I walk outside almost every day. It might be five miles (most days) or three miles (some days) or just around the block (for Sully), but I do it. If it is cold, if it is hot, if it cloudy or sunny or windy or rainy, I do it. It can be difficult to motivate when the weather is bad or chilly - it is so much easier in the sun and warm air - but I do it. I go mostly alone and I never listen to anything. It's just me (and Sully) and the world outside. I relish that time, whether it is 15 minutes or 90 minutes. It's meditative and restoring. I let my mind rest, my thoughts go and just be.It's full-on spring headed into summer here and my walks are starting earlier and earlier each week. On my walk Saturday, as I crossed the second busy street on my loop, I took in the roundabout with the statue, all the spring flowers, the historic homes and the sun shining low in the sky. It hit me then, this overwhelming sense of sadness that I am feeling for a moment or two every day. It comes out of nowhere and on Saturday, it was because I realized that this should be Derby week. It is always a festive and happy time in our city, but not this year. On Sunday, the moment came when Kate showed me the video the school sent of the teachers on zoom all dancing to the Friends theme song. Yesterday, it was when I realized I had forgotten to get garlic bread for Jane's dinner choice at the market. Silly things that shouldn't derail me, but they do.These moments are just that: moments. I have to remind myself of this frequently. I am working hard not to dwell on the negative and it is difficult work for me. I have no reason to complain - we are healthy, we are together, we have what we need. I know this. Still, I have to look for the good, for the things I am grateful for, for the happy and carefree moments. They are there and I am trying so so hard to see them. To notice them when they are happening. To catalogue them. To hold them in my back pocket as reminders when the moments are not so good.To that end, I am lacing up my sneakers and taking it outside. I'm going to let my mind rest while my body moves. The forecast had predicted rain, but it is 60 degrees with 0% chance at the moment. One more good moment to add to the others I am carrying with me.

It's Friday morning. I've done the weekly grocery run and it felt better than it did the last couple of weeks. I did have an older gentleman roll his eyes at me and tell me that I was moving too fast. I apologized. I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as I could manage while still maintaining social distance and keeping to my list. So, yes, I was moving fast.This spring has been gorgeous. The bulbs and flowering trees are spectacular. Everywhere I look, it is green and I am so thankful for that visual reminder of hope and growth and for the sunshine that is warming me physically and spiritually.I've cried twice this morning. Unrelated to the grocery store, but maybe not. These feelings come over me in waves and if the girls aren't around, I let the tears roll.Things that I am looking forward to this weekend include watching Making the Cut with Jane and Kate, more mask sewing and also taking a break from mask sewing, another loaf of sourdough bread about to go in the oven, a festive and nice Easter dinner, time to read in the sunshine, hanging out with Fatty, finishing Jane's sweater, family movie night - I think we are going to watch Emma.Have a lovely weekend, friends. May the good outweigh the bad.

I spent a good chunk of time in the kitchen this weekend baking. Banana bread using the three over-ripe bananas no one would eat. Chocolate chip cookies for comfort, baking 16 cookies and freezing the remainder of the dough. And two loaves of sourdough bread from the starter I began earlier in the week. It was all absolutely necessary to keep myself busy -  hands-on tasks that required timing and attention. It was all unnecessary as well - we do not need a kitchen full of baked goods, although no one is complaining.I know I am not alone when I say I am feeling very fraught. I had moments this weekend where I felt good and happy and productive. Then something small would happen - the yarn I was winding got tangled, the bread dough stuck to the dish cloth, the dishwasher wasn't run - and my frustration level would skyrocket. Seemingly small, annoying things that I usually would let slide threw me into a (self-contained) hissy fit. And then I would be angry with myself for reacting so fiercely, for not being able to handle the situation with more grace. In the same moment, I logically understand that what we are all experiencing is difficult and scary. No wonder my mood can change in an instant.I see it in my girls, too. Kate is a high school senior, missing all those year-end, traditional events. Right now she is definitely out until May 4th, but her last school day is supposed to be May 6th. She won't be going back. The IB tests were cancelled - so disappointing after two years of hard work as a IB student. Her graduation is up in the air. She is worried that she'll start college online, at home, missing that freshman experience. Jane is home from Colorado, three-quarters of the way through her sophomore year of college and feeling robbed of her friends. At her school, they take one class at a time for three and a half weeks and the one she has now is an archival history class where they were supposed to go on field trips to look at the primary documents. Instead, they are meeting via Zoom every day. She is not enjoying the experience and is missing the in-person interaction with her classmates and professor. She is supposed to study abroad in the fall and has convinced herself that it won't happen.I don't know what to tell these girls except that we are all disappointed right now. Collectively, as a world. And that it is ok to be disappointed and angry and sad. I am all those things, too. I am trying not to project too far in the future - maybe just a week or ten days ahead. Easier said than done, but really important I think. We don't know what will happen. We don't know when the isolation will end. There is a lot to be happy about, thought. We do have each other and all the streaming movies and TV we can consume. There are books to read, projects to make, things to bake. The weather has been nice and we can be outside. Maybe if we focus on the positive, the rest will seem less scary? I sure hope so.I just reread everything that I have written and I thought about deleting it all. I don't want to come off as negative. I am, however, feeling all the feelings this morning and I don't want to pretend that I am not. Along those lines, I found this article helpful. Maybe you will, too? "That Discomfort You're Feeling is Grief"

