Author: tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles
Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".
This post is from my blogging buddies who love yarn as I have some yummy yarn colors to share!
Before you panic for me, after reading all my recent “unfinished project audit related posts”, I just wanted to remind you that the audit only focused on sewing projects. As I mainly work on knitting and crochet projects while I am in the car riding as a passenger (see post What’s On the “Design Carpet”) or occasionally when watching television in the evening in the living room, I don’t stress about them as “unfinished projects”. Also I have the attitude on nearly all knitting/crochet projects: “I’ll finish it whenever I finish it, it is busywork”.
Yes I am not that serious knitter or crocheter, but I do love it.
And as far as knitting, I mainly knit hats, and some of you know – I’ve only knitted the same one hat pattern (since like 2013 or so)!
But a wonderful friend sent me a “get well” surprise a couple weeks ago, as I recover from my broken ankle and subsequent surgery (see post ALittle Bit of Magic from the Universe? ) that contained a kit to knit a hat with a DIFFERENT PATTERN!
(Look of terror and panic…no I am okay now, ha!)
So I’ve opened the kit and looked inside, checked out the requirements (I needed to pick up a couple circular knitting needle sizes I did not have as well as a different size of double pointed needles that I did not have) and here is everything to get the hat going:
And talk about “yarn porn”, look at this delicious collection of 21 yarn “mini hanks” (what a cute name for these little bits of yarn yumminess):
Mmmmm mmm mmm! I’ve seen these little hanks (or perhaps “baby skeins”) of yarn in other knitters blog posts and I was envious. Well now I have my own set – ha!
So I guess I need to start casting on the stitches and make the hat. Wow does it have a lot of color changes! Wish me luck (panic and terror starting to set in again…).
The good thing is the pattern is easy to follow, I’ll just have to get comfortable with the 20 yarn changes after I cast on the dark gray color which is the base.
I do have a super sweet project bag to keep everything in: the same friend years ago made me this awesome project bag:
She brilliantly figured out how to make it from an image she saw on Pinterest!
Oh while I was pulling everything out on the coffee table in the living room, Mike the Miniature Schnauzer was being cute while nesting in his “natural habitat”: a crochet blanket and a quilt. So I’ll close this posts with some images of my sweet Mike captured in “the wild” 😉
He looked up at me as he knows the sound of the iPhone camera shutter clicking!
I titled this post: “…New Releases” because over this past weekend it came to be that I could let go of more projects.
And I did…I “released” seven (7) more unfinished projects and either donated them to the charity thrift shop or sent them to a friend.
If you are curious which 7 projects I let go of, the details are below.
I’ve included which post (Part I, II or III) of the series of posts on the audit that I discussed the projects in case you want additional details (or in case you were toosleepy the first time you read the posts to remember, ha!).
Friendship Ring Quilt(Part I) – I first got permission from the wonderful friend who gave me this project and then I passed it onto another friend. The reason for letting it go: the fabrics, although beautiful, are not my style and I did not have a plan for the quilt if I did finish it.
Neutral Colors Fabric Printing Quilt(Part I) – I made the the tree-like blocks during a fabric printing class with the SAQA group I belonged to in Central Oregon, during my happy life in Bend, Oregon before my husband suddenly passed. The blocks and the over all feeling of the fabrics I had put together for the piece only make me think of “grief”. The tree-like printed blocks now look like sadness and grief to me. I donated the coordinating fabrics, which someone had given me at a quilt retreat years ago, and I threw away the blocks. I didn’t want to donate them and I didn’t want someone else using them. I cannot fully explain the feeling behind this decision but I gave myself permission to be wasteful and trash them.
Sashisko Hand Sewing Project (Part I) – I’ve had this project since 2014 or so and I picked it up during a spectacular trip my late husband and my late dogs and I took to one our favorite places – Cannon Beach, Oregon. I can’t bring myself to finish it, nor do I have interest in the colors combination, so I let it go. I do have some other Sashisko sewing kits using a blue background fabric with white threads and I am keeping those for future hand sewing projects.
Three Blind Mice Pincushions(Part I) – I hate mice, not sure why I bought it in the first place. I donated the pattern and the fabric I had cut out (plus additional fabrics to finish the mice) to the thrift store.
The Coasters (Part II) – I’ve made enough of these coasters and I have much more interesting fabrics to use when I am ready to make up a stash of potholders (as gifts and/or for my Etsy shop). So I donated them.
Asian Fabric Scraps for Orange Peel Style Quilt (Part II) – I got honest with myself and asked myself if I really want to make in the near future an Orange Peel style quilt. And the answer was “No”. So I donated the fabric that was already cut into Orange Peel sections for that type of quilt and put the rest of Asian fabric scraps into my Asian Fabrics Scraps collection.
Medallion Quilt (Part III) – the fabrics in this collection of fabrics for this quilt are not my style any longer (classic floral Moda Fabrics patterns); and I got honest with myself and asked what plans did I have for a finished improvisational medallion quilt with those types of fabrics. My answer was “None”. So I donated the whole giant package which included yardage of floral Moda Fabrics to the charity thrift shop. Some crafter, who likes those fabrics, is going to stumble upon a wonderful surprise at the thrift shop!
So along with the two other projects Fabric Scraps from Another Quilter’s Project (Part I) and The Leftover Lighthouse Blocks (Part II), I’ve released a total of 9 projects of the 25 unfinished projects I started with.
So now I am down to 16 and I have plans as I shared in Part III to knock out at least 9 of those 16 in 2023.
I still might let more unfinished project go in the future, it is all an ongoing process of deciding to hold on or to let go…
The end of last week I received a wonderful reminder of why I became a quilter and why I make quilts.
Many years ago I made my a baby quilt for my Danish Brother’s (longtime friend that I spent part of the summer in Denmark with him and his family in the late 90s, he now lives in Austria) first born son (14? years ago).
It was a fairly simple quilt as 14 years ago I still in my early days of quilting.
Little did I know this quilt would become sort of a family heirloom for them and is passed around family members as they have babies.
Last year I received an e-mail and photo from my Danish Brother with his sweet nearly 3 year old niece (his brother’s darling daughter) wrapped in the quilt when she was feeling under the weather to comfort her:
A very sweet face but must protect this little one’s privacy
And at the end of last week I received an e-mail with a photo of his new nephew (his brother-in-law’s son) using the quilt!
A very sweet looking baby but face obscured for his privacy, you’ll just have to trust me on his sweetness 🙂
It was one of those “my heart is going to explode” feelings, my eyes filled with tears, and I got to so overwhelmed and grateful (and surprised) that a simple baby quilt I made was bringing comfort to 14+ years of babies/children so far in one family!
Here is a quote from my Danish Brother from his e-mail with the photo of his niece wrapped in the quilt in 2022:
... you know what…is precious to me? The blankie that is comforting her! I am sure you recognised it immediately of course. I just wanted to put that smile on your face! Thank you for the fine gifts you have lovingly crafted for me. It warms my heart every time I look at them. Every one of them is my favorite!
Hey Universe, thanks for the reminder, I will keep making quilts.
You quilters out there reading this you understand!
I thought a sleeping dog was the perfect feature photo for this post because if you aren’t asleep yet, I am going to help you drift off to a deep slumber with this 3rd (and final, whew) installment of my audit of my open sewing projects.
If you are just joining us, here are the previous two posts in case you need a little visual sedation before you fully fall asleep:
As I shared in the previous posts, I discovered 24 open projects. So far during my audit I found 2 projects that I can let go of and donate, so that brought me down to 22 open projects. But then yesterday I discovered on more project I forgot about – the Nova Star Quilt I want to make from ArtGallery Fabrics fabric:
John was in my studio with me when I discovered it and he tried to help me out and hide it from me…
But I quickly figured out where it was – ha! In the photo above it does like like Mike the Miniature Schnauzer is hanging his head in disgust that one more project was found!
