Goals, and the People Who Have Them

I came to a realization this week. One of the things I like about sewing and quilting is that it gives me a chance to finish something. In my non-sewing real life, I'm in the midst of a PhD program. I've been in it for four years, and I've got at least two more. It often feels like a long, slow march to nowhere, and that's particularly true of the stage I'm at right now--writing the dissertation. It's a new experience for me to work on something for years before I can say it's finished, and that's frustrating, especially when that one thing is the main measure of how you're spending your time. In a sense, it will never be done--there are always more sources I could find, more secondary sources to consult, and more revisions of the writing. It's a tough thing to go years without much sense of completion.

So, I think that's what appeals to me about quilting. There is a beginning, there is a process, and then there is a very clear, definite end. It's really satisfying.

I think that's part of the reason that I don't have 15 WIPs at any one time. Most of my projects, at this point, have very definite destinations and corresponding deadlines. There is also a budgetary component keeping me in check too. :) But most importantly, I think it is crucial to me that I have an area of my life where I can and do get things finished.

How about you? For many women, the main appeal of sewing and quilting seems to be as an outlet for creating, and I definitely get that. But upon reflection, I think having a small sense that I've accomplished something is even more important to me than is the creative component.

That said, I do have a few goals for the coming month. I'm headed back to Nebraska in a few days, and each of the next three weekends, I have either a baby shower, wedding shower, or a wedding, and I have sewing goals for all of them. :)

I got all of the squares cut for my best friend's wedding quilt this weekend. I'm really excited about this quilt, because I think it's going to look awesome and that she'll really love it. I'm also a bit nervous, because I want it to look good and it's the largest quilt I've made thus far. But the pattern is simple, and I think it should be manageable.

Know what's tough to find? Canary yellow. Seems some sort of goldenrod color is more in right now. Also very hard to tell yellow shades online.

I'm also using scraps from these fabrics to make her some throw pillows for her shower, which is Sunday... we'll see how that goes. Hopefully I won't have to resort to getting something off the registry. I feel like that's always a little fraught when you're shopping for close friends. I just feel weird saying, "You mean so much to me. Have a salt and pepper shaker set."

Does anyone else love seeing the little scraps from a project all piled up? I do.

Otherwise, I had a lovely weekend (a better one than Andy Murray did, anyway... poor guy.) We finally got some much-needed rain, and I enjoyed the thunderstorms on Saturday morning. Sunday cooled down nicely and I went to the Farmers Market after church in search of strawberries. Sadly, there were none, so I got some Pad Thai instead.

One of the top Farmers Markets in the U.S.!

Gorgeous flowers!

Complete with eccentric musical performances.

Then I went kayaking. I don't have as many pictures as I intended, because it turned out to be far more windy on the lake than I anticipated, and I needed both hands to control my boat! I guess the windsurfers and kite surfers should have been an indication of windspeeds, but I missed that. :) So I spent most of the time paddling around the calmer, but less picturesque, inlet.

Cornell from a distance.

I ended the day eating ice cream and cherries on a friend's dock and enjoying the 70 degree weather and amazing sunset. Sometimes, life is not too bad. :)

Linked to Plum and June's Let's Get Acquainted Link Up!

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Quilting Idol

I'm quite new to the world of quilting and quilt blogs, so I am perfectly aware that I've only dipped my toe into the ocean of online chronicles that are out there. But sometimes I have to laugh at the many recurring themes or tendencies that crop up on blog after quilt blog. The one that struck me most recently is the absolute obsession many quilters have for certain designers of fabric or patterns.

OMG it's Denyse Schmidt: everybody freak out!

No exaggeration, it's like Bieber-level hysteria, just with carefully-coiffed stay-at-home mom bloggers, not screaming pre-teens. 

With the tidal wave of (much enjoyed) Quilt Market recaps this week, there has been a major dose of this idol worship. I've noticed that this takes one of two forms:

1. Fabric Idol: "_______'s newest fabric collection is TO DIE FOR!!! Like always. I have never seen orange fabric before. Well, not like this anyway. I love the stripes, the plaid, and the teeny tiny dots which are soooo cute! Also, there are narwhals, people. NARWHALS."

2. Designer Idol: "I met ____________* and she was kind enough to take a photo with me!!! I couldn't believe I was meeting her, it was a dream come true! She was so kind, considerate, and genuine. I also heard that she saved four puppies on the way to Quilt Market and that she donated a kidney to a Guatemalan orphan last week!"

*Designer's name must be in all caps and have at least three exclamation points. There are standards here.

My snark aside, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Any hobby that people are passionate about (like quilting!) is going to result in passionate reactions to figures of note within the hobby. Perhaps down the road I'll have my own favorites I start to obsess over and I'll look back at this post and laugh at my naïveté.

Let's just not go down the road of tribute tattoos, mmmk? No one needs Summersville inked on their back for all time.

Ouch.

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