It's 10:30 on Friday morning and with wipes and hand sanitizer in hand, I conquered my biggest fear: the grocery store. I also conquered my second biggest fear: the ATM. It is such a relief to be finished with that for a week. The anxiety and anticipation flat out overwhelms me, although I know that I am doing everything I can to protect myself and my family. I am smart about it and careful. So careful. Still, it is scary.This morning I have also participated in a zoom workout with my normal Friday group. That was fun and felt so good! I need to see my friends faces and to move my body.Good and bad and fun and scary every day.It got me thinking about what I am doing to help me stay as calm as I can. I am doing the following six things. Maybe they will help you, too?1. Waking up and starting my day at its normal time. It'd be really easy to keep sleeping, but I find that I am most productive in the morning and I hate it when I waste that time. I am still sleeping in a bit on the weekends as a treat.2. Exercising every single day. Seriously. Most days that is some kind of a long walk outdoors. This is my personal time - I don't listen to music or podcasts. It's just me, my thoughts and nature. And Sully, our puppy. He's a great walking buddy.3. Putting on real clothes. It'd be easy to sit around in my pj's or in my workout clothes, but I feel so much better when I take the time to get dressed and do my hair. I'm not putting on makeup, but my girls are. It makes them feel good and right now that is so important.4. Making something every day. Right now, my making consists of a lot of knitting. It feels good to move my hands and it really calms my mind. I am not sewing much, but I think that is about to change.5. Having a daily quiet time. Every day at 2 or 2:30, I put the puppy in his crate and we both take a nap. I'm not sleeping well at night and this hour each day is saving me.6. Reading light-hearted books. Mysteries, light fiction, romance. Those are the kind of books that are feeling good to me right now.How about you? What things are you doing to keep calm and get through this time? I'd love to hear. 

Last spring I was contacted by the team at Quiltfolk and asked if I was interested in being profiled for their upcoming Kentucky issue. I don't think I could respond to that email fast enough...the answer was a resounding, "YES!" I have been a subscriber to the quarterly magazine since its second issue and I was so honored and humbled to be asked to represent a slice of quilting in my home state. The day the team arrived at my house, I was so excited to show them my work and talk about what I create and why I quilt. It was so much fun having them here and the two hours they spent with me seemed to fly by. The conversation was mostly between one member of the team and myself while the two others flitted around, styling and taking photos. We talked about how I started sewing, the early days of this blog, how my focus shifted towards quilting, the books I have written and how I give away most everything I make to family, friends and charity. The team was warm, friendly to Kate (the only other person home) and kind to my dog (sadly, she passed away in July - I still miss her). It was a wonderful experience and I felt so good about all of it. I was told the issue would be out in October and that there would be some back and forth before then. Then off they went to their next appointment.My subscription issue arrived at my house the first Friday in October. I knew it was on its way and was so so so excited to see the Kentucky issue and to read the story about me. As I read the first paragraph, my heart sank and I started shaking. They got so much wrong, including Fatty's name, my niece's name and the name of our business. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I started crying. I was shocked. And disappointed. And embarrassed. These were big mistakes.I emailed Quiltfolk after I read the article and pointed out the larger errors. I told them how sad and disappointed I was.I received a reply within an hour. They messed up and admitted it. They apologized and took full responsibility. Then we began to work together to make things right. They were extremely responsive, answering my questions and communicating their thoughts and plans with me as they unfolded. The publisher, Michael McCormick, wrote a heartfelt apology, which you can read here.I have the utmost respect for Mike, Mary Fons, the rest of the Quiltfolk team and the publication itself. They handled this unfortunate situation with grace and worked to make sure that I felt good about it. And I do. Their apology is sincere and they also emailed all their subscribers a corrected version of the story, which I hope you will take the time to read. After all, I was very excited to be part of this magazine and I am proud of what I do.Part of being a creative person is making mistakes and learning from them. I tell the eighth graders in my sewing class that I use my stitch ripper daily because I do. I've cut fabric incorrectly, set quilt blocks upside down, and cut two right sleeves for a blouse instead of a right and a left. I've unraveled hours of knitting when sweaters turn out the wrong size, a dropped stitch wasn't noticed or the color work is off. I once baked a cake and forgot the eggs - into the garbage it went. And these are only the crafty mistakes! I've made my fair share of personal bumbles, too. I understand that mistakes happen because I make them myself. On the regular. I am human and part of being human is screwing up sometimes. The key is to admit it and apologize when necessary. Then figure out why it happened and learn from the error. Fix it if you can or, if not, start over.I am grateful to Quiltfolk for admitting their errors, apologizing and fixing what they could. Everyone deserves a chance for a do-over.

