My friend Rian lives in the Netherlands. I have never actually met her. However, she is lots of fun to chat with, and she runs lovetilda.nl. This is my go-to source for all things Tilda. Not only does Rian have good pricing, she actually sends the things one orders promptly, safely packaged, and with reasonable shipping costs. Hence, we chat a lot.
Not long ago, Rian began offering scrap packages of Tilda fabrics-- the left over bits from her own projects and from the workshops she has begun offering in the Netherlands. I pounce on them like a panther when she puts them up in the web shop.
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| Little bunting flags |
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| Self covered buttons |
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| Tilda buttons! |
We have been going through some major changes around here.
The time had come for my mother to move into a long term care. As I tried and tried to care for her as she moved through the stages of Alzheimer's Disease, I began to see that the disease was going to over take us.
Our relationship was fast becoming non-existent, and a sort of battle ground around the need to eat proper meals, keep a sensible bedtime, and a hundred other details of daily living that are not an issue -- until someone can't remember how to do them any longer. When the call came that there was a room for Mom in the long term care facility we had chosen ages ago, I felt profound relief. And sadness. And fear. And, the big one -- guilt -- with a capital G.
Since the start of the new year, my days have been spent doing paper work, packing up things, and worrying about whether I was doing the right thing.
In the end, the move went well, and Mom is happy in her new digs.
In all of this to-ing and fro-ing, My creative time has been somewhat curtailed. I have missed it.
Last week, Sandra and I got together to chat and work on some projects.
I got out my Tilda scrap packages and started working on some mini bunting flags. These are going to be part of a larger project I will be presenting at the Spring 2013 CreativFestival in Toronto.
Once again, I will be demonstrating embroidery and embellishment techniques at A Needle Pulling Thread's booth at the show. I am going to be creating a wall decoration which is finished in an embroidery hoop -- a Hoop-la -- if you will. I will post a photo once I have the whole design ready for its closeup.
I also did some self-covered buttons. I was using scraps of scraps for some of these. (Tilda fabric is too precious to throw away anything more than little bits of threads!)
As Sandra and I worked and chatted, I felt my worries about everything else going on start to melt away. I felt happier than I had in months. And suddenly, I began to see that my mom is happy where she lives. She has made friends, there are people there who care for, and about, her. And, I am able to visit with her as a friend, and not the bossy lady who makes her eat all her vegetables.
Last Sunday, my son and I visited her. There was a musician giving a concert for the residents. At one point, my son was dancing with my Mom. As I watched them, I realized, I have done all I could for her. It was time to allow other people to help me now.
