I Did Finish Somethin in March!

Once again this month has flown by me. I made progress this weekend though... a few little things and one bigger thing.

First, here's a little needle case that kb taught the rug hookers a couple of weekends ago. I did finish it so it counts.


Next, here's a couple little preemie quilts I'll be handing over to the guild to take to Brenner's Children's Hospital.



And finally, I finished the family tree. Not the best photo (it's too early to take my holder up) but you get the idea.

April's going to be my month to finish stuff. I just know it!

A Stellar Day

All the planets were aligned in my little quilting world yesterday at about 1:00.

As I was heading out the door to go to Sew Original in their new digs (which I might add, are fabulous), our new post carrier (who is a fine sample of fabulous himself) handed me my mail.

No bills - a bonus in itself - but a letter from NC Quilt Symposium Inc. letting me know I was selected to be on the Board - something I've wanted to do for years and finally acted on it.

Then as I'm walking to SO's new fabulous shop, my cell phone rings. It's Gina at Chelsee's letting me know she sold two of my quilts yesterday! (Yay!)

I walk into the new fabulous shop, get a tour and then spend the next few hours hearing Alex Anderson tell about her quilter's journey and see her quilts up close and personal.




So, let's recap:

1. It's Friday and I don't have to be at work.
2. The LQS is bigger, better, brighter.
3. My new post carrier is a cutie patootie.
4. Two of my quilts sold at Chelsee's.
5. I got to spend a few hours with a bunch of quilters basking in quiltiness.
6. Leanne and I have a new quilter rock star to add to our walls.

Yep, that's pretty close to perfection.

Putting Things in Perspective

Yeah, Monday was rough. Tuesday was a bit better. And then Wednesday...

I was plodding through Wednesday when one of my partners came by and told me there had been an accident on one of the construction sites.

This particular construction site is a wastewater treatment plant. Without getting into the mumbo-jumbo, we've got a great big hole. 40 feet square by 35 feet deep. You dig the big hole then you build the well (concrete floor, concrete walls). There's scaffolding all around it and a cat walk at the top.

As the guys say - it's big-boy construction. Here's what it looks like.


No freaking way am I getting anywhere near that hole. It's big and deep and scary.

There are guys that do it everyday.

Wednesday one of those guys leaned back and fell off...into the 35 feet deep hole.

He wasn't harnessed - just walking by (like my partner there in the red shirt).

Half way down he hit scaffolding, went through it and landed on the bottom.

How in the world could a man survive that?

He did.

He was airlifted out of the hole and off to Baptist Hospital.

We just knew every bone in his body was broken, every internal organ was damaged.

I went home and for a walk with this stranger on my mind. Who is he? Is he supporting a family? Will he live? If he does, how bad will he be incapacitated?

On the way to work yesterday morning, I spoke with one of the other partners. The construction inspector had called with an update.

Are you ready for this?

I wasn't.

The man is fine.

No broken bones.

No internal organ damage.

A laceration on his head that is not life threatening.

I thought it was a miracle he survived at all. Now this.

I cried all the way to the office. I could barely breathe.

If you don't see the hand of God in this...

Monday, Monday

It's been a rough one.

It started with a rough Sunday evening fighting an ornery quilt that just didn't want to be quilted. It was so bad, the words "I am done with quilting. I don't like it anymore. I quit." actually came out of my mouth...along with some other words that don't really need to be repeated.

Then I went to bed late.

Then I dreamt about quilting those daggone flowers on that quilt.

Then I woke up.

Then it rained...and Shelby got freaked out which meant I really didn't get much sleep...

Until the alarm went off. (Why is that? How is it you can toss and turn all night long, then when the alarm goes off and you hit the snooze button you immediately fall into a deep sleep and it takes a force of nature to wake you up again?)

Then, of course, I overslept..which meant no gym.

I go to work.

Monday.

Monday means meetings from 8:30 on...except today when we have to be on the road at 9:00.

In the morning meeting my boss disappoints me by trying to bail on a commitment he made to me. I don't stand down (and neither does my co-worker who was almost recruited to fulfill the commitment).

This begins a chain reaction of resignation, misinterpreted facial expressions, guilt, and patronization that just irks me. (Not really saying much here. I am, after all, easily irked.)

Then off to the next meeting...which is uneventful.

Then another conference call...where all three of us are on cell phones and one of the guys (the boss already in the dog house) is using a hands-free set that only registers every third or fourth word.

This drives me insane...on this day...it's a short trip.

To end the day, there's a lovely email from a small town manager who is not impressed with my efforts to get his grant paperwork done.

Well, frankly, I don't blame him. I wouldn't be impressed either. I can only juggle 15 balls at a time. His is #16 (behind 13 federal stimulus projects I have going to construction right now plus trying to keep my two business development partners somewhere close to appeased).

But I hate being criticized...especially when I know I'm doing a crappy job of something.

So seeing the email he sent to one of my partners about how he is not impressed pretty much sealed the deal on my Monday.

I go home, curl into a fetal position and whine for a bit.

