordinary" they may seem?

On January 20th (my bday), I started taking a minimum of one picture a day and posted it the following day on my Flickr account.  Along with the picture, I write a brief description of the day.  Something so simple yet it has made a world of difference.  Not only with remembering the events of a particular day several days down the road, but also in rekindling my love of photography.  It has made me, once again, look at things so differently....made me more aware of what is around me.

Well, things were going along smoothly.  I was successfully posting my picture a day and my creative juices were flowing.  Then, horror of horrors, my old reliable Rebel decided that 6.5 years was just about enough and it was time to retire.  Sure I have a small point and shoot, but it is not something that I even like to use in a pinch;  I find it much more difficult to operate with less than pleasing results.  It looked like my memory jogging exercise was doomed.

 Not one to play the damsel-in-distress for longer than accepted (or maybe that's tolerated?), I sat myself down and starting doing some research.  No, this girl was not going down without a fight.  I had over 200 days to go to finish out my 44th year and I wasn't stopping now. 

The project was saved when Mr. UPS dude came knockin' on my door yesterday with this beauty.  What a site!  And with the new purchase came a stronger resolve to take my photography a bit further.  I mean, I have the tools to do it, why not explore all that this camera can do and use it to the max.  Time to brush up on Photography 101....which is precisely what I've been doing today.  Then it's onto that Photoshop program that I bought several years ago and never really did figure it out.  So many possibilities....

But not before I clicked a few pictures just to see how the new girl works.  What better model than Sadie.  The sun was shining...she wasn't going anywhere anyways.


To see my photo-a-day project on Flickr, click here

I'm Still a Quilter

I know that some of you are a bit concerned about where I'm heading.  I've strayed from the "quilting-only" path and it seems as though I may never find myself back on that road again in your opinion.  That's okay!  I understand where you're coming from!  I use to be one of those that worried when another quilter ventured into another area, just so they could 'try it out', and they never return again.  *gasp*  I'm here to tell you that I am, indeed, still a quilter.

This pattern caught my eye a few weeks ago, and it took very little pondering before I hit the 'buy' button.  At the time I had no recollection of ever seeing the quilt.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that I had not only seen it, but one of the books that it's in was on my bookshelf.  Go figure.

Yes, it is a little pricey, but well worth it in my opinion.  You get a close-up colored picture of each and every block along with a separate outline for pattern making.  Many suggestions and helpful hints are included a long the way.  It really is a beautiful quilt and Froncie has truly done a wonderful job.

At some point, I do plan on making the whole quilt as it is shown.  When?  That I'm not sure of.  I'm tossing around starting it sometime late spring/early summer, but a lot of it depends on finishing up what I'm working on now (which is not a quilt). 

Through the years I have dabbled in many different hand crafts, but none really stuck other than quilting.  It was fun to try them out and I think I learned something along the way.  I will admit that rug hooking has grabbed a hold of me at this time, and I honestly think that I'll enjoy this craft for quite awhile.  However, that does not mean that I've banished my stash to the dark corners of nowhere and have moved out my sewing machine.  I'm just exploring new 'worlds', and I'm really enjoying myself!

You can find the Emily Munroe quilt pattern here. 

44

 

stretch!!!

Wonderful weekend spent with family, friends and lots of celebrating.  44 is nothing to sneeze at!  We enjoyed fancy cupcakes from a wonderful bakery, calzones from my favorite Italian restaurant, gifts were loved and much appreciated...and some much needed rest and relaxation.  Yes, I think I'm going to like 44 very much, thank you.

Walden

Somewhere around the beginning of December that urge to create something hit me rather hard.  This, to me, was not surprising;  what I chose was.  But I went with it.  It had been tickling my brain for quite some time yet I brushed it off.  A simple quilt made in 1860 and the only thing I had to go on were a few blurry pictures that (I found out later) were prohibited.   Eeek....sorry bout that!  Anyways, I made my way to the studio and proceeded to pull fabrics.

The morning was a lovely one and my space has such an awesome feel to it.  Very warm and inviting yet private.  I couldn't help but want to be there.  Never-mind that Christmas was coming and I had more than enough to do.  I popped in some classical music and off I went.

Somehow this quilt got done in the same month it was started.  Not sure if that has ever happened before...and every last bit of it was pulled from my stash (there's some shock factor for ya!).  On New Year's Eve I found myself sitting at our dining room table basting.  Huh.  So this is how this all works.  It had been awhile...the first full sized quilt that had come from the new house and a new sewing machine (which is, btw, 2.5 years old).

Now, you all are waiting for that picture that shows the finished quilt top, aren't you?  Yeah.  Well, the thought didn't occur to me until I was about 6" away from finishing up the basting.  How pretty is a quilt top stuck with hundreds of safety pins I ask you?  Not much.  Factor in that I'm feeling much too lazy to go get my camera, take a few pictures, download them, etc, etc.  Soon though.  For now I guess you're just going to have to take my word for it.

2013::Grow

Last year I worked on renewal in my life ( talked about here) and I must say, I do believe that I have been successful by golly.  It was something that I consciously made an effort towards daily and I'm so glad that I did.  I feel like my 'old self' but with new skin...best way I can explain it.  Since it was such a success I decided to repeat the process, only with a new word for 2013.  I mean, really, at this point in life if you find something that works, run with it!

My word for 2013 is Grow.  Now that I feel like I'm on stable ground, I plan to explore, stretch, cultivate and expand (just not in the waist area!).....I'm going to Grow.  Let's see what kind of harvest I reap come December.

Merry Christmas!

                                   Wishing you and your loved ones warm Christmas wishes!

Decking the halls...and mantels...and such

I love Christmas.  So many memories wrapped up in one season.  The strangest thing, scent or sight will spark an old memory that I usually end up strolling through for a time.

Earlier this fall I started thinking on how I wanted things to look this year. Last year's decorations left a lot to be desired. Since we had only been here 6 months, I really didn't have a 'feel' for the house yet, so I just plunked out some decorations and made up for my lack of effort by baking...a lot.  No one seemed to mind, except me.  This year was going to be different I decided.  I wanted to add in certain things as far as decorations so the hunt began in early September.  So as not to feel overwhelmed, I made myself a list of some ideas and stuck with them.  The results?  Well, I'm pretty darn happy with how things turned out.  There wasn't a ton of new things bought, but what I did get really made the difference to me.  Care to take a  stroll through?

I've had so much fun!  I've always liked decorating for different seasons but this year I'm really enjoying myself!

My final purchase just arrived this morning, and I absolutely love it.  A Stacee Droit original:

I was fortunate enough to snag it before anyone else did last Thursday.  I've purchased a few other of Stacee's pieces and the workmanship is fabulous.

He may just camp out on my dining room table for awhile, so when I pass by I can admire the ole' fella.

Most of my shopping is done and what is left will be taken care of this weekend.  Now if I could just get myself into the kitchen to get some cookies baked....