LIFESTYLE - NOT DIET

For more than half my adult life I struggled with my weight.  I was on many different diets over the years.  I would lose the pounds and eventually my bad habits would return and we all know what happens then.  I was a typical yo-yo dieter.  Twenty years ago I found a way to eat that actually worked once and for all.  I’ve been successful in maintaining my weight with no more yo-yo weight gains and losses.

DISCLAIMER - Let me make it clear that I am not a dietitian and I’m not promoting another fad diet.  What I’m talking about in this blog is what anyone who has the motivation can accomplish. 

What I do is not that difficult and I never feel deprived.  Moderation, measuring, portion control, plus discipline and will power, are the keys to my success.  I don’t believe in cutting out specific foods I love either.  That would only make me crave them more, and that feeling could lead to over-indulging, something I no longer feel the need to do.

To start with, I measure almost everything I consume, most of the time using measuring cups.  For instance, my morning cereal isn’t just dumped into a large bowl.  I read the label on the cereal box, calculate how much I can allow myself, and then measure out what I’m going to eat.  I can’t use milk (lactose intolerant), so instead I use natural Greek yogurt and measure 1/2 c. to mix with my 1/2 c. cereal.  One half of a banana and a sprinkle of blueberries and that’s my breakfast.  Filling and very satisfying.

My husband and I love pasta and eat it as a main course or as a side dish alongside meat, chicken, or fish.  Gone are the days of filling a plate with a big mound of pasta, though.  I carefully watch my carb intake, so for a box or package of dry pasta I try to get 9-10 cooked servings instead of the 8 that is listed on most packages.  After the pasta is cooked I measure 2/3 c. cooked pasta for each serving, which I put on a large piece of parchment paper until I have 9-10 servings.  I may have to take some pasta from each pile to even out the servings.  However, when I cook a pound of Barilla whole grain thin spaghetti I get to make the 8 servings that are on the package due to the fact it is lower in carbs and higher in fiber.  Besides that it tastes really good too.

It might look like a very small amount of pasta for a meal, but when I add the sauce, some small cubes of Asiago cheese or meatballs or sausage, a vegetable, and a hearty salad, there is enough to eat.  I never serve bread with pasta either.  Yes, we sometimes miss having bread, but it’s a small sacrifice to make.  If we go out to dinner at an Italian restaurant we might indulge a little, but at home we don’t.

I also eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, which are also portion controlled by serving size.

When I’m hungry for a mid-morning snack I have several choices I can make.  Here is a picture of what my mid-morning snack was this morning.  Other days it might be a teaspoon of peanut butter, or some goat cheese, on a Triscuit cracker. 

I do enjoy having a small sweet treat a couple hours after dinner.  Once again, whatever the treat might be, it is calculated and measured.  If it’s ice cream I don't just guess at the amount of ice cream I put in a bowl.  And yes, I really do eat ice cream, just not the fully loaded kind.  I buy Dreyer’s Slow Churned and measure out the 1/2 c. serving size.  A friend recently told me she listened to what I said and she had a 1/2 c. of ice cream.  And then she went and had another 1/2 c.  Hah!  I don’t think she was paying attention.  My guideline for a sweet treat is something low in calories, fat, and carbs.  A square of Dove dark chocolate is a great treat.  When it’s Girl Scout cookie time I read the label on the box and can usually have 1 or 2.  I remember the days though when I opened the box and indulged in a lot more than that.  I also remember the extra pounds I carried around from doing that and a lot more.  

Before I buy something at the store in a box, bag, package, etc. I read the nutritional label.  I see how many servings are in the package, and what size is the serving, then the calories, fat, carbs, fiber, and protein in each serving.  I then decide if the serving size is worth buying the product.

I mentioned discipline and will power earlier.  Those two things didn't just happen overnight.  It took a lot of practice along with finally starting to see the results of my new way of eating to reinforce my dedication.  Not only did my clothes fit better, but my annual lab results improved too.  Both good reasons to continue my new lifestyle.

After eating this way for twenty years I'm able to eat 1 or 2 potato chips and close the bag.  I eat everything slowly, savor and enjoy the taste of whatever I'm eating.  Nowadays they call it “Mindful Eating”.  Yes, I eat out and bring home half my meal if the portion size is too much.  You may be wondering if I ever splurge.  Of course I do!  But one splurge doesn't derail me into a downward spiral.  The next day I get right back to my usual regimen.  

The main and most important reason I live this disciplined way is because I want, and hope, to have a better quality of life as I age.  Coupled with regular exercise (see my former fitness blogs) my lab results are good, I feel great, and I'm pleased with how my clothes fit.  To me that makes what I'm doing well worth the extra effort.

THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

Friendship is a truly wonderful thing and we all know it’s vital to our health and well being.  Friends come into our lives and friends go out of our lives as the years roll along.  But there’s something so very special about the friends who’ve been with you through many, many of the decades of your life.  

I just had lunch with my “Magnolia” girlfriends.  We’ve been friends for 42 years, having met when most of our children were toddlers.  We’ve been through the good times and the bad times together, always there supporting each other.  We’ve experienced the passing of our parents, divorces, deaths, as well as celebrating our children’s weddings, births of grandchildren, retirements, etc.

We call ourselves the magnolias because of something tragic that happened more than twenty six years ago.  The teenage daughter of one of the magnolias died in a car accident just a couple of miles from home.  Words can’t describe such a terribly painful event, but we were all there to support the family.  

The six of us had gone to the movies together to see “The Steel Magnolias” the previous year.  It was a heart-wrenching story and we went through a lot of tissues that day.   Months after the funeral we all realized we were similar to the steel magnolias with what we had gone through and the name just stuck.  Over many, many years it has just been shortened to the Magnolias.

