I'm here.

I have gotten a few emails wondering where the heck I went off to.  And I apologize, because I know that with my medical history, some of you might be worried that I took the bridge.
Or worried that maybe my head exploded.
But nope, that's not the case.
DH and I got out of Dodge, something we have planned for a while.

I especially have wanted to leave the northeast for part or most of the winter, to see if it helped my head.  I have been pretty convinced that the cold was making my headaches that much worse.

Well, we have been in Georgia for a week, and lo and behold........my headache has been an incredible, fantastic, unbelievable THREE for the whole time.
One of my best friends ever invited us to stay with her, and I am so glad we took her up on it.
What a great time.

First off, 60 degrees, walking Roy for 5 miles, with NO coat, not even a sweater.......

We really relaxed, and did NOTHING.  And I got to visit NONSTOP with my friend (we have been friends since the 7th grade).

Now we are in Florida, on the Atlantic side, visiting another friend for a couple of days, before we finally land at our rental on the Gulf. 
We are pretty exhausted from driving right now, but loving the total absence of ICE and SNOW and COLD.
Ya hear me, right??

It's been a tough couple of years, and my life has changed a lot.  It has changed incredibly in just the last few months, and I am still reeling a bit.
But I am also intent on living the 'rest' of my life, whatever it brings.

For now, it's bringing sunshine, lots and lots of sunshine.

Lois is holding the fort, she is actually IN CHARGE, so Crazy as a Loom is still open for business.

Me, I'm regrouping for the next chapter.   I hope it's a good one.

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Redbird Bee Secret Santa Swap...

I belong to a wonderful Bee within the St Louis Modern Quilt Guild. We're starting our third year with a fun traveling block project. But we decided to end 2013 and  begin 2014 with a Secret Santa swap. Thanks to Kelly who got us all registered at secretsanta.com. We were all able to create a wish list and the site did the name swapping for us. No one knew who had who. We gave ourselves a couple of months to make a handmade gift for out partner. It's a talented group! So we all ooohed and aaahed as each gift was revealed on Saturday!

I received this AMAZING bag from Hannah. Even my husband said "the colors are so you!" {didn't think he even noticed}

And look at all those zippers!! I've been trying to get all my handwork organized and this is perfect. So grateful for such a beautiful, thoughtful gift!

I had Linda's name and she asked for a wallhanging for her sewing room. I decided to use a block chosen by each of our Bee members over the last 2 years and incorporate it into a wall quilt. Here's what I came up with.

I made all the blocks first in a 6" size. Then it took quite a while to figure out an arrangement that I liked. The "Sew" is fused and and machine appliquéd and the needle and thread are embroidered.

Such a fun activity!!

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Hanging Around...

Like much of the midwest {maybe even the country?} I've been snowed in this week. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to go to my want-to-make-quilts list and have some fun.

I've been wanting to make another of this pattern from Simply Modern Christmas. I was a lucky girl and won some Charlie Harper fabric on Instagram from Westwood Acres before Christmas. The little cardinals were the perfect size to fussy cut and place randomly in my wreath made from Botanics.

I just love this little guy peeking out from the design!

Hope you're staying warm and making the best of your inside time!!

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Cold, and pensive.

This morning I woke up thinking about how transient we really are, and about how we all feel that we are so unique, and yet there are millions of us.  How can that be?

My mother used to be adamant that there was no one like her.  Absolutely. No. One.
It used to make me laugh......she was so intent on that.

I read an article this morning..........I wanted to share it with you..
It is by Wendy Bradford, Blogger, Mama One to Three.

Before long, we learn that in this life, we are not here forever. We learn through the changing of seasons, the loss of our pets in childhood, the death of a loved one.
We have no guarantee of numbers. So many days under the sun or drizzly afternoons spent gazing out windows. We think they are infinite but they are not. One will be the last. And this is not the hardest part. The hardest is knowing those we cherish will share our fate; we can make no deal to change that.
We grow up when we know this. And this is the deal we get to be here. We don't ask, yet are given opportunity to love, to embrace, to wonder and be scared, to scream and kiss and run and lie still in the cool grass under the flickering stars on a cool evening.
We go through this time, galloping or whispering across the years, with a vague knowledge of the end. We are born to love feverishly. To anguish and rebound. To flourish. We are born for each other.
It matters little where or when or how we are here. Our hearts share the same code. Although we spend our lives attempting to cement that which is impermanent, we come to the same end.
Our gift is not one of time because that is uncertain and unfairly metered out. We have one moment in which to live. Our gift is of comfort and care. We cradle those hearts we meet, bringing joy where there is sorrow and ease when there is turmoil. Those of us who have, and who can -- we must. It is the deal we make with the one we get.

