i have to say...

sometimes happiness can be found under a tree whose blossoms smell like honey

we have a guest: jennifer @ that girl, that quilt

I am so happy to welcome Jennifer from That Girl, That Quilt to my blog today!  Through blogging I have gotten to know her as a sweet, kind, creative quilter who inspires me regularly.  Todays' post is called Minding Your P{oints} & Q{uilts} and I must say I LOVE that title.  So creative! 

I will hand things over to Jennifer now:

I'm so happy to be here today!  When Randi asked me to guest blog I was super excited because I love to write almost as much as I love to quilt.  And then I read that she wanted me to share a little more about quilting manners {gulp}.  Now I'm not one to shy away from my own opinions but do remember that they are just that... my opinions.

  When I blogged about the exclusivity that happens within quilting groups a month ago, I received twice as many emails than comments about the subject.  Many were supportive emails but many more were heartbreaking personal experiences that quilters have had when attempting to share, gift and even donate their work.  With each story I grew more and more sad for those who love a craft but then that love is damaged by others who take it upon themselves to police a hobby.

Now I'm passionate about quilting but I am even more passionate about including anyone who wants to quilt.  We are all different and we all have different strengths and weaknesses.  We ALL have weaknesses.  So when I hear someone worried about participating in a swap or a quilting bee because they aren't sure if their work is up to standard, I have to wonder just who is setting this standard. 

 The simple answer is that we are.

 How is that, you ask?  It's the little things... churning out "perfect" quilt after "perfect" quilt on a blog... taking pictures that show the most flattering aspects of a quilt... discussing colors that are "in" versus those that are "out".  No big deal, right?

But then we digress into picking apart a style.  Modern vs. traditional... wonky vs. straight... Civil War reproductions vs. modern solids... hand quilting vs. machine quilting... dumbing down quilting.  Can you see where I'm going?  Yeah...  and it's still probably no big deal until it gets personal. 

 Personal as in being flip about receiving a bee block that isn't "quality"... 

 Personal as in being ungrateful about a swap you received... 

 Personal as in being picky about quilts being donated to charity... 

 Personal as in terming someone's hard work as "dumbed down"...

 All of these things happen and it's terribly sad. Especially when it happens to a newer quilter {or any quilter for that matter} and it destroys their passion for the art of quilting because they are too afraid to branch out again.

 There is just no room for exclusivity or outright meanness when it comes to quilting.  Why should there be an "in crowd", a group of superstar bloggers, a charity group that is better than another, an exclusive swap group?  Yes, each group has their right to exist but that doesn't make it right.  Can you imagine that there are actually quilters intimidated when participating in a swap?  It happens.  Or afraid to sign up for a bee?  That happens too.

 Now is every swap item or bee block perfect?  Nope.  Is every quilt you see blogged about without flaw?  Do we fall in love with every quilt we look at?  Nope and nope.  But sometimes we forget who made the items.

 A busy mom with little ones underfoot... a working mom with limited time between her job, family and friends... a mom up half the night with a sick kid... someone frazzled and weary that uses quilting as a therapeutic escape from their everyday stresses.  These are the kind of people who make quilts. 

 So before we judge, we would be wise to remember that there is a feeling person standing behind their work hoping that it's good enough to withstand the critique of a guild, a blogger, or a fellow quilter. 

  And don't you remember when you were a beginner?  I sure do and it wasn't pretty!  But I would have never improved if I hadn't tried new things and failed.  I also would have never improved if I hadn't had some encouragement along the way.  My very first quilt along was here with Randi.  And guess who taught me how to free motion quilt?  Randi. :) 

 It's bloggers like her that make me proud to be a part of such a vibrant community of crafters.  And if you have happened to run into a quilting meanie; try not to let it get to you too much.  We can never be all things to all people even when it comes to a hobby.  So keep doing your thing that makes you happy, associate yourself with kind quilters who will help you grow, and don't succumb to the pressure to be anything that you are not. 

 Thanks for having me here to share today, Randi!

 Jennifer :)

Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your thoughts here on my blog!

And, as always, please leave comments for Jennifer here in this post.

***Since this month's guest post is late I will be skipping May's post.  The next guest post will be in June.

getting where i want to be

It may be spring in the air, but my desire to organize is high.  Not only to organize my surroundings, but also my life, my goals and my heart.  It's cleaning time!

