Seasons of the Heart April BOM

It's been SO long since I've posted! I've been thinking about writing an update, including all the events since my last post, but the thought was just too overwhelming. So much has happened in two short months. May flew by with birthdays, my daughter's confirmation, my brother-in-law's homecoming from Iraq, all the activities that come with the end of another school year, and the beginnings of a nagging ache in my neck and shoulder that severely limited my computer time.

And then there was June, a complete blur. There were more birthdays, my son's first piano recital, a new addition to the pet menagerie (Emily has a new bunny), and babysitting my now-9-month-old grandson, when I wasn't totally incapacitated. The nagging ache developed into a badly pinched nerve in my neck, followed by doctor visits, pain meds, chiropractor adjustments, and finally ended in a four-day hospital stay with pneumonia, of all things. This was a truly scary experience which drained me completely of energy for anything more than the absolute necessities once I came home.

And that's what I've been up to -- in a really, really small nutshell.

So yesterday I set foot in my sewing room for the first time in... can it be three months??? I felt like a stranger in my own room. Remnants of the last few projects were still strewn about on the tables and ironing board. A pile of donated fabric and magazines sat in the middle of the floor, awaiting sorting and putting away. I ignored all of it and went in search of my last Seasons of the Heart Block-of-the-Month pattern.

April.

Yes, it's really been three months.

It actually felt unfamiliar at first, choosing fabrics, ironing on the fusible web, laying out the pieces to fuse. My fingers fumbled with the blanket stitch, but soon it all came back to me, and the block slowly came together. A spark of creativity surfaced as I pawed through my box of embellishments and found a dragonfly applique that seemed to be made for this very quilt block.


Such a simple thing, a minor accomplishment, and yet a milestone in my healing process. It's been a long, hard few weeks, abundant with pain, fear, lethargy, emotional lows, and affirmation that the simple things in life should never be taken for granted.

It's good getting back to the simple things.