When I walked into Karen's house tonight for bee, I felt like I was immersed in a black cloud.

I was weary.

It was written all over me.

Mrs. G was concerned. (Actually, she thought she was in my chair because of the look on my face. It was dark and foreboding.)

Two and a half hours later, I had laughed enough to lift the cloud.

THE POINT

All the darkness and disappointment that was my Monday was just part of what I had to do.

It is not who I am.

It's just stuff.

It's just a Monday.

I need to remember that who I am has nothing to do with grant writing or construction projects or meetings or other pouty, unimpressed people...

I just need to remember laughing with my friends.

It'll be all right.

After all...tomorrow is another day...fiddle dee dee.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Karen, Bonnie and I celebrated by the wearin' o' the green and eating at Mooney's, a Mediterranean restaurant near my office.

Mediterranean? On St. Pat's Day?

Why not?

We matched their walls!




(Besides...we knew Finnegan's Wake and Celtic Cafe would be standing room only.)

Quilters Are...

Procrastinators (or as I like to think of it...busy)

Our local guild quilt show is coming up and like, in so many years past, I am the registrar for the show. The deadline to get entry forms to me is tomorrow.

For weeks my mail box has been fairly empty.

Today it was slam full...

...not to mention the multiple envelopes stuck in my storm door (as well of taped to it which made me smile hugely - knowing the wonderful woman that did that and not at all surprised that she had scotch tape on her person when she climbed my front steps. She is, after all, prepared for whatever the world brings her.)

Resourceful (as in using the tools they have on hand)

I received two entry forms today from a quilter who used quilting pins to pin her quilt photos to her entry forms. I love this woman also for she makes me smile when I see her (and now when I see her pins - she makes me giggle).

Did she have no staples? I prefer to think of it as an Statement of Being.

Artists

I received two entry forms this weekend from a quilter who informed me she has no access to a camera or photographer and therefore, cannot send photos of her entries...

...so she drew them for me...very nicely, I might add...and I will recognize them for one is in the Miscellaneous category and will be, most likely, the first bra ever entered in our show. I cannot wait to see it.

Friendly

I have received the sweetest notes from quilters that I do not even really know. Our guild is large and sometimes I am in stealth mode if I made it at all to the quilt meetings. It doesn't matter if they know me or not. They send me thank you notes and "hi!" notes and "let me explaining this wacky thing" notes and "I don't know, what do you think" notes. It's kind of like getting Valentines...or fan mail...I can't make up my mind which fantasy world I want to live in today.


Inspiring

After typing in all these entries and looking at all the photos (and sketches) and reading all the stories from these quilters about why they made this quilt and what inspired them...do you think I really want to go to work in the morning or play hooky and stay home and quilt?

Heck, do you think I even want to go to bed tonight or just stay up all night and quilt?

Yep. Me too. I can barely stand it.

It's going to be a wonderful quilt show.

Finally! A Beautiful Day

I had been looking forward to yesterday all week. It was a free Sunday afternoon with no travel plans. It was supposed to be a beautiful day. I HAD to get outside. Luckily I wasn't the only one. Nane planned an afternoon hike for us at Stone Mountain. It was glorious.

We walked up to Cedar Rock which overlooks Stone Mountain.


Then we walked back down a different trail and over to the base of the Stone Mountain waterfall.


There's an old homestead at the base of Stone Mountain that the park system has restored. It makes you wonder about what it was like to live here way back then.


On our way out of the park, we saw herds of deer. A few of them are overly brave and will walk right up to the cars hoping for a handout.

Afterward, we went back to Go Postal's cabin (which I covet with all my heart) where Nane had a crock pot full of turkey chili waiting on us for dinner.

It was a great day. Now I'm yearning for spring even more than before and can't wait until our next outing.

Quilty Paradise

That's where I've been for the past several days (with just enough work scattered in there to keep me grounded in reality). Last Friday we took off for the annual trek to Hampton, Va for Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. It is always a big time, not just because of the quilts and shopping but because we get to reunite with far-flung quilt buddies.

Nane and I were roommates this time though we didn't spend a lot of time in our room - too bad because it was a really cool corner room. The winner of best room this year was Laura. She ended up in the Hospitality Suite! I swear it was bigger than my house!

We had show and tell there Friday and Saturday nights and everyone had a chair. We are forever spoiled.



Here are a few of my favorite quilts from the show.











We came home Sunday and rested up. Monday night was a joint guild meeting (Forsyth and Heart of the Triad) with John Flynn as the speaker. Lots of husbands were coerced into going to the program (coerced via the promise of lots of cookies) including my husband. They all seemed to thoroughly enjoy John. He is hysterical, by the way, in that dry, witty, engineer kind of way. I loved every minute of the program.


Then, today I took the day off to take his Storm at Sea class.



Learning how to get that perfect 1/4" seam and how to properly pin those points was worth the price of admission. Check out those points!


AND... as if that wasn't enough, Nane and I accompanied John to dinner at Salem Tavern. (yes, that's snow...again.)




Unfortunately, now I have to get back to the real world but it's been a nice few days in my little quilty world.