We’ll continue with stories from the tierneycreates Beastie on our trip to Ireland (see post Guest Blog Post: Beasties Return to Ireland!) but I’d like to pepper in some posts that I as drafts before I went to Ireland, planning to schedule them for posting while I was overseas, but forgot about them (distracted by Ireland!).
I love sunflowers, so much that I have a category on my blog on posts about them – Sunflowers!.
Summer is over and we are now deep into Autumn but I wanted to share some of the sunflowers in my garden this season that made me smile. Also I learned how to properly harvest sunflower seeds (thank you YouTube).
Here some of my favorite sunflowers from my garden (to me they are glorious…to you you might wonder: “why is Tierney using up some of her blog’s image limit on these pictures”, ha!):
This year I successfully grew a giant sunflower. Yes ONE giant sunflower, but when it finished blooming and go to the seed maturing phase of its existence, I figured out how to harvest the seeds for next year:
I am pretty excited as I think there are over 100 sunflower seeds in that jar. Just think if every seed became a giant sunflower and then I harvest each of those – I could have a “Sunflower Empire” at my house! (No worries of this happening, I do not have the garden space to achieve this…unless my neighbors let me use their front lawns also….)
MY FANTASY:
image credit: Lone Star Travel Guide
Okay I will be happy with 5 instead of just 1 giant sunflower next year.
Speaking of fields of sunflowers, I do have a wonderful memory of actually sitting in a field of sunflowers. I did this in 1998 during my first visit to Italy. Here is a photo I took of a photo in an old scrapbook:
I wonder if my partner John will mind if I pull up the grass in our backyard and turn it into a field of sunflowers…
I love sunflowers so much I have them around my house. Here is my upstairs guest bathroom which is decorated in a sunflower theme:
Recently I brought home a new enamel tea pot and cups from Ireland and I had my first pot of tea with them and used my sunflower tea cozy!
By now you are likely tired of sunflowers so it’s good it is the end of this post (smile).
Thought I would give a little update on the memory quilt I am making for a grieving friend who lost her mother, with her mother’s favorite clothes. Here is a link to the previous post if you’d like some additional background – Update on “The Challenge”.
Here is the quilt top completed that I shared in that previous post:
Originally I was thinking of sending it out for professional long-arm quilting and my friend was going to pay for the professional quilting. Then I got concerned with there being issues over the unusual fabrics I had used in the quilt (acrylic sweater, polyester scarf, velour robe, etc) with the long arm quilting machine.
I discussed it with my friend and she was good with me quilting it myself (though it would not be nearly as lovely quilting as a professional long-arm) and she would give me money for the cost of the batting, etc. She is not a quilter and does not have expectations of super high quality machine quilting on my part – whew!
Last week I was trying to figure out the logistics of domestic machine quilting and thought I better hand stitch some of the blocks that have special logos, embroidery, etc. to secure them instead of trying to machine quilt around the logos. I found some heavy embroidery thread from my stash of thread of Sashiko* stitching and did some lap quilting (in the middle of the hot summer):
(*but wait a minute Tierney: I’ve followed your blog a long time and I do not remember any posts about Sashiko stitching…Why yes, I have the supplies and started a piece like 10 – 12 years ago…but someday I am really going to pick the piece up again and then blog about it..)
It was fun and for a moment (yes only a wee moment), I actually considered hand quilting the entire quilt. But I came to my senses as that would not be very fun in the hot summer and I would like to get this quilt to my friend, who is facing some other life challenges right now, sooner than in 6 months to a year! (Exhibit A – “Seattle Scrappy” which took me over a year to hand quilt – Seattle Scrappy is Done!)
Speaking of hot summer, I recently got my first full sized tomato (as opposed to the grape or cherry tomatoes I have successfully grown) in my little container garden on my upper back deck and I was so happy!
As I joked on my @tierneycreates Instagram account, I wanted to frame it! As of this writing, I now have two full sized tomatoes. Right now both tomatoes are sitting as decoration on my kitchen counter and I better use them before they go bad!
I am also celebrating the appearance of the first sunflower in my garden. I love love love sunflowers and I’ve blogged about them several times in the past especially when I lived in my house in Oregon where I grew sunflowers every year.
Postscript
We are at that point in summer (August), where for me I am OVER summer and the heat, longing for Fall/Autumn.
