Life Happens…..

 Wow….2019!  This blog has been severely neglected. I keep thinking I should get back to blogging, yet if I do it might get a bit raw and emotional.  I have been battling depression and complex ptsd since 2019. The fight is real.  The disease is real and it is just as deadly as cancer.  Yet so much stigma and shame surround this devastating illness.  

I just don’t know…is this something I should write about? Will it help me heal? 

I have been trying to get back to creating, so I have joined up with Jenny Manno’s How To Tuesdays on Patreon.  This was my first attempt with a lesson and I love how she turned out.  This is Ethel, a quite, tired and sad girl that I know.  She is invisible and alone, at least that is how she feels everyday.  She is trying hard to get back to her creative, happy life.  Seventy is fast approaching and she really doesn’t want to enter her 70th year in such a depressed state.  Praying something will work and she might start to heal.  

A bit of art journaling everyday and some hand stitching…..soothing stitching and nonsensical art.

  What soothes your soul? 

What have you been working on?

My goal this summer has been to finish up some UFO's that are hiding in my closets.  Do you ever feel like you have struck gold when you start digging through the boxes and find something you wonder why you did not finish it????
A couple of blogs I follow post their monthly list of goals for that month and I like that idea, because I feel like it makes me accountable.  It doesn't mean I will finish everything, or not start something new!

Hurrah QOV

Tomorrow is our monthly QOV sewing day....and look!  I have a finished top to contribute!  That feels great....and I dug out another one that has five of the nine blocks completed, so that will be my next QOV to work on and finish.  If you would like the pattern for this one, you can find it here.  Quilt Jubilee....lots of wonderful easy patterns to use for QOV!

Barn Stars

This is a pattern from the Kim Diehl What Nots club which I made up into 8" blocks.  While I usually like the tiny blocks, for some reason I decided to draft it out larger.  

This little quilt is one of the offerings from the Sew Sampler box from the Fat Quarter Shop.  I have a whole stack of boxes waiting for me to start sewing up!  I'm pretty sure that I will never ever run out of anything to do!  I made this one up using less blocks, as once I made all the blocks I decided that it was to large for the space I want to hang it in. 

I love Gyleen Fitzgerald's Pineapple ruler....it can be quite addictive!  And the great thing is I am using up lots of scraps!  Anything goes!  Now why isn't that big bag of 1 1/2" strips growing smaller?????

so....here is that list I made for August.....
1. Coming Home BOM, finish this months applique on the houses.
2. Build A Quilt (BAQ) with Quilting is my Therapy.  Work on finishing kit borders and August block.
3. quilt and bind Phillip's t-shirt quilt
4. Finish a QOV   ****** Done
5. Quilt a Project Linus project
6. Finish one UFO    ***** two are ready to quilt!
7. Write pattern and sew the new Star Crossing quilt pattern.  Priority!

While I have been sewing on all seven of the list, only 2 are really done.  But....no problem....move them on the September list!!!

Star Crossing

Getting my blocks made for my newest pattern, Star Crossing.  I will probably finish sewing all the blocks together into the quilt top today.  

Is anyone ready for fall?  I am....it's my favorite time of year, and I LOVE to decorate for fall.  I do hate to see summer go...I like hot weather, but not the nasty humidity that comes with it!  Enjoy your weekend!  I'm off to the BMX track tonight to watch my 11 year old grandson race.

grace and peace...Sharon

New patterns available

I have a couple of new patterns available through Connecting Threads!

 Fancy That pattern and quilt kit

You can find the kit and the pattern in the July 2019 catalog from Connecting Threads...or follow this link if you do not have the catalog available.  This quilt was designed with EQ8, a quilt design program I have used since it first came out! Love being able to pop the fabrics in so I can audition them for the final quilt.

This little quilt pattern and kit can be found here......My Happy Place.

It was also designed in EQ8!

While I enjoy designing quilts, testing the pattern is the hard part.  I can read it over and over, make the quilt....and still miss an error!  I need someone with good technical proof reading skills and can do this in about a one month period.....any takers?

As my brain clears up, things will get accomplished!  

What are you sewing on in the midst of the summer heat?  I am trying to finish one thing every week. 

grace and peace....Sharon

One thing...a finish!

It's stinking hot here in Missouri!  Trying not to complain as I would rather have this than below zero.

Last week I decided to try to finish one thing every week.  I did not make a list or anything, maybe I should?  So....ta da!  A finish! and it is quilted!
Last summer, I made all these hexies and when I saw the Enduring Legacy quilt by Sherri McConnell, I knew I had to make it.  It was in the June 2018 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.  Such a fun quilt to make, and I used scraps and stash!  The only fabric I purchased was the backing.

I love hand stitching projects...it's a sort of meditation for me and a great way to relax.  What about you?  Are you working on a hand stitching project?  

Wishing you a happy and safe Fourth of July! 

grace and peace...Sharon

Linking up with: Oh Scrap!

