Covered Porches and Wooden Screen Doors

I’m a little sleepy. I get up at 4:30 am every morning for work. I have to be there for 6:00 am. Well, I don’t have to be… but I leave usually around 3:00 pm and do the “Mommy” thing. And I guess that excuse is wearing a little thin. I used to do that, but with my kids being 16 and 18, they pretty much do their ‘own’ thing. I still hang onto to that thought because I think you can still have a life after 3:00 pm. I run errands, a little housework, catch up on the mail, cook supper. In the U.P., the hours of daylight really make the days seem longer. It’s still ‘dusky’ at 8:45 pm. In contrast, in the winter it’s dark at 4:30 pm. The long days of light are what my Dad always said is God’s way of giving us some sort of a growing season. You just don’t get so tired with the daylight.


I took a picture of my tulip table runner. There’s always a quilt on the kitchen table at our house. Even the kids realize it. My daughter will ask where one is if it’s missing. She says the table is naked without it. See--- I have them hooked and they don’t even know it. This quilt was done with my 2nd and last attempt at paper piecing. I’m going to say it’s a primitive design just to justify what I think was really bad sewing. No two tulips were alike. It was made several years ago, juggling a life that was too busy. I would try to do too much, too fast, just to check things off the list. Consequently, I was never really good at anything.

I woke up one day, told myself to focus on what mattered. They say ‘You always have time for the things you put first’. I got my priorities straight and found that I may not get EVERYTHING I want done, but the things I do get done leave me feeling way more accomplished.

And it’s not about “cranking out” quilts. It’s about enjoying the fabric, the challenge of putting the puzzle together, it’s about bringing the piece to life with the quilting, and looking back on the finished product and feeling good—not stressed over the labor involved.

At this point in my life--- quilting is definitely an exercise in learning patience…..

Until tomorrow---