I was so longing for Fall that I made one of my favorite colder weather dishes – chicken pot pie:
I made two because we help feed John’s recently widowed father (John’s stepmother suddenly passed at the end of 2021) who lives nearby and he loves my chicken pot pie!
Yes it was lovely (not) having the hot oven, in the heated up kitchen due to the hot oven, in the hot weather outside. Brilliant, eh?
Also just sitting around one evening with that memory quilt on my lap hand quilting it made me yearn for cooler weather.
But then I reminded myself that come early March, I am only dreaming of warm weather! I have to always remember to just embrace the current season I am in.
So back to relishing in my 2 full sized tomatoes and my sunflowers (smile).
I love sunflowers so much I have a series of posts about them – Sunflowers!.
In late summer 2019, I added some sunflowers to my new life for two reasons: 1) in honor of the beauty of my previous life; and 2) in gratitude that I have been able to experience beauty in my life again despite my ongoing grieving of the loss of my husband last December.
In April this year I left my life in Central Oregon behind and moved to the greater Denver metropolitan area (see series of posts Colorado Bound). My house sold in May and for the first time in my life I lived alone in an apartment.
As I shared in my post 08/18/19 post Morning Walk in Black and White, my dog Mike and I moved this summer from my apartment into a house. Living in a house now gave me access to a garden again.
I have been careful not to try and recreate the life I previously had in Central Oregon while my husband was alive, but I did want to bring a little special beauty into it and I planted sunflower seeds early in the summer in the front and back yards.
And they grew.
And they made my smile and brought some joy into my life.
We decided to harvest the seeds (the sunflowers are all done flowering now) and replant them next Spring – they are currently drying in the garage:
I hope next summer to enjoy sunflowers from these seeds. These sunflowers were special because they reminded me that I can still enjoy beauty in my life.
Postscript
Fall is here in the greater Denver metro area and the summer flowers are dying off but there is still so much beauty all around.
I went for a walk this weekend on the hiking trails behind where I live and had a lovely walk through marshlands:
Continuing my series of posts Life in B&W, I thought I was share some images from a recent morning walk near where I am now living in the Denver Greater Metropolitan area.
But first I thought I would share some news/update you on my life…
I’ve Moved – from Urban to Suburban
Those of you who followed my blog for a while know that earlier this year (April 2019) I moved from Central Oregon to the greater Denver Metropolitan area, after my husband Terry suddenly passed in December 2018.
I moved from a home in Central Oregon to a two-bedroom apartment in the Denver area. and tried to stay positive about a new “living on my own apartment adventure” (the first time I’ve lived on my own in my life). However, little did I know how much I would dislike apartment living after living in a home most of my life. As well as how much I would dislike living without another human in my residence.
Mike my miniature schnauzer disliked apartment living also – he missed having a backyard to play ball in. Early morning, during the day and late in the evening, I had to take him on either a quick or longer walk for him to “do his business” and this became tedious. Additionally there were sketchy areas and a large homeless population near where I was living. Mike and I had one scary experience where a homeless man from the park near my apartment followed us for several blocks in a stalking manner.
In May I met a friend at the new Spousal Loss Grief Support group I was attending in the Denver area who also loss his spouse and was interested in having a roommate for his large house. He had a nice backyard that backed up onto a green space and walking trail and he really liked Miniature Schnauzers (his favorite dog breed)!
So a couple months ago I left my apartment in an urban area and moved to the suburbs and I am very happy (and so is Mike).
Plus it is wonderful to have a roommate who understands the depth of the grief of losing their spouse/lifetime partner and we’ve been a great support to each other. It is not something I want anyone to experience in order to understand. As I’ve discussed with numerous other widows and widowers, unless you’ve personally experienced this unique and devastating loss, you absolutely do not have a clue (and you are not in any position to offer any life advice to someone who has lost their spouse, all you can do is support and respect them on their journey) or can even imagine what they are dealing with.
You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.― Anne Lamott
With that background, I can now share with you some images in B&W I took with my smartphone on a morning walk near my new residence (by the way, I thought I was going to live an edgier urban life but I am a suburban girl at heart.)
Morning Walk in Black & White
As part of my walk I had to go through a tunnel under the road to cross from one side of a busy street to the other. I was absolutely fascinated with the tunnel in B&W:
The tunnel was lined with bird nests, which also looked quite interesting in B&W:
Pretty cool, eh?
