She wrote about how she was housebound taking care of her ill husband. She was not complaining but she wanted to let me know that she did not get out much and hasn't done any traveling for a while. Although she enjoys reading about all the wonderful places that I have recreated with these small blocks that are sometimes vignettes, her travels are limited. So she decided to think about the places she can go and loves. One of her favorite places to visit is her comfy chair. She will head there with a good book for a bit of escape. Another is a view of her majestic oak tree in her yard. This made me think about stopping along the way in my hurried life to breathe in the small pleasures.
We are spending the week at our lake house in the mountains. It is a wonderful place to slow down and take pleasure from the simple things. I wish we got here more often but it always seems like such a chore to pack everything up, including sewing projects and leave regular life behind.
We have a dock that sits right on the water at the edge of our yard. In the morning, I love to go down to the lake and be with the quietude. I have to take a towel with me to wipe the dew off of the chair that has condensed overnight but that is part of the ritual. I sit down with my early morning beverage and my buddy, Bailey, and survey our small piece of happiness. The lake is like a sheet of glass in the early morning and there is no sound except for the occasional splash of a jumping fish. I can't help but think about the majesty of nature and how lucky I am to have this special place in my life.
 |
| I love the blanket stitch. |
 |
| Check out Bailey's 3-D ear and the curly fabric for her fur. |
 |
| There are no rules that say you can't use the wrong side of a fabric. The reverse side has a more weathered look which I thought was better for the dock. |
So, sometimes I think about why I blog. Initially I think it is because I want to share my creations and techniques, but perhaps the interaction with others is really what is more important - how I touch them and they in turn touch me.
So, thank you, my faithful readers for inspiring and sharing bits of your lives with me .
Do you have a special place?
I could tranport myself and enjoy the calm and peace of enjoying such a spot. Thanks for the reminder to step back and enjoy the little things in life.
ReplyDeleteMy back patio overlooking the yard and flower gardens has become my special place. Even more so now with No. 38 gone. And I agree about the blogging. It has become my sounding board, other bloggers have become my friends with like interests and fears. Thank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteCheryl,
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful post. I think many of us wonder why we blog and I have too come down to the same conclusion as you. It is the interaction with people around the world and to get to know them little at a time. To listen to their stories and to share my own. It has been a nice way to connect with quilters.
This block is so personal like all the others you have made. The wrong side worked like magic!
Enjoy your time by the lake!
Sujata
Great block Cheryl, you captured it perfectly! I agree, through blogging I have met so many wonderful people from all over the world. You never know who you may make smile that day!
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head... it is the interaction with other quilters that inspires me to blog! It's nice to show my work and to see theirs, but the blogs that touch me are the ones that go deeper than the current project and touch on the important things in a blogger's life. What they are thinking and feeling and experiencing in life. So many times, it runs along the same lines as what I am thinking/feeling/experiencing, and that is one of the things that makes life SO special :*) Thanks for a wonderful post! And of course the really cute block too! Love the use of the back of the fabric for the weathered look!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post and so true for a lot of us. I don't get to travel to exotic places, but I love seeing your photos and I have learned to appreciate what I have in my own backyard.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
very beautiful thoughts and quilt block....inspiring
ReplyDeleteI just want to say that I enjoy your posts so much Cheryl. I think probably my favorite place is when no one else is home and I am sitting next to an open window and listening to raindrops hit the leaves on the trees.
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple of special places for me, but at this point in my life, I only get to go there in my mind. Oh how I'd love to be able to go to them at will again!
ReplyDeleteLiving in the moment is so important so that we don't miss the journey in getting to the destination. The most important things in life are not quantifiable. Getting to know each other through the blogs, whether writing them or responding to them, is a blessing and has lead me to become friends with others that I might never have known or even had a chance encounter with any other way...and enriches my life. So I understand exactly what you are saying.
A couple of years after I taught myself to quilt, I learned that I paid just as much for the back of my fabric as the front, and sometimes it does the job better. Sometimes you can even use them as compliments with their own fronts! lol I love the chair on the dock!
Bailey looks SEW cute - Your technique of the "weathered" fabric under the chair is wonderful too...
ReplyDelete