So now I am back up to 23 but we’ll see what the final total is at the end of this post as I share the remaining open projects.
So do you have your pajamas (or pyjamas) on, your pillow and a cozy (cosy) blanket?
Okay well good, I can continue the sharing audit now…
THE PROJECT AUDIT (CONTINUED)
17) LEGENDARY PILLOW(S)
In 2021 I finished Elizabeth Hartman’s Legendary quilt which features a Sasquatch/Yeti stalking around the woods – see post A “Legendary” Christmas Gift and “Quilt Photo-bombing”. I have a lot of flannel fabric left over but did not want to make an entire second quilt. Instead I am going to make some coordinating pillows (and definitely one with just a Sasquatch on it) to go with the quilt which in on the sectional sofa in the basement:
AUDIT DECISION: Keep. When I make it, I make it.
18) MEDALLION QUILT
This bag contains a collection of already pieced blocks (such as pinwheels and 1/2 square triangle blocks) as well as fat quarters and some yardage to make an improv medallion quilt, sort of like the one’s the late Gwen Marston made:
AUDIT DECISION: Hmm…if I’ve not pulled it out to work on by the end of 2023, consider just letting it go. I’ve had this collection of blocks and fabrics for at least 6 years waiting to become a quilt.
AUDIT DECISION: Keep as I love the fabrics and the quilt design. Might not be a 2023 project but would like to make in future.
20) STONEHENGE QUILT
I found this awesome Stonehenge panel at a local quilt shop a couple years ago and I already had the coordinating fabric in my stash.
AUDIT DECISION: Keep. Might not be a 2023 project but would like to make in future.
21) WINTER OWL QUILT(DRIFTING PATTERN)
I came across this panel and coordinating fabric at my first visit to a quilt shop in Fort Collins, Colorado in February 2021. Here is my blog post about that visit – The Fig Leaf Quilt Shop, Fort Collins CO.
They had this quilt on display and I and I really wanted to make it:
So I bought the pattern that it was based on as well as the winter owl panel and the coordinating fabrics.
AUDIT DECISION: Keep. Might not be a 2023 project but would like to make in future.
22) DRAGON FABRIC PROJECTS
I got a stash of amazing dragon themed fabrics for basically free from a quilt shop’s clearance bin a couple years ago. They will make great bags for people who like dragons and Game of Thrones themed crafts.
AUDIT DECISION: Keep. Might not be a 2023 project but would like to make in future.
23) BATIK TABLE RUNNER
AUDIT DECISION: This is the next project I will finish once I finish the drawstring/project bags I am currently working on. It is going to be a gift so someone important in my life that is a long time coming.
AUDIT DECISION: I am going to finish this quilt! Not sure when but eventually!
25) NOVA STAR QUILT
In February 2021 in the post Mind Blowing MailI shared the Nova Star quilt a friend made me:
In addition to the quilt my friend gave me ArtGallery Fabrics scraps from making the quilt. I put those scraps with the existing ArtGalleryFabrics and I have enough to make this quilt myself.
AUDIT DECISION: Keep. Might not be a 2023 project but would like to make in future.
AUDIT SUMMARY
Out of 25 projects, 2 were donated and 23 were kept!
MY PLAN
So now my plan on how to tackle the projects I think I can complete in 2023 that I’ve discussed in this post and the two previous posts. To start I am going to aim for 9 projects and go from there.
Here is the order that I am planning to tackle 9 projects of 23 open projects, and then I will re-evaluate after I finish these 9:
Drawstring/Project Bags (currently working on)
Batik Table Runner
Three Blind Mice Pincushions
Unfinished Table Runners
The Coasters (test one as potholder)
Basket of Fabric for Bags (making some bags with them)
English Paper Piecing Rosette Quilt (as an ongoing hand sewing project)
Colorful Quarter Circle Quilt
Legendary Pillows
I will definitely say “No, Thank You” if anyone offers me their unfinished projects in the future!
Here is Part II of a three-part series on the audit I recently completed of all my existing sewing projects (did not include knitting knitting or crochet projects) that began with yesterday’s post A Year of Finishes: Audit of Existing Projects, Part I .
Before I share the next 8 projects of the 24 total projects I had on my docket, I’d like to share some highlights from an article titled “The Ultimate Guide to Tackling Your UFOs” in the February 2022 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting (APQ) that I came across a couple weeks ago.
Why UFOs (unfinished objects) Can Be a Problem:
They take up space
They cause stress or guilt
They block your creativity
Steps to Tackling UFOs:
Get organized
Set clear goals
Track your progress
Use the buddy system
Is social media creating new UFOs? Social media is a great tool for connecting with other quilters…but it can also be an overwhelming place where you are constantly bombarded with new patterns, fabrics, and quilt-along (QAL) opportunities. This can make your…UFO pile grow larger…
APQ, Vol. 30, No. 1, Issue 174 (Feb 2023)
It was a great article. My local public library has American Patchwork & Quilting as one of it’s online magazines that can be read through the apps Libby or Hoopla, so if you have this access you could read the full article in the February 2022 issue.
And now back to the continued audit…
THE PROJECT AUDIT (CONTINUED)
9) THE COASTERS
I’m not sure why I hold onto these…
Years ago at some quilt shop I found a panel of adorable blocks/prints of coffee drinks – Cafe du jour. I’ve made several sets of gift coasters from the original panel I bought and now I have around 10 random blocks left over. I made the coasters by putting Timtex, a really firm interfacing, inside between a cute backing fabric (like coffee beans). Here is a well used coaster (I made myself a set too) that I had for years:
No one that I have gifted the coasters has ever told me they were life changing (ha) and I am not too sure how many people want handmade coasters as gifts anymore.
AUDIT DECISION: In 2023 try turning one of the blocks into a pot holder (with a border to make a bit larger) and then decided after that experiment whether to make the remaining blocks into potholders (gifts? sell on Etsy shop?) or to donate.
10) THE LEFTOVER LIGHTHOUSE BLOCKS
Hmm…some of these are getting embarrassing to share…
I learned to quilt while living in Seattle, WA around 1999. After making a couple quilts (that are now embarrassing in regards to my lack of technical skills back then) I decided EVERYONE important to me in my life needed a handmade quilt from me (whether they wanted one or not).
My late husband Terry came from a large family (7 kids) and to handle all those people for Christmas, including their spouses, they decided to draw names and you only got a gift for your assigned family member. Well back in the early 2000s I pulled the name of a family member that loved lighthouses. So I made her a lighthouse themed quilt, which she loved (whew!).
Yes early 2000s. And I still have left over blocks/sections from the lighthouse prints panel I used to make her quilt. Why? Because I was going to make another lighthouse themed quilt someday…
AUDIT DECISION: Donate. No more to say about that obvious decision! (But I hope some crafter at the thrift store comes across them and exclaims: “Wow! I’ve been looking for these exact lighthouse prints to make into a quilt!” Hey – it could happen!)
11) BASKET OF FABRIC TO USE FOR MAKING BAGS
No, not more drawstring/project bags! Once I finish the stack of partially completed drawstring/project bags (see Part I), I don’t want to make any more of those for a long, long time.
This fabric is reserved for tote bags I want to make.
AUDIT DECISION: Keep, and I have to make at least one tote bag from the fabric in this basket in 2023!
