Cultivating Creativity

Mondays can be a fresh start... it's a nice feeling.  

My mood isn't in the best place today but I had some goals for the day and have completed most of them plus I made a point to sit down a sew.  I found an easy quilt pattern on pinterest and decided to use a pretty collection of fabric.  It makes me happy to use fabric I bought for no particular reason but that I loved it.  

While I sew or make jam, I LOVE to listen to podcasts.  Today I felt like some inspiration and guidance... I need it these days... so Brene Brown and Oprah filled my space and it was very uplifting.  By the end, I was in tears, but good tears.

I am on a journey.  It's a super scary journey.  I am putting myself out there in ways I haven't before but by taking baby steps hopefully I can reclaim some happiness.  I am also trying to breath in some goodness that will help clear my cold and build my immunity.  I feel like my summer sickness is still lingering.  It needs to take a hike and go far, far away from my home and family... we are DONE with being sick!

Anyways, I will share my completed quilts soon - I feel like I am on a roll right now!  My creative juices are flowing again and I really missed that.  By the way, Brene Brown mentions "cultivating our creativity" and it stuck a chord with me.  I have been missing taking the time for myself to be creative.

Onward and upward.

My Turning Point

Confidence is a gift.  I think.  I am actually at a place in my life were I realized that I am lacking and I need to do something about it.  To be honest, I didn't think it was something I lacked until recently...

For me, approaching my 40th birthday (and now a bit past it) made me realize a few things about myself.  Being honest with myself has been hard.  I am struggling with my mental and physical health.  I don't feel quite right.

I am raising three children and one of my wishes is that they are confident but how can I teach this if I don't feel that way myself.  I can't decide if my lack of confidence is relatively recent or not.  I think my thirties did a number on me and now I am in a bit of a slump where I just kept on keeping on.  Don't get me wrong, I am where I want to be but there are just a few tweaks here and there I want to make and from this realization came the fact that I am just not confident in myself, my thoughts, my abilities and my opinions.

I compare myself to others.  It isn't good... I know that.  I haven't always been this way though.  This is more of a recent thing.  I wish I was as fit, as smart, as good at commitment, as focused etc... I look to others for confirmation in myself.

This has to stop.

So here's the beginning of my continued journey for self-acceptance and confidence.  This is my turning point.

Oh and it's been a while, but I will be sharing some of my sewing creations soon!

Renee's Wedding Quilt

 

This winter I was approached by a friend of an acquaintance to see if I would  be interested in making a quilt out of her wedding dress.  Ack!  I was intrigued... I did some research, we met a few times, I asked fellow sewing friends for advice and ideas... I played with the fabric of her dress and we came up with an agreement as to what she wanted made and what I could handle.  I was excited!

 

I regret not taking a photo of the actual wedding dress... next time!  I also regret not taking enough PHOTOS! 

 

So the following pictures show some of the process from cutting the dress up (this was definitely the most stressful part) to sewing the squares together to the finished project. 

 

There are two contrasting fabrics:  the dress (lace overlay) and the train (taffeta-type fabric).  The lace overlay was difficult to cut and piece but I went slowly and it came together surprisingly well.  I changed my needle a few times but my pfaff co-operated nicely.  I stitched-in-the-ditch to quilt it together because I didn't want to take away from the dress; I felt the least amount of quilting would keep it clean looking and showcase the lace overlay.  Speaking of clean... white/cream fabric is challenging to keep clean especially in a farm house filled with flies daily.  Ugh.  

 

It was a simple quilt design made into a 4foot square throw or wall-hanging.  The cream coloured fabric contrast is difficult to see... but it's a subtle quilt that is stunning up close.  I love it.  My client loves it to which made me very, very happy.  Cutting into a wedding dress is not for the faint of heart but with lots of measuring, planning and measuring again, it came together. 

I am super proud of this finish... linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts this week.

Being Here

 

Tonight I am feeling so thankful...

For the spring that is trying to come. 

For kids that want to play...play games, sports, anything!

For being here. For being able to be here for my kids when they need me, even if they don't always know it. 

For friends that I can count on. 

