"Growing Slow"

 

That's the title of a book I got recently, through our library system.  It's full title is Growing Slow: Lessons on Un-hurrying Your Heart from an Accidental Farm Girl -- and it was published in 2021 by Zondervan Books.  It has a Christian approach to the subject, which may not suit everyone, but the main body of the work is speaking to me.

It's not the only thing, though.  

In Lacombe yesterday, I went to the opening day of the two-day Encore! Art Show and Sale -- the one for which I was Featured Artist last year.  My friend, painter Marlene Kallstrom-Barritt is in that spot this year, and was speaking at 2 p.m.; I wanted to catch her Artist's Talk.  She'd told me some months ago that she was asked to be the Featured Artist for 2024, she was in an artistic slump, but accepted the honour anyway and set to work re-energizing herself, taking time to simply play with paint and other media, to see what would come of it.  In her Talk, she spoke about the evolution of her work and how she came to try new things -- from looking quietly and closely to the little things around her, things we all see every day.

Before going to the Show, I'd stopped for groceries, and on my way out of the store, picked up a copy of this week's Lacombe Express.  Leafing through it later at home, I came to an editorial article by Kevin Sabo of Black Press Media.  The title? "Sometimes pushing forward means pulling back".  Using the analogy of a bow and arrow, he wrote that often pulling back creates energy to propel something -- or someone -- forward.  He'd had personal experience with burn-out from his early profession, and from 'workaholism', and knows whereof he writes.

Well, Gentle Readers, I don't know about you, but in my experience, when events or 'messages' come in threes, I tend to sit up and pay attention.

A couple of days after my last post, having requested Growing Slow from the library, I made two decisions: first, to not renew my SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) membership this year; and second, to take six weeks away from church.

Huh?  Church?  Yes.  I've been in that little parish for almost 16 years now.  I've seen one priest retire and another come -- but shared with another parish, meaning lay people having to take services twice a month.  I've seen the congregation broad-sided by illness, age, infirmity and a pandemic (including those leaving because the church was closed for "too long", and the requirements to return to worship in person were "too stringent").  

I've got three roles in the parish now: Lay Minister, Donations Secretary (tracking donations and preparing tax receipts) and...music.  We've two very-very-part-time musicians -- a pianist and an organist (haven't had a choir since before my time there).  One of those dear souls has moved farther from the location of the parish, meaning a longer drive to get to us, and the other has been off sick for six months -- and is only now able to return...but not sure when.

So...going to church has become, for me, a 'job'.  Showing up to worship on Sundays has become 'showing up to work' -- to facilitate music by plunking out a few bars on the piano (my abilties are very limited as I don't have a piano or keyboard any more, and I've never developed the skill required to accompany singing).  I do most of my leading with my voice, which, thankfully, hasn't been altered much by age (yet).

It all got to be just "too much of a muchness", as my mother used to say.

So...I'm about to have my second Sunday "off", at the end of my first week "off".  

And I'm already seeing a difference.  I'm feeling less 'wired'.  I'm feeling less call to 'numb' myself with a stiff drink (or two) before dinner (or any time).  I'm making what I want when I want.  I'm enjoying my yard and garden (when Mother Nature permits).  

And my skin is healing.  The rash is fading (with the added help of prescribed cream and lots of lotion).  It's still present but oh! So much less irritating and in some spots, less visible.

I've finished the mittens I started for my neighbour, who'd helped me with some home repairs:

Pattern: "The World's Simplest Mittens"
Designer: Tin Can Knits (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Schoeller & Stahl Limbo Mexiko
super-wash wool in the "Mango" colour-way

I put together my postage-stamp blocks to make a throw quilt for a newlywed couple of my acquaintance who lost their home last weekend in a fire (related, I think, to nearby wild-fires in northern Alberta, where that home was):

As for the "Four-patch Fun" blocks I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I now have 84 of them done:

And a whole lot of 2" squares ready to put into more blocks.  

I figure I'll need at least 100 to to make a large enough throw.  I'm not sure if I'll sash them or simply add borders.

Once that second top is done, I'll quilt them up and send them off to the couple, along with a couple of smaller, funkier quilts they can use for their two dogs, whom they managed to save from the fire.

The first border -- grey -- on my hap is deeper; only two more rows and I get to switch colours!

And as for my little piece from Modern Folk Embroidery, for the #JacobSleeperSAL -- well...it'll be finished later today:

That sentiment speaks to me too.  By deciding to pull back, to "grow slow", to take more naps, to resist FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) by following my own creative path and watching less of what other's are doing (or buying), stepping away from social media that would tempt me to push past the mental and physical exhaustion I've been feeling, taking more naps, listening to quiet music more than listening to the news...