Postscript
Now that I live in a house, I also have a yard in order to plant things. One of the early thing I planted was sunflower seeds. If you are a longtime follower of my blog you might remember my obsession with sunflowers (see series of posts – Sunflowers!)
Recently the first sunflower from three large pots of sunflowers I planted has begun to bloom:
I suspect I might have a future post about sunflowers when all three pots of sunflowers are in bloom!
And speaking of future posts – I have a new studio in my new residence.
I now have a dedicated Studio – a room for creating that I do not have to share with any guest – ha! So I will do a future post about my Studio, but here is a sneak peak with an image of the design wall my roommate built me and a work in progress:
This is sort of a follow up to the 10/21/18 post Creative Inspiration: Sunflowers!. but it really about the end of the “warm” seasons in Central Oregon (late Spring, Summer and early to mid Autumn) and the heralding of the Winter (aka cold) season.
A couple days ago on my daily walk I snapped this photo of the Giant Sunflower that I posted about in the Creative Inspiration: Sunflowers! post.
Here is what is looked like in September:
Here is what it looked like in Black & White in September:
Here is what it looks like now in November:
And here is what it looks like now, in Black & White:
I seems like Black & White is the right palette for the now stark and shriveled previously gorgeous sunflower.
It appears that all the sunflower seeds are gone from the sunflower head and I am not sure why the homeowners are letting it sit there to decay.
The decay reminds that Winter is coming…
There are many good things about Winter and Winter is important to the Central Oregon ecosystem and to our economy (we have Mount Bachelor which brings in the skiers and other Winter sport enthusiasts). Winter is also a great time for reading, nesting, crafting, reflecting, and the Winter holiday.
But today I am sort of wistful for the beauty of the other seasons and grieving the end of the tremendous beauty of Autumn in Central Oregon (see post Creative Inspiration: Fall Colors).
Right now all the leaves have fallen and everything looks stark, bare and dried out. I think the landscape will get more appealing once the snow falls and a lovely blanket of white covers the stark ground.
Today I am continuing my series of posts on sources of Creative Inspiration and sharing some of the zillion (yes “zillion”) images I took in late Summer and early Fall of blooming sunflowers.
Sunflowers Make Me Happy
I am absolutely obsessed with sunflowers, I even have a sunflower themed quilt. I’ve added a new category to my blog, Sunflowers! , in case you’d like to look at my previous posts related to sunflowers.
Sunflowers are more than just creative inspiration – they just make me happy in general, I am not sure exactly why, but they do! The sunroom in my house is decorated with sunflowers including this corner which has a wonderful faux sunflower plant from my dear friend Michele:
Did you notice the little sunflower tea set in the above photo, yup, I am obsessed!
My Favorites From This Sunflower Season
Well I would blow out my WordPress photo storage allotment if I posted all the photos I took of sunflowers during their 2018 Central Oregon season (late August to early October) and that would be silly especially after I posted tips on how to manage your WordPress photo allotment last month (see post WordPress Image (Photo) Management)!
So here are some of my favorite images from all the images I took.
In my neighborhood we also had the “Mother of All Sunflowers” – a serious GiantSunflower with at least a 12 inch (30.5 cm) diameter (I bet it was even wider):
I became completely obsessed with it and I will not tell you how many photos I took of it (daily at times as I passed it on my walk every morning). I also photographed it in Black & White:
I also started photographing other sunflowers in B&W in full bloom as well as when they were wilting:
Smartphone cameras are a dangerous thing, eh?
Let me close this post with one of my favorite sunflower related quotes from one of my favorite inspirational people, Helen Keller. I remember reading her book The Story of My Life as a pre-teen and being blown away by her courage (and her amazing teacher Anne Sullivan who believed in her and taught her to communicate).
Keep your face to the Sunshine and you cannot see the Shadow. It’s what Sunflowers do. – Helen Keller
It is a quilt top measures approximately 60″ x 72″ and made with traditional piecing but not a with a traditional vibe.
I tried to photograph it using the back of my shed discussed in the post ThePhotoshoot Shed: Please Give Me Your Ideas, but I had a shadow from the top of my gate due to the position of the sun:
So I moved it to the side of my house which was completely in shadow and got a better photo:
I decided not to put a border on it because I plan to put it into the rotation of quilts I rotate through my living room. A border would make it too large for the space I want to hang it. It coordinates well with the colors in my living room!