My Quilty Christmas

 

If you follow me on instagram, you may have noticed one of my recent projects... Quilty Christmas; pattern by Lori Holt (Bee in My Bonnet).  Last year a friend and I noticed some of the quilt blocks and then the whole quilt on instagram and pinterest and we were curious about it because it was so cute.  We searched online and could not find the pattern anywhere so I emailed a few quilters I follow that I knew made the blocks and one of those quilters emailed us her collection of all of the instructions that were posted on instragram.  The designer, Lori Holt, would post instructions on instagram as a "quilt-along" to follow in real time.  There was no book or pattern printed to purchase but this wonderful fellow quilter gladly shared her collection of instructions with us.  Go and visit her blog, Thistle Thicket Studio or follow her in instagram, like I do.  My friend and I were so happy that she shared with us so I dedicate this blog to her! 

 

Some of the block instructions were in the book "Quilty Fun", by Lori Holt, but with a little changes to make the blocks more "Christmasy".  I purchased the book and I love it because it is filled with so many other fun block patterns and ideas to use with the blocks.  Her quilts are eye candy to me...

 

I have a large collections of scraps so I really wanted to create my quilt using what I had but I ended up buying some fat quarters to help me along and keep the colours looking "put together".  In the end, my quilt is scrappy but has quite a few fabrics the same throughout.  I used a lot of the collection "Cookie Exchange" by Moda. 



 

I enjoyed the process, most oft he time.  My biggest complaint would be that for all of the cutting and piecing involved, I wished the blocks were bigger.  I would cut and sew and press and curse... and then the block would come out super small.  I wish I had thought ahead to make more of the blocks bigger then I would have had a bigger quilt in the end without much more effort.  The mittens block was the most difficult for me.  I must have made it 5 times.... and in the end I just kept the two "right-hand mittens" and moved on to the next block.  **Note:  I don't think they were actually too difficult; I must have been preoccupied with something else... like... preparing for Christmas!

 

I had the quilt top done for Christmas so I hung it on the wall without the border and binding.

 

Once the kids were back in school, I finished the whole quilt, folded it up and put it away... I know I will be happy to see it next December!  I am so proud of it and I learned A LOT.  I want to also thank Shari (my friend who was also sewing blocks of her own) for keeping me motivated with our own "quilt-along".  Sometimes that's all we quilters need to finish something amazing! 

 



The Tribe

I have noticed a lot on social media about having a "tribe";  a group of close friends that you can share with and be yourself with and trust.  I stress the part about a "group".  I sometimes feel envious of people who talk about their "tribe" as a group they have been friends with "forever"... live close together and see each often.  I have no idea if that's true or not but that's how I picture it in my head.

I get a little down sometimes that I don't have what they have... yup I admit it... I sometimes think the grass is greener on the other side.  Luckily I can snap out of it for a time and shake my head. 

It dawned on me that I do have a tribe but it looks a little different than what I have been thinking it should.  Recently I have been reaching out and it turns out I have a pretty darn amazing tribe of my own but my group has some different qualities:
- we don't necessarily live close to each other... but I need to remember they are only a phone call away.  Texting is a marvelous thing but sometimes I just need to talk!
- the group isn't necessarily close with each other in friendship.  I have had so many experiences in my life; I live far from where I grew up, I have friends from university that I don't live near, I have a sister, sister-in-laws, aunts, a mother and mother-in-law and I have friends close to me that don't even know each other but I feel a connection with each of them.
-we are at different stages in our lives
-we have different outlooks on life but this can provide a different perspective.

Despite this, I can go to all of my close connections and confide in them.  I can send them a message, call them or see some of them in person easily.  Each one of them has value to me.  I need to remember that I have all of these amazing women in my life and all I have to do is reach out and they will be there for me.  I will also be there for them.

That's pretty darn amazing and something to be thankful for.  Each stage of life has it's own challenges and supporting one another is how we manage.  Being able to share a glass of wine together (or more) is just a bonus.  All we need to do is reach out and someone will be there.

Thanks Tribe.  Near and Far.

Glenroy Farm Lochwinnoch - my previous blog

A few years ago, once my quilting passion really took off, I created a new blog, The Farmhouse Quilter.  At the time, I thought, I could keep up two blogs... What was I thinking?  As a result, I now write only at The Farmhouse Quilter and unfortunately, Glenroy Farm Lochwinnoch is left on the back-burner. 

If you are looking to read anything about our life before 2015, please click on Glenroy Farm Lochwinnoch.  I haven't been able to find out how to merge these two blogs and to be quite honest, I won't be looking to hard. 

Happy Reading!