Sew much to do, sew little time

Today is the first in a long time that I have felt “normal.”  I started my usual laundry marathon this morning before leaving for the atelier to think about projects for our upcoming bazaar.  I will be making Advent wreaths, and perhaps some lighted “arrangements” in addition to having my oh-so-cozy hand-tied fleece blankets.  I brought home some 6 inch squares of upholstery fabric I stitched to some cotton fabric to see how it would react to washing.  I am hoping to create some wearable art by combining it with pieces of denim culled from old blue jeans, but it has to be able to withstand being washed, even though I plan to embellish it.  My creative juices are finally flowing again with the realization that I will have to carve out time to get some things done by November 9--the day of our church bazaar.

As my goal for each day is to do a bit of sewing and a bit of writing, I guess I have accomplished that!  Stitching fabric squares to a base may not be much, but it is sewing, and taking even a few moments to write about that accomplishes another goal I would like to achieve each day--writing!

Made a healthy dinner and even baked an apple crisp, most of which I will take to Creative Circle tomorrow morning.  I will be working on a banner for the upcoming bazaar.  I found the letters I printed and cut out a couple years ago but never finished the project.  That saved me some time.  I am using some outdoor fabrics that hopefully will withstand a few years of Anchorage’s fall weather without too much repairable damage.  Everything is set to go, and hopefully tomorrow morning I will make a big dent in the project so I can hang the banner outside the church by this weekend.  I have been going through stuff to donate to the upcoming Knights of Columbus spaghetti dinner and auction. I’m getting to the point where I don’t  have much to offer, but I am having to move the Halloween and Christmas decorations from my former residence (a 6,000 square foot warehouse) and that I don’t want or cannot store a fair amount of them.  Hopefully people will be willing to pay something for brand new decorations and I will have less to try to store.  A win/win for everyone.

Fifth time’s a charm!

While traveling in Ireland recently I had much “bus time” to think about my life journey that had unfolded in such a way that I found myself in this incredible land--the land of many of my ancestors, with a history as rich and deep as ancient Egypt.  I also thought about my future, one that would no longer include the friendship, love, encouragement of my sister-in-law Carol who was as much mother, sister and friend to me as any of those who are related to me in that way.

There are many things in my life which I enjoy, for which I have both aptitude and interest, but none so compelling as sewing and writing.  I have sometimes agonized over the possibility that I might have to choose one over the other.  There is only so much time to accomplish the many tasks necessary to prevent being buried in the laundry and laundry lists of my life, so many hours to devote to both passions and practicalities.

This latest blog (this is my fifth) is my ongoing attempt to find some consistency in pursuing these two passions.  There won’t necessarily be writing ABOUT sewing, so much as writing for writing’s sake.  But then again, who knows.  I have entered a new era in my life, and all that I know is what I love, and I love to sew and to write:  SEW/WRITE!