So much of my problem comes from having no plan.  Too much of my time is aimless, and I am so easily distracted.  Sometimes I think of myself as a procrastinator, but it's more of a wandering waywardness that grips me.

I have bought a couple of new things to help me to head where I want to be: a dry-erase board, a timer and Organized Simplicity.

The dry-erase board is my place to write it all down.  It is hung where I can see it everytime I come downstairs to my shop.  My shop--where the computer resides--is a huge time waster for me.  Have you ever noticed that what seems like 15 minutes on the computer is actually 30-45 minutes?  It's too easy to get caught up in blog and website hopping.  My board will be my guide to accomplishing more.  What's written on it is what I will do.  Lists lead me.  When something is jogging around in my head, it stays there.  Write it down, it gets done.

The timer is going to help with the computer time waste.  When I am done working I will set it for a reasonable amount of "downtime" and I will walk away when it buzzes.  This is going to take some self-control on my part, but I hope it becomes habit after a while.  They say it takes 3 weeks for a habit to become your normal mode.....let's see....:)

Organized Simplicity's tagline is The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living.  Right now my life feels a bit stagnant and unmoving.  Not bad as in depression, but rather wayward.  I want more.  I want closer relationships with my kids, more time with friends, better creative time, time to give some of myself to others who need it and a more consistent quiet time in my Bible.  Really, the Bible goal comes first and it informs the other items on the list.  I need to start from square one, right?

Time is a commidity that you can never buy more of.  Sure wish that was different!  I have 24 hours to do the things that are important and necessary, and all I have to do is stop wasting hours and minutes.  Not an easy goal, but a do-able one.

I can do this.

What about you?  What are your time wasters?  How do you tackle them?

***Tomorrow's Recipe Box Swap is Main Dishes.  Hope you join in the fun!

fresh start

I just love a new year!

It seems clean and full of promise. New opportunities and goals to pursue.

A chance to be a better person.

2010 started out quite rough.  Last January I started going to a counselor, which, at the time, seemed like a huge failure.  During my first appoinment I cried all through the process of filling out my paperwork, simply because I couldn't believe that I had to be there. 

Since then I have made many changes in the way I do things and deal with people.  I feel like I have developed emotional and spiritual muscles.  God has truly been with me every step of the way.

Now I see counseling as a sign of strength.  It takes a strong person to say that they need some help. 

I needed someone to listen to the struggles I was having and help me to see a new side of them.  A new angle.

That is always good.

It is too easy to get stuck in our own way of thinking and viewing life.

The biggest lessons I have learned are that I can speak up, I can feel confident in my own opinions, and that I don't have to let people walk all over me.  At the same time I can trust people and engage in healthy relationships.

I CAN FEEL CONFIDENT IN BEING WHO GOD MADE ME.  NO NEED TO BE WHO PEOPLE EXPECT ME TO BE.

Those are some freeing lessons to learn.

And that makes me excited for 2011.

The foot that I am starting this year on feels sure.  Confident.  Hopeful.

I know that my God is always with me.  Never-changing.  Always lighting my path.

A fresh start.

Always a good thing!

learning new things

I don't know if you have noticed, but my attempts at making a new banner have not been successful. Last time I did it, I must have lucked out because I was able to make a mosaic with it being blurry.  Not this time.

Boo-hoo!

Now I am kind of stuck with the above flower picture, which is not my favorite, but it is gonna have to do for now.  I don't actually hate it, but I don't love it.  Seems kind of plain to me.

Moving on.....

Lately I am learning so many new things--gasp--and it's wearing me out.  My photography class, a new website for my shop (yeah!), and trying to use Photoshop (not with much success).  Oh boy!

I am not complaining at all, but I do feel a little stuck in all of these areas.  The one thing that I do know is that new skills are just around the corner for me.  One of these days, it is gonna "click".

The apple picture in this post is shot in manual mode, which is a huge step for me.  The shutter/aperature thing is starting to come together in my mind and it's getting a bit easier to choose which one to start with for my photographs.  Sheesh, I am even metering.  Metering!

This reminds me that my photography teacher is 71 years old and she has more spunk and energy than most people my age.  She is truly an inspiration.

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty."  ~Henry Ford

So, what about you? What new skills are you learning?  What would you like to learn if you had the time?