CONTINUING TO GROW

Still playing with Kaffe

adding some selvedge blocks

collectig yoyos

and playing with these.

While creating...

I am...

Continuing to rewrite the stories

Practicing moment to moment

Trusting that the Universe has my back

Believing in sublime possibilities

"Life is but a dream, and if we are artisits, then we can create our life with Love, and our dream becomes a masterpiece of art." - Don Miguel Ruiz

AWARE WITH RIPPLEMAMA

Here's some of the new fabric I collected while on the road trip to Kalispell, Montana.

Thanks to Freddy Moran, I am always on the look out for balanced black and whites that don't read gray.

How about this piece in a lonestar titled "Visualize whirled peas"?!!!!

Great selvedge on this one.

This book caught my eye, especially...

these flowers.

This book also looked fun, especially this...

garden angel.

I carved out some time today to make my version. Her name is RippleMama and she spends her sublime days starting ripples of love!!! (Thank Em http://mcelebrates.blogspot.com/ for the inspiration about ripple effects) Her watering can is sprinkling a drink on heart flowers, in one hand her bag is filled with love, AND in her other hand she has the key to awareness!!!

I'll leave you with a quote from A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook by Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein:

"One of the gifts that mindfulness offers is helping you recognize that there are choices in how you respond to any stressful situation...with awareness, everyone has freedom of choice how to respond. The key is awareness."

Once aware, I am choosing to respond from a place of love!!!! How about you??

A RUTH MCDOWELL WORKSHOP AND MORE

And so begins a ten hour road trip...  

three friends, Sue, Susan, and me learning to accomodate each other's needs while putting our best foot forward - one quilt shop stop at a time! (This is in front of Bear Paw Quilting in Spokane, WA.)

LOTS of beautyFULL

And even some HOPE!

 not there yet...

Ahhh...two lovely calming nights at Sue's childhood house on forty acres in the wilds of Troy, Montana. Sue's charming mom graciously hosted us while we continued to nuture our ever blooming friendship.

Day three - final destination - a Ruth McDowell workshop at the most wonderful Quilt Gallery in Kalispell, Montana http://www.quiltgallery.net/

This was Sue's (left) ninth class with Ruth. http://www.ruthbmcdowell.com/ I have been in awe of Sue's masterpieces and it was time for me to step away from my typically liberal and often katywumpus style. Susan (on the right) is helping hold up Sue's project - her two children bottle feeding two cows -from last year.

Here's my project. A photo of my middle son walking along the shore of northern Lake Michigan up by Traverse City.

Tracing and sectioning

numbering

consulting with Ruth



Sue was working on her son's beloved black lab Bear

Susan was working on her beloved cat Sammy

working hard

Then you blow up your tracing to the size you want. The writing on the sides is hopefully the correct recipe to help guide the putting back together of all the pieces.

At this point I am smiling on the outside and thinking OH MY on the inside.

Susan works with Ruth

We all work with Ruth



Now my picture is traced on to freezer paper

with LOTS of different colored tick marks to help you figure out how the pieces get back together.

Here's TJ's daughter and boyfriend in a field of grapeseed.

WELL...FINALLY...ON THE THIRD DAY OF CLASS...

FABRIC!!!  Some of my own

(For the first time ever in eleven years of quilting I have pins!)

and some new. Luckily the shop provides a cart when Ruth takes me shopping! (My husband finds this the funniest part of the whole trip. "A CART?!" he says.)

Here's a very nice Canadian gal who has lived all over and taught french and critical thinking for many many years. She was juggling four photo ideas and finally settled on a trillium...or did she?

Jordan's naughty pup

Carrie played all day in the class and ran a resturant every night! This picture was taken on the Washington coast.

So very cool. Amazing really.

What I love most is how the whole trip symbolically ties into what I am working on in my life. The two days at Sue's mom's house forced me to slow down. Slowing down enabled me to begin Ruth's class with a fresh calm quiet state of mind.

Yes, Ruth, I am ready to listen. What are you saying?  

Take it one baby step at a time.

Think it through. Listen to the fabric.

If it doesn't work the first time, NO BIG DEAL! Try again. No impending doom.

Allow what is meant to happen...happen.

I trusted.

I had faith.

 I believed that the universe wanted to fill my life with good...

my boys were absolutely fine this week with their wonderful dad...

I listened to my whispers and took care of my self for the first time in a very long time...

 I nourished an old friendship and sprinkled fertilizer on a new one...

 I practiced balancing my needs and left class one day early to see U2 at Quest Field.

And guess what? I allowed more sublime moments to sneak in!

RINGING BELLS AND ALLOWING

Since life is sublime and I listen to the whispers (did you watch the last Oprah??) of my authentic self, I am off to take a five day class with Ruth McDowell in Kalispell, Montana.

Taking care of my needs so there will be a positive ripple effect (thanks Em) of good energy for my family is a new way of thinking for me.

Em posted a picture from her new favorite book http://mcelebrates.blogspot.com/ and mentioned bells.

bells...

My focus is that I'm moving toward something good

always from a place of love

no longer from a place of fear

Bells on a bag I made for my son to carry in Japan

with lots of bells he collected at shrines and stores.

We were told the noise of the bell wards off evil spirits.

no need for stories of impending doom

joining together with friends (the dinner bell my husband's beloved grandma used to call dinnertime)

Here's me - peaceFULLy ringing my bells.

I am here on this planet practicing

ALLOWING

allowing whatever happens to happen

because I am learning that no matter how hard I spin,

I cannot control life

I now have trust and faith that the universe wants to fill my days with good

new places

fabulous quilt classes

good friends

a family able to care for themselves for a week

a loveable me - RINGING MY BELLS in joyous celebration of ALLOWING