So I am working on piecing a backing together with various 1 -2 yard pieces of browns I have (trying to use my stash) and then send it to a long-arm quilter. I will likely bind it in the Stonehenge fabric I was going to use for the border.
I guess I need to work on the Medallion quilt in the photo below next as I have completed #1, #2, and #4!
Postscript
Around this time last year I was posting about the sunflowers in my garden. Well they did not return this year and I did not plant sunflower seeds – so I am sunflowerless!
Luckily my neighbors on the corner have several raised bed boxes of sunflowers in their front yard for me to enjoy:
I will be more diligent next Spring on planting sunflower seeds!
For this year’s post on the 2017 Sister’s Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) I am going share my 2017 SOQS experience in one post instead of breaking it into a series of posts like I did last year. Warning: There are a lot of photos in this post!
For more background on the SOQS and for photos and stories from previous shows, see my blog category Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.
It was very hot yesterday (imagine the witch in the Wizard of Oz: “I’m melting, melting”)
in Central Oregon and this year I decided to go to the show in the afternoon instead of the early morning as previous years. I had plans to meet friends for dinner after the show and I thought I would be completely melted by the end of the day if I went early!
Pathways Exhibit
I shared the progress on my art quilt for the annual Central Oregon SAQA exhibit, Pathways, in several previous posts (most recent Artist Statements, PartII). It debuted on Saturday July 8, 2017 at the SOQS.
Below are photos from the exhibit which featured the works of some majorly talented art quilters in the SAQA group I belong:
My SOQS Wandering Partner
My friend the NY Times Bestselling Author, Marie Bostwick, was in town for a book signing at Paulina Books (a wonderful indie bookstore, please support your local indie bookstore!).
I retrieved her after the book signing to extract her from the comfort of an air conditioned bookstore so she could experience the sweltering heat and wander around and look at quilts!
Inside Sisters City Hall: Respite from the Heat
Here is a secret to SOQS: If it is sweltering hot, you can take break from the heat inside of Sisters City Hall and look at quilts (or pretend like you are looking at quilts and just sit inside and relax!)
Inside City Hall, when you first enter, they had an incredible quilt on display by Jean Wells Keenan that is a tribute to the town of Sisters Oregon:
Walking into the City Council meeting hall, there was an incredible display of art quilts, the Quilt for TwoRivers project, inspired by the Whychus Creek in Sisters:
It was very empty in City Hall towards the end of the SOQS and Marie and I spent a leisurely 30 – 45 minutes or so sitting in the comfortable chairs of City Hall, in air conditioning, visiting. Finally the SOQS volunteers came in and kicked us out as they had to lock up City Hall.
More Around SOQS Photos
I did not take the volume of the photos I have taken in previous years attending SOQS. I hope I do not sound too jaded but it is a very nice show with a lot of very nice quilts, but I no longer think I need photos of every spectacular quilt.
Instead I took photos of a sampling of sights to give a mini experience of attending this mind-blowing show. The entire downtown of Sisters, Oregon is closed to traffic and the entire downtown, every building (and seemingly every nook and cranny) is covered with quilts!
Here is a glimpse inside the Stitchin’ Postquilt shop (Jean Wells Keenan of the Stitchin’ Post started the show in 1975):
During SOQS it is pure madness inside this quilt shop as compared to the rest of the year for us locals. I do not attempt to shop there during SOQS (as I can shop there anytime the rest of the year) but I do like peeking in to see the craziness as quilters from all over the world try to take home a little of the magic.
One thing I have to say about the Stitchin’ Post, besides having a fantastic staff (which includes many talented fiber artists), is that it has a fantastically curated selection of fabrics and yarn. If you are an art or modern quilter this is definitely the place to buy unique and hard to find fabrics.
At the show I ran into Donna R., an extremely talented art quilter and long time SOQS volunteer. She had on a handmade and dyed dress created from previous SOQS volunteer T-shirts:
The SOQS volunteers are quite an amazing group. I volunteered once in 2007 when I had my first quilt ever in quilt show at 2007 SOQS, but I have not been able to volunteer again since that time. Maybe in the future.
