Summer Stuff

Summer is a-flying by -can't you just feel it already?? Once mid July hits my "schedule radar", I know I'm running out of time. Does anyone else set summer goals? I have in a vague way in the past, but this year I went mega-neurotic & 1) typed it all out onto a spreadsheet, 2) took spreadsheet & wrote in due dates, and then 3) input these due dates into my iCal which is a calendar program on MAC. And I've even actually done some of them. As I told my BFF, even if I only do HALF of these things written down, that's more than I probably would've gotten done had I not organized the ideas & established goals; because it's so easy to float through summer days: doing a little of this, little of that, a little cleaning, or skip the cleaning & go swimming, skip the cleaning to run errands, skip cleaning to visit friends, skip cleaning period :-)

I'd wanted to post pictures in the last couple weeks of what I've been working on, however my camera hasn't been working & my daughter's can only be borrowed properly if it's charged. This girl loves to document via her camera every event in life, from the boring to the exciting.... grocery shopping, clothes shopping, driving in the car together, swimming... we'll be in the middle of an intersection & she'll blurt out, "Mom, ready?? SMILE!" I'm not typically photogenic, but those kind of pics just make me look scary as I have my eyes averted to the road, I'm kinda smiling as I kinda pay attention... you get the idea. 

So I need my camera fixed... and it may even have the extended warranty I almost never buy, because my husband bought it for me. So he may have splurged. At least that's what I'm hoping. The above-mentioned daughter is the culprit -she dropped my camera while taking pics on my b-day. Happy birthday to me!! I know it was an accident, but seriously, I doubt it would've happened if said child hadn't been swinging the dang thing around >:-/

The quilt below is a client's quilt I finished recently. I'm still perfecting feathering, so I was sweating bullets while quilting within the light spaces. Does anyone else do this, or is it just me? I love feathering, but I'm not always sure how it'll turn out...  in other words, perhaps I'm not "there" yet?? But I keep quilting still. Is that horrible?? Or is that normal?? On one hand I want to be proficient in my quilting & have a modest amount of consistency, and yet on the other hand I'm always pushing the envelope a tad. Then I feel a little guilty if it's a client quilt. So far it's turned out okay, but I'm wondering if I'll get in over my head & then.....????

Another irritating issue - I actually just finished writing an entire paragraph about a certain situation that involves a certain quilt shop, and I also just erased it. As much as I'd love to rant at the moment, I'm wondering if that's not like shooting myself in the foot?? Said shop was hoping to help get me started longarm quilting for clients after my son passed away. Truthfully, I held the owner off for a bit until I felt emotionally ready to deal with clients. I'll just say, though I finally presented myself as "ready" & gave the owner my book of samples, pricing, invoices, I've received NOT ONE quilt from this shop.

With that little rant over, it's been on my mind this summer as to whether I want to go gung-ho into marketing myself? I've enjoyed the extra quilting I've gotten to do, as I truly love the quilting process much more than the piecing process. However, it's nerve-racking for me to take another person's piece of art & basically draw on it. That's a little bit how quilting is, no? Sometimes our drawing can enhance, but I'm terrified of doing something someday to someone's artistic expression for which she or he will hate me!! Friends & family try to reassure me that that's just a sign of my perfectionism showing, but still..... how does one REALLY know when one is "good enough"? If I were talking about my own quilts, then I'm totally fine with where I am. It's just the scariness of letting someone else down while trying to complement their piecing.

Besides ruminating on my qualifications as a quilter & my fleeting summer & summer goals list.... I've tried to take time on most of the hot/humid days we've been experiencing here in Lancaster, PA to swim with my younger daughter. She LOVES to swim & so do I, though truthfully, a lot of what we do is flopping & floating. There aren't many laps being done, but we like to play games, throw water balls, dive, & bounce around on noodles. We're still trying to convince my 9 month old Lab that he really is a water dog. My hubby put him in the pool once, but the puppy has never gotten in on his own, but whines & pants like he really wants to. I'm not so sure we got the brightest bulb of the litter, but he's a sweetie.

I hope to have a camera soon to post some pics of what I've been up to... fixing chewed couch cushions, some hand-stitching, and piecing.

Hope you're all enjoying your summers!! Would love to hear what everyone is up to :-)