The Ends of the Earth

Sometimes I feel like I have to drag myself back into reality, and the past few weeks have been no exception. Since the funeral for DH's grandmother and the passing of my friend Rita, I've been waylaid by the head cold from hell. I'm still not 100%; I have shortness of breath and a cough that has been lingering.

This past weekend was our quilt show for the Fiber Art Divas group I am a part of. Our first show, and the first debut of my "large" quilt Road to Home. I worked through sickness, and a shortened time frame from being away, to get this done in time. I'm glad it's done, and I'm thinking ahead to other quilts to make, and the hopes that this will get photographed and entered into the Mancuso Show in Harrisburg PA.


There's so much to do around the house, the lawn and garden are sorely disregarded right now, and need some attention. My sister got a house and got engaged on the same day, so I have spent some time over at her place helping strip wallpaper and paint, but my own place is crying out for some TLC. The laundry, the dishes, all kinds of chores need doing. It can get overwhelming.

Sometimes, just keeping up with a weekly project or on some other task can make sure you see things through to the end, and be able to come back to reality. That's how it was with this month's weekly quilts. They started off with the best of intentions, the idea that they would be a form of perspective and the Principles of Art, and also use a unique shape. They look a little strage, the further along the project went, and I have one more week to try to pull the idea together...

"Tired always came after Sick"

How do I begin? Well, the stress of the last week trying to prepare for Grammie's open house took it's toll in the form of "airplane/travel head cold". Monday morning I felt like total you-know-what. But I had to get the things I needed to get done out of the way, like mowing, and laundry, and a doctor's appt. Doctor's appt leads to further test being needed. Yay. More to think about.

On Tuesday, still feeling bad, I learned of the death of a good friend, Amrita Sunita Board Dowd. Oh, how can I even explain this? Rita had her lovely son Daschel on April 3rd, and something was still not right. After tests, Rita had a very rare and aggressive cancer. She passed with family and friends Monday May 11th. Rita always made me laugh and I will really miss her.

Today, it's all hitting me at once. I'm tired and sick, and really down in the dumps. I miss Grammie and Rita, the cats are not getting along, and my "big" quilt is slipping away into UFO project status, and it needs to be hung May 22nd, but I don't know if I will have time to finish it... Too much for me to think about now. I have to focus on getting well and then the quilt.

Away for a minute, but I'm back...

My unexpected abscence from the world was due to the untimely death of my husband's grandmother, Hilda Ely. "Grammie" shared a love for needle arts with me, and she was an avid cross stitcher and knitter. She crocheted, and made a quilt or two in her life. She encouraged my quilting, bought my first quilting frame, and I brought a couple of quilts to her to tie in the family tradition with family and family friends. Those were good times. I'll miss her, and her creativity. Somewhere are cross stitched tea cups she made for me to make into a wall hanging quilt for my dining room, I'll have to make that soon.
Because we had to unexpectedly fly out of state for her memorial, I haven't had time to get my weekly quilts posted. I hope to by the end of the week!

The New Quilting Arts Website

If you haven't noticed yet, the Quilting Arts website has had a major overhaul, and it's fanastic! Best of all, there are forums where your's truly is a moderator! Stop by and say hello!