"To see one's predicament clearly is a first step toward going beyond it" (p.131).

This is from Echart Tolle's new book The New Earth. I will admit, I have not read his books, neither this one nor the one prior to this one. What was it......The Power of Now? But I like the quote.

It speaks to me. It says if you don't admit to yourself (at least) the truth of what you are facing, then you will never be able to accurately deal with it.

I live with an avoider. But since I have been married for so long (forever!) and only to him, it seemed to be normal for that to happen. I was frustrated by his avoidance for many, many years. And had no clue what to do. I felt helpless because he never would admit that a problem existed, so we could never work on the problem.

For years I worked on what I could alone, feeling like I was in a vacuum. And I was, because if someone does not admit there is a problem then, for all practical purposes, there isn't one!

So my wonderful insight for today is: be truthful to yourself, at the very minimum. If you can't do that, you will never be able to get past what is there.

Fly, my friend, fly.

glen

oh, and you probably want to know who won the FQ Challenge. The Feathered Star won.
It deserved a top place as the work is incredible on it. I would never have thought to make a tradtional quilt with this not so traditional fabric!

The pieces are 6 inch squares. So the entire piece is very small with a lot of work packed into it!

Congratulations, Carol!

glen

Cooking with Red

Between today and yesterday, many fine tomatos gave their all for the sauce!

We went to Carrie's yesterday to work on re-grouting her tub, and I cooked enough spaghetti sauce for 5 containers of sauce and one huge humongous lasagna.

So we get home and Frank says, we are having lasagna for dinner? Nope, it was all in Carrie's freezer! Poor baby. We had grilled chicken and broccoli and avocado.

So today I once again cooked a huge pot of spaghetti sauce and made three lasagna in the 8 inch tin pans and had enough spaghetti sauce leftover for 3 containers for us.

I am tired of red!

glen: but I can sit and quilt all day for several days now! Just unfreeze a Lasagna, make some texas toast and a salad and we are eatin'!!!!

Tomorrow is my mother's 78th birthday. It will be OK but not great for her, her husband Stan is still in the nursing home after his stroke. His kids say he is doing better, but who knows. I guess we will get to see him tomorrow. Although I would like to take my mother anywhere but there.

His kids dump her off there every day, and leave her until they get off from work or decide to come get her. I feel sorry for her. What a life. But with me being in Baton Rouge and her in Laplace, I can't do much else for her.

So I made her a quilt wiht butterflies on it. It has shabby chic flowers that will fray because the ends are raw edge applique. A mix of formal and shabby. And purple. Bright. She needs bright.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Love Gaggie

Spring Fat Quarter Challenge

Hey there! Tonight is a rainy night that is only good for cuddling with dogs and quilting!

This is the latest quilt. Or one of them anyway, it seems I have been on a regular tear. I joined a cyber group a couple of years ago and we have these challenges every once in a while. In this one, everyone was sent the same Spring fabric. It is the one in the center of the circles. And we were to come up with a quilt around the fabric. An interesting way to design.

Mine here is called Carnivale! because it looks like a Brazillian Carnival to me. See my incredible quilting? It took a long time to do so many tight rows of machine quilting, but it would have taken far longer to have done it by hand! I don't know what I will win, but I do hope to win this one.

The voting started tonight and the competition is fierce. Let me show you some of the others. And I don't yet know the identities of the makers. But these are the competitors. Can you see the fabric in each piece?

Bunnies

Carol, What Have You Been Drinking?

Spring Banner

Double Feathered Star

Some enterprising person made appliques on the shirt!

And this is a pillow case. Very innovative!

May 2009----already?????

Ok, So in the post that got lost in cyberspace, I said I needed a secretary to keep up with all this stuff. And I need to learn to post pictures here.

A lot has happened. We have a new grand-dog Hugeaux, and Carrie has acquired a new husband Andrew.

We are getting ready to head out to Canada for a couple of weeks vacation. Banff. Lake Louise. All beautiful places. Canadian Rockies.

Hiking with bad knees! Yah baby.

I have finished a number of quilts, I guess I can post them here, maybe. Let me try.

glen