Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Pieces Coming Together


Slowly... ever so slowly, the pieces for my book are coming together and with each step I am crossing things off on my list.

The pages were resized, but that caused problems with the layout.  The document went from 116 pages to 140+.  **Sigh**  I made all of the necessary adjustment and followed the steps to embed the fonts and convert to a .PDF document.  However... something did not work correctly **Grrrrr** and I have yet to upload the file.  One more appointment made with my "lifeline" for the tech support with this problem has been made.  Keep your fingers crossed and whisper a little prayer with me for success Tuesday afternoon.  


The girlfriends arrived on Thursday afternoon... Sue and I were discussing some of our favorite Netflix shows and decided to introduce Julie to Virgin River.  She's hooked!  She went home and MADE her husband and daughter watch the first episode and now they are hooked as well.  LOL!

✔  Finish quilting the borders and binding of the wedding quilt.

❧The quilt is has been laundered and is ready for a photo shoot!



We toured around town and enjoyed a few gift shops.

On Friday night we enjoyed an evening out at the local theatre.  "Murder on Main Street" was a fun murder-mystery that the audience got to participate by asking suspects questions and then solve the murder. 

We didn't solve the case correctly, but the director of the play/event was impressed with Julie's detailed answer and suggested she "help with the next one".  Haha!

Dave returned home safely, tired and empty-handed.  He and his hunting partner didn't see a single elk, only three deer and 30+ hunting camps in the area.  No wonder they didn't see anything!  None the less, I was happy to have him home and the girls didn't mind that he returned early.  The timing was actually for the better as Jules wasn't feeling up to par and Sue had a family member that needed her help a day earlier than she had planned.  All's well that ends well. 💗


✔  Start the t-shirt memory quilt for the college softball coach.  All blocks have been trimmed to size and on the design wall.  I have all of the fabric needed for the sashing strips, border, binding and backing.  

❧  I will get the top completed and sandwiched this week.  But the quilting of it will wait until I ❧ get at least one of the two quilt tops for my favorite and best customer. 

In my time alone and time in conversation with my friends as well as the current Bible Devotion/Study I am doing I have realized that some of my priorities had become a bit mixed up and out of order and I think that has been a large part of the problem with my messy melt-downs, frustrations and mood swings.  I've been overwhelmed... and simply kept trying harder and harder.  Like the little engine that could... "I think I can, I think I can."  Yet the harder I tried, the more frustrated I felt as challenge after challenge has come at me.  I was feeling defeated, tired, frustrated, angry, unworthy and like a failure.  The fun in life had been sucked out of me.

I am resetting the boundaries of "work" and setting weekends aside for creating and quilting for me.  I am also reducing the amount of time spent on the computer/tablet.  Dave is making a similar reset.  It will be a challenge since both of us have used social media for our business, but not impossible.  Prayers appreciated as we do this!

What tips and suggestions do you have to help make such adjustments in life?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!

Stay Calm and Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate
Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
To Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal
Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
Stitch Sew & Show at Life in the Scrap Patch



10 comments:

  1. Looks like you gals did a little hiking! How fun, and I love your front and center companion in the photo of all 3 of you.
    When we watched the first episode of Virgin River, I was convinced my husband wouldn't want to watch it again - but we both got hooked! I love the fact that it is not dragged down by gore and graphic you-know-what. ;)
    I have a couple questions for your advice:
    1) I want to make my great-nephew a quilt for his wedding, but I had thought I wanted it to be a surprise and so I asked his fiancee's aunt about colors and styles. She was a little bit of help, but not much. Now I'm wondering if I should reach out to my great-nephew and his fiancee and ask them directly about colors, styles, etc. What would you do?
    2) One of my daughter's friends has stated she would like for me to make a memory quilt from her father's shirts, and that some of them are knit shirts. I've never made a memory quilt. At some point I know she will get the shirts to me, but I have some time to prepare. I know there are a lot of resources available, and I'm not scared, but I'm a wee bit nervous about the quilting part. Any advice is appreciated.
    OK thanks for linking up to To Do Tuesday!

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  2. Definitely define your limitations of social media, whether it's confined to a certain time of day, or use a timer to outline a stop moment. I find if I don't limit it I get sucked down rabbit holes and then it's an hour later! Good luck with your list, glad you got some fun time in with friends!

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  3. I am amazed at how my priorities shift. It's so quick and easy to snap open the computer or other social media first, rather than attend to devotions. I am working on shifting my priorities and getting things straight. My day will be much better when I get it back to the right way. Glad you enjoyed time with your friends, some quilting and other fun! I watched all of VR, at least all episodes available at that point. Hubs hung in until it got too "soapy". Haha!

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  4. Hang in there Melva. Sometimes resetting is required. That's about all I've done for over two weeks now, just trying to feel better and get some energy back. Unplugging is hard but sometimes necessary.

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  5. It sounds like you had a time with the girls that was MUCH needed!!
    as for reset - I am trying to make my outside time a priority before the dark comes haha! Enjoy!!

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  6. Hi Melva,
    Your post rang true to me. My devotions/bible reading time should be a priority, the first part of every day. Prayers going up for us both, that we use time wisely. Hugs, Judy

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  7. I find smaller incremental changes have made it easier to incorporate changes into my routines/life. For your issue with Social media try limiting to certain times of day or for set periods of time that you can gradually reduce. Plan ahead what is important to use that time for and stick to those identified needs. Be Patient with yourself - it takes time to make changes that you want to be long lasting

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  8. What a wonderful time you had. I would suggest starting and ending every day with couples prayer, or even better, family prayer if you are bringing your children into these changes, which would be awesome! A family goal to spend more time together making good memories. When you start to feel overwhelmed, take a time out right away, don't push through to "a stopping point".

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  9. Hi Melva! So glad you have decided to step slightly away from social media. It will be a tough habit to break and yet once you do, you'll wonder how you ever spent so much time on it. I can feel your frustration and how overwhelmed you were in your words. {{Hugs}} I do pray for you and hope that Pieces behaves and comes together for you. So glad DH got home safely! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  10. Sounds like you had good time with friends, and this is a great resolution about social media! Lovely T-shirt quilt, I love these bright yellows!
    Thank you for sharing, and linking up ;)

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