Comfort in Needles

Some handwork that I'm doing

  Not that kind of needle.  Sewing needles. I've never tried the other kind.....well, until recently.  I sliced my thigh open with a very sharp seam ripper about 2 weeks ago.  I don't know what kind of needle was used, but 8 stitches were used to sew me up and some kind of needle was used to make my leg numb.  

But then, that kind of needle did actually give me comfort too.  I just don't want to make a habit of it.  Today was day #3,465 in captivity and I am in no hurry to get out.  In fact the more I stay in, the more I want to stay in.  I've been experiencing mild panic attacks when I drive more than a few miles away from home which, fortunately, I don't have to do very often.

My early birthday gift to me: a wicker sewing basket

There is something about the tools used in hand sewing that just gives me comfort and calms me: thimbles, needles, thread, those little tomato pin cushions... .I love them all.  I'm not sure why it is but it has always been that way.  I remember when I was a little girl, I used to love to look at the crafts section in the Worldbook Encyclopedias that we had.  The section - it may have fallen under folk art - included quilting, dollmaking, patchwork, etc.  It just always fascinated me that something so beautiful could be made with such few and so little tools.  I remember that my grandparents bought me a wicker sewing basket for Christmas or for my birthday and I used to carry that thing around with everything I needed to make clothes for my Barbie dolls.  To this day, if I'm in a fabric store, I always have to check out the sewing baskets.  For a little early birthday gift to myself, I just bought a wicker sewing basket and use this beautiful fabric featuring tuxedo cats, that I've been hoarding for years to make a basket liner.  

When I wake up in the middle of the night panicked, when I've had a rough day at work, when I feel sad, helpless, or alone and when I feel happy and thankful, I pick up a needle and sew.  

Get to know me at the Grow Your Blog party!

My latest handquilting project approved by Mr. Wienie

I'm participating in a great Grow Your Blog event by Vicki at 2 Bags Full. I really appreciate that she has done this and hope you will take a look at her blog (she has some beautiful photos)!

Hi -- my name is Beth and I am an old goat :)  Other than being old as dirt, I'm also kind of a farmer....of goats (I have six of them, all with names), umpteen chickens, 1 pony named Clover, and a cantankerous llama named Dolly (Dolly Llama).  That is outside.....I share my home with my 3 youngest children  - 15 year old twin daughters and a 13 year old son.  I have two older children - a 26 year old son who lives in Colorado and a 30 year old daughter who lives in NW PA. I have the most gorgeous 6 year old grandson and will have a brand new grandchild in July/August!  I also have 5 dogs who live in the house with me and many of my blog posts relate to my adventures with them.....particularly my deaf boxer Casper.

I started sewing very young....my grandmother taught me in her little sewing room. I can still remember sitting beside her at her sewing machine in between lunch and the start of her soap opera.  For many years afterward, I sewed lots of clothing and things and when I was 25, I decided to actually make a quilt.  I've always, always loved quilts and fabrics.  But like many things, I never brought myself to actually take the next step and make one.  My first quilt was the world's heaviest quilt.  I made it from a kit from Hearthside Quilts. It was a tumbling blocks quilt sewed to a foundation and then quilted.  I hand quilted it in the ditch and it took forever to get it done.  It really was a bear to handquilt through all of that fabric and batting!  But the work was worth it because my mom still loves it! And uses it!  Right now, I'm finishing up a quilt for her - a very, very happy quilt - one that hopefully will make her smile whenever she uses it.  I still handquilt - partly because I could never get the hang of machine quilting and partly because handquilting is very relaxing for me.

And now for my first giveaway ever.......a name will be randomly chosen on February 1st for a package of 3 OneOldGoat soaps. Included will be a coffee soap, a shampoo bar, and a marigold bar. To enter leave a comment, for a second entry follow me and leave me a comment telling me so.