I spend more time thinking about the future and what life will be like after my parents are gone. I may complain about my life as a caregiver. But once they are gone, what will I do. It scares me a bit because I will really be on my own.
I hope I will have the ambition to keep up doing things creative and looking for things that are beautiful.
What brings you peace?
I’ve started slow stitching to keep my hands while I care for my elderly parents. Caregiving is the toughest job I ever had. It is extremely stressful because of dementia.
I needed something to take my mind off stress and keep me in the present. My on-going project is a slouchy hippie bag that I’m repairing with patches and stitching.
It’s just random stitching, leading itself from one type stitching to another. No big plans, not ever sure when I will know if it’s done. As long as it helps me quiet stressful noise of caregiving.
Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.
I donated my recently passed husband’s suits to Men’s Warehouse suit several summers ago, and they gave me 30% coupon. I really didn’t have any use for it or knew anyone at that moment who could use the coupon. Then I remembered as I walked into the store, I passed two young men trying on tuxedos for a wedding. That’s when I decided who would get the coupon. They were so shocked to get this out of the blue.
My husband would have loved that he helped someone look great for their wedding. He was such a clothes horse. It was a small way to remember him.
I’m so excited. I got a package in the mail from the UK. It’s my English paper-piecing (epp) kit. Kate from The Last Homely House inspired me with her hexagon quilt for her granddaughter. Here’s a link to a playlist of Kate’s hexagon quilt. Paper piecing uses a paper template as a base. The fabric is wrapped around it and stitched for stability. This kit is my first attempt at it.
I purchase a Hexagon Cushion Kit from Kate to test the waters of epp. It’s a twelve-inch pillow with an epp on the front. It’s a small enough project that wouldn’t overwhelm me to quit.
Look at all of the goodies that come in the kit. It’s so fun to get stuff from faraway places.
The kit comes with fabric from Kate’s favorite designers, Kaffe Fassett, Brandon Mably, and Phillip Jacobs, paper templates, a spool of Aurifil 50-weight thread in grey, and an instructional booklet on how to make the pillow. The kit had four colors, and I chose orange/yellow. I wanted something bright and cheery.
Kate’s quilt got me thinking about all my scraps, and I thought it would make a beautiful quilt. It could be my long-term project that I could have in the background—something to do when I got tired of my other projects—just something for me.
My paper templates are covered. The process wasn’t hard, and I did it faster than I thought. This step has passed the “dipping my toe in the water” test. Now to lay the pieces out.
I am doing the hexi shuffle to get my piece placed in an order I’m happy with.
I’ve gotten through stitching my hexi squares together. It is on temporary hold to get two patchwork quilts done. The first one is almost done, just finishing touches, and I’m thrilled to be so close to the end. The second needs a bit of restart. I don’t particularly appreciate how the quilting looks, and I need to rip out the stitching and develop a new plan of attack. Stay tuned for more epp and quilting updates.
On a slow day at Kuakini Thrift Shop, I was scanning the shelves, and I came upon this Christmas ornament of two musubis sitting on the couch. It made me smile. So kawaii.
Here are a few other items that I wanted to share.
These two flowers aren’t for sale. They were part of vintage Japanese hair ornaments that were falling apart—now used as decoration for the shop—each petal of the flower created with ribbon. I remember wanting long hair so I could wear these types of ornament in my hair.
I initially thought this would be a weekly feature, but I realized there wasn’t always something to show you in my thrifty finds. I’ll post when I find something interesting to share. These pieces may not be something I’ve purchased, but they are thrifty finds I thought others would like. Look out for more of my Thrifty Finds.
Princess Hot Flash 