Writers Block, Earrings & Prada Boots!

I went to the movies this week with a fellow writer and one of the things we talked about afterwards, was not the movie, but the fact that during this Northern Hemisphere Summer Holiday Season, we both have a severe case of Writers' Block! We both acknowledged that our stumbling blocks are with pieces which need revision. I have been wanting to finish off my Prada Boots Landed on the Moon story, but realised that I needed to feel the loneliness and isolation of the North German winter while being completely out of my depth for the social situation in order to finish it - well winter is coming in a month or two, so hopefully I'll get it done. Here is the introductory paragraph.....

It was the first day at school for my son. We were very new to the country. We did not know any of this strange language. I had to learn to drive to the school on the ‘wrong’ side of the road. Beautiful mums were everywhere in the school yard, with their fur coats and Prada boots. No last seasons clothing dared to make an appearance here. Yves St Laurent Bags hung off their shoulders. They all knew each other. They had a clique. Then there was me. The Australian.

The comments back from my Writing group were very positive, but there are some parts to be expanded, refined and tightened up - rather like having plastic surgery! So instead of writing, I went and did the next best thing - had a day out with another girlfriend who showed me how to make earrings - check out the photo, not bad for a beginner? Some simple glass beads and fixings, playing around with the layout and voila!

On a quilty note, I have completed a stitchery, designed by Christine Book, it is one out of many in the "Words of Wisdom" series. Unfortunately my photo has a shadow over it, but you get the general idea. Now I have another UFO to add to my next list of 10 projects as I want to have it hanging on the wall come this next Christmas. I have a dream to have lots of handmade decorations around at Christmas time because I just love making them, they make me feel so nice and peaceful and that there is hope for peace in the world.

On that philosophical note, it's adieu for now.....

Time Warp

Today we went to the Chocolate Museum to have lunch on the terrace overlooking the Rhein River and sample some yummy food. What a surprise when we came upstairs from the carpark, slap bang into the middle of a 1950s time warp on the Rhein promenade. This was serious! The restored cars were fantastic, but then there was the people - did I mention it was serious? They were all dressed in 1950s clothing! Market stalls were selling the clothes and furniture of the era. The bands were playing 1950s music and it was jam packed. Get me out of here before I get sprinkled with stardust too - I don't want to look like one of them! Thank goodness they hadn't gone into the cafe, so were safe to have our lunch in the sun, overlooking the water.

Broken Needle!

Well, it was all looking good, I was racing through my quilting UFOs and then a needle broke on my sewing machine. "Not so bad" I thought, "I'll just change it" - Nope, I had to drop it into the workings of the machine, which made it squeak and sent the tension off to the moon, so off to the shop for repairs. They told me that I had just missed the weekly pick-up by the service man and that I would be without it for 2 weeks! arrrggghhh......

Ho Hum - guess I'll just have to do cross-stitch, some knitting or scrapbooking when I am not writing. I don't actually have a shortage of things to do, there are several choices - I just wanted to take shameless advantage of my momentum!

In the meantime - here are two photos of my Salinda Rupp "Nearly Insane" Quilt. Each block is 6.5" square and there are 98 of them in the quilt. It took 2 years, but so very worth it!

Through the Garden Window

An UFO has bitten the dust! Today I finished Through the Garden Window. It has been pouring rain most of the day, so it was a great day for sewing down the binding and label. All ready now to be given to SIL for her 40th Birthday.

Here's my quilt blurb:
2 years of collecting 5” Charm Squares in soft pretty YUWA floral fabrics is the basis of this quilt. When I put the sashing strips in between, I immediately thought of looking through a window into a sunlit garden. Soft and pretty against the hardness of the window frame.

And so it begins......

... my first post to my blog! This is my new journal about life, the universe and everything, as an Australian expat living in Germany. I am a Quilter and budding Writer.

The lists off to the side are my "helpers". Recently I joined the Stashbusters yahoo quilters group. One focus of the group is to get your UFOs (un-finished objects) finished. If you do not have one finish per quarter, then you risk being crowned the UFO Queen. To help myself, I made the list on the left. It's been a great feeling to complete a few projects and use them. Because this is not the total list of projects, I have found that I can stay focussed and not get lost in the myriad of choices in my sewing room.

I have also added my list of Creative Writing items that I want to stop being UFOs. The pieces have come about from my fabulous writing group - Writing Women. We meet regularly to discuss and critique each others work, as well as looking at publication options, helpful hints, query letters and all of things required to "make it" in the tough world out there.

I have a lot of great quilt projects started and some first drafts of short stories, so I want to get total completion and have the pleasure of the finished item whether it's for reading or show!