Sewing, Quilting, Sewing

Last week, after years of debate with myself, I ordered and had delivered a new sewing machine. And I am in LOVE!

I've always sewn on Kenmore machines. I still have my grandmother's machine, in the cabinet, and it still works great. I have old Kenmores and fairly new Kenmores. They just work and work. But I wanted more and I wanted FAST and I wanted a deeper throat to help with quilting. So...

The Janome 6500P was the winner. And am I happy! No, I'm not making any money saying that I love this machine. It's just, with so many choices out there, and so many price ranges, I feel this was an excellent choice. It's fast, quiet, and has millions of features (not really) that I'll never use, but I am HAPPY.

I've been working on a new quilt. This one evolved because I couldn't toss out the left over fabric from a back of a wall quilt that I just finished. So I thought, huh, why not just make a bunch of half square triangles and see what happens. So, I made a bunch of half square triangles, and while they look nice, they were BORING.

So now what. Well, when in doubt I go back to my old stand by: slice and dice! I slice the blocks, add strips, slice and strip again, and, VIOLA, now I love my blocks. I'm almost done with the slicing and dicing and will be putting them up on the design wall. I'll send out a photo when I'm done...I am really excited about this one!

So keep on sewing, quilting, and sewing. And, yes, I am still the Nurse to my dear husband. In a few months I should be able to put this behind me too!

Taking Life as it Comes

Who would have known that the day following my last post my life would change? It comes that fast and without warning!

I was up in my sewing room, taking a break from cleaning house for our Father's Day Dinner, listening to my husband singing at the top of his lungs as he mopped the kitchen floor when his singing stopped and all I could hear were what sounded like the whimperings of an injured animal. I ran downstairs (well, run isn't exactly what I did, but I was fast) and found my husband sprawled out on the back steps, trying to catch his breath. He had missed a step and wrenched his knee.

After a trip to the local Urgent Care medical facility, he was put in a leg brace, followed two weeks later by major surgery to his knee. So now I am nurse, care provider, entertainer, cook, driver, and handywoman, most of which I do willingly. But my term of employment in these tasks will last up to 6 months!!! Golly. Will I survive?

I did buy a new sewing machine, to compensate for my home-bound life, and am really enjoying it. Well, it only got here yesterday so I haven't had much time on it, but so far all is great! I do get sewing and quilting done in-between my chores. We shall see what this life changing event brings.

I know that I am never given more than I can handle, and that this all happened for some reason. I keep an open mind. But boy oh boy. Life can give us challenges. This is minor compared to those challenges that many of you have had.

And I will keep an open mind.

And keep stitching up a storm!

Wow, it doesn't seem like a month since I last posted, but obviously it is!

This weekend is Father's Day. I approach this one with a bit of sadness. Not that my dad isn't here, because he is. It's just that he isn't here like he use to be.

Hey, he's 86 years old so what do I expect? Well, I really wish he were as aware of us all as he was a few years ago. It's not at all his problem. It's mine. It's me facing the fact that we all age, some more gracefully than others.

I'm hoping that I will be in the "more graceful" group. I don't know how you get there but I'm working on it. I have older women and men who I look up to because, no matter their age, they keep trying new things. They keep learning. They keep the "gray matter" working.

I was talking to my friend Jean, who is at least 82 if not older, has had a number of strokes, and stopped by to show me her photos from her digital photography class that she is taking at UC Santa Cruz! WOW! When I asked her why she was taking this class, she just said that she had an interest! She is a role model for me. She just keeps trying out new things.

But back to Father's Day. I know for most men, including my husband, Father's Day is no big deal. My husband thinks of it as any other Sunday. He doesn't want to be fussed over. We won't. We will just love him a little more often that day. I'm just really glad that he is still here, still growing, still learning, still experimenting, still in love with me. That makes it all so good. And he can still mess around with the kids, and they still try to get him. It is all good.

So, Happy Father's Day Dad. I love you, who you are now and who you use to be. You helped make me who I am and I am eternally grateful. Cheers!

And Happy Father's Day Jeff. If is wasn't for you, we wouldn't be parents and we would have missed out on this extremely fabulous trip we have had parenting. You convinced me to have a child. You were happy we had two. Thank you.