Speaking on volunteers, Jan T. another incredible art quilt and head of our Central Oregon SAQA group, presented a quilt story book in which each page of a giant book had a story on the right and a quilt on the left inspired by that story:
How often do you get to see something like that? Only at the SOQS!
While at the show I ran into the wonderful teacher and incredible person, Janet Shorten the head of Sisters of the Heart Foundation which brings medical teams and community enrichment teams to struggling villages in Uganda. Janet teaches women in Uganda to do crafts, including quilting, then helps them sell those crafts to raise money for their communities. Here she is with one of the quilts the women she works with in Uganda made:
They focus on community empowerment and if you are looking for an organization to support with your donation, I recommend this wonderful organization!
So that is my reporting from the 2017 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. Check out the other blogs I mentioned early in this post for additional photos.
Postscript
While at the show, I did stop at the Sisters Habitat for Humanity Thrift shop and found this lovely sunflower fabric for $2:
I do love sunflowers and if you have followed my blog for awhile you might remember my obsession with sunflowers, like in this July 2016 post Waiting for the Sunflowers.
It is July again and I am once again waiting…so I just had to buy this fabric!
The first Friday of each month, Downtown Bend, Oregon hosts a “First Friday Art Walk”. The downtown galleries and shops stay open late and host special art exhibits or show their ongoing exhibits. The local shops and galleries serve snacks and beverages including complimentary microbrews (Bend, OR is known for its numerous and excellent microbreweries) and wine.
Our Central Oregon SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) group showed our Doorsexhibit at Cascade Sotheby’s International Realty. This show first opened at the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show as a special exhibit (see the post 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Part IIfor more of the story on this exhibit and for better photos of the art quilts).
My piece, Recycled Doorwas in the show. I was very honored to be in a show with these talented art quilters, several of whom are locally, nationally or internationally renown for their fiber art. Our Oregon SAQA reps, Jan Tetzlaff and Marion Shimoda did an impressive job hanging the art quilts in the gallery!
Here are more photos from the show (it was very crowded at the show and I had to take photos quickly as there were breaks between people viewing the show):
The show runs through September and is located at: Cascade Sotheby’s International Realty, 821 NW Wall Street, Bend, OR (Downtown)
On my walk this morning, I plucked a ripe peach from the neighborhood tree (to snack on during my stroll) and listened to the following passage from the audiobook Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippet:
There is a reason why, when my son, who is 6 and is crying…needs a hug: It’s not just that he needs my love, he needs boundary around his experience. He needs to know that the pain is contained and can be housed, and won’t be limiting his whole being…that he can get a hug – and he drops (back) into his body…
This passage is from an interview with Matthew Sanford, a renown yoga teacher and inspirational speaker (who is paralyzed from the chest down), discussing the mind-body connection.
I had to pause for a moment during during my walk (and wipe the peach juice from my mouth) and reflect on the true purpose of a comforting hug. This audiobook is filled with opportunities for deep reflection.
At times a little esoteric but always profound, Krista Tippet in this audiobook, interviews over 40 great thinkers of our time on what it means to be human and the “human experience”. You can find a wonderful synopsis of this book on audible.com: Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living
I cannot promise that I will be wiser after listening to this audiobook but I appreciate the opportunity to listen to so many wonderful perspective and to ponder many aspects of the human experience.
POSTSCRIPT
Reviews
I finished another wonderful audiobook, mentioned in an earlier post – Trespassing Across America: One Man’s Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland by Ken Ilgunas. I posted my review of the book on amazon.com and on Goodreads.
Most of the books I read and audiobooks I listen to come from the public library and so they are for free. My way of thanking the author for the opportunity to read of listen to their book, since I did not purchase the book, is to write a review.
If I did not like the book, and I got it from the library, I do not write a review. I consider my good review a “thank you gift” to the author that hopefully will help gain them new readers (and perhaps lead to an actual book purchase).
I am slowly getting the book reviews I have posted on my blog over the past 3 years on to Goodreads, so they can be in one place. Some of the books already have a review posted to amazon.com.
More Fruit!
I took a different turn on my walk this morning and discovered yet another neglected fruit tree – this time another green apple tree. I am starting to get overwhelmed with fruit!
