Finding Rest in the Midst of Anxiety

Everyone, I’m sure, has memories of where he or she was on September 11, 2001. I was living on Long Island, NY, getting ready for work, when I received a phone call from a friend, telling me to turn on the TV. Later, I saw clouds of black smoke drifting over Long Island Sound…

We all know the horror of that day.

Between September 11 approaching, disturbing (maddening) stories in the news, and other upsetting things, I’ve been having trouble getting to sleep at night.  But yesterday I discovered a technique that has really helped!

As I tried to get to sleep, I started thinking about flowers. I would name a flower, then visualize that flower in my mind.

The image would be be realistic, with sun shining and breezes blowing, in full color. I’d hold that image for a moment, then name another flower, visualize it and so on. I found myself thinking about buttercups in the grass when I was small, my sister’s garden of beautiful lilies, my mom’s morning glories climbing up a white fence when I was a kid. It became like a slide show in my mind, as I forced myself to concentrate, and what a beautiful way to fall asleep!

I’m just sharing this because it helped me, and hope it might help someone else.

Meanwhile, as we remember the people who died on 9/11, those brave and amazing NY fire fighters, and the families of all victims of the attacks, let’s pray for a more peaceful world and hold fast to our belief that there are good people in the world and we can make a difference.

Giveaway Winner!

I've chosen a name, literally from a hat, to receive this little fabric African violet picture!

                                        

First, Rosie inspected the hat, to make sure that all of the names were in it.

                                         

Then she supervised as I reached in and pulled out a name.

                                         

And, finally, she gave her approval as I showed her that JOYCE, from J's Quilting Blog was the winner!

Congratulations, Joyce!!

I'll send out the picture as soon as I get your address, and many thanks to everyone who left a comment!

This week, I also finished up this "self portrait with kitties", which I showed in process back in July.

                          

Felt is a lot of fun to work with - no raw edges to turn under when hand stitching, and I love the texture.

I decided to put this picture on my profile since Angus and Rosie are now stars who will be appearing often!! I'm finding it hard to get pictures of them, though, as they are really fast movers! I do have a lot of blurry pictures, as well as pictures of empty spaces where cats had been one second before!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!!

Happy September and a Giveaway!

I've been working on sprucing up my blog for the fall and even embroidered a new banner for the top. But when it came to photographing it, certain little critters couldn't resist getting into the act! How could I resist the crooked photo with Rosie's paw in it for a header?

After wrestling with the new Blogger template designer, but wanting to keep things simple, this is what I've come up with for now!

Meanwhile, I've decided to have a giveaway!

                                              

This is a machine stitched, hand painted and beaded picture which I pulled out of my "to be completed" drawer! I added some shading and finished it up for this giveaway.

It is 7" square and mounted on a piece of stiff matboard so that it can be placed on a shelf or table, or hung on a wall.

If you would like to "win" it, please leave a comment or send me an email if you don't have a blog. I'll mail it anywhere, and I'll choose a name on Wednesday, September 8.

Hope everyone is enjoying the week - it's scorching hot here in New England!!!

Changes are Coming!

Hello Friends,

If you've stopped by to look at my blog lately and found nothing new, I apologize! It's been a long, hot summer, and I've been spinning my wheels and doing very little creatively.

I'm planning a re-do of my blog, a little house cleaning and redecorating, and it will be ready September 1!  Along with this, I'll be having a little give-away, so I hope you'll stop by next week to check it out!

Meanwhile, have a wonderful weekend!

With warm wishes,


Judy

Trees and Kitties

Yesterday I made a little fused landscape, which made me let out a sigh of relief, since I have been experiencing a creative lull. When I don't allow myself the time to be creative, I feel very stifled, but the stress from that keeps me from letting loose with my ideas! Does anyone else have this problem?

Then, although it was a rather cloudy day here in New England, I had the brilliant idea of photographing Rosie and Angus with a cat shaped watering can I have on the porch. 

Here's how it went:

Angus is not interested;

Well, maybe...

Rosie is being fairly cooperative...

HAS to investigate the camera,

But prefers to be photographed alone;

Here is the only photo I could get of all three...

and then it was time to hunker down for a nap!

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Monday Musings

As it happens, it's Monday once again, and our stay-cation is over. But what a great week we had!

Besides some garage cleaning (of which I am NOT posting pictures!!), we took advantage of the beautiful weather and did some walking around the lovely lake in our town, which attracts many people in every kind of weather.

This photo was taken with Bill's phone, but it gives you an idea of the view from where we walked with church steeples in the distance. I loved these little kids wading in the water!

We ended our week by visiting the historic Longfellow's Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Ma. This is where we were married 33years ago, in this wedding chapel, called the "Martha-Mary Chapel". 

       

At the inn, we had a delicious meal in the beautiful dining room, then drove down the road to see "our" chapel. It was a gorgeous day and the perfect end to a great week.

So beautifully Colonial New England!

To read more information about the history of the Inn, you can go here!

Meanwhile, back at home, Angus and Rosie have been growing, being frisky and...

sleeping a lot!!

And, to tie this post into my blog theme of fabric art, I have been cleaning my studio!! Boxes are set up in another room for sorting fabrics and I am going through trims, notions and threads and finding just the right spot for everything. And, of course, there will be a lot of editing, as I get rid of clutter.

Can't help but think of how many times I've done this in the past, but one thing I know is that I get very blocked and can't create when things are a mess. So, one more time...!

I hope that everyone who reads this is having a terrific week! 

Monday Musings

This week, Bill and I are having a "stay-cation", going on day trips to places both familiar and new. Yesterday we went into Boston to the Museum of Fine Arts. We've been there many times, but the day was so beautiful, dry and breezy, what we most enjoyed was a walk along the Fenway.

We had a leisurely brunch in the museum restaurant, saw a Toulouse Lautrec exhibit, an exhibit of early musical instruments, beautiful period silver urns and tableware, and the always important walk through the European painting galleries.

Today we went to the charming harbor town of Marblehead, MA. We walked the crooked streets, went into lovely gift shops, enjoyed the historic houses and buildings, and ended up eating lunch in a restaurant right on the harbor. Another perfect weather day!

Lately I've been looking through a portfolio of sketches and paintings I did in the past - WAY in the past! I used to love drawing and painting, but never had much in the way of formal instruction. This acrylic painting was done when I was in my twenties, totally from my imagination.

                                                 

Several years later, when I was first married, I did this watercolor. A little humor here, with my grumpy morning self reflected in the coffeepot! 

                                                      

It wasn't long after that that I discovered art made with fabric. I don't know exactly what it was - the textures, colors, patterns of the fabric, or what - but I just knew I wanted to try it!

And I'm still trying it!!

Thanks for joining me on my little walk down memory lane!!

Have a great week!