Coiled Basket Class

Tomorrow I head off from the cool coast along the Monterey Bay to the heated Central Valley, and specifically Los Baños, to teach a coiled bowl class to a group of lovely ladies! I made the connection with this Los Baños group via my shop and a great lady, Darla. She use to have a yarn shop in Los Baños and tried for years to get me to open up a fabric shop there. Well, times change, she closed her shop and I just closed mine. So we are both off on different adventures.

The origin of this bowl class came after I won a coiled bowl from my local guild, The Pajaro Valley Quilt Association. It was the prize for having the fabric post-card that the most people liked. It was a Valentine card that I gave my husband. What is funny is that I didn't even know there was a contest! Winning it made it that much more special!

The bowl came filled with salt water taffy, which I placed on the counter of my shop. I got so many compliments and questions about the bowl that one weekend I decided, with the prodding of my friend Cam, to come up with directions and a pattern. Cam always reminded me that I should never have anything on display for which I did not have a pattern. Good marketing sense from her!

Coming up with the technique was easy for me, as I have a college degree in ceramics and the bowl is pretty much the same as a coil pot. What I didn't know is that I would love making these as much as I do. That weekend I found all the rope and sashing I could find in our house and made three bowls. I was hooked, and continue to be so.

I did produce a pattern and kit for my shop, which sold quite well. It does come with the warning that you can become addicted! I'm hoping that some of these ladies tomorrow become addicted...look for the pattern later on my etsy shop.

So, on to wrapping rope with fabric, stitching away, and having a blast!

Peaceful Mother's Day

I have mixed feelings about Mother's Day. I really do not like the "Hallmarking" of days in our country. Mother's Day actually has a long history, dating back to the ancient Greeks who celebrated the mother Rhea, the maternal goddess. 

In the United States it wasn't until 1872  when Julia Ward Howe suggested that the day be made as a day honoring Peace and urged women to rise against war in her famous Mothers Day Proclamation. 

On this Mother's Day, as in my past, I think of those women, and sometimes men, who, dressed in black, stand on over-crossings or main streets, urging us to be Peaceful. I deeply believe in Peace. I also support our troops, but do not support irrelevant wars. 

Please join with me on this Mother's Day to ask, hope, pray, for Peace in our world.

And keep your Peace by stitching, creating, designing...it is what will keep us all Peaceful!

A New World for Me!

Well, the shop is closed but not empty. There is still some fabric and some display boxes and a few patterns, and just a bit of other things. The closing sale really cleaned me out, in more ways than one. If you have ever had to close a business you know what I mean. It takes time to get over it, to close it, to mourn it, to wonder what is next. And I am still in process.

The wonderful words from all of you have been saved in my heart. Thank you again so much for all your support over the years.

Now, on to the next adventure. As I told many of you, the first thing I was going to do after closing, besides getting my paperwork in order and doing the taxes, was to open an etsy shop. What is an etsy shop you may ask! Well, it is a wonderful way to sell and shop online! Around the World! With many talented artisans!

So, my etsy shop is now open and I am stocking it on a daily basis. I'd love it if you would stop by. You can get there by going to RoundRobinFabrics.etsy.com. Visit often. It is often very intriguing.

Also, I've added some options for this blog. You can subscribe and follow. And once I figure out how to do the same with my website, I will add a blog feature.

Keep stitching my friends. 

And celebrate today.

For all that it is, besides Obama's 100th day in office...ok. No more politics!

And in case you don't know, I do miss seeing, being with you at the shop. It was always a pleasure!

Today is the day before Thanksgiving and I am feeling thankful for so many things. I have my wonderful husband and two absolutely great kids: one is in Spain right now and I am missing him too much. The other is here being her wild and funny self. I am also thankful for my friends and extended family. They have no idea how much they mean to me. And I am also so very thankful for all of the people that I have met since I have opened my fabric shop. 

Who would have known how people could touch my life and other lives just by opening a business. This last week we collected a barrel full of food for the Second Harvest Food Bank. People were very generous and everything collected will go to good use. That is something that I have learned about quilters: they are generous beyond measure. Just think what type of a world we would have if everyone quilted!

I hope that you are spending this Thankful Holiday with friends and family. Or, as some of you have told me, you really just wanted a little time to yourself to create and enjoy some peace and quiet. I just hope you can reflect upon and thank those who have made your life worth living...