Something Finished!

Last week I felt pretty awful and thought I might have to take a trip to the ER, but this week, miraculously it seems, I'm feeling much better.

I've started a new art journal--so far, I'm just gluing pages, painting backgrounds, that sort of thing. I'm also working occasionally in an art journal I started a while back tracing the "illness journey," but I can only stand to re-live the experience for so long, then I have to move on to happier things. Denial has always been my coping mechanism of choice :-)

And, every once in a while, I actually do some sewing! I get tired very easily so I work for a few minutes, take a long break, work for a few minutes, rinse and repeat. I'm grateful that I'm able to do that much.

Speaking of which, did anyone hear what Oprah had to say about her body, extra weight and all? Something to the effect of, "I'm grateful for this body, because it's done what I needed it to do, even after the way I've treated it." So, with that in mind, I just have to say that, illness and all, I'm still grateful for my body--it's here, it's limping along the best it can, despite how hard I've been on it all these years.

A while back, I mentioned a quilt I had finished; here it is! The background is a convergence quilt (from Ricky Tims' book) that I made a year or so ago. It seemed unfinished, somehow, which is the biggest problem I have with convergence quilts (at least as I've made them); they seem to lack any interest or focal point.

Recently, I cut out the floral appliqués (one black for the "shadow" effect, then the floral pieces from hand-dyes and commercial fabric), fused them to the base, and sewed them on. I then quilted the whole piece and added the binding and sleeve.

It feels good to have a finished piece!