Saturday, April 1, 2017

Quilting Limbo:Finishes, Frolic & Free Thinking




It's been nearly one week since my last post. I've made 2 quilts from scratch, and finished 3 or more UFO's. 







Every day I work at one row of a UFO I despise. 


I've had all my machines serviced, figured out and helped my husband fix a nagging problem with my longarm, which I've swore at countless times...




...and volunteered 8 hours in the quilt room. Besides realizing I'm flat out exhausted, I'm starting to wonder what happened to my life. 

My social life this week has consisted of a wonderful visit from Sandra and family from mmm! Quilts, phone calls and emails mainly from other quilty friends, and quilting related meetings. MQG is tomorrow. It's a 7 hour commitment with travel.

This reminds me of the days when all 5 kids were young, and life revolved around homeschooling, extracurricular, and so on. We homeschooled 17 years so it's survivable, but most of the time I kept thinking I was stretched in every direction. Always switching gears, catching up, sorting out. I dreaded the change of season when they had all grown out of clothes, and we passed down within the family and friends. I remember when one of them would wind up with a whole drawer of jeans or socks, and I'd think they'd never wear so many. I feel that now with quilting. So much fabric has landed in my studio from donations that I feel obliged to make use of. The reality is I could sew for months--maybe years, and never catch up. Where do I dig in and say, "No more. Too much!"

It was only a few months ago when I decided to cull fabric by making charity quilts, but the amount of fabric has actually multiplied. I thought sorting out the fabrics I had no love for would make it easier to figure out if I was actually an art quilter, modern, traditional, contemporary, surface designer, dyer, longarmer, etc. Instead it has stirred the pot, and the soup is thicker than ever! I'm in Quilter's Limbo! 

Now, I have to say it's not a problem I can't shut the door on today, and walk away from. Some days I do, but like all of you I have a serious investment of time and money in this hobby, job--yes, another quandary of titles. But I love what I do, and the mental and emotional benefits out weigh the negatives. As do all the quilts donated to people who actually need them, and have a tangible reminder that someone around the world cares about their needs, too. 

I'll break down some of these projects this week, and give you details that ought to be shared. There were some great discoveries in all that work. I'll be back soon when I've caught up on my rest, and we'll talk some more.

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's go sew.

Linking up with~
Crazy Mom Quilts

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Boy.....did you ever say it right!! My 'limbo' sounds just like your 'limbo'...... I need to live at least to 100 if I am to do justice to all the ufo boxes (labeled!) and use all the stash I have visible and hidden in closets! You make me feel normal. Thanks Julie!!

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

I'm just wondering if you managed to find time to sleep or eat this week. You have a wonderful work ethic and you are obviously thriving on the challenge of it all. How many times do we reach a goal and then, what now? Just enjoy the journey, wherever it takes you, it is as wonderful and as important than your destination.

Stitchin At Home said...

Julie live is too short not to make time for you, don't burn yourself out. Enjoy and have fun doing what you love the rest will fall into place.

helenjean@midgetgemquilts said...

Really all the F's going on there Julie , but the most important is freedom . Freedom to do what you want but also the freedom to say no when it all gets too much . Your fabric sounds like my book pile , no matter how much I read it never lessens . I really admire how you have been making so many charity quilts

Barb Neiwert said...

I'm a Libra, and so balance has become a very important aspect of my life. When things get out of balance, something has to give, and it isn't always in a pretty sight! So my simple advice to you is just to listen to your heart, acknowledge when 'things' get to be too much, pull back, re-evaluate, and then move on. Most of us do this naturally, but there are many times I just need to walk myself through those steps again. And again. And again! Just enjoy the journey!

Kate said...

Sometimes we need a break from even things we love. You've gotten so much done lately. Maybe it's time to do something completely different and cleanse the palette so to speak.

audrey said...

Enjoyed this post so much. Quilter's limbo. Ain't it the truth!