patience

patience is indeed a virtue.  this quilt can tell you all about it.  it has been patient oh so long, waiting to grace a bed.  and even though work on it has been pretty steady the past year (minus a few summer months), progress is slow.  so, it waits.  it doesn’t demand, doesn’t shout or stomp feet….just simply waits, patiently.

like the majority of the east coast, we got dumped on this weekend with over 2 feet of snow.  everyone was so relieved that, if it had to happen, at least it was on a weekend.  the only hitch was…i had school this weekend.  friday afternoon, when the snow started, i was feeling a bit nervous.  by the time 6 p.m rolled around, i had resolved the majority of that and decided that it would be yet another good learning experience at battling this giant of mine.  the nursing program i’m in rarely cancels classes/clinicals.  infact, from what i’m told by one professor (who has been there for over 6 years), it has only happened one time, and that was due to a large amount of ice.  at one time, their policy was you miss a day, you’re out of the program.  fortunately i’m not under that agreement, although they have just recently reinstated it (which won’t affect me since it was put back into place after i had already started).  their thought is simple:  you are going to be working in the medical field…which never closes their doors regardless of the weather, so deal with it.  i can understand this and knew this from the beginning.  you do what you have to do.  i was prepared to make my usual 30 minute commute to the clinical site very early saturday morning, planning on it taking me well over an hour to arrive.  imagine my surprise when i got a call about 8 p.m friday night notifying me that clinicals had been cancelled.  *gasp*  i learned something new right then….a snow day is just as exciting at 41 as it was at 14.

so, i woke up saturday with the whole day free ahead of me for the most part.  i still had to study for a rather large test that takes place tonight, so studying was going to have to happen at some point.  i decided to prioritize things first…and promptly turned on my sewing machine and sewed.   don’t worry, the books were cracked open later that afternoon, but by saturday evening, i gathered up my patient quilt, and continued where i left off.

i’ve been working on getting the borders quilted since january 1st.  again, slow progress, but this weekend, i turned the corner onto my last side.  there is hope and the light is shining bright at the end of that tunnel!  it may just end up on my bed this winter yet.  and what a colorful welcome it will be to these monochromatic days of winter.

february 1st!

we made it through january, folks!  i will admit, it wasn’t as bad as most, but i’m still glad that it’s behind me.  the days are getting longer and spring time is getting closer.  all of these things (along with some not-so-thrilling-thoughts) were buzzing around in my head earlier this morning.  the conclusion i came to?  make a quilt to document it all.

i’m finding that i’m doing a lot more of that lately, most of the time without even realizing it at first.  i just have a bunch of jumbled up thoughts that float through my head, and it seems like the more significant ones end up in cloth.  in some strange way, it helps me through the process.  i may not end up with a solution, but i feel like i’ve validated and acknowledged the thought.  strange.

so, along with being glad it was february 1st with the sun shining brightly (which made me smile), there were thoughts of love and life and fruit….of the spirit, that is.  what a mixture, huh?  and somehow, out of all of that, a quilt is coming together.  a little one, mind you, but important to me none-the-less.  these 4 little blocks came together quite quickly.  i never had intentions on making the funky ones, but yet, there they are. 

“when we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”

41

another year has come and gone, hasn’t it?  it seems like it has flown by, yet so much has happened within that year’s time.  am i still singing the praises of the 40’s?  you better believe it!  probably more so than i was a year ago.   if the rest of my 40’s follow along the same path as the last year, i will be thrilled…but i think it’s all in what you make of it.  forty-one is just a number, but behind that number is a whole lot of learning, living, growing and finding out who you are.  i’ve arrived at places that i never thought i would have, and it feels wonderful.   i could sit here and wish until i was blue in the face that those “places” would have come along a whole lot sooner, but that would be wasting time, wouldn’t it?  instead, i intend to keep my focus on the here and now and feel blessed by it all.

celebrating started early…last friday to be exact.  i had a *wonderful* time with some friends.  sunday brought some more celebrating;  the more ice cream, the better!  however, on my actual birthday (yesterday), i had to drive into the ‘big city’ and then go to the hospital for clinicals.  it didn’t leave much time for sitting back and taking it all in.  but today…ah yes…today, i took full advantage of a day off of school.  i stayed in my jammies and i sewed.  my goodness, it has felt fabulous! 

