Category Archives: A Little of Everything

I got tagged for 7 things…

(Okay, i’m having a hard time with my wordpress update. can’t get my picture to be centered and there are some places where I want space between the lines and it just won’t stick. aaauuurrrghh)

Monique tagged me to write 7 things… YiKES

But first I must say that Block Swap sign ups are going very well and I’m excited about the talented quilters I will get to have blocks from :) If you’ve signed up, look for your name on the right side of the block swap page!
Now, this is because I believe every post should have a picture

drunk love

here’s some quilt block making inspiration by you know who.
Okay, on with the listing…

7 things to do before I die (in no particular order)
become a yoga teacher

live in another country (or at least visit one)

do another triathalon

have art in a real gallery, and even my own show

have a really cool art studio–with lots of high counters, big sinks, an etching press, easels, a pottery wheel, a couch for sitting and knitting, tables and chairs to sit and work at… you know, a place where I can make anything and everything. where the kids and I can go for school everyday, and maybe other people could visit and I could teach classes, or just hang out and make stuff. i always imagined this in an old barn all fixed up, but after seeing the INCREDIBLE light in Denyse Schmidt’s studio in an old industrial building I may change my dreams. barns don’t have windows.

build a tree house, well, have a tree house. someone else can do most of the building if they want as long as i get to help design it.
make a book– a real book with a story and pictures. write, illustrate, print, bind

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Hey everybody!!!

Wanna swap?

Ever since I got home from the workshop with Denyse Schmidt I’ve been stewing and brewing the idea for a quilt block swap. I’ve worked out logistics, made graphics, picked some fabric colors (which match my website beautifully) and now I’m ready to say, “Come and play!”

blockswap button

If you click on that button up there you’ll be taken to the not-a-secret-anymore page on this here site. All the details are there for how to have a really good time, do some service for the world, and make some collaborative “soft art” from crafty friends everywhere. There is so much talent, creativity, good taste, craftmanship, and camaraderie out there in the craft world that I want some tangible evidence. Tangible as in a nice snuggly colorful quilt to wrap up in. Anyone else?

Well, what are you waiting for? The sign-up window for Block Swap opens today and closes March 8th (or when I get 50 people, whichever is first).  And if it sounds like a fun idea to you, spread the word.  I have had a little help from Denyse (who’s been giving me feedback and sent an invitation to former workshoppers) and a few craft-blog friends, but the more the merrier!

a sneak peek

Here’s a project I’ve FINALLY finished. I’ll have to post more details about it later…

blanket closeup

I was hoping that I would be posting amazing photos of my bed adorned with a new Denyse Schmidt quilt beneath a wall of freshly framed Karl Blossfeldt photogravures, but alas… my quilt is backordered. Which is okay, but I wish they had told me that fact when I ordered it and not over a week later when I was expecting it to be here. What a let down!

and now the wait…

it’s about love

embracefeel.jpg

Eight years ago today Barry took me up Logan Canyon to go cross country skiing. It was going to be an epic trip, from one canyon to another, through the pure white snow and blanketed forest, the two of us doing something we loved to do– together. It was REALLY snowing, my skis weren’t waxed quite right for the conditions, I was sliding backwards down small hills, I was tired, I was cold, I wanted to go home, we turned back… I foiled his plan, but he asked me to marry him anyway. I knew I loved him then. In fact, I knew I loved him the moment we met. We were soul mates before the world was.

But, I am so thankful love grows with time. We have three children. We’ve lived in three different states. A lot of the time we’ve only had each other. And we like it that way. He is a part of me. I’m a part of him.

This week will be a milestone in my life. As I sat and read and meditated while everyone else was at church on Sunday I realized that I have given birth– I had to endure the physical pain, I had to will myself to relax through contractions, I had to cry and bleed and suffer and endure. I went through the whole process, and though I did not come out of it with a baby, I did give birth to something.

I gave birth to a new beginning, a chance to start over…

I gave birth to a realization that God loves me with no strings attached–
and that a relationship with Him does not mean I will just have more things to do.

I think too much.

I need to let myself feel;

to feel my body, to feel my emotions, to delve into my heart and really experience what is there,
without the noise and crowding of quilt plans or book plans or blog entry plans or Relief Society lesson plans or conversation plans (I design, cut, sew, bind, view, display, discuss the same project from start to finish over and over in my mind. So much so, that most of them never get made, and I miss what is happening in the moment.).

But I think more than anything I gave birth to a realization of my absolute dependence on Barry– to a deeper love. I feel swallowed by it. We are so inseparably connected. I wish I could explain it or have the right words to say to him, but I just can’t.

Barry, I love you. I need you. I thank you.

Love, jess