Tuesday 28 August 2018

Back to it, almost

When I was younger I liked spontaneity, impulse and the sense of freedom that they can bring, but as I have grown older I find, more and more, that I also love routine, the rhythm of ordinary day-to-day living.  I have come to understand that, for me at least, it is this regular pattern to things that allows me to keep going and to fit in the things that are most important to me.  To be explicit, I am not talking about the regular, humdrum, family life stuff, although I think it holds true there too.  I am talking about how it is that I find the time to exercise (swim Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1pm, yoga every possible evening at 6pm and so on), or learn a language, or sew. Not only that, but the habit then keeps me going when I might otherwise stop.

Holidays, of course, break these routines and that is a good thing, in that time away can give an opportunity to look at things with new eyes.  It can also be a pause that it is hard to escape from.  When I am in my routine I just keep ticking along but sometimes, as now, I find it hard to step back into it.  The sheer effort of picking all that up again seems too much.  So I come back from my break (if you want a tiny taste of what I've been doing you can check out the AHIQ blog) and look at my piles of fabric then just wander off to make a cuppa.  I know I'll be fine once I'm up and running, but it's clearly going to take a few more days to get there.

In the meantime, I have at least a small bit of quilting to share.  I took my individual lighthouses away with me and thanks to a particularly nasty wasp sting which left my foot too big for my shoe, I have almost completed one.
At some point soon, once my sewing mojo returns, I will try turning it into a cushion.

18 comments:

Lisa J. said...

Sorry to hear about your foot, but I do love the resulting quilting.

Quiltdivajulie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quiltdivajulie said...

Like Lisa said --- and I agree that is more challenging to pick up the multitude of things we regularly do after a break. All in good time ...

patty a. said...

The pillow top looks wonderful. I am sorry to hear about the wasp sting. At least you made good use of your downtime.

Judy said...

Your pillow top looks wonderful! Sorry about the wasp sting, those really hurt!! I feel the same way, sometimes when life gets hectic and I don’t have any creative time, it can be hard to get going again.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

Ooh, wasp stings are definitely no fun. I hope your foot is feeling much better. Welcome back from your time away, and I hope that you can ease back into the routines smoothly and find a renewed sense of joy with your sewing and quilting when you do.

Ann said...

It always amazes me how much quilting enhances the top. It's really looking fabulous now. I hope your foot is better. Wasp stings are extremely painful.

Robin said...

Ahhhhh, the quilting makes such a difference. Glad you were able to find time to stitch (sorry about the bite~).

Janie said...

Gorgeous hand quilting, Kaja.
Ouch, I hope your foot heals fast.
Thanks for sharing your vacation photos.

Unknown said...

Look at all that wonderful Hand quilting! Gives it such a great texture!!

Doris Perlhuhn said...

Great quilting and Beautiful lighthouse. I know that very well going back to your routines isn't that easy. Even well established don't come back automatically. This year it was hard for me. Didn't want to come back. Hope your foot is better now.

em's scrapbag said...

So sorry to hear about your foot. Glad you got some good quilting out of it. What an effect it has!

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

The handquilting is so gorgeous. It is taking an already beautiful quilt to spectacular. Sorry about your foot - hope it heals up quickly.

Sue McQ said...

Love the lightbouses! Hope your foot heals soon. Blessings.

audrey said...

Oh, this stitching! Makes it all look even better if that's possible! I so agree with you that the regular routine makes it easier to fit in time for things like quilting. I think that's why Summer always throws me out of whack. All the schedules change and so mine has to adjust to all the others.:)

O'Quilts said...

WOW You did good girl...thank the wasp!!!!
I love your work.

Sandy Panagos said...

So sorry you've been in a funk. When one comes it seems it will never end, but it eventually does. Take care of that foot! Looking forward to seeing you when you're back in the swing of things.

Catherine said...

This is just beautiful, and your simple quilting is perfect.