Multiple Personalities

What a great day! Yesterday I had a crazy anxious day because I had to go for the second IPL zapping treatment on my face. I have an unusual form of rosacea on my cheeks which has been slowly developing over the past few years. It has got to the point in one big patch where it is beginning to be difficult to cover with makeup, and as it seems to be progressive, it was time for action. Action means Intense Pulse Light treatment which, unfortunately in my case, really really hurts. Fortunately for the second treatment I had local anaesthetic, which reduced the pain to a tolerable level (i.e. I didn't cry and shake in terror whenever the nurse came near me). I would be quite happy to go for another round, should it be required. The dermatologist said I would probably need maintenance zap sessions every now and again due to the progressive nature of my condition. This morning my face looked and felt puffy. Not pretty at all. A good excuse for crafting all day!

Look what arrived!!!!! The Book Depository is the best place I've seen on the net for buying books at a great price. You get free postage all the way from England. The exchange rate at the moment works out well for us.

I've got to the stage where I want to try a few tricky things, and since my other two Stitch 'n Bitch books are my knitting information bibles, I thought this would have great instructions for cool fancy stuff. And it does! There are some gorgeous patterns too.

I have to say I can't work myself out when it comes to my tastes in fabrics. Multiple personalities may be the diagnosis. On Thursday I was invited by Fenella from Stitch to come and learn how to create a stack and slash quilt. I had the BEST time hanging out in the shop classroom, checking out what everyone was buying, sewing and generally having fun with Fenella, her wee girl and other crafty people. This was the completely insane result- the Jeweled Rainforest quilt.

It was all based around this Kaffe Fassett fabric that I have had for years and treasured. I've used another colourway in the Happy Holidays quilt border. Fenella loves to choose collections of fabrics and we had lots of fun putting these together. Believe it or not a great deal of consideration went into this group of fabrics.

I wasn't shy with the border on this one either - Glory Rose is glorious indeed! I put this on today.

I always feel I must apologize for my taste in what I consider to be gloriously bright fabrics. I am totally aware that many people wouldn't understand the attraction or the combinations. Well I'm not going to apologize. If you're not keen, try personality number two.

Tanya Whelan's Delilah collection jelly roll which I turned into this quilt panel this afternoon.

Not a very good photo, but you'll see it again once I've decided what to do about the border. It is about the size of a single bed quilt. The Jeweled Rainforest quilt is also that size as I find it easier to handle for machine quilting, and more affordable to create, than bigger quilts. Of course if someone wanted to purchase one for an extraordinary amount of money I would have to oblige.

I've been thinking about that- selling my craft creations. Like lots of blogging ladies, I've been thinking forward and backwards because I'll be reaching the somewhat terrifying age of 40 in a couple of weeks. It seems to be a big step for many of us. Suddenly it seems like I have to be all mature and grown up. I haven't had children and it seems like the door on that phase of life is closing. That's not really a problem because I came to terms with that a while ago (apart from the occasional teary outburst when I see my darling niece or nephew). Actually thinking back, I can do a lot of stuff I couldn't do at 30:

• Make quilts.
• Embroider.
• Ride a horse with an element of style.
• Knit and crochet.
• Drive my car wherever I want (I had a driving phobia).
• Play the 'cello.
• Blog.
• Not worry too much about what people think.

I'm sure there's plenty of other stuff. What would I like to be able to do at 50 that I can't do now? Something to think about. Actually I'd love to be crafting full time and selling my creations. I had no idea I'd be doing all of those things I listed above, so who knows what I'll be up to in another 10 years.

100 posts!

I've made it to 100 posts. The reason I am really so thrilled is because of the changes I have made to my life partly because of blogging. I'm not sure I would be regarded as a very successful blogger in terms of the number of comments received, but just keeping a record of what I am up to helps me to stay productive and moving forward. Plus I love writing. I've even started my second blog, Taming the Chocolate Baby, in which I natter on about cooking and healthy, responsible living. So what have I actually achieved during my 100 posts?

• I'm much better on the computer and working with photos.


• I got a new sewing machine and use it regularly (I made a skirt today).


• I made it to Orchestra 3 with my cello, and got to play on the stage in the Town Hall.


• I joined a chamber group.


• I have started making quilts.


• I started making more presents, rather than buying them.


• I went to Australia and had an amazing holiday.


• We bought a piece of land and are about to start building on it (about 3 weeks and we will be underway).


• I'm working on being a more organised housekeeper.


• I'm developing my cooking skills.


• I'm improving my management and leadership skills at school.

Best of all, I'm excited about what I could achieve during the next 100 posts. Time to set some new goals I think. I want to:

• Develop my sewing skills by learning some new quilting techniques with each quilt I make.


• Design and make some clothes for myself, including an item made of Merino jersey fabric ('cause it comes in such lovely colours).


• Make Christmas presents (starting early).


• Move into my new house.


• Paint some of our old furniture rather than buying new stuff for the new house.


• Make some of the curtains and blinds for our new house.


• Be a frugal food shopper and make some fabric shopping bags.


• Learn more about food, where it comes from, how it is produced, and what I could do with it.


• Reduce my waste production.


• Use my slow cooker.


• Make the majority of the food I eat from scratch (reducing processed foods).


• Think about crafted products I could make to sell.

Hopefully the next 100 posts will see me being more self-confident. And I really want to have less down days. Plus I hate to say it, but for my health, I've got to lose weight. But I'm not going to obsess about it. I'm just going to work on my cooking skills and fight those anxious times when I'm dying to buy a king sized block of Cadbury chocolate and eat the lot (believe me- I've done it many times). I'm going to get out walking lots too.

So, even though I haven't got one, a toast with a lovely glass of Midori and lemonade, or a frozen strawberry margarita is in order. You know, it doesn't matter, I've had a great day living life how I want to, and that is enough for me!

A wee peek at the skirt I made today in production. I hate mucking around with patterns, so didn't use one for this. That fantastic fabric was in another teacher's rag bag! I'll get Mr B to take a photo of me in it and I'll post it if it looks ok. I've used a light-weight denim on the back and the print on the front. XXX