Not Every Painting Needs to Be Important

Hi gang!

I hope all of you reading this are enjoying a wonderful summer (or for those in the Southern Hemisphere an uneventful winter).  Miami has been hot, humid, and rainy for the last few months – i.e. perfect quilting weather!  We lock ourselves indoors, make huge pitchers of iced tea, crank up the AC, and curl up with our projects.  Other members of my household have found more traditional ways to keep cool.  Sometimes it’s a dip in the pool.

Ethel loves to swim!



Other times it’s sharing a popsicle.

My husband's hand with Lucy on the left and Ethel on the right

Many of you have written to ask if I was 'OK' because my blogging have been very sporatic since last fall. The truth is that I have had a very difficult year heathwise.  However, I am very happy to report that I am finally on the mend and will do my best to return to a more dependable blogging schedule.  One of the worst side effects of being ill was that it zapped my creative energy as well as my spirit.  After barely stitching or sitting at a sewing machine for a year it has been very difficult to dive back in.  Especially because most of my works in progress required either advance applique or very detailed machine quilting.  Everything seemed so overwhelming! But then I remembered some very wise advice I received from my graduate school painting instructor - not every painting needs to be important.  Wiser words were never spoken - at least to me directly!  Not every quilt you make, or every block you stitch, or every project you work on, or every book you read, or every show you watch, or every (fill in the blank) has to be SERIOUS.  A joyful life is made up of joyful activities.  It's perfectly ok to work on projects that are whimsical simply because it's FUN.  Remember fun?  Wasn't that the reason most of us started quilting?

So that's exactly what I did!  I picked out the most FUN project I had on my radar and decided to just enjoy myself.  I enrolled in a year long online class with Jeana Kimball, called A Cottage Garden.  Here is my first block of the project; Robin

It took me too evenings to stitch is block and I had the time of my life - no pressure, no worries - just fabric and thread and joy!

So until next time, remember to have a little fun every day!

Best stitches!

Mercy in Miami