Getting Out of Dodge

I cannot overstate how important it is to get out of Dodge every once in a while. Sometimes you just need a change of venue to spark your productivity and clear your creative palette.

Me, Mary, and Kathy

It’s  been a long year, filled with rough patches and happy surprises. The fact that I’m able to be here, sharing a friend’s hospitality, is a tribute to the power of positive energy. The house where I’m staying is roomy and has been filled with an ever-changing cast of friends and family for the last week.

The trip has been on my calendar for a good six months and I’ve looked forward to it each time deadlines loomed and things looked dark. Getting away doesn’t make everything magically better, but it does allow perspectives to shift and energies to be realigned.

Cut Blocks Ready to Sew

Take productivity for example. Every year I spend some time with friends at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. For the past two years, this small group has done a block exchange. I’ve had a really hard time getting around to those blocks this year, despite the fact that I really want the quilt that will result. And so, I packed the fabrics, the pattern, and the tools, and I planned to work on them here. Here’s a shot of all 75 blocks, cut and ready to stitch together. The pattern is from Alex Anderson Classics and is called Holiday Lights.

Five Sample Blocks

My friend Kathy Lincoln has already made this quilt once and was here to guide me through the use of a specialty ruler and a borrowed Bernina. (More about Bernina in a later post!)

All 75 blocks are now sewn and ready for the exchange! I used this long pillow as a small makeshift design wall. How cute are these trees?! Now I think I have to make a pillow to go with the quilt.

Kathy Working Hard

My friend Kathy has been feverishly working on billions and billions (okay, 472) flying geese units for a class she’ll offer at the Quilt Patch during the next session. 

Kathy's Geese

 This shot of the blocks was taken by Mary’s daughter, Katherine McPherson. Check out her work at www.katherinemcphersonphotography.com.

Mary has been working on surprises and I can’t include any pictures here. I’d hate to let the cats out of the bag!

 

Away from the day-to-day, usual routines, I find that I can breathe a little easier. I can relax a little and put things in perspective. In fact, I just delegated dinner salad duties to Jeannie, another quilter staying here. Those of you who know me will know how out of character it is for me to give away jobs and responsibilities. Now I’m going to go do the prep work for tonight’s dinner of smoked salmon piccata with fettucini.

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