Hi ,
How are your holiday preparations coming along? We're getting into that crunch time right before Christmas where every day seems shorter and the list of things to do seems longer.
This week I had a much needed reminder of what the real priorities are in my life, and it isn't getting family packages of gifts and cookies mailed by the 15th. My son James got very sick over the weekend with long periods of very high, scary temperatures.
Of course he has thrown off the cold and is perfectly healthy now, but those few days of scary sickness woke me up to what is truly important. My son being healthy, my ability to care for him, my husband's ability to take care of us both with frequent trips to the grocery store for ginger ale - all this requires patience and compassion, two things that are often lacking during this time of the year.
In all the bustle and craziness of shopping, baking, and hosting parties, it can be our closest family that receives the very least of our holiday cheer. Growing up my memories are mostly of being nagged to clean, nagged to help out, or nagged for playing underfoot. It definitely didn't make the holidays a fun or relaxing time in my house, and as an adult, it's taken me many years to learn that a family get-together doesn't have to feel that way.
Just remember as you get ready to host a party or begin baking your favorite traditional meals that that is is your closest family - those you live with every day - that don't need a clean house or a perfect tree or even a fantastic present to know you love them. All anyone really needs is a place of peace and calm during this hectic time.
So let patience and compassion be your guide for the next week, and that is not just with your family, but with yourself as well. Remember to find time within every day for creative play. You are a quilter and your quilting time should be more than your occasional reward for getting through your to-do list, but a daily ritual that you give to yourself with no strings attached.
Rest, quilt, and be merry!
Leah Day
New Design on the Free Motion Quilting Project
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This week we're continuing our adventure with Overlapping Designs. These designs are easy and quick and often a perfect choice for any area of your quilt whether it's sashing, borders, or covering the entire thing with one solid texture.
The design for this week is called Starry Mess, and it's basically created by overlapping very large, very simple star shapes.
The one downside of these designs is they can look a bit messy on your quilt (hence the name), particularly if you quilt them on a very small scale.
Just keep your Stars for Starry Mess very big and they will cover lots of space without getting too messy on the surface!
Click Here to learn how to Quilt Starry Mess
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Introducing Sterling Thread
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We've recently added Sterling, a beautiful shade of gray Isacord thread to the quilt shop. This color is excellent for quilts of all colors because the neutral gray will blend in, or at least not conflict badly with any color of fabric. Find a 1000 meter spool of Sterling Isacord Thread for $6.00
Or treat yourself to a set of 12 beautiful colors for $69.99
Find Isacord Thread right here in the Day Style Designs Quilt Shop.That's it for this week! I hope you will find a bit of quiet time today to make something beautiful. I'm currently finishing up a beautiful quilt I will be teaching in the Quilt Along in 2013. And yes, I'll be sharing more hints on this upcoming project very soon! Let's go quilt, Leah Day |
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