I've decided to light my own single candle, rather than "curse the darkness".

So, Gentle Readers, if you've read this far, thank you for your patience, your support and  your continued readership.  As usual, I'm leaving you with a link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  This week she asks the musical question, "What rotary cutter are you using now, and why?"  (Mine's a thirty-year-old Olfa that I simply love.)

And until we meet again, may you be safe, well, and walking comfortably along your own path.  A bientot!

It's a WIPGO Weekend PUSH!

 I can't believe it's almost been a month since my last post.  That Polar Vortex is long gone -- and we've had wintry but moderate temps since then, thank goodness!  I've just gotten into a great daily routine, and while I've taken photos along the way and often thought of posting, well, I wasn't always sure I had enough to say!

Let's begin with a bit of a catch-up on the Art Quilt front, okay?  

In my last post, I mentioned that I was taking 3 art pieces in to the Viewpoint Gallery in Red Deer, well in advance of the hanging of the up-coming exhibit, "Craft & Care"  -- and that's now 'mission accomplished'.  That said, while the Vortex had left us, the streets in Red Deer were so slick -- especially at those intersections conveniently placed at the bottom of a hill just past a curve -- well, let's just say that while I arrived safely at my destination, I did so with several more grey hairs! 😆

(Photo above: "Frayed" (2020) -- one of three of my pieces that will be in that exhibit.)

The installation of the exhibit is scheduled for next week -- Feb. 15 -- and I only hope the weather will be good enough (and the roads dry enough!) for me to go and help out.  Aside from helping, it'll be an opportunity to meet the other artists in the exhibit.  I've met a couple of them, but there are at least eight others I don't know at all.)  Stay tuned for info about the opening, etc.!

I've also managed to make a wee piece of Original Art -- my first in several months.  The SAQA Conference is coming up, and every year they hold a fund-raising auction -- sometimes only online and sometimes in person as well: the SAQA Spotlight Auction.  This year the conference is online, highlighting the Europe & Middle East Region -- from April 12-20.  The Auction will be online during the conference.  Right now, members are frantically making their pieces (only one per member!) to get them in before the March 1 deadline.

I confess I wasn't sure I had anything to offer this year -- my artistic mojo was at an all-time LOW -- but inspiration struck and here's the little piece I submitted last week (I know, eh?!  Well ahead of deadline!)

"Ring Around the Moon" - 2024
6" x 8" - will be matted by SAQA
with a 1/2" x 6 1/2" opening
Commercial fabrics, fused applique,
thread painting, fabric painting

I wasn't sure of its quality but have been reassured by the positive response from my colleagues on Facebook.  Phew!

Now then...what's all this about a WIPGO Weekend PUSH?!

I belong to two cross-stitch-related Facebook Groups: "WIPGO2024" and "Alberta Cross Stitchers".  The former was created by the wonderful young stitcher, Jessie Marie of "Jessie Marie Does Stuff" fame on YouTube, and the creator of the "WIPGO" game -- modelled after BINGO -- designed for stitchers, but adapted in various ways, shapes and forms by makers of all stripes and genres.   I talked about it at length in an earlier post, which you can see HERE.

First, to WIPGO:

For every month, Jessie Marie has assigned a "WIPGO Weekend" -- and Feb. 9-11, 2024 is this month's event.  It's on in the FB group and it's a weekend to inspire participants to work on the called-for blocks for the particular month -- or whatever else you want!  Just plan some crafting time, folks!

The February "calls" were #3 and #24.  For me, #3 meant "MFE" (Modern Folk Embroidery) and  #24 meant "Newest Knitting WIP" -- the socks I cast on Jan. 14 for my daughter -- her choice for her January birthday.

As of yesterday, I'd finished my assigned "calls" -- 7 'days' (meaning anything from 15 minutes to several hours' work) on each.  

My "MFE" piece was my attempt at the Evertotes Holiday Countdown 2022 -- pattern only.  I decided to do a deep stash dive for thread and fabric, and do the pattern in a single colour.

Here's were I left it in 2022:

LOL!  Not really.  I did have some of it started, but I never took a photo.  Go figure!

