Not just another bag ~ lady

Yes, as I face up to myself....I'm a bag lady and am really, really liking this bag - Anna Graham's  'Gatherer' crossover-the-body bag.  And, yes, there is a free pattern to download.  What's not to love about Anna Graham and Robert Kaufman fabrics!   

Have I been loving you too long ~

I found this post from 2016 and decided to bring it forward to current date, thinking the thought process is  relevant to just about any situation or relationship, especially as it relates to getting in and out of organized groups to which one might be a member.  When groups or their dynamics change (as they tend to to), do we continue to be in love with the group?  If not, should we rethink the possibilities?   Admitting that love is no longer there, allowing  the group to move on without you, would be more beneficial to all before dissatisfaction and hate-mongering  becomes the mindset and the norm. 



From October 7,  2016
Oh, yes!  It's beginning to be a love/hate relationship with these damn flying geese.  What started out to be fun is now getting me to the point of asking self "are we having fun - yet??" 

It's not that I don't love paper-pieced flying geese....and it's not that I don't love seeing a work-in-progress pinned to the design wall, it's just that I've been distracted by other fun - traveling to quilt shows and lunches with friends and participating in quilt guild programs.  It's that time of year to enjoy it all.

There you have it,  my flying geese have been languishing on the wall and has me wondering how high must I fly to fall back in love.

It has me telling myself that it's only a quilt top and I don't have to marry it.  I read practically every day where relationships end for one reason or another and there should be no shame in ending one  that isn't making the grade.

It's already mid-morning and the question all morning has been, "Is today the day to finish with this love affair? "


























Perhaps today is the day to pack it up and and move on! 

 

It's a Cargo Duffle Bag

What can I say....except to say that it's just one more cargo duffle bag....an Anna Graham (Noodlehead) design.  Need I say that she's my favorite bag lady!   This is  my fifth but not destined to be the last.  Such a fun bag to make -  not too complicated and not too bulky to stitch through the layers on my Juki.  It's one of those make-in-a-day bags, assuming you have the day set aside. 

Here's cargo duffle # 3

and cargo duffle #2....the one I use most of the time.  

pssssssssst.....I still wear those yoga pants but the shoes have worn out!

The Common Thread ~

The common thread - that which holds together - the glue.  Obviously, in a book club, the glue is books, reading, word power,  knowledge.

The common thread in a garden club, motorcycle club, vintage car club, photography club?  The answers are obvious.  So it is in quilting groups....the obvious.  The common thread is enjoying the art of quilting and being with like minds who want to share the joy.

The structure of  a quilting group is usually the main....the guild.  Then, based on common interests....hand quilting or applique, machine quilting and so on, the guild members gravitate into and form smaller sub-groups....the Bees.  It's within the Bee groups where quilting is the predominant focus.    It's the place for fun, relaxation and fellowship and where the more intimate friendships are cultivated.  It's also the place where solving life problems is likely to be happening.

The main group, The Guild, by nature has to focus on business and  needs structure, i.e. the governing body, the rules.  But what is happening in a group to which I belong is that the integrity of the body is being questioned.  Questions are being asked as to why the rules and why so much accountability and why are there no quilting activities.

I must admit that I, too, have thought at times that the group could be run in a better way or that changes could solve some problems.   From my perspective, leadership was lacking, meetings had no order, money was being spent without obvious control. Members had questions that no one would or could answer.  Members had suggestions that weren't being considered.   To sum it up - there was turmoil, stress and strife.    I was grumbling silently and out loud about this and that.  Certainly not helping anything or anybody.

My grumbling had to stop!  I'm a straight forward person, an open book.   You might call me a shoot-from-the-hip-type of person  (when it comes to making an obvious decision).   I had  a choice....either stay in or get out.   I opted to stay in....stay in and get involved.  My first overt action was to volunteer....to learn more about functions within the group.  I volunteered to become a group officer so I could go to business meetings and be a part of changing the group into one that is more transparent and more receptive.   In the past year, the bylaws, policy and procedures have been re-evaluated and changed to strengthen,  clarify or even do away with some parts of the structure.  Order is now being maintained in business meetings as well as open group sessions.  Everyone who wants to speak has an opportunity, but in an orderly fashion. Meetings have a structure, an agenda.    Group decisions are only made after healthy discussions.  Money is accounted for (a rule) and everyone has a voice.    To sum it up: chaos has been turned into order.

Look me directly in the eye and tell me you've done all you can
 to help
solve your problem! 

Yes, some members are now saying there are too many rules.  I laugh out loud when I say thank goodness for stop signs at road intersections and fences around pools.  Thank goodness for meals served at breakfast time, lunch time and supper time and thank goodness for the watch on my wrist so I can be at the table on time to stop my grumbling. 





TTFN as I continue to keep my sense of humor!

Just saying - Marty

When life gets exciting ~

I've been waiting.....and waiting  for life to get exciting.  Waiting for life to give me something to write about.  It hasn't happened yet and I'm getting into my third quarter.  So this morning, I took control and will make my life exciting for me.

I've been in this house (and garden) for almost thirty years and have spent the better part of those years adding on to my lush landscape.  Beds and borders filled to the brim with flora and fauna have given me immense pleasure - until age began to creep into my weary bones.

The HuMan and I decided a few weeks ago to take out another flower bed.....the one we call the long bed because that's what the man who put in our sprinkler system 20 years ago called it!  Made sense to me at the time, and still does.  When I was out there pulling weeds, pruning shrubbery, adding mulch, spraying for bugs.....pulling weeds, pruning - well, that bed got longer and longer with each passing year.

picture this work in progress....heavy equipment required

So, here's the long (and shorter) of it all.  The long bed that ran the entire side of our property, separating us from the neighbor,  is now being shortened.  We are leaving a smidge of it along the fence line, but the rest is going, going, gone.  Where once was a hundred or more azaleas and a few ornamental trees, is now grass.

We hire out the grass cutting.....and I continue to make quilts....inside.

It was in Quilt Mania edition that I saw the quilt pictured - Simply Moderne #14.....a simply modern magazine that as far as I can  determine has no date!     Tufted , a wonderful scrap buster designed and quilted by Blair Stocker of WiseCraft Handmade.  Blair's background was in a grey solid....but, I didn't have a grey, so harvest gold became the fabric of my choice.

Tufted with no mowing required ~

A breakfast table filled with golden cheer to give my mood a jump start before the sun comes up.