Be Still My Heart . . .

 

Mary sent me this beautiful pillow cover for our Valentin Swap. It is absolutely lovely--pieced border, raw-edged applique and a blue bird! It will look great on my cranberry couch, but I think first I will hang it in my office so I can share it with more people (and keep it cat hair free).

She included some fun treats and a great pincushion with a vintage button in the center and an orange crocheted ruffle. This was the best package to open at the end of a long week.

Funny, we both chose birds for our pillows. I don't know that we have the same tastes, but we both seemed comfortable making something we liked. That meant a lot.

 Love Birds

I mentioned before that I felt a little freer to consider a wide range of ideas for this swap. You know I love the swaps, but I admit that lately I've spent too much time worrying about my partner liking what I made. We try to give each other some ideas on likes and dislikes; many of the participants seem young modern and very certain of their tastes. While I LOVE making things for others, planning the possibilities, stalking lurking around their postings, I have begun to experience a certain amount of paralysis. Since I don't care for white sashing, pink fabric, or in some ways a lot of (matchy-matchy) scrappiness, I'm afraid what I would normally make--maybe only 2 or 3 fabrics, certainly "older," (out of style?), not necessarily modern--will disappoint. (These observations are NOT intended as backhanded criticisms of others.)

I haven't quite figured out how to address this. 

Part of the fun for me is figuring out what someone will like. But I also need to use the fabrics that I have in the often less-than-precise style that I have developed. Sometimes I like pretty minimalist pieces, sometimes I like a free-for-all with lots of embellishments. And I like what others send me--because they bothered to make it for me, not because they made something I would make.

So, as in other areas of my life, I am trying to be more of myself in these swaps and on this blog. I'm here because I want to share and because I want to be part of a quilting community. But let's face it: I'm at the end of 40-something, I need to use up the stuff I have (or move to a separate address from my stash), and frankly, I'm tired of exclamation points.

To that end, I will endeavor 

1. to leave comments on the blogs I visit, rather than merely lurk, 
2. to write posts and comments that actually have a little something to say--I'm particularly interested in the technical/creative process, and
3. to be the eclectic, sometimes modern, sometimes wonky, sometimes scrappy, sometimes just plain practical person I am.

Gratitudes
1. Only time stops me from making the things floating around in my head (I'm not bored).
2. The sun is shining today.
3. I have a couple hours to try out somethings for the DQS8.

Enjoy YOUR weekend doing something you love with people you love.