12) ASIAN FABRIC SCRAPS FOR AN ORANGE PEEL STYLE QUILT
I was obsessed with Asian themed fabric in the mid to late 2000s and I still have a lot of it in my fabric stash I do not appear to be able to part with. I made a lot of quilts with Asian themed fabrics and I made a lot of miniature kimonos during my obsession with them (see my page Gallery page for examples of the zillions of miniature kimonos I made as gifts, for my home, and sold in the early days of my tierneycreates Etsy shop).
So I have a lot of Asian fabric scraps left over from all those projects. I decided I wanted to someday make an Orange Peel style quilt (see example below) from those scraps.
AUDIT DECISION: Keep for now but I must make at least one tester block for this quilt in 2023 or I need to donate the fabric scraps…or just return them to my Asian fabrics scrap pile!
13) UNFINISHED TABLE RUNNERS
Here is an old post from October 2017 about these types of table runners I got obsessed with making 6+ years ago – Can We Talk About Table Runners?
They actually sold very well on my tierneycreates Etsy shop and I sold out of them. I also made some as gifts which were well received. I used ombre fabric as the background which had a cool gradation. Here is what they looked like completed:
I made quilted versions and non quilted versions. These unfinished table runners are the non quilted versions.
AUDIT DECISION: As the three runners are nearly complete, finish them in 2023 and list them on my Textiles & Smiles Etsy shop when I open it again for business later this year.
14) COORDINATING FABRIC FROM AN OLD QUILT BACK
This fabric is from a friend who had an old pieced quilt back that no longer worked but it had some great fabric in it. I took the quilt back and dissembled it to recycle the high quality quilting cottons that were there.
AUDIT DECISION: Not really sure what I was thinking at the time, except “Oooh free nice fabric I can recycle”, as I do not have a project in mind for this collection of scraps. So I am giving myself 2023 to come up with something to make with them and if I do not I will re-evaluate…I could always just add them to my pile of blue fabric scraps…
15) DRAFT DRESS IN MUSLIN AND PATTERN
A friend who is the same dress size as me made a beautiful sheath dress for her son’s wedding. It was a casual wedding and the dress was not formal but something you could wear out to lunch or dinner. The pattern was very accessible for the casual/beginner clothes maker.
She offered to send it to me and I said yes. But it has been sitting around. I really want to make the dress I think it would look great on me as I am tall like her and she looks great in it. It would be a great step towards my dream of learning to make my own clothes.
AUDIT DECISION: Keep it for now but revisit in 2024 if I do not start making the dress in 2023. And as I mentioned in yesterday’s post – going forward do not accept any more projects from others in the future. No matter now appealing!
16) COLORFUL QUARTER CIRCLE QUILT
I actually assembled this quilt in 2020, see post What’s On the Design Wall: “Pride”, but fell short of actually sewing it together. I also posted the design wall photo of Instagram and someone asked if they could buy the quilt when it was completed/quilted.
I am not clear why I stopped working on it, but I really want to make it (this is another project given to me by a quilting friend who did most of the piecing of the blocks but did not want to finish it). It must have been one of those “squirrel” moments where my attention to it wavered and I was called towards the next appealing looking “nut”!
AUDIT DECISION: Get this quilt back up on the design wall in 2023 and get the blocks sewn together!
Whew that was exhausting to go through but I feel this process is making me accountable to do something with all the projects I have in queue (and are sort of weighing me down).
I keep mentioning that I want 2023 to be a “year of finishes” of existing projects. I realized to get there I need to first do an audit of my open projects awaiting finishing. I might as well look at projects that are awaiting starting too!
So I pulled them all out and took photos:
(Note: I did not include any existing knitting or crocheting projects, only sewing projects)
So I have 24 Projects in queue!
I should clarify so you can save yourself complete boredom and stop reading right here – this post is actually for me – to catalog my open projects and motivate me to complete (the ones I decide to keep after this audit) them this year. If this becomes a snoozer for you I understand (smile).
So I am going to go through each project shown above and share background on each project and whether I am keeping the project or not.
But first, I came across on YouTube (one of my favorite sources of random information and entertainment) this video on Why is Decluttering Your Sewing Space So Hard? by Just Get It Done Quilts:
I think this video is awesome in giving context and insight on why we struggle with decluttering our sewing spaces and letting go of sewing supplies and unfinished projects.
If you head over to around 8:20 minutes into the video, the 4th reason why decluttering your sewing space is so hard: Not Asking the Right Questions. Decluttering your sewing space is not like decluttering a kitchen or a bathroom.
Instead of asking ourselves:”Do we need it?” or “Can I make it?”, we should be asking ourselves DO I WANT TO MAKE IT?
This video really helped me with making decisions during my unfinished/not started sewing project audit as I asked myself on each project: “Do I want to make it?”
THE PROJECT AUDIT
1) DRAWSTRING/PROJECT BAGS
I have a lot of cut and interfaced sections for drawstring/project bags. I recently finished 9 from my pile (see post A Year of Finishes: 3rd to 11th Finish of 2023) and they are a great sewing project to work on while I am recovering from my broken ankle/surgical repair.
AUDIT DECISION: Keep this project and continue working on bags with plan to finish assembling all already cut bags in 2023.
2) FRIENDSHIP RING QUILT
A friend sent me this quilt in progress that she had designed. The first version of this quilt appeared publication. She started a second one and did not finish it. She offered it to me and I accepted it in 2020 – see post Project Adoption Challenge!
But it is now 2023 and I have not touched this project. It is a bit of work and I am struggling with if at this point I want to make it.
AUDIT DECISION: If I haven’t started this quilt by the end of 2023, I will ask my friend if she wants it returned, if not, I will donate it. I’ve also decided not to take on anyone’s unfinished projects in the future any longer, no matter how awesome and tempting they seem.
3) NEUTRAL COLORS/FABRIC PRINTING ART QUILT
I’ve blogged about this quilt several times, most recently in August 2022 –Starting an Art Quilt. I started it and got stalled again. I am struggling with the design on the quilt and I’ve tried several layouts that have not been working.
AUDIT DECISION: I really want to make this quilt. I’ve been thinking about it for years. I am holding onto to it and will revisit it when it feels right. Hopefully it will feel like putting it back up on the design wall in 2023, but I am not putting pressure on myself to finish it in 2023.
4) FARM GIRL QUILT
I think the last time I blogged about this quilt it was in July 2017 in this post – More Farm House Vintage Blocks. I’ve made enough blocks to make a lap sized quilt but there are more blocks I want to make before I made a “Farm Girl” quilt. But I do have a friend, who actually lives in farming country in Oregon who is interesting in buying the Farm Girl quilt when I finish it.
AUDIT DECISION: I really enjoy making the blocks from Lori Holt’s Farm Girl sampler books. I want to finish a quilt and either sell to my friend or sell on my Etsy shop when I reopen it someday. I am going to keep the 16 blocks I’ve made so far and turn them into a quilt. I am not putting pressure on myself to finish it in 2023 but in 2023 I do want to revisit the blocks, layout options, and strategize how many addition blocks I need to complete to make a decent sized quilt.
5) PANELS AND PATTERNS FROM THE 2021 ROCKY MOUNTAIN QUILT SHOP HOP
AUDIT DECISION: Keep and put away until ready to work on it. Do not schedule for 2023 finish but revisit during 2023.
6) FABRIC SCRAPS FROM ANOTHER QUILTER’S PROJECT
I’ve had this package of scraps for 9 or more years. Another quilter made a really cute Autumn themed table runner at a quilt retreat I attended. She gave me her scraps which were enough to make another table runner.
AUDIT DECISION: Let it go and donate the scraps. I haven’t made it in 9 years since I received the scraps and I’ve lost interest in making a table runner with these fabrics.
