Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Has anyone seen my motivation?

It's one of those days - I'm up, I'm at work, but I fear I am pretty useless right now.  I have no energy, no motivation, no enthusiasm.  Perhaps I'm overtired?  Or overwhelmed, thinking of the upcoming two weekends that I have to work?  Or maybe I'm just in partial hibernation mode, waiting out my least favorite season?

Whatever the problem, I thought maybe a blog post would help me focus and get me moving in a positive direction.

It's been an exhilarating week for me.  People have called and emailed and stopped me in public places - "Hey, didn't I just see you on the front of the newspaper?"  I never imagined that happening to me!

And the sweet things people have since done!  One woman brought me a dozen eggs fresh from her farm - wanted to do something for me since I was doing so much for others.  Another man called me at work and told me he had a bunch of fabric he's collected from auctions over the years, and wanted to donate it to the cause.  He made his first delivery last Friday:

The Star Quilters Guild in Roanoke asked to help - I sent them 3 sets of blocks to assemble and quilt.

I've gotten two inquiries about commission quilts - one that I'll definitely do, the other, I'm not so sure.

Above all, it's been a feel-good week.

I haven't had a ton of time to sew, though.  I've gotten most of another Sandy quilt top assembled while making a quick little hand project to take to basketball games.  I made this color wheel Dresden thinking I'd make it into a clock, but I accidentally broke the clock trying to take it apart - oops!
This was a hard exercise for me.  I used just scraps, and had a hard time deciding which fabrics worked and went where. I finally just sewed together what I had, but it still doesn't quite match the color wheel I looked up online.
Maybe I'll get another clock, but maybe it will end up being a pillow or a wall hanging.  Who knows?  I just know that January means sitting on the bleachers through 3 basketball games every Saturday, so I need something small and portable to keep my hands busy.

Mostly, I've been doing prep work:

Prepping for an up-cycling workshop I'm going to do with my guild in February - we are going to make "green" shopping bags from pillowcases and drawstring backpacks from t-shirts -
I love using these bags - they are fully lined, super sturdy and machine washable. 
I can't go shopping with these without someone asking where I got my bags. 
The cashiers are always so amazed at how much these can carry! 
This is my absolute favorite - that yellow check is so cheery it almost makes me want to go shopping! 
Very lightweight, and the perfect size for a day hike 
Again, fully lined for durability - although both Jason and I have used ours so much over the last two years that they are starting to come undone! 
Prepping for our last week of the Ready to Quilt program - the kids are mostly finished with their composition book covers now, and are ragging the edges of the denim quilt.

And prepping for our next Cub Scout meeting this weekend - we'll be doing a woodworking project, but I am doing all of the cutting and drilling in advance.

I'll leave you with images from fun times with my friend, Michelle, on New Year's Day.  We went over for lunch, and ended up having a bit of a jam session.  One of these days, I might actually even learn how to play a song on one of the FOUR guitars we have at our house!
For some reason, Donald hates having his photo taken these days, but he was on keyboard. 
Jason is in the background getting some guitar instruction, while Michelle's little cutie was rocking out on his new 4-year-old sized guitar.
And Michelle and I fumbled our way through some John Denver (strum strum - wait while I reposition my fingers! - strum strum - giggle!)
Oh, and how funny, but someone who found my blog through the newspaper article, Lisa U, won my giveaway.  She chose the yellow paisley flowers and the bird print, and should have already received her winnings by now.  Hmmm, what can I give away next?  Stay tuned!

11 comments:

Auntie Em said...

It's no wonder you feel overwhelmed! I'm exhausted just reading your post! You really know how to make the most of every minute. It's okay to take a breather now and then.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Yes, I agree - over stimulated and overwhelmed. Take a SPA day!

Lane said...

Maybe you need to rest for a few minutes before all that stuff you've got coming up happens. That's usually what a lack of motivation means for me; my body's way of saying "stop voluntarily or I'll take you down". You have a lot going on right now. Oh, and love the dresden. What a great idea. Be well. Lane

Loris said...

Great use of the pillow cases.
I love your Dresdon color wheel. It will look sweet somewhere if not for a clock. Nice idea!
Hope your energy returns...mine too!

Lisa Uotinen said...

Received your fabric in the mail!!! Thank you so much!

Michelle said...

I always get exhausted reading your posts and I usually have people telling me that I'm busy!!

Love the grocery bags, can you tell me where you got the pattern?

Anonymous said...

Yup....exhausted here, too! Girl, have you always had this one speed???!!!! LOL!

Wacky Woman said...

It sounds like you have plenty to do. But, if you are still looking for your look for mine at the same time. They may be hanging out together.

Shay said...

Erin,. Ive been running on no enthusiasm at work for the last couple of weeks. Thankfully with holidays and what not the days I’ve been able to be less productive than usual have been fewer. I finally pulled it together yesterday and got a reasonable amount of work done. It’ll come- just pace yourself!

Love that rainbow Dresden block. Its cute as.

Quilter Kathy said...

Love your Dresden! You should sign up for the Dresden blog hop at Sew We Quilt! It might be incentive to finish it up!

Michelle said...

I just wanted to say thank you for going to my blog and posting the link for the bag. it looks like alot of fun and something that my girls would enjoy making.

have a wonderful weekend and hope you get lots of quilting in!!