I am also keep an eye on this tree, wondering what the fruit will taste like when it ripens (and wondering if it is plum or something else..):
Still Waiting…
Oh (the sound of a random thought popping into my head) – if you remember my 07/21/16 post Waiting for the Sunflowers – well I am still waiting for the sunflowers! At least the huge sunflowers in my backyard.
In the post I shared a photo of the hopefully-soon-to-be large sunflower plants coming up in my backyard, just outside of my sunroom window. Here is an updated photo – still no blooms, just growing stalks! All the other sunflowers around the neighborhood have bloomed except mine…I am still waiting…
(Featured Image photo credit – “Owl Eyes” by Danny de Bruyne, free images.com)
This post is a follow up to the 07/14/16 post What’s on the Design Wall(as well as another post mentioned in the Postscript section)
Terry, “The Quilting Husband”, continues his “take over” the large temporary design wall in the hallway (temporary until we install a permanent large design wall in the hallway) with his piece in progress. Here is his current progress from the 07/14/16 post – he has now inserted strips of pieced recycled denim between the rows.
We love recycling denim. Did you know how much it takes to produce a pair of jeans and the impact on the environment to create one pair of denim jeans?
I read an interesting article in the Winter 2015 edition of Interweave’s Stitch magazine, “Denim; Shaping the World, One Pair at a Time” by Kathy Augustine (pages 16 – 17).
Here are some interesting numbers from this article to give you a perspective of what it “costs” environmentally to make a pair of jeans:
An estimated 2 billion pairs of blue jeans are produced each year. It takes one bale of cotton (approximately 480 pounds of cotton) to produced 215 pairs of jeans, or 2.23 pounds of cotton per pairs. One acre of farmland produced approximately 740 pounds of cotton and cotton requires about 1,000 gallons of water per pound of fiber, so it took 2230 gallons of water to make that pair of jeans you are wearing and the average American has 7 pairs of jeans.
So I get pretty happy when I am involved in denim recycling and letting the effort all that water go towards something that can keep someone warm and cozy or decorate their house after the denim is no longer wearable.
I will wait and see what Terry does with the rest of the fabric for this piece he is working on (like an interesting border?) and then I would like to make a table runner with smaller pieces of recycled denim and the scraps from his piece. I think it would make an interesting “Country” style table runner.
Postscript
My sunflower obsession continues, as discussed in the post Waiting for the Sunflowers. This weekend I went over a friend’s house who had massive amounts of sunflowers in her front yard . Several of the sunflower plants had reached “Sunflower Tree” heights (nearly “house-size” sunflowers!).
Here are some of my photos (note the sunflowers were towards the end of their blooming):
Of course I took some cuttings home to put in my sunroom!
(Okay Tierney! Enough with the sunflowers already, move onto another topic.)
Maybe. I cannot promise sunflowers won’t be mentioned again in a future post (smile).
Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniatures Schnauzer’s latest musings on her blog page SchnauzerSnips.
Now that I am feeling “Grit”-ty, why not also become a “Bad#ss”?
Last week I finished the awesome audiobook, discussed in several previous posts: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseveranceby Angela Duckworth (2016). As mentioned in previous posts, this book has inspired me to become more “gritty”. I want to have, as Wikipedia discusses “grit”, a “perseverance of effort” in overcoming of obstacles or challenges that get in my path!
Photo credit: Amazon.com
Here is one of the closing quotes the author shares in her highly inspirational book:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.- Theodore Roosevelt
After finishing this audiobook about “grit” and being “gritty”, I dove right into listening to my next audiobook: You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincere (2013).
Photo credit: Amazon.com
I know I might have said in the past that other audiobooks were my favorite “self-improvement”/”self-help” audiobooks of all time – BUT – this one is it – this IS MY FAVORITE SELF-HELP AUDIOBOOK OF ALL TIME. (At least for now!)
The audiobook is read by the author who delivers her narration in a stand-up comedian style. The book is VERY entertaining.
If you could not tell by the title, yes, she does swear a bit in the book (quite a bit of “f-bombs” are dropped) but she is a definitely “keeping it real”. She shares many truths with her listener and challenges you to see the obvious truths right in front of you that you are avoiding.
She also shares many funny and poignant personal stories about her journey and growth.
I am not sure how to summarize just how awesome this book is; but I am 3/4 of the way through as I have been listening to it non-stop. If you check out the reviews on amazon.com you will see that there are 1299 customer reviews with an average of 4.5 stars!
