Practicing Safe Stress

I've been sewing! I've been quilting! I've been crafting!  I have created close to 100 items in just a bit over two months. Oh, yes I have!

 My sewing nook has never been busier, healthier, or happier. And yes, in the middle of sewing a whole bunch of other things, I pulled my antique ironing board's old cover off and saw that my padding was horribly burn/stained and there was a tiny scissors rip in the pretty fabric. 

 Now, who in the world did that????  ;-)

I yanked it off, found some recycle/reduce/reuse vintage fabric that matched the ironing board, cut out some of that shiny silver stuff that protects our surfaces from heat using my old pad as a pattern. 

Then  cut out the pretty fabric, as well. Created a small 1" casing, threaded my 1/4" elastic all the way around that puppy and pinned it in place for fitting.

Voila! A new ironing board cover in about 20 minutes and then back to my 'real' sewing!


I sew so much, and so often that as ridiculous as it may sound, I forget to even mention them. Seriously, I don't even mention them!

For example. I completely recovered a family member's patio set for their awesome 1925 cottage. And as challenging as it was sewing with waterproof outdoor fabric and not making pin marks etc. that might let moisture in, accidentally, and making it able to come on and off, unlike the original white cushions that it came in, I created a pattern drawing around the pieces and inventing a way to open and shut it with overlapping placket. That was in June and I forgot to share something that was that much work!

That's how I roll.  You probably don't like to be this busy, but I love it!

And yes, of course with 100 sewing items created and sewn, some of them are eensy tiny! But being done is so more wonderful than a WHIP or a QUIP or any old pig in a bag!
See my: Quilting Acronyms

I've created so many fun, fun projects over the past months that even I wonder how I did it all! Some of the projects were tiny, some were fairly big. But each one was made with so much fun, and so much love.

I had a free day one Monday, so I went out and selected a new dining room set. It had only been 35 years since our last one and two of its chairs were so broken, that I was seriously concerned someone might fall over and be injured. No time for that! Company was coming, and somehow I had to fit fourteen people into my house and have enough places to sit and some places to even sit down and eat!

And no one needed to fall off of a broken chair with a back than leaned waaaay back and gave you a bit of a thrill and might give you more than you expected on top of that!!

 The new one dining set came, fit the area, matched my 1860 side by side enough to pass and the new set was made in America out of a sustainable hardwood.  The style is described as 'Arts and Crafts' which means the original style that came out of Europe and that our American "Craftsman" originated from without being specifically 'Craftsman' styled. And yes, I looked it all up once I read the tag and the website and learned all about arts and crafts and all kinds of famous people who created during that era. Thank you so much Wikipedia for your info on:
The Arts and Crafts Movement

This one is made of hickory and sports a "Cattail" cutout on the back of the chairs..you know the rush/reed that grows in marshy areas?  Our 2.5 acres has a huge marshy area that it officially designated as a 'wetland' or preserve for wild things and we love that and maintain it the best that we can and have the most wonderful Great Blue Herons, Canada Geese, and Ducks and Ducklings to watch and enjoy!

I was sooo excited to finally get a new dining room set and knew  it will need a new this and that to dress it up and make it feel welcome and make everyone else accept the new member by dressing them all up a bit, too!

So, I made 4 new counter stool cushions (one is around the corner in a kitchen use area and not showing there but is here on its own ;-)

My decorating is a bit dated, but very French, and being one half French, I love it and keep it going ;-) I don't care how old my wallpaper is, I LOVE it, still!

I am a wild, crazy woman at heart. But sooo much better than being filled with worry and gloom! And yes, it's been very sad since the death of my youngest SIL from Alaska in August and the continuing problems with the health of my brother and his wife, from Eagle River..who needs a kidney transplant.

And while I was taking photos of the new counter stool cushions,  I noticed that our coffee press no long matched the cushion covers or the counter cloth that i usually use in the kitchen.

So, I went right upstairs and made a new coffee press wrap.  Making a Coffee Press Wrap 

Sweet, I'm happy. Now, it all matches and is new and without stains, rips, tears, or tears. (homonym..fluid from the eyes.)

 No fuss, no muss. Did not stress me out even one tiny bit. Productivity is the best answer for stress and anxiety of any kind in my belief system. Plain old mind over matter. I just do it and I am a happy woman when I do!!

Oh, yes..a lot is happening and all With Heart and Hands!

And I just can't wait as it all enfolds, gets used, and happiness and creativity only continues to grow and multiply!


Michele Bilyeu blogs With Heart and Hands as she shares a quilting journey through her life in Salem, Oregon and Douglas, Alaska. Sewing, quilting, and wildcrafting, with small format art quilts, prayer flags, and comfort quilts for a variety of charitable programs. And best of all, sharing thousands of links to Free Quilt and Quilt Block Patterns and encouraging others to join her and make and donate quilts to charitable causes.   Help us change the world, one little quilt, art quilt, and prayer flag at a time!