Karen writes about life as a Quiltmaker in Austin, Texas; surviving in an empty nest, marriage, cooking, gardening and (did I say?) Quilting...

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Workin' for a Living'...

First apologies to any single (and it must be single) reader that may be waiting oh-so-patiently for another post from this writer about Quilting, Life and such...

It has been way too long. Please accept my apologies for the almost unforgiveable 6 month lapse.

Let me reassure you that life, and quilting continue to go on, perhaps at a greater pace than ever before!  I must add too that "work"... I speak now of that "work" that we must all do to provide the means to quilting, pay the rent, fill up the tank - the work that may or may not be our greatest pride, or something that we wake up anxious to do each day... has taken a new turn for me.

In the past work was, well a bit too important part of my life. It was, well, almost a reason for being, something I looked forward to as, well my raison d'etre - that which defined my relative success, well being, and well, just darned important to my good spirits.

That changed fairly recently. Due to circumstances somewhat (though not totally) beyond my control, my work a day has become, well, just a work-a-day... something I will likely continue to do because I must, not because I WANT too.....What a difference a day makes.

But, be that as it may, I will try to focus on my quilting, and life... work, well, it just has to be - otherwise, we don't eat - or at least not well!

So what's on the sewing machine?  A "show" quilts - finishing up a quilt top that was, actually the first work I put together in Houston after I began re-discovering my sewing roots. A 1930's Sunflower quilt, I found the pattern in one of my earliest books acquired as I began to research quilting patterns. Called "Sunflower" it's  a variation of the old Dresden Plate Pattern...

With the deadline approaching for the September AAQG quilt show, I was growing a bit desperate - none of my recent UFO's (unfinished projects) really seemed appropriate for a "Wildflower" themed show entry... I turned to some older works and was rewarded with an almost forgotten "Sunflower".


Adding some "Blanket Stitching" to the top - then on to the quilting....This one's for me....