Some things are not like fish.....

(forgive me the ramblings of this post)

Some things are not like fish.....

many of you know I have a vacation rental

it's a small place usually rented by corporate travelers, nurses and military

usually for months at a time

one day, I found that the bamboo blind was no longer "working"

so I took it apart, grabbed some waxed twine 

and restrung the roman shade

attaching the rings to the bamboo where they had broken free

one of my friends sat with me on the deck while I rebuilt the blind

"I just can't believe you're actually rebuilding this blind"

and the conversation wound around the fact that

anyone else would have just pitched the bamboo window covering in the trash

and purchased a brand new one

as I took apart the box fan this week

to completely clean the front back and blades of the fan

for the cottage guests arriving this week

I was reminded of the bamboo blind conversation

why didn't I just go out and buy new box fans

and toss my rusty one downstairs and the dirty one upstairs?

(well, for one, because of the heat along the coast, there is not a fan to be had)

as quilters, we are all about

s c r a p s

but in reality the

make do or do without

mentality

is all but gone for most

we purchase "perfectly good yardage"

cut it up

and sew it back together again

most of the "granny square quilts"

have a well designed color placement for that scrappy quilt look

be honest

when was the last time you pieced together

two small pieces of your very last piece of a fabric

just to make a 2" block

we rotary cut, depend on our computerized sewing machine

to produce our accurate 1/4 inch seam

and send our top out to be quilted

when do we connect with our projects?

where do we stitch in the love?

did that quilt project last it's 15 minutes of fame?

it's Mark Lipinski's lecture to give about

"Slow Quilting"

I won't give it here

but all of this leads me to one last thought for the week

s t i t c h

he is a loving, willing, soulful dog

that never really had much training for the first year or so of his life

when I met him, he was in a house, playing with kids and other dogs

running amuck until he

came over to sit in front of me, and looked deep into my eyes,

then plopped down in my lap as I sat on the floor to meet him

but.

once I adopted him

I found he barked at other dogs, went berserk when he saw cats,

had never been more than 15 minutes in a car

and didn't really know how to walk on a leash

let alone "go for a walk"

he pee'd and poo'd whenever he wanted 

(at least he knew enough to do those two things out of doors)

I needed better tools

I called for some help

these days

s t i t c h

can

heel sit down off wait shake quiet roll over come leave it and kennel up

he has his own dog friends that he can walk with now

and no longer barks at other dogs that he sees when walking

he whines at the sight of a cat or possum

but we are now actually able to "walk on"

and when the day is done

he leans on my side, drapes a paw over my legs, 

and puts his head in my lap

as pooh said,

"to be sure of me"

in the last two months, I have asked s t i t c h to learn a whole new language

some of the vocabulary

he does not remember

other times he 

"does not hear"

but other moments

he rises to the occasion and becomes the very best dog

I have had more than one neighbor or friend

give me "that talk"

they inform me that I have to know when enough is too much

telling me that he may just not the right dog for me

or suggesting that I'm not the right owner for him

but I won't keep him chained up outside and let other dogs hassle him

and he won't let me work 16 hour days

I will keep him safe and healthy and buy sardines for him

and he will make me laugh so hard my sides hurt

just like we do with our friends and family

we adjust

we accept

we love unconditionally

my quilting projects and deadlines

take a little longer these days

their 15 minutes of fame will have to wait

because

s t i t c h

will be with me longer than 15 minutes

and just like cleaning a fan or making repairs around the house

some things are not like fish

you don't just throw them back

be.do.create

natalie.

(and stitch)