This book is very empowering and I love how she addresses excuses that we use not to achieve what we want in life. Here are a couple gems from the audiobook:
When you hang out with whiners, pessimists, tweakers, bleakers, freakers-outers and life-is-so-unfairers, it’s an uphill climb to keep yourself in a positive headspace. Stay away from people with tiny minds and tiny thoughts and start hanging out with people who see limitless possibility as the reality. Surround yourself with people who act on their big ideas, who take action on making positive change in the world and who see nothing as out of their reach. ~ Jen Sincero
It never ceases to amaze me the precious time we spend chasing the squirrels around our brains, playing out our dramas, worrying about unwanted facial hair, seeking adoration, justifying our actions, complaining about slow Internet connections, dissecting the lives of idiots, when we are sitting in the middle of a full-blown miracle that is happening right here, right now. ~ Jen Sincero
You are loved. Massively. Ferociously. Unconditionally. The Universe is totally freaking out about how awesome you are. It’s got you wrapped in a warm gorilla hug of adoration. It wants to give you everything you desire. It wants you to be happy. It wants you to see what it sees in you. ~ Jen Sincero
There are so many wonderful pieces of wisdom in this book, many of which we already know in our hearts but keep hidden from ourselves.
I am starting to feel like I am on my way to becoming a “Gritty Bad#ss”!
Postscript
This is a follow up to my previous post Waiting for the Sunflowers – one of my readers asked me to share a couple additional photos of the two sunflower related quilts I had on the post.
Here is a better lit photo (taken outside) and a detail of the painted sunflower wallhanging I quilted (but I did not paint – it was a pre-painted panel):
And here is a photo of the entire “Ugly Sunflower Fabric Challenge” quilt, which I renamed “Cozy Sunflower Quilt” as it has a nice snuggly flannel backing to it (not very handy right now in the warm Summer but come Fall…)
Sunflowers are my favorite flower and they actually spark a sense of joy inside me when I see them. Currently I am waiting for the sunflower seeds I planted in my yard to mature into sunflowers.
So far I have sunflower plant stems sprouted from the ground with their leaves and hopefully soon I will have the flowers themselves. I’ve spotted a few sunflowers in full bloom in around the neighborhoods I walk and bike. The feature photo on this post is from such a flower.
Sunflower Obsession
I think my obsession began with a lovely gift I was given by my friend Michele many years ago – an artificial potted plant of sunflowers (that looked quite real). That potted plant began my collection of sunflower related items.
My sunroom is decorated in a sunflower theme (I tried not to overdo it and it keep it semi subtle) and here is the plant that started it all along with a couple other sunflower themed items in the corner of my sunroom:
Cozy Sunflower Quilt – designed/pieced by Tierney Hogan, quilted by Guadalupe Designs
I also have sunflower art around the house. Here is a sunflower vintage style piece of art in my sunroom:
And a sunflower wallhanging which I made from a painted fabric sunflower panel which I machine quilted:
If You Plant Them, They will Come
I am thinking of the line from the movie Field of Dreams (1989): “If you build it, he will come”. I am patiently awaiting the arrival of the sunflowers I have planted including those I planted in the raised beds that surround the outside of my sunroom!
I will have sunflowers peeking into my sunroom and not just sunflower themed items around the sunroom!
Postscript
I was luckily enough to discover the blog of a talented painter who has a lot of sunflower themed art: Brush of Dawn Oil Paintings. Her sunflower paintings make me smile whenever I see them.
Here is a bonus sunflower, from an old post, in an unusual color!
Of course I could not refuse sharing a quote about sunflowers:
I don’t think there’s anything on this planet that more trumpets life that the sunflower. For me that’s because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that’s such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life.
I am currently listening to the audiobook of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing(Kondo, 2014).
The author, Marie Kondo makes a very powerful statement when she discusses letting go of mementos from our past:
The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.
This book is not your average “here is how you organize your stuff type of book”. It takes a very different and profound approach on dealing with clutter, permanently. Getting rid of physical clutter helps free your mental clutter. I have already experienced this through starting to work through this book.
Marie Kondo approaches dealing with “your stuff” in a very beautiful way. In a way that honors your stuff and the happiness or the function it may have brought you in the past.
Her process requires that you physically touch every single thing you own and decide honestly: “does this bring me joy?”
