Making changes

Ladies and gentlemen, I finally did what needed to be done. I resigned from my job. It is just too hard to keep up with work and Gwen and the house and my family and myself. They wouldn’t let me go totally, however, and talked me into staying on the payroll to administer the volunteer knitting and crocheting program.

This is a great relief because I have literally run out of steam and have not felt rested in months. But at the same time I’m a little apprehensive. The way I think and react to things will have to change. No more ignoring the mess in the house because I am tired. No more putting things off because there is no time to handle them now. Since Gwen was born I have had to multitask all the time and my formerly endless attention span is disturbingly short. Will it come back or has all the stress-induced cortisol dumbed me down forever? Time will tell.

In the meantime I have signed up for this Doll Quilt Swap . I had no intention of doing anything like this but that dern Calamity Kim kept inviting me to join her doll quilt Flickr groups. After seeing the wonderful things posted therein, I broke down completely and joined the groups and the swap.

I chose a Denyse Schmidt pattern called “Hop Skip and a Jump” because I love the improvisational, Gee’s bend-esque look of it. Also, you don’t have to be able to piece perfectly to make it. Using leftovers from making this pillow and some purchased green fabric, I cut and pieced it all yesterday. Tomorrow I will make the backing, baste it all together and decide how to quilt it. I’ve never hand quilted before but will try it first and default to the machine if necessary.

The making of this quilt has seemed a little silly. My quilt is supposed to look like the ones made with scraps out of necessity. But the pattern is from a book I bought new. The fabrics were also bought for use in sewing, not scavenged from worn out clothes. The batting is purchased rather than made from cotton I picked in the field and pounded flat. I made it to enter a swap online, which requires that I have access to a computer, computer skills and a digital camera. It’s a far cry from Gee’s Bend, Alabama. But I love it anyway.