I hand stitched this little crewel scene using wool threads years ago. It has a special meaning for me because I stitched it during my frequent visits with my mother in the months just before her death in 1998. My youngest son took it and had it framed in a museum quality acid free framing to protect it.

I am a very blessed woman.  On Thursday, the 3rd of March, 2022, I will be 75 years old, three quarters of a century!

Come fly with me

And yet I still happily enjoy my sons, daughter in law, and grandson who live close by.  Joyfully, I still have a clear mind with only an occasional “senior moment” and gratefully I have a fairly functioning body, though I often feel a little creaky as one might who is 75, find it a little challenging to manage the stairs in my townhome, and I can’t work quite as fast or nearly as long as I used to, but nevertheless I still mostly manage.

I have a wonderful, though somewhat crowded, studio with four machines that are so enjoyable to use with each its own function to play with and a good sound stash of fabrics and threads.  My family outfitted my studio with equipment of all kinds to help me make the videos I want to share with you all.

Sony ZV-1:  One of my two primary cameras that I use in filming my videos.  I love this little camera.

So bless the Lord, oh my soul!  Thanks to Him and thanks to my family and friends who have surrounded me with love and support to help me through this phase in my life.

I had hoped that my videos coupled with the accompanying patterns that can be purchased for such a small amount from my website would provide some profit to support my fabric art work, but alas, this has not happened so far.  Yet I will keep on in spite of that at least for a while because over my 70 years of sewing (yes!!!) I have learned so much that I want to share.  It seems remarkable that at my age I have garnered a clear understanding of some of the more technical aspects of using my advanced machines and the software that helps me on a daily basis.  I guess it comes from practice and a certain fascination as to what can be done with these wonderful tools. The first lesson I clearly remember from when I was around 5 is how important it is to keep one’s tools, especially the machines, clean and oiled properly.  She also taught me to get the best tools I could afford and learn them well.  Then she taught me how to sew.  We spent many great enjoyable hours together making our clothes and household items.  When my children were on the way, we made their entire wardrobes, receiving blankets, and crib items.

This sewing machine is like the one I remember Mom having when I started to sew.

I learned to quilt starting in 2003 when I moved close to my oldest son and his wife after my dearest love Marvin passed.  Beth (DIL) said she thought I would enjoy quilting, which she had herself found fun.  So I took up the challenge and never looked back.  I must admit though, that I went in a somewhat different direction that she may have expected, since I fell in love with pictorial art quilting.

Canterbury Silk. I consider this as kind of my “flagship” quilt for my current fabric art work.  It won three nice fat ribbons, one even at AQS Paducah! It hangs in my living room above my comfy chair most of the time.

I may have just a few more days, months, or years to live. Only God knows the answer to that, but I kind of expect that I have a lot of years left before me (many in my family ancestry have lived to their late 90s and early 100s).  I plan on keeping on with my sewing, quilting, writing, and videoing until I simply cannot do it any longer.

I have had, so far, an interesting life full of love, laughter, world travel, and even adventure.  Now I am content to stay home and play in my studio for the most part. Sew I am sending out love and thanks to all my readers and viewers, family, and friends.  May God bless you all.

Sew happy everyone!  Have fun in your studio!