Go with your gut

March 8, 2025

When you work on a quilting project, it’s normal to second guess your choices with regard to color, thread and block placement sometimes. But have you ever had your inner voice get a hold of you and say, “Girl, fix that before you go any further!”? I have.

Summer camp @ the SQTM is coming soon. I won’t be volunteering in June. I listened to my gut – I’m headed to Pigeon Forge to take classes with 3 teachers on my list. I probably won’t have this opportunity so close to home ever again. Volunteering at July’s camp is TBD. If they’re not holding an a.m. spot for C, then we’ll do CraftLAB-summer school edition that week instead. It’s 100 mile round trip every day and commuting to the p.m. session only is not an option. Traffic is too brutal. I did that my first year volunteering. Most days, I spent more time commuting than I did mentoring my camper. Never again.

By listening to said gut, I fast tracked the new SUV purchase after realizing it simply wasn’t worth it to sink any more money into my previous vehicle. I’d already narrowed down the list of potential new SUV candidates a few months earlier. Now, I don’t worry when I travel to quilting events or therapy dog visits with Sadie. Nor do I have to worry about the effect of tariffs on repair parts and vehicle prices.

Sadie and I are in our own therapy dog bubble with school and library visits. We do affiliate with a local group, but I also do some visits independently. My local group usually has an influx of visit opportunities every spring. When checking the visit sign-ups today, I noticed there weren’t that many for my side of town. I also noticed I wasn’t seeing Sadie’s usual friends signed up for visits. My spidey senses started tingling.

My gut was correct. Made a phone call to another handler who confirmed something was amiss. The very active contingent on my side of town decided to focus on visit opportunities in the far northwest suburbs. They have now officially formed their own group separate from the original group. Well, that certainly explains a lot. I told the handler to include me on the group’s email list. We miss seeing them and might be able to join them for some future visits.

Years ago, there was a nasty split in local therapy dog circles. One leader wanted to stick with READ programs only while the other wanted to branch out to include other forms of therapy dog activities. Teams were forced to choose sides and it got ugly for a while. Hope there’s no repeat of that this time around. We’re all into therapy dog volunteering for the same reasons.

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Finding time to breathe

March 4, 2025

The house is silent. It’s just Sadie and me. It’s been a week since it’s been this quiet, A lot has happened the past few days between my sister-in-law’s passing and funeral, plus company staying with us ahead of an upcoming TR event.

Company left this morning. Sadie & I did our weekly READ at Park Street School. Had a great time, but I opted to head home afterwards rather than go out to lunch. Honestly, I’m peopled out at the moment.

We’re expecting rain, so it’s the perfect opportunity to take an afternoon nap, followed by some sewing time in my studio. Hubby needs a new pillowcase before he leaves on his next outing with TR. Purposeful sewing helps me calm and refocus.

The older I get, the more essential it is to structure “time to breathe” in my schedule.

Summer Quilt Camp Registration is open at the SQTM

March 2, 2025

If you’re looking for a fun activity for your rising 4th grader & up, consider a week of Quilt Camp at the Southeastern Quilt & Textile Museum. Week 1: June 9-13 and Week 2: July 7-11. Cost ranges from $95-$120, depending on your camper’s experience level. Details and registration may be found on the SQTM website.

I have two students who’ve indicated they’d like to attend camp, but one’s available in June and the other one in July. Each year, I typically volunteer in June and the campers ride with me. Hubs suggested I volunteer for both weeks this year and spend time with each girl on the commute to/from Carrollton each day. That’s a thought.

However, this year there are two major quilt shows also taking place during June’s Quilt Camp: Mountain QuiltFest in Pigeon Forge and the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival. In 2026, I’ll be tied up with the Georgia Celebrates Quilts Show, so I won’t be going anywhere in early June. Decisions, decisions. Each show has classes I’d like to take.

Here’s the thing: I purchased patterns, books, templates and kits at QuiltCon last year for classes that will be taught in both TN and KS this summer. No wonder the class projects appealed to me!

Update: I’m skipping June camp and heading to Mountain QuiltFest in TN. The opportunity to take classes with two popular west coast based instructors who rarely travel to the Southeast is simply too good to pass up. As much as I enjoy taking K to camp with me each June, I’d really regret not taking advantage of this opportunity even more. Besides, K can still go to camp that week – her parents will just have to take her instead.