Ok, I confess, I cheated. My tenth word was “of” so I took the eleventh. Fabric. Glorious, beautiful, delicious fabric. It’s not all that surprising since my computer shares space with my sewing room. A quick reach to the right, and I pulled my ancient Quilter’s Complete Guide by Fons and Porter off the shelf. How lucky to find fabric in the first sentence, after all, it’s one of my favorite things!
The trick was not to get too lost in the google images. There were bazillions of them. Stacks of fabric, piles of fabric, bolts of fabric. Of course the bright cottons drew me right away. I love the bold colors and eye catching designs. These are the fabrics favored by modern quilters, often in combination with neutrals. Their work also features solids of all shades. I still shy away from solids myself, but the work those quilters do is amazing.
The modern quilt movement has done wonderful things for the world of quilting, infusing it with new life and energy. I love that modern quilters aren’t afraid to make mistakes or do things their own way. The quilt police have long ago been drummed out of their world.
More traditional quilters are using those gorgeous new fabrics too, in innovative and stunning ways. I subscribe to several quilting publications, and I’m always inspired by the creativity of other quilters, regardless of their niche in the large and inclusive quilting world.
Currently I consider myself a lazy quilter, or at least an easy quilter. I don’t quilt often anymore, and when I do I usually choose simple designs that showcase the fabrics. I’ve cut back considerably on my fabric shopping for several reasons, none of which include not LOVING all the new fabric trends.
1. cost – quality quilting cottons are quite pricey
2. space – with my fiancé living with us, our house is pretty full
3. guilt – there is a lot of fabric in this house that has been here a long time
I need to get my current project wrapped up and sent on it’s way, then finish up some UFO’s (unfinished objects, for the uninitiated). Not only would I feel better about using what I have, but I would be ticking off some items on my 47 for 47 challenge. Maybe then I could add some luscious new fabrics to my collection.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE KEEPING YOU FROM LIVING YOUR PASSION?
I think of obstacles as hurdles. They’re in your way, but they’re not insurmountable. In fact, you really don’t even have to go over them in all cases. Sometimes you can simply knock them down or go around them. Now brick walls are a different story. Those need to be scaled or demolished, which is a similar concept, but on a much grander scale.
Fortunately for me, I don’t have any brick walls in my way. To me, the brick walls in life are things like substance abuse issues, lack of a basic education, mental or physical illness, poverty, fear from living in an abusive situation, and loneliness. Some of those may be overcome with tools, support, and determination, but others may not. I’m thankful that none of those situations apply to my life at this time. If I’m fortunate, they never will.
The type of obstacles I face are largely the self-imposed ones. A quick run-down includes:
1. indecision
2. being uninformed
3. inertia
4. fear of change
Let’s examine these one at a time. Indecision is probably the biggest issue for me. I’m indecisive about what living my passion means or looks like. I’m not sure how to achieve a goal that I have yet to firmly define. I am passionate about writing, and would love to take my writing beyond my beloved blog, but I’m not certain in what direction I wish to go. I don’t have a Harry Potter or a Fifty Shades of Grey series in me, this I know. I have to figure out exactly what it is that I DO have in me.
The second issue is that I’m uninformed about how exactly this whole writing/publishing thing works. This is entirely my own fault. I know authors, I’m part of writing groups, and I have resources. I need to spend more time learning and less time making excuses, which brings me to the next point, inertia.
It is far easier to do what you already know than to change things up. I’ve lived this too many times to count. I’ve spent years in jobs that took life out of me, and I’ve given far too much of myself to relationships that gave me little in return. Why? Inertia. Change is difficult. It’s physics, really. Newton’s law. A body at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. Something like that. I can’t spend the rest of my life waiting for outside forces to intervene, though. If it’s to be, I have to make it happen, whatever “IT” happens to ends up being.
It’s all well and good to put out the rallying cry, but in the end I think the main reason for emotional inertia, Newton aside, is fear. After all, I’m only human. I know what I know and I know how to navigate the life I currently lead. I’m happy. I enjoy my work and my students and colleagues. I feel happy and productive and content that I’m making a contribution to the greater good. I’m generally satisfied with the compensation I receive for that work. Overall, things are pretty good. So why mess with a good thing?
I’m not afraid of failure. I’m not jumping off a cliff. Failure in a writing or publishing endeavor won’t leave me crumpled on a canyon floor. It won’t take food off my family’s table or turn us out into the street. It’s not failure that concerns me, it’s, dare I say it, success. What would that look like? What would that feel like? Would I leave my current situation? Would I be a pretender? Would I fool the general public, or at least a tiny slice of it, into believing whatever it is I’m selling? Because as an author, you really are selling. You’re selling your story and your point of view and your voice. Am I up to that task? I just don’t know yet. And I’m just not sure how I ought to proceed. Damn, there’s that indecision again.