The deal we make. 

I think of my mother a lot these days.  2013 was both joyful and sad for me.  Both difficult and revealing.   Loss and letting go were so interwined, that I didn't see them happening until afterward.
Sometimes, I find myself looking at memories of last year, like a slide show.  

.....me washing my mother's  hair in the shower, like she was MY child, tears running down my face, wondering if this was the last time. 

.....holding my daughter, while she rested between bouts of labor, and the intermingling of fear and joy and relief, when baby Dale emerged looking surprised.

.....waking from yet my third surgery to see my first daughter looking worried, but smiling through her tears, when I wiggled my arms and feet, and said, "nope, not paralyzed yet."

 .....feeling so incredibly loved when my grandchildren throw themselves at me, and hug me hard.

.....lying on the couch in a sunny window, with Roy snuggled up under my arm, the way I spent so many afternoons when I finally gave in to what I could not control.

.....knitting and drinking tea with a dear friend,  in a sunny window, for a whole afternoon.

......curled up on the couch, on a cozy evening like this one, DH in his chair, Roy close by, grateful for home.

So many memories.  Good, not so good.  

But I don't think we are all that different actually.  I think we are all pretty much just the same.
Or at least we start out that way.  

What we do along the way is called choice.

Isn't that right, baby Dale????

 

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Some thoughts.

Frigid in the northeast tonight, not fit for man nor beast.  Why do I live here I ask myself.

For the last year, I have been annoyed by Verizon wireless, with whom I had my cell phone contract.
My bill, for just my phone, was almost $100 a month.  Then one month, I went over by 'next to NOTHING', and they hit me with a ridiculous charge.  I vowed that when my 2 year commitment was up, I was doing something else. 
So I waited patiently, and on 11/2/2013, I was looking for another option.  I did consider Straight Talk Wireless, which is about $50 a month for unlimited talk, text and data, but I am not a fan of Walmart in any sense, so I kept looking.
What I came up with was Page Plus Cellular   I have had it for two months now, and I am really satisfied.  I have 1200 minutes of talk, 3000 text/picture messages, and 500 MB of data.   They use the Verizon towers, so you get the exact same coverage as you did with Verizon.  I researched it to be sure.
I am careful not to use the internet on my Smart Phone without using WiFi if it is available, but otherwise I have done nothing different.  I text my kids ALL THE TIME.
And the cost............$29.95 a month.  Seriously.  I signed up for Auto Refill on the first of every month, so I don't have to think about it.  And I am HAPPY to be done with Verizon, and HAPPY to not have gone to Walmart.  And I can spend $70 a month some other way.

Today I was sewing socks, one of those repetitive jobs that I don't really mind.   I got thinking about hurtful comments, and the people that make them.
It occurred to me, that if harsh words are spoken in the heat of an argument, that is one thing.  Those things can be chalked up to losing one's temper, not thinking, etc.
But when someone says something hurtful out of that context, then they are saying it just to make their point, and they are just being mean.
There is no excuse for just mean.
And those are the words that we remember.
We forget the ones spoken in anger more or less.
But those words spoken just to inflict pain, we don't forget those, and we don't ever feel the same about the person who spoke them.
That's just my thinking while sewing today.
I can look back at my life and prove that theory.  I have little or no recollection of things said in the heat of argument, even though I know they were said.
But those hurtful, mean comments, yup, I could access them all if I tried.  They leave marks.   Enough said.

I would like to go to Joann Fabrics tonight, and get some stuff.  But I won't leave the house in this deep freeze.  Instead, I will stay home and make tea, and have one of the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that I made last night.
Maybe I'll have two.
It is so cold, that when Roy sees his coat and leash come out, he runs and hides.  THAT is cold.
 He likes to snuggle on the couch with his blanket, or lie as close to the stove as he can get.

