Tuesday, September 22, 2009

One hour of therapy

You ever just have a day when you are down for no apparent reason? Nothing has gone wrong, per se, but you just can't seem to break out a smile? That was me yesterday. I should have been happy - I got a lot done at work, we sparred in karate (what a great way to get out aggression!), my husband cooked a fantastic dinner and had it waiting when I got home, after dinner I made a pot of tea and curled up in the recliner to finish my book - all in all, it was a good day. But still, I was bummed.

You know what always works, don't you? I pulled out some pieces from my GGG quilt that needed trimming down to 2" size. I gave myself an hour to just press and cut. Normally, cutting is my least favorite part of quilting; actually, no, basting is, but cutting is a close second. But as I cut, I tried to imagine what each fabric was used for back in my Great Great Grandmother's day. Was this pretty print a child's dress or an apron? Were pillowcases made from this soft cotton? I was tranported. An hour later, I had two respectable stacks of squares and HSTs:


The majority of the fabrics are florals - here's a random sampling:


Then there are a couple stripes, and then some rather bizarre prints. Check out the cat with a can or cup of something, the children riding all sorts of animals - elephants, ostriches, and camels - and the men loading (or unloading) trunks on a carriage.


By the time I cleaned up after myself, I could speak civilly again, and I took myself to bed early. Today, I vow to be pleasant all day. Life is too short to spend it moping around!

By the way, for those of you who were wondering, I am the one in the black in the photo from a few posts ago. Cheers!

6 comments:

Bootzey said...

Its good that you have this outlet for good mental health

Nancy said...

So are you taking the GGG completely apart? Isn't it interesting to see all the patterns in the old fabrics? Would be fun to see how many of them have been reproduced. Oh, and congrats on getting the rest of the patches sewn on!

Lane said...

Hey, Erin. i'm having your yesterday today. Maybe some ironing and cutting this evening will help. Take care. Lane

Shirley said...

Hope you have a better day today. I guess we all need down days to realize how good we feel the rest of the time. Love the fabrics. You're so lucky to have them. I love history and love to daydream about what life was like in the past. They do reproductions but they don't come close to the real thing do they.

Auntie Em said...

What would we all do without quilting for therapy? Glad you were able to conquer your down day. I think we all have them at one time or another. At least I know I do.

Linda said...

I'm having that kind of day today, actually! It's overcast here and my head is a bit "swimmy." I'm heading up to the sewing room for some therapy right now. The fabrics you're using are great, and how neat to imagine their uses over the years. I have found that when I'm cutting or ironing, listening to an audio book is a big help.