Quilting - Good for the Body, Mind and Spirit!

I recently came across an article from a British newspaper, that claims that quilting is "uniquely" good for you! Scottish researchers have concluded that working with colorful fabrics and designs is "uplifting" - a real mood lifter. Add to that the geometry and math challenges that quilting brings - this hobby keeps quilters mentally active, too. For those who quilt with a group, it's a social activity. (I've always preferred to quilt alone.) Creating quilts also builds confidence, according to the study.

I believe it!

I've recently realized that quilting can be good physical exercise as well! I have been working on a quilt that is lying in pieces in an upstairs bedroom that now serves as our guest room.

I bring two adjoining pieces downstairs to sew on my downstairs sewing machine...







Then I run back upstairs to replace the block - and pick up another two pieces. After two days of doing this - running up and down the stairs dozens of times a day (and not even thinking about the word "exercise"), I have actually lost a few pounds, even though I have consumed more calories... (Yes, unfortunately I have to keep track of things like that - and my blood sugar levels as well!)

The other alternative is to lay the quilt pieces all over the living room floor - where Terry has to tread carefully when walking around.

Keeping the unfinished quilt on an upstairs bed is more convenient for us all. Plus good exercise!

I think I'll keep that up... Why didn't I start doing this years ago?!

Phlox Season

Spring came late in our region this year - and I wondered if our whole growing season would be askew as a result. But I don't think it made any difference to the perennials.

They are blooming according to schedule ... or maybe even earlier than I remember in other years...

Now that mid-summer is here, our yard is currently "ablaze" with pink and white phlox...

Over the years, I divided larger phlox plants, with the result that I have them in almost every side of our yard.

(I haven't tried planting them on the west side, where the vines cover our fence.... I'm sure the vines would quickly grow on top of the flowers, too.)

As summer moves quickly along, I'm enjoying the cheerful blasts of color these amazing blooms provide.

Large Flying Geese (Quilt)

I've wanted to make a flying geese quilt for a long time.

Years ago I even bought the "quilt in a day" instructions for it... But it never happened. (Too complicated?!)














 

After playing around with the triangles in my current quilting project, I decided to make it a "flying geese" quilt - with geese flying in two different directions...

(I eliminated the geese flying in a circle option as a little too weird!)

Hope I like the end result...!

My Mother's Birthday Celebrations

My mother turned 96 a few weeks ago. It was a memorable time of celebration.

Family came to visit from as far away as Texas and Edmonton.

My brother's oldest son brought his two sons to meet their great-grandmother for the first time. My mother's youngest sister - 19 years younger - also came to visit.

After the visitors had all returned home, the nursing home where my mother lives had a birthday party for everyone whose birthday falls in July.

(Some children made them paper hats, which my mother happily wore!)

Terry and I attended this celebration...

There was "watermelon" birthday cake.

A fun time was had by all!!

A Tough Quilting Choice!

I recently finished 28 reversible squares that can be assembled in different patterns:

Vertical stripes...

Chevrons...

Diamonds, the pattern I made before...

Which design do you like best? I asked Terry.

The diamonds, he replies.

Hmmm. That's probably why I chose the diamond design five years ago, when I was making my last reversible quilt. (Here it is, in progress.)

Completed, it is pictured in this blog post dated February 29, 2011.

It does look nice. But this time I'd like to try something different. One of the problems with making a diamond design this time is that there will be a set of 2 half diamonds. I have 28 squares, not 32.


What other options could I try?! I'm going to keep looking...

Words to Live By?

I recently came across a quote that made me stop and think:

Live your life and forget your age.

It comes from this little book of encouraging quotes by Norman Vincent Peale (author of the Power of Positive Thinking).

It struck a chord with me, as I do often find myself thinking: I could do that if I were younger...

(How would I live differently if I "forgot" my age...?)

As I perused the introduction, I was interested to see that quotes he had memorized had a profound influence on Dr. Peale throughout his life. Here are a few he mentions:

"He that can have patience can have what he will." (Benjamin Franklin)

"Every noble work is at first impossible." (Thomas Carlyle)

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

"We must dare, and dare again, and go on daring." (Georges-Jacques Danton)

I really like the one about enthusiasm. We don't talk much about the importance of enthusiasm these days, but it is a trait confident people exude.

Bird Warning

I have stopped cleaning windows! Every time I clean them, birds end up flying into them! (I know this sounds like an excuse...)

I hope I have found a solution to my problem. Recently at Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop, I purchased window decals that supposedly deter birds.

I hope it works! Since putting the decals on, I haven't noticed as many birds in our yard. (Or is that my imagination?)

I want the birds to see the windows - not to be frightened to come into the yard.

I'm also not sure I like the rather large image stuck to the window... Perhaps I could cut the image into two or three parts, so that they would be less noticeable - and I could add some to other windows.

I have one decal left. Maybe I'll try that when I wash the front windows - which I haven't done yet.