When in doubt, quilt!

Okay.  No debating of American politics here today.  Needless to say it’s been a tumultuous couple of days for everyone, I suspect.  My eight year old came home and asked if Donald Trump will blow up South Australia?  And how far is South Australia from America?  Will the bombs reach us?  This is my eight year old who I doubt has a clue who her own National Leader is yet this is her current fear.

I don’t know how to parent my kids through this.  This parenting thing is H.A.R.D. 

I love the internet.  But sometimes – well, the internet has a lot to answer for, I think.  I’m all for global awareness but this is not something that my eight year old should even have on her radar.  Kids should be blissfully unaware of this stuff.  I’m not alone in thinking that, am I?  Plenty of time for scary, adult conversations.  Not when she’s eight.

And even if I limit their internet exposure, the other kids at school are all over it so she hears it all from them.

H.A.R.D.

Anyway….

I’ve long since learned that when one is anxious or upset, creativity will calm the mind.  It’s always been the thing I do to shut my brain up.  Put on a mindless video, start something messy and time consuming and plough through. 

So that’s what I did yesterday.  Began watching Doc Martin on Netflix, and shifted my brain from the ‘what ifs?’ to the ‘how does this colour look with that colour’.  I’ve seen lots of random Doc Martin episodes on television but never the whole series from the start, so that’s what I did!

I’ve had this pattern for a while, but didn’t love the owls.  I’m very particular with owls, you see.  We had an all day sewing day at our quilting rooms, so I drafted a couple of owls from various designs on the internet.  Yesterday (Wednesday) I spent the day tracing and ironing and playing in my sewing room.  As you do when your mind is going places you don’t want it to go.

Here’s the finished (well, ironed in place yet to be stitched) result.  Not the best lit picture in the world but c’est la vie.

I’ve had the fabric for ages.  It’s all part of the Chinese Ebay haul I brought.  Let me be that cautionary tale for you. It’s cheap tat, PLEASE don’t buy cheap Chinese fabric from Ebay.  The old saying ‘if it seems to good to be true…..’ is ringing in my ears.

I don’t know that it’ll last a wash.  But the colours are so pretty, I figured I’d just use them up. 

The mess that is my sewing table.  This is actually clean for me.  I at least took the wine glass from view (it was night time by the time the photo was taken, I wasn’t drinking during the day!).

Please ignore the fabric on my ironing board.  As each one starts to get revolting, I just cover it up with another fabric.  I don’t know how many layers I have under there now.

The applique is all done with good quality homespun, at least.  If the quilt falls apart before too long, I know the applique will last and I’ll just take it apart and reuse it.  I’m a quilter, I can do anything.

So I may continue my Doc Martin marathon in the lounge room and sit and sew today.  I may stitch something else on my machine.  I don’t know yet. 

Have a lovely day today, my friends.   Lovely, calming, stitching day.

Suzie