A Blend of the Old and the New

At certain times in my life I've used the saying, "Out with the old and in with the new" to express the changes in life that deal with replacing old things or old people with new things or new people. On this last Thanksgiving trip home, I came to realize that this saying just isn't working for me anymore. I'm beginning to think that the personal changes in my life right now are a beautiful blend of old things and old people with new things and new people!

This is certainly true of many items that I've sewn in the past few years. For example, this apron is one of those old things that I look at and say, "wow, I think I could do that better," but why replace it? I mean, seriously...

Look at my sweet Polish grandmother, completely cheesin' in her "cheesy" colored apron! Would I make this color apron again, probably not, but does it even matter when I see that smile? Absolutely not.

Here's a family photo (cousin, grandmother, 2 uncles and brother) with a portion of the Chinderle Family. That pegasus mini quilt was quilted for my brother (he's the one with the hat on in the back) and it has my father's initials. Don't get me wrong, this pegasus quilt does not replace my father, but it is something new I can create to basically say what this sign says on his grave...

My Uncle Brian hung that sign. Uncle B is the next on the list to receive a pegasus. In fact, he even asked me about how he could get one...little did he know I already have the fabric cut for it! Ha! I love when things work out like that.

I also spotted my first 'Bettina DANGER' label! Totally forgot about this until I saw the apron. 

Not sure what I was thinking before, but I'm so glad I invested in new labels shortly after that! (I ordered them on Etsy from Worldwide Label...not sure if there is a local place that does this, but I won't need labels for 10 years because I keep discovering more layers of labels in the little box they came in.)

These last two photos crack me up. On the left, these were items that I brought home for gifts in 2011 when I first began sewing-before I had ever tried to sew a quilt or had this blog. The items on the right are creations I delivered home this last week. One thing is for certain, I've been introduced to some beautiful fabrics since 2011! I guess these two photos also show where I have arrived in my learning, making meaning from old projects and blending that learning into new projects.

With an abundance of inspiration in this world, I'm stoked to imagine what the next 5 years will bring to me as the last few years of sewing have brought an incredible amount of happiness to my life. As time is driving by, I'm going to appreciate every moment to learn from the old to create the new that will blend with the old...or something like that.

One Year Blog Anniversary Reflections

July 6th marked my one year blog anniversary! Thankfully, I've been off work this month, so I've enjoyed much needed leisure time to reflect and celebrate the sewing I've completed this year.

As I reviewed my blog, a few entries brought smiles to my heart (I linked up past blog posts if you want to check out photos)...here are the numbers:

• 44 blog posts (22 the first 6 months, 22 in the second 6 months) 22 is my magic number so it was only appropriate to post this reflection on 2:22 on July 22nd, 1 month before my decade birthday on August 22nd.  

• 12 quilts
• 2 Mini Quilts (1 in memory of my dad, 1 for my kitchen)
• 3 Math Quilts (2 called the distributive duo, 1 about fractions)
• 5 Quilts for Family and Friends (Mama's Quilt, Grandma's Quilt, Earthy Log Cabin Quilt, Sweet as Honey Quilt and the Ride the Train Quilt)
• 2 Other Quilts (My first ever quilt: The Rail Fence and my second quilt: Kaleidoscopic Kites
• 10 Puppets 
• All of these were created for friends. The Smiley Face Puppet took the lead with the most viewed post on this blog. 
• 7 Blocks posted for the "Flow Zone" Block of the Month! 5 more to go and I love checking out the blocks in the Flickr group.
• 3 Recycled Projects
• Grandma Marge's Old Couch
• iPhone Case
• Scrappy Christmas Tree Skirt
• 1 Tutorial: The piano mug rug This post is the second most viewed but I have yet to see that anyone made it. 
• Other: I sewed and quilted about 20 bags, a few dresses and skirts, 5 table toppers (here is the hexagon one), 10 plushies like the Neapolitan bunnies, practiced free-motion quilting, and bunch of other things that didn't join blogland.

So wow~I sewed, quilted, created, and did a ton of math! Through these projects I learned way more about myself than I ever expected. In an interesting way, what I choose to create offers a glimpse into my life and passions, as well as where I stand in my personal learning journey. Yes, there are plenty of things I wrote about that I would do differently and I hope that will be evident in my future posts. One thing is crystal clear to me: Every single project I do, I learn something that I didn't expect to learn. Every single time.

So all in all I'm reminded to...

Be positive. "Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny." -Lao Tzu

and most importantly...

Keep on keepin' on -Henry + The Invisibles