Rayen

My friend B sent me a get-well package (my arthritic back + caregiving for a 200 lb. man = much pain) that included some mystery dice. I don't need more dice, but it's the thought that counts. This brand happens to be my favorite, too. :) The dice turned out to be black and red, and rather ominous looking. I blurred a bit of the red pin that came with the dice because of some salty language on it, with which I could absolutely sympathize. I actually do like the dice, as they're darkly beautiful. They've also given me a story idea, always a good thing. :)

Yesterday for me started at 5:30 am and didn't end until 12:30 am, when I finally, totally passed out next to my guy. It was a very fine day for him, considering, and a horrible day for me personally, but I got through it with the same spine I've always had -- the titanium one I haul out when things get truly challenging. Here he is waiting to go into surgery. He's completely self-absorbed, telling me this and that and joking about the whole thing because that's what he does when he's really scared. I am trying to keep it together. They're going to put the love of my life under general anesthesia, cut into him and repair the damage he's inflicted on himself by trying to be thirty years old again, but I just have to get through the day and put my faith in people I don't know and can't hear when they talk to me and only get about every third word by reading lips. They're also running an hour and a half late. Yes, totally relaxing. Her...

I'm taking off today (9/4) to be with my guy for his surgery. Talk to you tomorrow.

On the crochet front I'm doing quite well, as I have for the last year. Currently I'm making a prototype blanket, sort of a practice run for a charity donation. I love this new-to-me pattern as well as this yarn. The crocheting challenges me in the good way, and the hexagons turn out fabulous. The yarn I'm actually using is from a mill end value bag. Everything is exciting with crochet these days. On the quilting front things are a bit quieter. I have this thrifted bundle of fabric to use this month for my quilting projects, which is kinda-sorta exciting. I also have this basket of vintage scrap fabric to use for my calendar project's September tote, which I do like a lot. But the thrill that crochet gives me is not there with quilting. Despite all my tricks with fabric and motivation quilting still feels like a chore, or taking medicine. I need to do more new things to challenge myself with quilting. I've not made a proper quilt in a while -- ab...

For my first quilting project of September I decided to do some stitch practice to see where my hands are, and picked two large squares from my basket of vintage fabric from the Coop to make a mug rug. I just sandwiched these squares with some batting and stitched. I used holographic light gold thread and the smallest, sharpest quilting needle I have, and stitched for a couple of hours without too much fuss. My thumb and forefinger are in pretty good shape right now, so I was able to handstitch the entire block. The stitching is not what it should be, but it helped to do it the way I wanted to. Now I can move on to machine quilted projects without too much angst, I think.

One of my aspirations for fall is to use the time to creatively heal. Crochet has been absolutely amazing for me this past year, and I am very grateful for how much it's helped me deal with my ongoing struggle with arthritis-induced limitations. Yet I'm still fighting myself and my dislike of how little I can hand stitch anymore, and the fallout is that I'm not quilting much at all. It's time to fall back in love with sewing, with my sewing machine, with fabric, and with making things from fabric. I don't have to hand stitch to quilt, and I know it. Fabric still grabs my heart. I have, do and always will love fabric. That's the place to start, because 1) I already have a lot of fabric and 2) I still want to make things with it. The other thing I haven't been thinking about is how good it feels to work with fabric and turn it into something. I love that, even when I don't hand stitch it. When I made the mat for my nephew's dog...