7) SASHISKO HAND SEWING PROJECT
I’ve had this project for a long time. I think I bought this “Learn Sashisko” panel during my first visit to Cannon Beach, Oregon which likely a year or so after I first moved to Central Oregon in 2005. So I probably had this project for a long time! I bought it at this wonderful quilt shop in Cannon Beach – Center Diamond Fabrics. Many wonderful memories of visit Cannon Beach, Oregon with my late husband Terry and I our various Miniature Schnauzers (here is one of those posts – The Road to Retreat (Via Cannon Beach))
AUDIT DECISION: Keep it and work on finishing up this hand sewing project in 2023.
8) THREE BLIND MICE PIN CUSHIONS
Another project I’ve had a long time. Not sure when I bought it!
AUDIT DECISION: Make the mice pincushions in 2023 and give as gifts.
I will finish up the audit of projects 9 – 24 in Part II and Part III of this series of posts.
2023 is my year to make a dent in my outstanding projects (next post I will share the audit I did of my outstanding projects); and I’ve sort of made a dent in stack of drawstring/project bags to be completed (which I put on hold in November 2022 – see post That darn grief, the Etsy shop saga, and a little grace ).
Here is the pile of some of the unfinished bags:
I am still non weight bearing on my left leg after an ankle fracture and subsequent surgery to repair, I wanted to return to my sewing machine (enough with the hand sewing only!)
So John helped me get all set up at the sewing machine with everything within easy reach and I got to work!
I started with making bags that need purple thread as there is a thread and bobbin thread change for each set of project/drawstring bags.
I finished 9 drawstring/project bags (3rd to 11th finish of 2023!):
The bags had some fun linings:
Here are close up photos of the bags grouped by fabric:
Next I am switching to an orange thread to work on the next set of bags.
It felt good to be at my sewing machine again even if I had to take some frequent breaks.
Postscript
The other day a friend share photos of how she is using the drawstring/project bag she got from me last year – as a toiletry bag while traveling:
It was cool to see one of the bags I made in practical use!
I finally put to use something I learned years ago when I was obsessed with Minimalism and was reading everything I could get my hands on about it (if you want to see my posts related to this obsession they are filed under this blog post category – My Minimalism Journey ).
I read somewhere that if you are struggling with getting rid of something sentimental, that does not really add anything to your current life but you are just keeping it because it holds memories, you can take a picture of it to remember it, then let it go.
While John and I were purging our mega junk drawer and countertop area above the junk drawer which had become a hot bed of clutter, I was faced with making a decision on what to do with this mug that I created like 25 years ago in one of those “paint your own ceramics” classes we attended for a friend’s birthday party.
It was such a fun memory of painting that mug with friends and my late husband.
I was never really clear though if my finished mug was really “food safe”, ha, so I used it for years as a pen holder. It was actually a poor excuse for a pen holder as the mug is too small to hold very many pens, but I kept it around for sentimental reasons.
Well this weekend I did it: I took a photo of it and let the mug go! It was a big thing for me.
I’ll close this post with some recent photos John took while over his Dad’s house of Mike and Goose, his father’s miniature Miniature Schnauzer (who needs a haircut but is so adorable!)
We are never sure if Mike is actually happy that his “grandpa” now has his own Miniature Schnauzer. Mike liked that days when he went to stay at his “grandpa’s” house and it was just him getting all the attention!
John’s been up to it again in his workshop, this time making the bench/shoe storage that is Stage 1 of the long awaited MUDROOM REMODEL.
When you enter our home from the garage you enter immediately into the laundry room which is allegedly supposed to be also like a “mudroom” where you could take off your shoes, etc. But ours instead has sort of been a “hot mess”room.
John did try and spruce up the laundry room/mudroom by building a topper/board for the washer and dryer a couple months ago (see post Never Bored When Making Boards (From the Woodshop)), as well as putting in a shelf above them. But still when you first walk into the area from the garage there is no place to sit and take off your shoes…plus it is kind of messy and cluttered there with Mike the Miniature Schnauzer’s dog food, our reusable bag collection, clothes that are hanging dry, and various random crap.
John’s been wanting to turn the laundry into a real mudroom/laundry room for a long time (and no longer dread whenever we need to bring in people through the garage into the house); and he decided the best way to start was to make the mudroom in a modular fashion – beginning first with a bench that you can sit on and take off your shoes.
Here is the bench in progress in his workshop and then in the garage being stained (John designed the bench without formal plans/pattern from watching YouTube videos and looking at online ideas for benches!):
And here is the completed bench in place in the (someday to be) mudroom/laundry room and John happy with his handiwork:
Next he will be working on building a “broom closet” to store the brooms, mops, and vacuum cleaner, as well as some cleaning supplies.
Still recovering from my left ankle nasty break after slipping on ice (not a good Winter sport…) when walking my dog Mike; and subsequent surgery to repair my fractures in mid-ish January 2023.
I am still spending time horizontal (though not as much as previously as swelling is nearly completely gone) as part of my recovery. So I can justify another installment of “The Horizontal Diaries”.
I spend a lot of time the upstairs guest room/my office as I do not want to hang out in my regular bed all day when elevating my left leg.
It’s cheerful and sunny, has a small TV mounted to the wall; and Mike the Miniature Schnauzer likes to hang out in the corner of the bed where he can catch sun and watch for any suspicious activity in front of the house (like those dastardly UPS, Amazon Prime, and FedEx drivers who like to ring the doorbell and run off!).
John wanted to make mornings easier for me (and himself when he is working…he telecommutes from the basement) and he repurposed an extra little refrigerator in the closet of his bar area (for chilling glasses) into an upstairs breakfast and snack bar for me.
Now I don’t have to slow “slide” downstairs to the main floor to get my breakfast (I have my new knee scooter on the main floor and a used knee scooter we found on the Nextdoor upstairs). Nor does John have to take time out of his workday morning routine to make me breakfast and bring it up.
So far so good – I can turn on the electric kettle, make myself a cup of tea and put together some yogurt and granola for breakfast. I also have snacks during the day (healthy and naughty) if I get hungry; and a selections of beverages to quench my thirst. It is sort of like my own apartment upstairs – ha!
Speaking of “snacks” (and other fun stuff) – more awesome “Get Well” surprises came in the mail over the past week – two care packages with various goodies; and a wonderful science fiction book from three different family and friends.
Here is Mike with the cool laser cut iron on appliqué schnauzer included in one of the gift packages:
It’s funny, a surprise always seems to arrive in the mail when I am feeling especially down and discouraged over my lack of mobility. I struggle to remember a day in my recent life when I haven’t gone on a daily walk prior to this injury. Daily walks seem part of my existence and always center me!
But the healing continues and I have more energy and can even participate in some household tasks now (on my knee scooter of course!)
I did have a special treat last week – John took the knee scooter and I out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Denver – Hillstone. I just had to take a photo of the delicious roasted chicken and kale salad (loaded with cashews) that I had for dinner. They do a beautiful job of preparing the kale so there is no bitterness just sweetness.
It was so special to go out to dinner and the crowded restaurant was awesome about accommodating my knee scooter.
I came across this quote randomly online (perhaps a reminder from the Universe) and I am trying to keep it in the back of my mind if I start to feel whiny that I am currently not able to walk around:
We spent this past Sunday doing a major purge of “the junk drawer” in our kitchen, discovering that most things could go elsewhere or be donated or tossed.
