Friendship Quilt

I spent my last weekend in Michigan at our annual quilting retreat (or "Rereat!" as we call it) at Debra's house in Grand Rapids.  The date had been set before I knew when I was leaving for Minnesota, and I'm so glad that it worked out for me to be able to go this year.  We've been meeting at Debra's once a year for a couple decades - first at her parents lake cottage, then when she lived in Cadillac (where x-country skiing was a big part of the retreat weekend), and most recently in Grand Rapids.

This was a special weekend for me in so many ways - to be surrounded by friends, to have a chance to sit and talk and sew, to eat good food, and - SURPRISE - they gave me this beautiful quilt!

I was touched and thrilled and honored to be given such a lovely gift. Lori suggested the pattern, and then Cindy organized collecting the blocks and piecing the top, which was quilted by Kari and bound by Louise. Beth, Jan and Linda contributed pieces for the backing.  Each quilter made a block for the center using bird fabric in Lori's block pattern, and the outer border is comprised of blocks made by each quilter in a bird theme.  For example, Jan did the "Hens and Chicks" block pattern, using hen fabric - perfect!  The border also includes signature blocks from each quilter, with a special message to me.  I loved reading each one!

The year ahead - thoughts on moving, downsizing, and simplifying

A few years ago, my cousin Kate moved to San Francisco for a year and wrote a blog of her life while she was there. And a couple years ago (has it been that long?), my friend Jan took a bike trip across the U.S. and wrote a blog about her trip.  In both cases, I loved following their travels and experiences through reading their blogs.  Now that I'm embarking on a whole new chapter of my life - new job, new house, new city/state - I thought it might be fun to record my first year in a blog.

MOVING and DOWNSIZING

 

One challenge for me in this big life change to a new job and new city is that I'm older. I'll be 56 in a few short weeks - too young to retire and too old to move my own furniture (thank you, Two Men & a Truck).  Moving my furniture to the new house in Bloomington last week reminded me of my many moves over the years from dorm to apartments to houses.  For most of those moves, I could fit my entire life (well, except for the orange chair) into my car.  Now the orange chair has been left by the side of the curb for the garbage men, and my belongings (even after much culling) filled up much of a moving van.  Amazing how much fabric and how many books one person can acquire in twenty-plus years, even after downsizing.  Even though I did keep a lot, it was wonderfully freeing to divest myself of so many items - furniture, clothing, books, fabric, knicknacks, junk.

SIMPLIFYING

In the interim period while my belongings are in Minnesota and while I'm still working in Michigan, I'm living in a one-bedroom apartment with my dogs in Tish's basement apartment (I am a lucky duck).  I only have a few belongings with me - clothes, toiletries, dog dishes, paperwork, computer - and I'm finding that I am really enjoying living a streamlined, simplified life.  Snuggling into bed at night in my little apartment reminds me of the various apartments I lived in after college - Versailles Plaza in Hyattsville, student housing at Duke, my tiny one-room apartment at University Place in East Lansing one summer, and even my odd, leaky apartment at Hidden(f***ing)Tree A (f***ing) Rental Community (my apologies for the offensive language but you would understand if you had lived there). 

Five years ago when my friend Phyllis moved from her 3-bedroom house in Lansing to an RV in California, I couldn't understand how she could exist happily in such tiny quarters without her sewing machine and access to her fabric. But now, it all makes sense to me. Last night I hand-pieced a quilt block, and I truly enjoyed the slower pace of sewing by hand. [Thanks for paving the way for me, Phyllis - I feel like I'm following in your footsteps starting a brand-new adventure later in life!]

My next challenge, of course, will be to keep my life simplified after I move...