Or better yet, he likes to lay across a warm body, and get as close as he can get.

Roy and I hate winter.

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Looking Ahead to 2014...

Within you is a limitless, unborn potential of creativity and substance, and the present experience can be your great opportunity to give birth to it.      --- Eric Butterworth

I love a new year. Not one to make lofty resolutions, I do like a blank slate and the opportunity to dream about a new year and what it may hold.

2013 ended in a nice spot for me. I wrapped up some WIPs and with few demands or looming deadlines ahead, I'm ready to jump in and play with some new fabric and projects I've been contemplating.

I actually finished up these blocks before Christmas and set them together a few days ago. The pattern is Nutmeg Stars from Fig Tree and much of the fabric is V and Co's upcoming line "Color Me Happy". You won't find the pattern listed on the Fig Tree website, but I think she's going to get it posted again. I'll let you know!

Gypsy Kisses from Material Obsession 2.  After seeing Jessica's quilt on Instagram, I knew I wanted to make this one. I'm using my FQ bundle of April Showers by Bonnie and Camille. I have enough fabric to piece all the arcs, but the finish will have to wait until the yardage comes out in March.

This will be an ongoing project this year. Reminiscent of the Farmer's Wife quilt-along, I'm making 60 - 6.0" blocks. It's going to be a special quilt for me, that I hope to finish for a special birthday in December of 2014.

And my AMH Dowry is calling my name. I have a plan and can't wait to give it a whirl!

In other new fabric lines - I've always been a huge fan of Heather Bailey's work. It's been a while since she released a fabric line so I jumped on Lottie Da. I've been working on a Kaleidoscope block that's going surprisingly quick. Hope to provide some details on how to piece this block soon!

What else can you expect to see here in 2014? Some embroidery and maybe even a bit of simple crochet.

One of the things I'm most excited about is a little sewing room makeover. We're putting in new floors in the next couple of months and you know one thing always leads to another. I'll be painting, reorganizing and maybe even a bit of destashing. I've never had a sale before, but hope to offer some good deals on Instagram.

In terms of non-sewing things for 2014, I'm starting an online photography course next week. I'm super excited about it - you'll have to let me know if you see any improvement in my pics here.

And on a personal note - I hope to continue to improve my diet by "eating clean" {and feeling better for it} and embracing my naturally curly hair {a change I made a few months ago}.

Yes! I think it's going to be a good year! Hope you'll join me!

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Happy New Year and a winner.

Happy 2014.......oh, how I am hopeful for this year to be better!!!  I still believe it is possible.

First order of business, the giveaway.

There were 60 comments, but 5 of those were doubles.........I know you're just trying to keep me on my toes.   So I used 55 as the total.    The random.org spit out number TWENTYONE, which means that LONA of Farming in the Shade is the winner.
Please go to my web site, Lona,  and pick out a dish towel, and email me with your address and I will send it right out to you.   Congrats!!!!!

I know that today is typically a resolution kind of day, but I am not going there.  Resolutions are made to be broken mostly, at least that's the way it seems.
Instead, I prefer today to make observations, and then take them forward into the horizon of the new year.
Some of the things I have taken note of in 2013:

Pain is a great leveler, and puts so much into perspective.  Teaches humility. 

Having my three daughters was hands down the best thing I ever did.  Best.  Thing.  Ever.

I will never be a "master weaver", and that's ok.  I just want to explore my own natural propensity for playing with color and texture, and see what happens.  I want weaving to be like a song in my head, one that brings joy.

I don't need another job.  Working non stop is highly overrated.  Taking time off is necessary.

Friends should be chosen wisely, to prevent serious disappointment. 

Pleasing myself isn't as hard as I thought.  There are so many ways.

My gene pool is just fine, in fact I am mostly grateful for the one I got.  Wildly intense DNA or not.

I hate having two houses.  I want to live and weave in just one house.  Someday it will happen.

The length of our lives is a crap shoot, it is time to plan for that eventuality.  Put it in writing.  Set it down for the future.

I love my Nutri Bullet.  I plan to take it with me wherever I go.  Green shakes rock.

Dogs belong on the bed, or the sofa,  not the floor.  That's just the way it is.

Babies make everything better.

Happy New Year everyone........may 2014 be incredibly awesome.

Let's surprise ourselves, ok?

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