John found on the web, a special “drawer charging system” which allows you to turn a drawer into a “charging station” by adding an outlet to the drawer. This special system has a swinging arm that holds the cord from the plug which mounts inside the drawer, so that you can easily open and close the drawer.
image from dockingdrawer.com
John did some wiring to set up an outlet in the back of the kitchen cabinet, cut a hole in the former “junk drawer” and created a charging station:
In addition to clearing out the “junk drawer” we also did a major purge of the countertop above the junk drawer area.
We have something fun planned our newly cleared countertop…will share at a later date.
I am a nervous front seat passenger in a car. My best bet is to do something to distract me while I am a front seat passenger (especially when my partner John is driving, ha!)
So I started carrying around either a little knitting to work on in the car or a crochet project (usually granny squares) in this bag:
Last year, after I finished making the granny squares for the granny square blanket I share my finish of this in this – First Finish of 2023 – Granny Square Crochet Blanket Done, I began a new set of granny squares for a future blanket to have something to work on in the car. Here is what I have completed so far, laid out on the “design carpet”:
I am using black and gray acrylic yarn I got from the thrift store, including a variegated yarn of grays and black. So far I have 34 done and I think I will eventually make 100 granny squares to someday join into a blanket.
I am working very casually on this project (only when a passenger in the car with John and only if I am not working on knitting a hat) so who knows when it will be done!
This post is a repost from February 2022. Rather than writing a new post about this important month, I thought I would just share what I wrote last year as it still resonants with me, and I hope it will for you:
Black History Month (repost from February 2, 2022)
I had a different post planned for this morning, but I was thinking about “Black History Month” in the US, which is every February. Here is a link from the History Channel network if you are not familiar with it or would like to learn more: Black History Month.
No matter where you live in the world I am guessing you are familiar with the history and struggles of people of African decent in the United States. I want to share a post I put on facebook yesterday about Black History Month:
Today is the first day of Black History Month and I know there are individuals in this country who might roll their eyes each February when this month comes around. When I was growing up my parents always made a big deal about Black History Month and we even had some type of encyclopedia they had bought related to Black History and had me read it regularly. Some of you might might not understand what it meant to me as a young Black child to learn about people like me who did GREAT THINGS. Growing up in the 1970s most of the history taught my school focused on “White History”. Back then they even skewed stories of slavery being focused on African tribes selling their tribe members instead of the horrors of our ancestors being stolen also from Africa. Growing up in a time where the focus was that as a person of color you were “less than” a White person was a very different experience than growing up today. I am so thankful for Black History Month and I will always celebrate it! I am so thankful to my parents that in a country that said I was “less than”, I was raised to know that I am “more than” any oppression that tries to tell me I am “less than”.
I am grateful that my parents who believed in education and making the best of yourself despite any challenges you might face. I always think of that Mahatma Gandhi quote when I think of how I was raised:
I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.
Remembering this quote has served me well when I am in a situation (which still happens today) in which it is implied that I am “less than”.
I recently finished an awesome audiobook by the Young Adult Fiction writer, John Green – The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet.
In this amazing collection of essays where he “reviews” common human experiences during our geological age, the Anthropocene.
To give the readers a perspective of time since the geologic creation of the earth, he uses the span of a year. The time humans appeared on the earth would be late December and what we would consider “major events in history” would be mere seconds, or milliseconds in the time span of the earth.
So you might be wondering where I am going with this…
Well the author’s use of a familiar time scale – a year’s period – really put into perspective how little time has really passed in the scope of human history (and tiny in the scope of earth’s history) of what we consider to be significant changes in race relations in the US like the end of slavery and the Civil Rights movement. I hope in a couple more generations, how people treat each other will evolve (hopefully for the good). Just my musings I am sharing.
I will close this post with a song that I’ve been listening to a lot lately, by Damien Marley, one of the very talented musician sons of Bob Marley, called Speak Life. It gives me a lot of thought on how I want to live my life. (I did some research and the video was shot in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, during Damien Marley’s tour of Africa. It is subtitled in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia).
If you are wondering what “Speak Life” means, I did a little googling and it is related to a Bible verse and here’s a general summary which is a consensus of my research:
To speak life is to be a person of encouragement, edification, and blessing to others through what you say.
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG
I say we all go forward and “Speak Life” and make this world as bright as we can.
Featured image from dscout.com
Postscript
February 2, 2023
In addition to Black History Month, I am so happy there are months for other minorities in the U.S. like National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 – October 15), and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May), etc. because I think it is so important to continue to remind everyone of the contributions of people who are not of European ancestry to U.S. History. I also think these kind of months may inspire children who are not of European ancestry by showing/reminding them what people “just like them” have accomplished in the face of adversity.
As I mentioned in recent posts, I unraveled a scarf I wasn’t using and recreated a beloved knitted hat I lost during my trip to Ireland in October 2022. Well I’ve finished knitting it and it is my 2nd finish in 2023, which is a A Year of Finishes – 2023 (this is a link to my new blog category with all the posts on crafts I’ve finished in 2023).
I am so happy to have a new version of my beloved hat back!
I am going to write a post in the future about my plans for 2023 of finishing outstanding projects. I want to wait until I am more mobile (recovering from broken ankle) and can catalog my outside projects. Before I was injured I did put all my outstanding projects together in a section of the closet.
Speaking of injuries, I did have a follow up appointment with my orthopedic surgeon yesterday (who repaired my broken ankle) and he moved me from a splint/cast to a walking boot. I still cannot bear weight but before you know it I will be starting physical therapy and progressing on my three month journey to full recovery.
Here is my new reality – the walking boot:
And someday I will be actually walking in it (smile), but for now the knee scooter remains my trusted sidekick – ha!
While I was writing yesterday’s post The Horizontal Diaries, January 30, 2023which included a little tour of the Tattered Cover Bookstore, I decided that I needed to add a new “blog post category” Independent bookstores, as I’ve written more than a handful of Independent Bookstore tour blog posts over the years; and adding them to a blog category would make them easier to find.
In order to tie all the previous blog posts about trips to indie bookstores, I needed to search for all my old posts using the WordPress search tools. While searching I came across this post from June 2018 – Beastie Adventures: Sisters, Oregon about a day trip I took with my late husband Terry, Mike the Miniature Schnauzer and the tierneycreates Beastie to Sisters, Oregon. That day trip is a wonderful in a lifetime of wonderful memories of my life with “Terry the Quilting Husband”.
Here is a photo from that blog post from June 2018:
Look at the right side of the photo – there is the SAME kit a wonderful friend recently sent me in the mail as part of a “get well” package (see blog post The Horizontal Diaries, Continued):
I was absolutely floored (I gasped) when I discovered this. It was obvious that I liked this hat kit as I took a photo of the tierneycreates Beastie with it in June 2018 on a wonderful day (and now memory) with my late husband Terry.
Once I realized this serendipitous occurrence, I immediately texted my generous friend who had sent me the kit, to tell her of this magical occurrence along with the blog link and the photo of the tierneycreates Beastie with the kit in June 2018.
Here is what she responded (paraphrased):
Oh my goodness! That is crazy! Well…I think you should consider it a gift from Terry if that isn’t too painful because here is what happened… I went to the yarn shop… I already had the Noro yarn for you and your box was pretty much full so that is all I was going to get. That kit caught my eye from the register and I couldn’t quit thinking about getting it for you. I walked back and forth, brought it to the register and then put it back several times. Finally I just couldn’t leave it there and walked out with it for you…There was the same kit with neutral colors in it and I kept swapping which of the two I was going to get you. I thought the neutral one looked more like you but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to it it. I had to buy this one!
A little magic from the Universe? Pretty awesome! Now that kit has an additional meaning/significance (beyond a wonderful gift from a friend) and I cannot wait to make this hat!