The way I work in the summer is extremely different than during the school year. Nine months of the year, you can find me in my studio for a block of time while Fatty is at work and the girls at school during the week. The exact hours may vary, but they generally happen most days. During summer, though, there is no predictable pattern as to when I can work or how much I can get accomplished. It's important to me that I am available for the girls when they need me or want to do something. I used to get extremely frustrated if I wasn't able to get a sizable amount of work accomplished. A few years ago, I realized that I was setting myself up for failure and decided that I would take the summers off. It's worked really well for me. Anything that gets finished is a bonus and the time away from deadlines allows me to recharge creatively. Blair wrote some interesting thoughts about her experience with stepping back a bit this summer that I enjoyed reading. It seems like maybe we all need a break now and again.That said, I am still getting stuff done this summer. Funny how lowering my expectations allows me to make more! In my last post I mentioned that I had 6 quilt tops and backings ready to go. I rented time on a long arm over a few different days and quilted all six quilts. This past weekend, I squared them all up and made the bindings. My goal is to have them all bound by this weekend. Don't freak out - I'm definitely machine binding them all! While I love to hand bind, most of these are slated for donation and my deadline for those is next week. Most of my sewing these days is accomplished in 10- to 60-minute windows between other tasks and even while dinner is cooking. Those small blocks of time really add up quickly!

I'm also working on the Jane's dorm quilt. I cut strips, threw them all in a bag and pulled them out in pairs to sew together. Once the pairs were sewn, I made groups of four and then groups of eight. Next up is figuring out a layout. That's my favorite part, really. I love to see all the pieces come together. Backing has been purchased and I will be scheduling long arm time soon. Time is really flying by and I know mid-August will be here before I know it. I am so, so happy that I got a good start on this early enough in the summer to enjoy the process instead of panic sewing at the last minute.

Since I cleared the decks of many of my works in progress, I'm jumping in and quilting-along with Pattern Drop. I just love the bee version of this month's quilt. The firefly option is super cute, too. If you are interested, it's not too late to join. All the details are on the Pattern Drop blog.That's what is currently happening in my studio. How about you? What are you working on this summer?

I recently did a mini clean up in the studio and at the end I had six quilt tops (with their backs!) waiting for quilting. There are also two quilts that just need to have the blocks sewn together. Honestly, I have no business starting another quilt top until some of the unfinished become finished. But a quick look at the calendar tells me that time is flying fast and there is one quilt on my to-make list that has a firm deadline. Two months from today, Fatty and I will move Jane into her college dorm room.Let that sink in.Of course, I am cutting into that pile of fabric. She gave me a color scheme and I pulled the prints. I showed her some ideas and we came up with a loose plan that I will execute improvisationally. I am going to savor every cut and every stitch of this one. I know that keeping my hands busy helps me when I am anxious and excited and heals my heart when I am sad. I need to make this just as much for me as I do for her. I plan on pouring all of my love into this quilt so she can take a small piece of me with her when she goes. Wish me luck.

Popping in to let you know that I am this week's guest on the Crafty Planner Podcast. I was lucky to meet Sandi in real life at QuiltCon and was thrilled when she asked me to come on the podcast. We talk about Make Your Own Medallion and the story of how it came to be as well as why I cut up my Kona color card and being blind in one eye. You can listen on Sandi's site or wherever you listen to podcasts. I hope you will give it a listen. Thanks!