Guess what folks. It’s Award Time! Ok, this is so exciting for me that it’s ridiculous, but I’m giddy with the news that Mama, from Reinvention of Mama, has nominated me for not one, but four blogging awards! Hooray! Of course there are others she nominated too, and some of them are some of my favorites as well. The awards are as follows:
1.WordPress Family Award
Rules: Display the award on your blog, link back to the person who nominated you, nominate 10 others you see as having an impact on your WordPress experience and family.
2. Semper Fidelis Award (for those who are ‘always faithful/always loyal)
3. Reader Appreciation Award for those who like and comment on a regular basis.
4. Liebster Award– for awesome blogs with smaller readerships
Rules: Display the award logo, thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to his or her blog. Answer the 11 questions that your nominator asks you, post 11 random facts about yourself, nominate 11 bloggers of your own, with under 200 followers, whom you think are as awesome as you, and create 11 questions for your nominees.
Disclaimer: I don’t always know how many people follow your blogs. I don’t always know who has visited mine. These are blogs that are meaningful to me for various reasons all covered in one way or another by the above awards, so let’s not get too hung up on the particulars, and have some fun checking out some great blogs and bloggers.
At what age did you begin writing? I began at about age four, when I scrawled my name all over my territory with a Sharpie marker.
Did you write any really bad high school angsty poetry? Care to share? I really didn’t. I did more journaling at that time. I did submit a satire piece to the high school literary magazine that I rediscovered recently. It’s not funny enough to bother retyping, though.
What is your favorite novel to read? I really enjoy Young Adult novels. Catcher in the Rye might be my favorite, but I do love The Hunger Games series. The Time Traveler’s Wife stayed with me for a long time, too.
Are there any books you have read more than once? I’m a teacher, there are lots. I’ve also reread a few for pleasure too, but not many, there are so many I haven’t read yet that I want to read new ones.
If you’re writing a book, what genre? Oh, I write a little of this and a little of that. There’s a mystery thing started, and a memoir too.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Gator Boys. Love them.
If you could do anything, completely start over -what would it be? Maybe meet my fiancé sooner? I don’t think we were ready for each other though, so I think I’m fine with the timeline of my life as it has happened.
What’s the funniest thing you have done recently? Funny, ha ha, or funny weird? Can’t think of either so I suppose it doesn’t matter. Next!
Hoping that you have a good friend to call on when you need her/him, at what age did you meet them? I have several from different times in my life. I’m still friends with people from elementary school. Some of my best friends have been fixtures in my life since the following ages: 12, 17, 22, 35, 40, and 44. Aren’t I fortunate? I know I am.
What state would you live in if you could pick up and move, no holds barred? I did pick up and move, and I came here to Arizona. It’s home now.
Is city or country living for you? Neither. I’m a suburban girl, through and through. I did my city living in my twenties, but now it’s the ‘burbs for me.
11 Random Facts About Me:
1. I dislike watermelon, peanut butter, and cucumbers.
2. I kill plants. Not on purpose. It just happens.
3. I have an irrational fear of giant cockroaches. I know everyone hates them, but seeing them causes a near panic state in me.
4. I was adopted at birth.
5. Underneath a sometimes bold exterior I’m fairly shy, at least at first.
6. I’m having a ball trying new things as I age, and caring less about what “the world” thinks of what I do or say.
7. Number six is partly a lie. I really do care what people think of the things I say, or at least about the things I write.
8. My favorite treadmill music is Cher belting out disco tunes at high volume.
9. In my dreams I can sing.
10. I love to see new places, even if some people think travel is a form of “fairy dust” that people sprinkle on themselves in order to seem more interesting.
11. I will ever believe in the power of flying pigs.
11 questions from Me:
Where were you born?
Of what are you proud?
Of what are you afraid?
Other than writing, what are your creative outlets?
How do you take care of yourself?
How do you know when you’re done writing a piece?
What stupid things have you done that you don’t regret?
If you had to move somewhere new, where would you go?
What is your favorite time of the day or night? Why?
What is something you miss from your childhood?
What was your favorite book in fourth grade?
I hope you have fun checking out some new blogs, and if you’re on the list above, thanks for inspiring me!
The trick was not to get too lost in the google images. There were bazillions of them. Stacks of fabric, piles of fabric, bolts of fabric. Of course the bright cottons drew me right away. I love the bold colors and eye catching designs. These are the fabrics favored by modern quilters, often in combination with neutrals. Their work also features solids of all shades. I still shy away from solids myself, but the work those quilters do is amazing.
BulgingButtons 