Sharing some updates and I am continuing to use “The Horizontal Diaries” as a blog post title (like I did in the recent posts The Horizontal Diaries and The Horizontal Diaries, Continued) because it semi describes my current reality.
I am doing much better as I recover from my left broken ankle and subsequent surgery to repair it (I got “screwed” and “plated”!) and all the swelling has gone down from my foot and lower leg as I behaved and spent a lot of time horizontal! My swelling went down so much (foot/leg returned to normal) that my splint/cast has gotten sort of loose. Good thing I have an appointment with the surgeon tomorrow – looking forward to finding out what comes next…and when will I be ready to compete in the Olympic Gymnastic Trials?!??
I’ve been knitting non stop (just like you suggested @mariss/fabrications) and I am nearly done with the replacement hat for the one I lost during my trip to Ireland in October 2022. I am at the point of decreasing the stitches for the top of hat (soon it will be time for my favorite part of hat knitting – the double pointed needles). I think I will get it done today – yay!
Perhaps with the leftover yarn, that I harvested from the matching scarf I never wore, I can make a second hat…or perhaps a small (quite small) scarf – ha!
I mentioned in the previous “Horizontal Diaries” post that I was working on an irritating English Paper Piecing (EPP) Project. It’s the one I’ve been working on for years (feels like I’ve been working on it for decades). Here’s what inspired the project – the first issue of Quiltfolk magazine:
I need to make 99 hexie rosettes (each rosette is composed of 7 EPP hexies), and I am happy to report I now have 75 done (I’m going to actually “do math” now and report that I only have 24 more hexies to make)! I’ve been working on the rosettes while horizontal, they are a fabulous (if not tedious) hand sewing project:
I’ve made more in the past week than I’ve made in the past 6 months! 24 more and I can start to think about the fabrics to set the blocks in – each rosette is appliquéd to a square of fabric (but I will probably use my sewing machine to do that so it isn’t actually DECADES before I finish the quilt – ha!)
It’s interested to see how my EPP hexie assembly progressed from when I began the project is 2016 (gasp). My first EPP hexies were basted with thread to keep the piecing in place:
Then I learned from a friend that I could baste with fabric glue stick instead which saved a lot of time!
I think I’ve struggled with completing this project because the late “Terry the Quilting Husband” punched out many of the hexies for me as well did a lot of the glue basting of the hexies (he was like a master at it after a while!) for me. I would say he helped me make 60% or more of the hexies for this project. I’ve finished after he passed in December 2018 other projects he started such as The Last Baskets, The Last Quilt and The Ball of Yarn (which eventually became a hat) , but for some reason this one was dragging on.
But 2023 is a YEAR OF FINISHES (I might write a separate post about that later) and this project is on the list to be finished!
To get out of the house the other day, John took me on an errand with him and then took me (and my knee scooter) to the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Littleton, CO (near where his errand was). I love independent bookstores and I had a brief but wonderful wander is this old bookstore in knee scooter!
I wonder if they have a music night where someone plays the piano in the center of the bookstore. If I wasn’t injured and needing to return home to my “horizontalness”, I would have grabbed a stack of books and nestled in one of the chairs. This bookstore has a large collection of both new and used books.
I did pick up two cool new stickers for my older laptop (my newer laptop is fully covered with stickers now) at the Tattered Cover Bookstore:
Well that is this installment of “The Horizontal Diaries”, thanks for reading!
When I was writing the post 2022 in Review: A Year in Travel I realized there are a couple adventures in 2022 I did not blog about that I meant to but time got away from me and I forgot.
One of those adventures was a trip to Fort Collins, Colorado with my sister in July 2022.
After wandering around downtown Denver for a day, we headed out on a road trip to Fort Collins. I love traveling with my sister, we always have a grand time! The road trip was only around 1.5 hours but provided plenty of time to chat and listen to good music.
I offered to pay for our accommodations in Fort Collins, since she had paid to fly from her home in Virginia to Denver, Colorado and instead of a traditional hotel experience I decided to try out an Airbnb experience. I am going to assume that everyone has heard of Airbnb but if you haven’t it is where you stay at someone’s private home which may be occupied also by the owner or unoccupied and you have the property to yourself.
I usually prefer unoccupied because I always sort of feel like I am intruding in someone’s life but I’ve had some fun experiences staying at occupied properties.
Well I found the coolest Airbnb rental in Fort Collins, occupied, that came with a dog on the premises and a really peaceful and zen environment. It turned out the owners were just as awesome as the accomodations.
Here are some photos of the property we stayed it (my sister and I shared their guest room):
Except for the owner’s bedroom and their home office, the entire home was open to us to enjoy. There were so many awesome places to sit and relax (and meditate if you like). I got up early each morning and sat on their enclosed porch with a book.
They also had a couple bikes that guest could use for free (the home is not too far from downtown Fort Collins) and my sister and I had fun one morning biking to breakfast. I don’t remember where we ate breakfast but it was really delicious!
It was my sister’s first time to Fort Collins and we had so much fun sightseeing in Old Town/downtown Fort Collins. There are endless little boutique shops, places to eat, etc. in a less than a mile radius. We also visited my favorite thrift shop in Fort Collins – Brand Spanking Used, as my sister also loves thrifting (she is the one who got me into thrifting).
John and I have talked about maybe moving to Fort Collins, CO someday. We really love that town and it’s a great quick weekend getaway place. The only thing is they get more snow and intense weather than Denver as Fort Collins is located right near the Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park area. But I do love Rocky Mountain National Park – I can’t wait to return there again (see my post on my first amazing visit to this national park Rocky Mountain National Park).
Wherever we move, if we move, it will have to be a one story house (okay if it has a basement), as this broken ankle has made me acutely away of how challenging stairs can be when your mobility is impaired! Our house it too big for two people (and a small dog) and perhaps someday we’ll put it up for sale and let a family enjoy it!
Okay so back to the trip (got sidetracked there for a minute), in addition to fun wanderings around Fort Collins and a beautiful Airbnb, what made the trip really special were our awesome Airbnb hosts. It didn’t feel like we were staying at an Airbnb, it felt like we were staying at a friends’ house!
We had some many amazing conversations with the hosts, some of them late into the night. They were such an awesome couple and we had deep conversations about life as well as lots of laughs! Here we are on the last day of our visit (they did not want us to leave):
The joy on our faces was real – we had such a fun selfie photoshoot and could’t stop laughing when they tried to work the dog into to the selfie!
My sister and I always have cool and unique Airbnb experiences when we travel together. I remember staying at an awesome Airbnb during our sister’s trip to Glenwood Springs (see post Train Ride to Glenwood Springs, CO and More – Part III) that was a “bed and breakfast”, and each morning at breakfast we’d chat with other guests who were visiting from different countries. Breakfast each morning was such a treat!
John doesn’t care for the Airbnb experience and he would not have enjoyed that while in Fort Collins we shared a bathroom with our hosts. He likes to stay at a nice hotel. I do also but when I am traveling with my sister Airbnb seems to be the way to have the most unique travel experience!
Although my blogging buddy @mildlygranola commented on my previous post The Horizontal Diaries, that the title of the post made it sounds like it was a naughty blog (and I nearly spewed my tea across the room laughing), I thought I’d use this blog post title once again! (Even if I could not stop giggling as I typed the title for this post, ha!)
No, sorry, this is not a salacious post about my time in an alternative (but perhaps quite lucrative…or not…not sure if there is a “kink” for middle aged women with broken ankles on knee scooters…but you never know…) career. I am just sharing some updates in my life with my leg elevated since my left ankle break and subsequent surgery (boring, right?)
