What a week!

I would like to thank Kelly for supplying the word of the week... Do you want a gander at the newest Quilt Guild in Eugene? The Eugene Modern Quilt Guild had it's inaugural (I like to use that word as much as possible) meeting this past week, the week that will be forever heralded as "Jessica's crazy Awesome week"Scraps flew as we made name tags, an excellent ice breaker (Thanks Kelly, AGAIN!) I jabbered on, like I do, but people seemed excited to get a group going and excited about getting to sew with some other cool people (which just made me more excited.) We had 27 people show up, more than were even signed up on the website. I was so heartened to see so many creative quilters in one place... LIVE!
We talked about our group and then had lots and lots of show and tell. I was able to share 2 large quilts that I have recently finished (I don't have a good full picture of either of them, but I am SO pleased with them..maybe a project for tomorrow?) I am always making some kind of OVER-expressive face... my face just does that when I talk, I mean I do get really excited about things and I can't help it. This is Blondie's Apartment House.
Here is my Kaffe Fassett favorites quilt... I am loving that it is done, done, done--and the colors, I love to look at those colors. Running this first meeting was a stretch for me, but it felt good. (and then Oh my! We get to do another one next month!!)
Then it was Pumpkin patch day with Blondie's class... I don't write it enough but I am in love with my kids, even when I have to take 20 pictures to get one where they are all looking at the camera. I just love them.
Finally, as an early birthday present to myself (As of yesterday, I have officially entered my LATE 30s) I went to a Kaffe Fassett lecture in Sisters. It was a beautiful day, so much sunshine, so many lovely pictures of quilts... not as star-struck as I was "back in the day" (I just re-read that post... wow, good to meet You, former self... keep up the good work.) But really good to listen to his talk and then mellow out the hero-worship. I haven't made a huge number of quilts in the past 2 years, but I am finding my style and my voice. That feels good.
36 years on this earth... I remember being younger. Some discrete things were better, but not the whole of life. Life is so good now. I like me and appreciate me at 36 in a way that I did not when I was 20 or 25 or 30 even. I am gentler with myself as a person. I am faster to try something different and more comfortable if it was a mistake. Not perfect, but not upset about THAT anymore. I am happy to say that I do believe that my best days are still ahead of me, maybe not every one...but I have more to do. 36 is going to be a good one for me. I am going to try more crazy stuff. I want to do more things that I am afraid of, to seek a comfortable spot between what I do now and what I dream of doing. I want to live closer to the dream. It is going to be a big year, yes it is.

JMB