No, not me…

..my garden every year in early June. Not by design, but I confess that I do always tend towards the purples and blues at the garden centre….

Thank you so much to all of you for your recent comments and support. We are OK. No-one is dying, but there is just a bit too much ‘life’ all coming together at the moment. I’ve worked out that in a month at least some of it will look better…simply because things have to be resolved one way or the other by then.

I’m hanging on in and trying to take time to take pleasure in the little things that make life good.

I hope you are too!

Helen

The Rhein (Rhine) Falls near Schaffhausen, Switzerland – today, after several days of torrential rain.

Rather a metaphor for my life at the moment.

Trying to feel the zen…..

….and hoping to get back to the sewing machine before too long…

Helen

Hello all,

I’m still here, but for the first time for 6 years my entire (very small) family are here in Switzerland, so sewing and blogging are not really making it to my list of things to do.

I was a little concerned about how things would be..there have been tensions in the past…but people seem to have mellowed and so far so good, it’s working well. Life’s like that sometimes isn’t it? The things you can’t wait for fall a little flat and the things you view with trepidation turn out to be pretty darned good.

It just shows that you never really know and that life truly is full of surprises.

Maybe tomorrow the sun will even shine – now that WOULD be a surprise!!

Have a nice weekend,

Helen

I finally forced myself to sit down and get on with some sewing this afternoon.

The result was one more Fireworks block.

It was a bit of a slog if I’m honest. I love the effect of these blocks and I know I’m going to absolutely adore the finished quilt because the Rouenneries Deux reds and browns and beiges are just a heavenly combination. But making it all happen is tough. The blocks are big and made of a lot of pieces – 73 each if I calculated correctly. That means a huge amount of cutting out before I can start each block – about 2.5 fat quarters a time – mostly cut into pretty small squares and rectangles. (And between you and me…but don’t tell anyone else…that’s a bit boring..if I’m being really honest).

Also sewing the blocks one at a time just makes the fabric feel a bit same old same old. I’m just not feeling the love…it’s more a case of feeling the self-discipline. I absolutely know that I will love it all once its done…but right now….nah….

Maybe it’s just a bit of missing mojo, not helped along by a lot of teenage issues….but today I’m feeling a lot more satisfaction from hot baths and plain vanilla knitting. And the garden, mustn’t forget that. When the rain stops, being in the garden is an absolute joy. I guess that’s where I should be focussing my attention.

Maybe my Fireworks blocks are trying to tell me something.

Helen

I had meant to do a little sewing yesterday….but we finally had one day of spring! (Don’t worry, it’s raining again today!). I spent the whole day outside weeding, planting, puttering and making a little dent in the chaos that my garden is trying to turn itself into. It’s a bit of a hopeless battle, but it felt good to be outside in the sun and doing stuff.

This is the proof that even though the weather is mostly horrible round here at the moment it really, truly is spring….they say when the apple tree blooms, that’s it, the sign of spring.

Things are starting to flower, we’ve passed the Eisheilige (the days in mid-May after which it’s supposedly safe to plant things that aren’t frost resistant) and really, summer should be on its way.

I have my doubts, but it is a little warmer and I’ve taken the bold step of packing away my winter clothes and mentally moving into summer mode…cut off chinos and short sleeves…which is a little chilly, but I guess I’ll harden up fast!

I hope the sun is shining where you are…maybe you’d be so kind as to send it my way!

Helen

PS And of course the big plus is that I’m indoors and sewing today!