and these little darlings are the result of that glorious time spent at my sewing machine.  look familiar?  yeah….remember that quilt that i have had stuck in my head for almost 2 years now?  it’s taken me this long to figure out what direction i was going to go with it all.  it finally all came together for me, out of the blue, about 2 weeks ago, and i quickly got the bits of ideas down on paper while i remembered them.  i’m anxious to see how it will progress, but i’m sure it’ll be a slow one simply due to lack of time.

so, now that i think about it, i’ve had almost a full week of celebrating my 41st birthday (or, as darcie brilliantly puts it, “blue sweater day“!).  i’m really, really lovin’ 41.

(those of you who know me know how much i *hate* having my picture taken.  i figure it’s time to leave that baggage behind just like i have so many others.  still…..ack!)

january wool

since i’ve been in nursing school, i’ve finally figured out that i need to occasionally work on some small projects, just so i feel like i’m getting somewhere with my handwork.  i tend to make large quilts, and those hit-and-miss moments that i get to work on them seem to take forever to add up.  with that in mind, i decided to make myself a larger hand-piecing bag, and why not out of wool?  i’ve never worked with wool and figured it was about time.

granted, it took me over 2 weeks to get it done, but hey, it’s done. 

in years past, i’ve done my share of hand embroidery and even some cross-stitch, but i always struggled with two stitches:  buttonhole and french knots.  crazy, isn’t it?  two very easy stitches, and i’ve mastered how to screw them up.  regardless, i was determined to “live and learn” and work  my way through it.  the first few circles really aren’t pretty, but i see improvement, so i’m not going to sweat the small stuff.   slowly, gradually, i made my way through it and was able to put the whole bag together over the weekend.  a finish!!!

every time i see the little owls on the lining, it brings a smile to my face.  trying to be the ‘wise old owl’, and i think i’m starting to resemble that blue faced one to the left.

i plan on loading it up with some hand-piecing and it’ll go with me wherever.  those lost moments do add up, although, since about august, i’ve had less and less of them since i’m mostly doing clinical work.  regardless it’ll be available, and goodness knows, i’m always willing!

2009

what a year 2009 was.  i think the best word to describe it would be change.  i’m usually not one to go looking for change, but, looking back, i can see how it was good, for the whole family. 

 i started back to school and my oldest daughter started college (weird!).  we found a wonderful new church home that everyone can get involved in.  i lost 25 lbs!  didn’t set out to, but running has always been a good stress reliever for me.  plus, that new treadmill just makes it too easy (okay…not really).

as i look down the road to 2010, i sense a lot more changes coming my way.  if i let myself dwell on it, i’ll start to worry which gets me nowhere.  instead, i’ve found that the best way to take it all is one day at a time.  it’s something that i’m still working at, but when i’m able to keep my focus on what is in front of me, i breathe a lot easier.

as i was sitting here, pondering all of this, a piece of Scripture came to mind:

“for i know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’”.  Jeremiah 29:11

i like how matthew henry’s commentary elaborated on this:

we often do not know our own minds, but the Lord is never at an uncertainty. we are sometimes ready to fear that God’s designs are all against us; but as to His own people, even that which seems evil, is for good. He will give them, not the expectations of their fears, or the expectations of their fancies, but the expectations of their faith; the end He has promised, which will be the best for them. when the Lord pours out an especial spirit of prayer, it is a good sign that He is coming toward us in mercy. promises are given to quicken and encourage prayer. He never said, Seek ye Me in vain.

thus far, 2010 has been a busy one (big surprise!).  tonight, i start back to classes…and it’s snowing like crazy outside.  *sigh*  the good news is that i was able to complete the center part of my new beginnings quilt over break!   

i finished up x-ing all of those little squares on december 31st.  now, onto the border.  i’m so anxious to get this quilt onto our bed.  it’s so bright and fresh…exactly what we need to get through the dreaded january.

wishing you all a wonderful and bright 2010.