What a Relief!

Whew! The other night I finally had the opportunity to talk to my editor for quite a while. It's amazing how much better I felt after our discussion. I realized that I am actually doing okay with my progress and that everything is going to be just fine. We even changed several of the projects into smaller pieces which of course makes my job a little bit easier. It's amazing how not knowing things has a tendency to make me freak out and expect worst-case scenarios. Perhaps this is just human nature, who knows? I am glad to say that at least now I know what I have to do and how long I have to do it in. On a different note, I am so proud to say that my niece, Meghan, is officially a freshman at Allegheny College (my alma mater!) Here she is with her completed quilt! I actually had it done before she moved into the dorm so she could take it with her.

Meg is planning to double major in English and history with the future goal of becoming a college professor! I'm pretty pleased that one of her very first classes in her first semester is with my college mentor. How perfect is that? And, of course, Meg just adores her.....I hope she still feels that way when she gets her final exam.

Returning From Nowhere

Well, it seems I've taken a very long vacation from blogging. Strangely enough, I don't feel any more rested than I did before. OH! That's right, I've spent the last six weeks attempting to keep my head above water while I tried to balance work, work, and work. Oh, yeah -- the Olympics was in there too. AND quilting (that's work too, but fun most of the time). Anyway, I've been trying to get as much done as I possibly can on my quilting projects for my book, magazine pieces, and the monthly class that I co-teach. The strange thing is that the harder I try, the more obstacles that jump into my path. One of my biggest obstacles right now is trying to find a place to work where people will leave me alone. For example, right now I was sitting at the dining room table, writing this blog (after completing my latest magazine submission) and two members of my family came out from where they were working on their own projects and begin talking to me. The one family member is complaining about sopmething or another so I have to stop writing and take care of it immediately or else I won't hear the end of it. Then the other family member turns on the TV and proceeds to find something to watch while the volume is quite loud, all the while having a conversation with the other person. So now I have grabbed my laptop, mouse, etc. and I have relocated to my bed. Thank goodness for wi-fi! Oh, of course, my dog follows me and I have to put him up on the bed too (he's cursed with very short legs and is a terrible jumper...). Looking back on the past six weeks, this scenario has repeated itself over and over and over with slight variations of course. When I'm in my studio working on a quilt project, someone needs something somewhere or the dog has to go out....or whatever. I know, I know......welcome to reality. The only problem is that it's only really gotten this annoying in the last couple months, or has it? I love to be needed, but not that much. The really ironic thing is that I'm no one's mother nor am I someone's spouse. The only children I can claim are the furry ones on four feet. Please forgive my frustration and my complaints, but I can't seem to get enough accomplished.....or maybe I'm asking too much of myself. I'm not really sure. If I had a little help and cooperation, things would go more smoothly, I think. Thanks for listening.