Mike, with his cone (see post Guest Blog Post: It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Ends up in a Cone) and I have been just hanging out, knitting, working on some hand sewing (a pesky English Paper Piecing project I’ve had forever), listening to audiobooks, watching television and of course napping.
Good news on Mike – he is practically completely healed from his minor surgical procedure. I took his stitches out yesterday (I might as well occasionally do some nursing since I am a RN) and tomorrow we take off his cone. He has fully accepted his cone and when John takes Mike’s cone off so he can eat, Mike immediate comes over to the cone after he finishes eating to have it put back on!
We call him “Cone Boy” or “Schnauzer in a Cone” and he loves to come over to have us reach into the cone and get face and neck pets and scratches (since he can’t scratch his face or neck with his back leg with the cone on.
I continue to work on knitting a replacement hat for the hat I lost in Ireland (see previous post) and I am slowly making progress (it is always slow for me at the beginning when I have to start with smaller needles for the rolled edge and then switch to larger needles for the body of the hat):
I did get to do something fun the other day after a doctor’s appointment – John took me and my knee scooter to a local thrift shop and I got to wander the aisles for a bit. It was a little awkward navigating the tight aisles of the thrift store so I didn’t last too long shopping, but I did have a fabulous find:
Over three yards of ArtGallery Fabric fabric – two pieces from an older line and one piece from a newer line – for $1.99 each! I do appreciate when people donate wonderful high quality quilting cottons to thrift stores AND the thrift store staff price them to move (smile)! I was happy to help the fabrics “move” to my fabric stash!
Yesterday brought two awesome surprises in the mail (the timing was awesome as the “immobility blues” was hitting me hard) from two very thoughtful friends.
First a collection of delicious Oregon (I used to live in Oregon) based Moonstruck chocolate bars:
And then another package from another friend filled with all sorts of goodies (it seemed like the goodies would never end as I was unboxing them…):
Included in this mega gift package was this:
Hmm…is someone trying to tell me it’s time to try a new hat pattern? Ha! I am looking forward to working on this hat kit after I finish the hat I am working on now.
Well back to finding something to binge watch. Recently I binged the first 3 episodes of the AMC show The Mayfair Witches; and I’ve been watching very silly science fiction and horror movies (they are great to nap to, ha!)
I’ll close this post with this card I came across that made me laugh:
I am recovering from a broken ankle after fall on ice and subsequent surgery to repair the fracture (with lots of fun stuff like screws and plates inserted into my ankle). I’ve been unhappy about my sudden immobility and I’ve been trying to be as independent as I can in daily tasks with not much success. I have to rely on my partner John more than I want.
I noticed today that I still have some post operative swelling in my toes that I think I should have gone down by now, but I’ve been naughty in regards to not completely following my post operative instructions to keep my leg elevated above my heart.
Shortly after realizing my limited compliance with post operative instructions (and I am a nurse and should know better!), I came across a blog comment by one of my New Zealand based blogging buddies (@cedar51) on the other side of the world on my post Sheep to Brighten My Day:
The more your leg is horizontal – the faster it will heal – and yes it will be annoying but then when it’s all better – you will be back doing all those things that you love.
– @cedar51
Yes, she is right and I know it. So spent most of today horizontal instead of trying to busy myself on little tasks around the house in my knee scooter.
And the swelling in my toes has begun to diminish.
I guess I need to keep this horizontal existence up for now.
While binging all sorts of strange things on YouTube (like how to can a year’s worth of food; how to crochet baskets; living in a van; and being a digital nomad) I’ve started working on another knitted hat (yes same pattern of course, ha!):
The hat is being knitted from yarn I recycled by unraveling a scarf I was not using. It is the yarn that my beloved knitted hat my friend who taught me how to knit hats made me. Unfortunately I lost this hat while I was in Ireland in October 2022.
I had that hat forever (at least 10 years) and I wore it all cold weather season long. It was sort of like my security blanket. Here I am in 2015 in the hat when I appeared in an advertisement for SAQA in the FiberArts Now publication:
I was so heartbroken when I lost my hat; but so happy when I returned home and realized I could unravel the matching scarf that I never wore and knit myself and new version of the hat.
In addition to working on the hat and binging YouTube videos, I’ve been listening to audiobooks and snacking on delicious coffee cake. Another thoughtful friend sent me a get well package, that I received yesterday, of some delicious jasmine tea and gourmet coffee cake mix. John made me the coffee cake the same day the package arrived!
Well that was enough sitting up to write this blog post. Headed back down to full horizontal to take some more pain medications and dose off to yet another YouTube video…
It’s been a while since I’ve written any posts for my blogging topic category – The Library Stackwhere I share my latest stack of local library books I’ve borrowed.
Before I got injured (slip on ice led to broke ankle, if you are new to this blog), I borrowed a HUGE stack of library books and a couple of contained meaningful quotes and concepts that stuck with me.
Yummy Library Stack!
Beauty by Design: Refreshing Spaces Inspired by What Matters Most by Ginger Curtis
This book focuses on turning your home into a sanctuary that reflects who you are.
The author uses the acronym B-E-A-U-T-Y in a creative and inspirational way:
B – Be still in your space and spend time reflecting on your journey.
E – Express your dreams. Say those lovelies aloud, tell friends about them, write them down.
A – Ask someone in your life to share insight and encouragement about you and your dreams.
U – Understand the values of what you have to offer through your heart and home.
T – Take time to plan a next step or two or four. Use this book to keep going.
Y – Yes. Say it. Yes, you have permission to foster the beauty you long for.
The book is peppered with inspirational quotes and here are my favorites I stumbled upon as I paged through this book:
If it’s a woman’s nature to nurture, then she must nourish herself.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Still: The Slow Home by Natalie Watson
This book also contained inspirational quotes that stuck with me. This book invites readers to structure their home environment based on the “SLOW” Movement – living SUSTAINABLE, shopping LOCALLY, selecting ORGANIC products, and eating WHOLE foods.
When were you last still?
Without movement and motion.
And free from thoughts tumbling and rumbling ahead.
But still in the silent depths of quiet calm.
Holding space for now.
Natalie Watson, Still: The Slow Home
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.:
Rumi
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.
Marcel Proust
The book discusses 10 steps to slow living:
Create a vision
Develop a value framework
Find our why
Focus on priorities
Take responsibility
Let go
Switch off
Live in the now
Cultivate good feelings
Embrace SLOW living one step at a time
It was a wonderful home decoration book and I felt calm and peaceful after reading it.
The other books in the library stack were awesome but these two stood out for me.
Currently I’m sitting around, doing some handwork (will share when I made more progress) while I recover from my left ankle break and the subsequent surgery I had to repair the fracture (see post 2022 in Review: A Year in Travel). The other day I received some mail from one of my dear blogging buddies that really brightened my day: sheep themed linen cotton fabric!
What a thoughtful surprise and I cannot wait to make something with it – like a cool knitting/crochet project bag! Maybe one like this Noodlehead pattern – Firefly Tote that I made in December 2021:
Back in November 2021 I posted that one of my art quilts made from recycled materials, RECYCLED HOPE III: WINDOWS OF CONVERSATION, sold to a private collector via a Seattle based art consultant – Another Recycled Fabric Art Quilt Sold.
I thought perhaps the quilt went to a private home. I did not ask what became of the quilt after I sold as the art consultant did not disclose her client’s details.
Well my random decision to google “tierneycreates” the other day led to this result:
I discovered my quilt is hung in Building A, L7 at this upscale apartments in downtown Seattle Washington and that my photo and Artist Statement is on their website.
I had fun exploring their website, learning more about this lovely looking downtown Seattle residence.