Anyway, here's where it was as of the "7th day" on my WIPGO "call":

I'm doing this on a mystery fabric that feels like it's a wool-linen blend, about 28 count, and rather slubby.  I'm using 1 strand of Waterlilies by Caron, colour 078 - "Pearl", over 2 fabric threads.  Because it's a mystery, there are gaps here and there -- you can see some spaces in the 2nd and 3rd bands (above) -- that will be filled in.  It's a Frisian band sampler done in two side-by-side sections, and I'm currently working on the first section.  It was meant to be done in several colours but I chose to use what I had and go monochromatic.  You can purchase the pattern here, though...and create your own.  No longer a mystery, but just as lovely!

As for those socks -- the first one is finished and the second one is past the cuff and onto the leg pattern:

Pattern: "Vestigial" 
Designer:Beata Jezek 
Yarn: Pro Lana Golden Socks 4-fach
Colour-way:"Fashion R"

Now to the Weekend PUSH!

Alberta Cross-stitchers is a Facebook Group of stitchers in Alberta, Canada (where I live).  We share what we're stitching, and our finishes and new starts.  We share resources and help newbies learn the craft.  Every once in a awhile the Moderator calls for a Weekend PUSH.  This means you decide to work on one piece (at least) and PUSH towards a finish (not required) by the end of the weekend.

Having finished my WIPGO2024 assignments, then, I've decided on a single item for both the WIPGO Weekend and the Alberta Weekend PUSH: the lovely sampler I started for my birthday last fall: "Memories of the Past" from Hands Across the Sea.  Here's the only photo I have -- of my very earliest progress:

I've done more since then, but never took a photo, and am not going to bother now.  That will make whatever progress I have to show for this weekend look exceptional! LOL!

And yes, of course, since my last post there's been knitting and quilting.

1. I finished my friend's "Woodpile Socks", mailed them off and she's thrilled:

2. I finished the little top for my friends' granddaughter:

Pattern: Wee Lima 
Designer: Taiga Hilliard
Yarn: Berroco Vintage - Colour 5181 - "Black Cherry"

3. I quilted up the one baby quilt top I had for her new baby sister:

Pattern: "Chandelier"
Designer: Vanessa Goertzen

4. And this week I've been working on a couple of patterns from the latest issue of "QuiltMaker", which I found at my "local" (43 km away) drugstore's magazine rack (thank you Rexall of Lacombe, Alberta!)

In this issue I found 3 patterns I want to work on.  First up is the "Scrappy Starburst" pattern because -- lo and behold! -- its centre block was straight out of all those 'postage stamp' blocks I've been making (at last count I had 83!!)  Sure...the pattern used 2 1/2" squares and mine were made of 2" x 7" strips sewn together and cross-cut, but what did I have to lose?  I mean, I could adjust the sizes, and wasn't it all about using stash and keeping it out of the landfill?  

Here's what the first few units looked like on my off-the-wall design board:

Next, there were 4 smaller corner units created, and all were assembled together with grey sashing (polycotton, of which I had an abundance inherited from an elderly friend's estate).  This was followed by borders of 2" squares -- barely made a dent in my supply, but...

Yes, after this photo, another patchwork border was added!

Then I added plain blue borders -- more of my inherited polycotton.  The day was sunny so I took the photo out on my back stoop:

The pattern calls for yet another border -- a combination of rectangles and two-patches.  But not likely today or tomorrow -- I've got other fish to fry!

The second pattern is from Bonnie Hunter's regular "Addicted to Scraps" column in the same magazine.  It's called "Four-Patch Fun" and will (I hope!) use up more of those 2" squares plus some 2" x 3 1/2" rectangles  So far I've made only four, shown here on my ironing board:

The corners of each block are supposed to be...um...unified -- like the green one on the right -- but I'm working with what I have, so mine will usually have a scrappier look!

That's all the news that's fit to print for this post, Gentle Readers.  Once again, thanks for following along when so many others are opting for Instagram's quick visuals, and other ways to share our creativity.  

I'll leave you, as usual, with a link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday. This week she and her hubby are planning a holiday at a 'folk school', where she's taking a class in improv piecing.  Not being anywhere near such a place in Canada, I've been thankful for SAQA's annual "Seminar" series -- because this week I watched videos from Jean Wells, Sherry Lynn Wood and one of my faves -- Joe Cunningham -- on their respective improvisational techniques, all while I was cutting and piecing in the comfort of my own studio!

You have to be a SAQA member to participate in the Seminar series -- which is all online -- but it (among other benefits) is one of my favourite reasons why I've been one since 2008 -- 16 years this May!

Speaking of anniversaries -- well -- a few days ago this very blog and I marked 21 years together.  As my kids would say, "Now it's Legal Everywhere".  Time for a toast!

Until we meet again, friends, may you be warm (or cool), well, safe and creative.  A bientot!