Her process also involves thanking those things that you give up for what role they played in your life and then letting them go. (This all may sound strange but it is not, it feels very right and very peaceful).
Completed “Phase One”
I have made it through the first phase – letting go of clothing I do not need (she has a specific method and order in which you deal with different categories of your stuff). Two big things happened yesterday: 1) I took a huge carload of clothing and other random stuff to the Humane Society Thrift Store; and 2) I got rid of MY DRESSER!
Our bedroom always felt kind of cluttered with two dressers (my dresser and my husband’s dresser). My 25 year-old dresser blocked part of the area I use to get out of bed. My husband was able to make space for my undies and socks in his dresser. Everything else (including old socks and undergarments not in the best condition) was either discarded, donated or folded/hung up in the closet.
I did touch each item, determine if it brought be joy, and thanked those that did not (bring me joy) for their service before discarding them. We placed my dresser outside on the curb and 5 minutes later it was gone (I believe the Universe gave it to the person who needed next)! Suddenly with the dresser gone, the bedroom appeared to have better flow and energy. I now have room next to the bed to put out my yoga mat in the morning!
Unbelievably freeing experience, so far
You must read or listen to this wonderful book for this all to make sense, and it will. I highly recommend this book and the “Eastern Philosophy” influenced perspective of letting go of the stuff that clutters our lives and our minds.
I continue to work on letting the space that I live be for the person I am becoming now, not for the person I was in the past.
Random pretty sunflower which you will have time to enjoy once you declutter your life 😉
Check out Sassy-the-highly-opinionated-miniature-schnauzer’s blog Schnauzer Snips for her latest musings…
IT’S A KEEPER!
In my post Ugly Sunflower Fabric Challenge I shared how a friend had challenged me to make a quilt with fabric I was going to give away. I completed the quilt top and pieced a sunflower flannel back and sent it off to the long-arm machine quilter.
The plan was when I got it back, to either give it as gift to a friend or sell it on the tierneycreates Etsy shop. That was the plan, until I got it back from the long-arm quilter, and fell in love with it!
My long-arm quilter, Betty Anne Guadalupe of Guadalupe Designs, did a sweet all-over flower quilting pattern. I sat under the cozy quilt (with the sunflower flannel) while sewing down the binding (we did have the A/C on) and decided it needed to become part of my “quilt family”.
So it is staying in my home, and will be nested on the top of one of the overstuffed reading chairs for cozy winter tea and reading sessions. If we lose heat this summer, I can pile the quilts on top of me and stay warm!
Sunflower Jam (2015) – designed and pieced by Tierney Davis Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe
Quilt flannel back
POSTSCRIPT
This quilt was one of the 5 quilts I got back from the long-arm quilter that needed binding put on and sewn down to be completed as I shared in the post Progress and Fear. I have completed a second quilt and have 3 more to go. The remaining 4 quilts I will make myself list on the tierneycreates Etsy shop as originally planned. Maybe.
I love sunflowers and years ago (maybe 10) I bought some sunflower fabric I found on sale. I never used this fabric and it ended up in the back of my stash, forgotten.
A couple of months ago I was purging the fabric that I no longer loved to donate to a charity thrift store (see blog post The Fabric Purge!) and came across the sunflower fabric again. I do not have a photo of the original fabric, but 10 years later, looking at it I thought “what was I thinking?!?!?”
It was…well…quite ugly fabric. Little sunflower images with a very cheesy looking patterns and other images surrounding the sunflowers. No wonder it had been on sale 10 years ago!
A quilter friend of mine suggested a Challenge: Don’t get rid of the fabric – cut out the sunflowers and use them as centers in a log cabin style quilt. She offered to give me some coordinating fabric that she was purging from her stash!
I took on the challenge and made the quilt! I just gave to my long-arm quilter the 88″ x 66″ quilt top made with just the sunflower sections of the ugly fabric and coordinating fabric from a friend’s stash! I set the 9.5″ by 9.5″ inch blocks in a Moda paper bag colored fabric. I cannot wait to see what it looks like quilted!
The tunnel was lined with bird nests, which also looked quite interesting in B&W:
Pretty cool, eh?
In my neighborhood we also had the “Mother of All Sunflowers” – a serious 
Smartphone cameras are a dangerous thing, eh?
tierneycreates 