Quilting

I'm only a day post publishing my 'Never Ending Bucket List', and I've already started working on one my targets. My Godmother is literally the Queen of Quilting. Her work is so intricate and skilled. She made me the most beautiful bed spread this year. I was so delighted with it, and really touched to receive something that has had so much time and effort put into it. I was really inspired by it and wanted to have a go myself. Now, I was under no illusion...I knew quilting wasn't going to be a walk in the park. So I decided to start at the beginning and go right back to basics. I enrolled in a 'Quilting Taster Day' - ('taster' being the operative word here). Unfortunately it turned out to be a lot more advanced than I expected! The class was full of people that had clearly had experience and had come fully prepared to produce some impressive stuff. I was still cutting perfect 3" squares when everyone else was making borders!  I felt like a complete wally for the entire duration. Everyone was so far ahead that I was losing track. My patchwork looked pretty shoddy (will post pic for comedy value). 

After that, I had lost all interest and resigned myself to the fact that  I was completely rubbish and incompetent at quilting. Hence I didn't try any more. Until that is... My mum reminded me that my God mother would be happy to teach me. My godmother lives a good 70 miles away (hence the local 'Taster' session I took initially). But we worked out a date and today I went down to see her. She made it all seem so straightforward. We went right back to basics which I really needed. And I came home feeling confident about it. She also thought the taster session had been asking us to produce quite advanced work (not appropriate for a novice at all), which made me feel better about my failed attempt. I'm actually really excited to get going with the rest of it now!! So my little spark for quilting has been reignited and I'm really excited to learn more. My God mother has been honing her skills for 10 years and does wonderfully complex work. If I can produce something even a tenth as impressive then I will be happy with that. So it's back to the sewing machine for me.. complete with my trusty 'unpicking tool' (I can see me needing to use that white a lot!!)



Auntie Roslyn's Work



1st attempt from 'Quilting Taster Day'



Much more basic but more neater work after my session with Auntie Roslyn



The Never Ending Bucket List

So this week I've had a heck of a lot of time on my hands. And aside from repeatedly trying to the best of my ability to get my flat in pristine shape, I've been thinking a lot about what lies ahead for me. I've lots of aspirations and dreams for the next few years, and I thought I'd write them down in a list. A) because it stops them all swimming around in my head in no semblance of order and B) because I think a tick list is the only way I'm going to get any of it done. As any of you that know me will know, I do love a list. I love order and structure in my life and to go with it, I am a stationary fiend. I literally can't get enough of it. So armed with my new notepad I have been compiling said list; 

Things to do/achieve/experience before in 35...

• Be able to walk a good distance without crutches

• Re-establish my career in Radiography (very dependent on bullet point 1)

• Have a successful, profitable business of my own

• See Australia and NZ

• Get engaged to the man I love

• Then, get married 

• Have a gospel choir sing at my wedding 

• Look in the mirror and be happy with what I see

• Change someone else's life for the better 

• Get 100 people to join the Organ donor register 

• Buy a house

• Have children 

• Learn how to use an SLR camera

• Learn to use Excel (I don't do numbers)

• Read the classics

• Get my lung function to a 'normal range'

• Put liquid eyeliner on without stabbing myself in the eye!

• Wear high heels out again, and keep them on ALL night

• Learn to quilt
- Go to the Commonwealth Games 2014

So there it is, my little list that will no doubt continue to get bigger!! Now where to begin ......?

Ill leave you with something I saw this week that I thought was kinda accurate :)...