                            Monday Making

Life happens...or not

It's been awhile....neglecting my blog and just checking out for a bit!  Not sure if anyone still reads blogs but I think there are a few.  I want to tell you a story...not for sympathy but as a warning. 

My doctor put me on Cymbalta 60mg for chronic back pain.  I wish I had done more research on this drug and how dangerous it is.  Google it and you will find that the FDA reluctantly approved it for chronic pain.  If they had reservations about it...why did they approve it for off label prescribing? 

Anyway...it has truly affected my life in the most negative ways you can imagine....and getting off of it has truly been horrible.  You don't want to go there!  After 6 months of being off the drug, I still have withdrawal symptoms, but not as bad.  So there is hope and I will get my life back!
It has taken so much away from me, but I am determined to get it back.  Just not a patient person.  I have to keep telling myself that I am dealing with a brain injury and people can and do recover.

I did not have all of these symptoms while on the drug and the worst happened when I stopped taking it.  Seizures, brain zaps, flu like symptoms, horrible depression, loss of appetite, loss of focus and unable to concentrate or follow a thought....to name a few.

The brain zaps by far are the worst of all.  Almost like having a seizure.  

So...if you or any of your loved ones are taking this drug...consider the side affects and the withdrawals you will go through when you decide to stop taking it.  Too many people are being given this drug and not being told what happens if you don't take it.  It is being prescribed as an alternative to opioids but just as dangerous.

My creativity and desire to sew has been stunted to say the least.  But I do have a few things completed and it does make me feel better to see them finished!  This week, I quilted two WIPS and getting the bindings on them...yay!

Ready for Project Linus!

A bit of free motion quilting this week.

I have a quilt in the Summer 2019 of Easy Quilts...yay!  This was a fun and easy quilt to make, no curved piecing!

Hopefully I will have more to show you as the summer progresses and as I heal.  Not looking for any sympathy...just want to warn others so this does not happen to anyone else.

grace and peace....Sharon

Getaway Blog Hop with Island Batik

 It's that time of year when my husband and I take our yearly getaway to warmer temperatures in Southern Texas.  So this blog hop is the perfect venue for my quilt made with Jackie Kunkels adorable Feline Fine line of fabric. I did a huge happy dance when this fabric came in my box of beautiful fabrics from Island Batik.  I mean, I always do a happy dance when the UPS man shows up at my door with a box of fabric....but Feline Fine is so perfect for me and for the yellow cat, Bella!
Feline is so bright and cheerful, covered with all sorts of feline doodles....fishy bones, cat faces and paws, mice, flowers, kibbles....so cute!

So, here is the quilt I made with Feline Fine, using the sweet cat block by Jenny Doan at Missouri Star.  I added the heart block from EQ and away I sewed.  Very fast and simple, which it had to be as we were traveling in the RV to Texas.  Sadly, I do not have it quilted.  We have been here a week, and I just completed it yesterday with lots of oohs and ahhs from fellow RV quilters.  Oh....and Bella loves it too!

The border is made with Island Batik Checked Out which goes well with everything!  This is a great line of geometric fabric to use in your batik quilts.

Are ready for a carefree adventure? Your itinerary is ready! Click here to begin a wonderful, color filled excursion.  Buckle your seatbelts for the most incredible month of projects during our Getaway Blog Hop!

Your tour guides are our Island Batik Ambassadors galivanting for a full month. Get caught up in our international whirlwind of fabric, thread, and more for the Island Batik Getaway Blog Hop.

The 2018 Island Batik Ambassadors have done an outstanding job of meeting each monthly challenge and frequently taking it to the next peak. They are all seasoned sewing travelers and will be amazing guides for the Getaway journey

This will be my last journey with Island Batik as I have stepped down from two fun filled years of fabric and quilts. I'm sad about not being a part of this wonderful group, but I felt it was time to take a little break and have some healing time.  Everyday is better and time is a great healer of all things in our lives.  

If you can leave a comment on where your favorite getaway might be, you will be entered in my give away.  I have some 10" Feline Fine fabric squares to share with you so that you can make your own cat quilt.  Each square makes one cat block....easy!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit the other Ambassador Blogs!

grace and peace....Sharon

Bee Report

This is my first year as part of the Stash Bee and I am part of Stash Bee Hive #3.  This month we made super simple blocks....love them and had to add kitty fabric of course!

Susan asked us to use anything we had been using in a previous project to make these fun blocks.  I raided the scrap basket and this is what I came up with.  Next month is my turn, have not decided what my block will be...too many to choose from!

This is my third year with friends in a group we call Bee Inspired.  For January, Emily is collecting blocks to make into quilts for Project Linus in her area.  Read here all about the block and if you would like to make one or two or more to send to her, you can! It is a quick, fun block!

We made it to Southern Texas about 9 days ago....finally stopped raining and went to the pool yesterday...yay! 

grace and peace....Sharon