Be*mused

Janice, not to worry!

****Recently I found myself speaking with someone in India (or thereabouts) regarding a computer issue. I consider such interactions comparable to a trip to the dentist's, but everything was resolved quickly and smoothly and my contact couldn't have been more helpful. Several times while unraveling my problem, he reassured me..."Janice, not to worry!"

So what have I been up to during my longer-than-expected absence? Oh, lots of this & that. Having some painting done here at the house, trying to make it look more like our place than the previous owners', especially with Molly's wedding coming up in July. She was just here at the end of her US business trip for a solid week of mostly wedding planning ~ meetings with the florist, bakery, reception venue, rehearsal dinner location, hairdresser and bridal shop alteration person in addition to assembling invitations and numerous side trips and shopping excursions. Ten more weeks. Nine really, because I'll have a houseful the week before. That's the countdown that's ticking in my head.

There's been lots of sewing. I'll share some soon. But mostly I've been making lists. Crossing things off lists. Adding things to them. Trying to think of things that I may be forgetting.

Look what arrived yesterday, Gwen Marston's new Liberated Medallion Quilts. Just what I needed last night as I plopped myself in my chair for the evening. It's chock full of wonderful quilts and has prompted so many ideas...probably not what I need, more ideas. Sometimes that's more of a problem than a dry well, isn't it?

Speaking of which, are you on Pinterest...yet? I expect eventually we all will be. I initially resisted but now it's my guilty pleasure. I may have 987 blog posts waiting to be read in Google Reader (have I missed anything important the last few weeks? I'm tempted to wipe the slate clean and start fresh...) but I always have a few minutes to check out what's new on Pinterest, opiate of the creative masses. On the plus side, I'm saving lots on impulsive magazine purchases, getting my visual rush every time I click over, no longer having to favorite all those links on my computer. I'm curious...if you have a Pinterest account, do you have a separate board where you post things you've made? I wish there was an option to keep a board from being shared. Any thoughts?

Oh, before I forget, thanks for the wonderful response to my quilt purchase. I've been so busy the past few weeks that I still haven't given it a good stitch-by-stitch examination. I've definitely gotten the message that many of you would be interested in a pattern. Just as so many of you were interested in a pattern for the sunflower quilt. I'm considering it (them), but it will have to wait until A.W. ~ after the wedding. (Like so many things...)

Sorry, I am just hopping all over the place in this post...kind of like my recent days. Trying to roll with it, but sometimes feeling a bit overwhelmed by the looming date. Those of you who know me know I'm more the crunchy-granola type of low-key mom, not the international event hostess. But a funny thing happened on Wednesday. Within an hour, I was thrown a couple of wedding plan curveballs. My first reaction ~ "Gahhhhh!" But then I heard that charming, reassuring voice in the back of my head..."Janice, not to worry!"

Thanks, Ramesh. Keep whispering in my ear.

Sometimes

If you're a quilt lover, you've probably come across an old quilt at an antique show or a junk shop that catches your eye.  You catch your breath when you see it, and then you tell yourself, 'forget it'.  You spend enough on fabric to make your own quilts.  You are emphatically not a collector.  By choice.  Because you know that once you start, it's a slippery slope.  Besides, this quilt has lots of problems.  Its bloomers are worn through, its undies are showing!

Leaves are a-poppin'.

Dyes have rotted out the few prints, soft batting bleeds out though the holes.

Why, it's stained here and there.  Clearly not functional.  The price is ridiculous.  You're not a collector.  You walk away, happy to have enjoyed it for a few minutes.

But sometimes these quilts have special powers.  They exert their own kind of mind control.  You find yourself driving by the shop, which is off your usual route, just to see if it's still in the window.  You mention it to a few people.  Quilt people.  That clan you know will cheer you on.  You go back and ask if you can take some photos.

While melting over the charming little details...the basket handles dripping hearts!!...you notice the quilting.  Densely worked, organic in design and fine in execution.  The quilter poured her heart into this.  By the time she got to the border work, she was running out of red fabric.  Some of the flowers are pieced from scraps. 

You thank the sleepy salesclerk and start to leave, thinking maybe you were right.  It's just too worn.  There are too many other expenses this spring.  But she jumps up, unprompted, and calls the owner.  She'll take less.  You'll think about it.

Each time you sit down at the computer, you find yourself drifting over to the photo album, clicking through your shots.  'Come get me", it whispers through the screen.

The next day you jump in the car and tentatively return, only to find the shop closed, despite posted hours to the contrary.  It's a sign.  This is a frivolous crush. 

But sometimes a crush can be a wonderful precursor.  (You married your high school sweetheart, didn't you?)

*sigh*

94"x84"

Sometimes you just can't ignore that little voice in your head that after enumerating all the reasons why not, screams...'Are you crazy?!!  Go get it before it's gone!'

No regrets.