I also watched a YouTube video posted on the residence’s website…
And found my quilt hanging on the wall in their lounge at time 0:19 into the video (see left side of image below, a screen shot from their YouTube video):
Wow! What an unexpected surprise!
In December I sketched out some plans to continue my Recycled Hope series someday. Coming across this info of what happened to that quilt has inspired me to revisit this series of art quilts in the near future and expand my portfolio.
Was it a message from the Universe to get back to working with recycled materials and making art quilts? Maybe…
Hey it’s Mike the Miniature Schnauzer that lives with/manages Tierney and John. Usually I write my own blog posts (yes I’ve learned to type without opposable thumbs) but this time I had to dictate my post to Tierney because I am in A CONE!
Can you tell how irritated I am with the humans?
Just because I had a weird growth on my back, which turned out to be harmless, and had it removed, does not mean I can’t be trusted not to lick my stitches.
I kept trying to reason with my humans to remove the thing. Here I am glaring at a human sitting on the loveseat next to the couch:
I think this is a plot by my female human to have someone else in the household who looks injured. I tried to intimidate her by staring at her knee scooter:
Nothing has worked and allegedly I have to wear this thing for 9 more days. I am going to keep giving them the “furry eyeball” and staring them down until they consider removing this thing.
The humans keep commenting on how cute I look in my cone. Why don’t they try wearing cones for a while?
It only took me a year but I finally finished the Autumnal Colors Granny Square blanket.
It measures approximately 70 inches by 70 inches and is made with 100 crocheted Granny Square blocks.
I wanted 2023 to be a year of finishing up old projects and now I have one down (and oh so many to go!)
It was a great project to finish up while I spend a lot of time in the recliner in our living room since breaking my ankle last week:
And now the blanket is on the top of my recliner awaiting my snuggle under it:
I had John take photos for me since I can only use one leg these days, and at first he took this photo (as a joke, little did I know) for this blog post:
I thought at first he thought this was a good photo for the post!
Now to decide what outstanding project to work on next…
Yesterday John helped me get my studio (from main bedroom, see post A “New” Studio) better set up to sew and craft in ready with my new reality – the knee scooter:
I am going to try spending part of the day tomorrow sewing in my studio instead of sitting in my recliner with hand projects (moping that I am no longer as mobile as I used to be).
Oh and I have to close this post with a photo my friend Wendy sent me from @themercerie on Instagram:
Is that not the ultimate granny square sampler? That would only take me 5 years to finish 🙂
As promised, here is a blog post about all my travel in 2022. But before I dive into that, let me share why travel in 2023 will likely not be the same volume as 2022.
A nasty slip on the ice on January 11, 2023 led to an ankle dislocation and a tibial fracture. I was just taking Mike out for his morning walk and SURPRISE! It looked pretty bad when I first did it but the surgeon I met with today said it was a common ankle fracture.
I have surgery on Thursday January 19 to get some delightful plates and screws inserted into my ankle area and rebuild me. It will be a 6 month recovery. He said a couple weeks post-op if I really wanted I could travel but I likely won’t be feeling it for a while!
I had a dental appointment yesterday and my dentist did share that he had the same type of injury a couple of years ago, recovered fine and is now running again and snowboarding. He is near my age and really active. Right now all I am thinking about it how much I will miss my morning walks with Mike the Miniature Schnauzer while listening to audiobooks. Also a couple fun trips 2023 got cancelled – we were headed next week to Atlanta, GA for a conference John needed to attend; we had a trip to Cabo planned; we had a New Mexico roadtrip with my sister planned; we had a family trip to Barcelona Spain (with a side trip to Lisbon Portugal to meet up with some friends of John’s there); and a little weekend trip to Las Vegas. Maybe the Universe was telling us to slow down as we’ve gone a little crazy traveling post pandemic!
Well enough on my new found reality. let’s talk about all the travel I did in 2022, good memories (queue Barbara Streisand singing…)
2022 A Year of Travel
John and I went a little crazy with travel in 2022 in a post pandemic explosion of saying yes to most travel opportunities presented our way. For domestic (U.S.) travel we had the SW Airlines Companion Pass (that we had earned in 2021 for 2022) and so I could fly for basically free ($11 fee each way) whenever John flew.
We had a busy combination of personal and business travel within the U.S. and a trip to Ireland. Here’s where we went:
Chicago, Illinois (three visits)
If you count our short trip to Chicago at the beginning of January 2023, we visited Chicago three times in less than 3 months. Our trips included two business trips for John and one trip to meet up with my brother and his family in Chicago as my brother was there for a business trip. Here’s a blog post link about one of the 2022 trips to Chicago – Chicago in Black and White
In 2022 we went to Austin, Texas twice on business trips for John. It is a very cool city and I had an amazing time at the downtown Austin library (a magical place!). Here is one blog posts related to some of our Austin, Texas travel in 2022 –Peaceful Oasis at the Austin Central Library .
Las Vegas, Nevada (three visits)
We visited Las Vegas three times in 2022 for fun – twice on our own and once with friends. On one of the trips I took a bunch of black and white photos on “old downtown Las Vegas” – the Fremont Street Experience area, and shared them in this post –Downtown L as Vegas in Black and White
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Atlanta, Georgia (one visit)
I probably should have written a post about our visit to Atlanta, Georgia in November 2022 as I took a lot of cool photos, but I’ll share some of them here. The airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, is really cool and we loved the art to include a simulated rainforest at night experience in one of the main moving walkway areas; and a wonderful tribute to the late U.S. Representative John Lewis:
We spent time wandering about the Krog Districta really cool shopping and arts district. They had another tribute to John Lewis as graffiti on a building (they had lots of awesome graffiti art in the district); as well as a display of some amazing recycled metal parts (including automotive parts) sculptures:
Portland, Oregon (one visit)
I blogged about my awesome trip to rainy Portland Oregon in December 2022 in the post A Little Reunion in Portland Oregon. Although it was cold and rainy it was fun to visit Powell’s Book and other cool places in the Pearl District of downtown Portland.
We spent a day in NYC before heading overnight to Dublin, Ireland. Perhaps I am cheating but I will go ahead and call this a visit to NYC!
Omaha, Nebraska (one visit)
We had a brief trip to Omaha, Nebraska for John’s business meeting in October. I was bummed to learn after the trip that we were not to far from one of my knitting goddess blogging buddies @mildly granola who lives in Iowa, and we could have met up for an adult beverage!
I could have done a post on the Omaha visit but I was distracted from travel and then too much time passed and I forgot about blogging about the trip. So here are some photos of the fun we had one afternoon in Omaha’s Old Market:
Fun shops we visited in Old Market included the Christmas store Tannenbaum(which had the most unusual and perhaps disturbing Nativity Scene I’ve ever seen); Raygun(which had a hysterical sign on the front window); the Imaginarium ;as well as the Monster Grub Pub (a horror themed pub!):
St. Petersburg, Florida (via Tampa, FL) (one visit)
We had to travel to Wilmington, NC for a work conference John needed to attend. We flew into Raleigh, NC, rented a car and drove to Wilmington. Here is a blog post about time in Raleigh –Trip to North Carolina: Fun Evening in Downtown Raleigh.
So currently all my 2023 travel plans have been cancelled and I am adjusting to my new limited mobility reality. But my ankle will heal and I’ll be back traveling later in 2023.
A nasty slip on the ice on January 11, 2023 led to an ankle dislocation and a tibial fracture. I was just taking Mike out for his morning walk and SURPRISE! It looked pretty bad when I first did it but the surgeon I met with today said it was a common ankle fracture.
tierneycreates 