A Trip Around The World...

I have finally finished my queen size Trip Around The World. If you are a long time reader with a good memory, you may recall that I was hand quilting this the summer of 2007, and trying desperately to get it finished before I moved to Texas. I came incredibly close - all I had left to do was 1/4 of the border, just one side. A little over a year later I finally finished that tiny bit of quilting, bound it, and here we are.





I really enjoyed piecing the Trip Around The World. It goes together quickly and it's really fun to see how the fabrics interact with each other in the final design. Pulling the fabric was maybe the most fun part, and I'm tempted to pull fabric for another one even though I'm not likely to make it for a long time.



With this finish I have finished three quilts in the one month since leaving Texas. This one barely counts since most of the work was already done, but I guess a finish is a finish. It's sort of funny for me to think about how I've used my time during this month. Creative activity in any form has no doubt been good for me. On the other hand, I haven't touched the scrapbook I bought for my Texas mementos. I haven't done much (hardly any) of the writing I wanted to do about my experience at the shelter. I've done some sewing, a little bit of that "trying to be serious about life", and a lot of...nothing. And by nothing I mean a lot of mindless activities that leave me wondering where my time goes. Things like minesweeper. Flipping channels. You know.

Maybe this "black hole" time (as I think of it) is just what I needed. Nevertheless, I am trying to think seriously about what I want my priorities to be and think of ways to make sure those priorities actually take priority. This period of downtime in my life is a huge blessing. I realize how privileged I am to have it and how short it's likely to be...