Through the early years our families went camping together, had picnics, celebrated birthdays and holidays, and enjoyed each others company.  Not only were us six women close friends, but as couples we were all friends and our children grew up together too.

Time marches on quickly and before we knew it our children were grown, and we all settled into our new way of life as empty nesters.  Family outings of yore were now house parties with the 12 of us, or occasional gals weekend get-aways.

Suddenly in the blink of an eye we were entering our 50’s.  None of us know what our expiration date is here on earth, or whether we will have a chance to say goodbye or be gone in an instant.  One of the magnolia’s found out her time had run out when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  As she went through chemotherapy, we took turns bringing meals to Paula and her husband, and sitting with her for hours to help out.  Paula had talked about getting a magnolia tattoo, and two of us said we would get one too.  But unfortunately that was not possible under the circumstances.  We celebrated Paula’s 50th birthday at her home, with each of us wearing a magnolia flower in our hair and putting a temporary magnolia tattoo on our face.  It was the last picture the six of us would ever take together.  Very sadly Paula only lived four months past her diagnosis.

Paula’s husband, their grown daughter, and two magnolias (Sandy and myself) eventually ended up getting real magnolia tattoos.  It’s a comforting reminder of a special friendship.

As time went on getting together seemed strange when there were just the five of us.  Our friendship continued without Paula but it didn’t feel the same anymore.  

Once again the years flew by and we entered our next decade.  Along the way our lives got very busy with jobs, travel, married children, and grandchildren.  The five magnolias slowly drifted apart and we saw each other only occasionally at some function or special event, or at the rare luncheon date.

There’s an old saying that everything happens for a reason.  I don’t always agree with that but I know for certain that is very true in some instances by what happened a few years ago.  I received a call by one of the magnolias telling me that the only son of our late friend Paula had died in a car accident.  He was engaged to be married at the time.  Once again the five magnolias were together, grieving for the loss of our girlfriend’s son, who was much too young to be gone.  We stood by each other’s side as the ashes of Alex were lowered into the ground next to his Mother’s grave.

After the graveside service family and friends gathered at the home of Paula’s elderly mother to have lunch and reminisce about her late daughter and grandson’s lives.  Sitting with my magnolia girlfriends I realized how much I had missed their company.  I think we each felt the same thing because we vowed to start getting together for lunch every few months.  It seemed that Alex’s death was the catalyst that brought us back together again.

Since that time we have made sure to see each other much more regularly.  After all, we share a 42 year history of friendship and life’s heartaches and joys.  Plus, we’re all getting older, and we need each other now more than ever.

And so we gathered together this week for lunch at the Amaya Restaurant at the Grand Del Mar to celebrate not only Christmas, but our long-lasting friendship and all the memories we’ve shared, with hopefully many more in the years ahead.  Friendship this special is something to cherish and hold dear to the heart.  After all, none of us know when our expiration date is.

POST THANKSGIVING THOUGHTS

I hope everyone reading this had an enjoyable Thanksgiving day.  If you didn’t know it was November 23 you just might think it was August 23.  That’s because in Southern California the weather was sizzling for what should be a cool, comfortable Fall day.  I wore a summer dress and sandals as if it were a summer day.  The air conditioning should not have to be running in order to cook a turkey in the oven.  Crazy huh? 

Kudos to my sister-in-law Denise and my brother-in-law Len for hosting this holiday year after year.  They go through a lot of effort to make the day very special for all the family present.  Denise does a great job in the kitchen making everything she serves from hors d'oeuvres to main dishes to desserts from scratch.  Her table settings are as lovely as her food is delicious!

My husband and I look forward to this holiday every year and gladly drive the 4 hour round trip so we can spend the day with family who are able to be there.  This year we lucked out in regards to the traffic.  Seems that most people traveling for the holiday obviously had left earlier in the week as we encountered very few slow-downs on the freeways.

Because we had not seen any of the family since last Christmas it was wonderful to catch up with all the latest news from everyone.  We heard about the wedding plans from one nephew and congratulated our other nephew on the upcoming birth of his first child.  And we got to hold our adorable 2 year old great niece.  My husband’s 93 year old aunt was there too, so we had 4 generations of female family present: his aunt, his sister, her daughter (our niece), and our niece’s daughter.  Altogether we totaled 16 people.  Conversation flowed comfortably among all of us.

As we drove home that evening I felt very grateful for the warmth and love of my husband’s family.  They’ve been a part of my life as far back as I can remember.  Not only was I full from Thanksgiving dinner but my heart was full as well.

TRAVELING THE BACKROADS

I recently returned home after spending a month traveling through Portugal and Spain, staying in traditional Pousadas and Paradores, and exploring the backroads of Spain in depth.  The trip started in Porto, Portugal, where I spent 5 days, then moved on to Lisbon, and Evora, before going into Spain.  From the border between Portugal and Spain the trip headed south as far as Ronda, and then east, before making it’s northern route through the heart of the country all the way up to the Basque region of Bilbao, and Santander on the Bay of Biscay, eventually ending in Oviedo, after covering a major portion of Spain. 

The trip was so interesting with numerous “learning and discoveries” on a daily basis.  I have many stories to tell as time goes on, but first I want to share a small sampling of the numerous artistic photos I took.  I’m already working on several photos from the trip in preparation for making quilts.  Right now I’m in the process of sketching the designs and will share my progress at a later date.

TRAVEL SLEEPOVER, CHINESE STYLE

When I first planned the trip to China there was one destination on the tour itinerary I wasn't too sure about.  The sixteen people in my tour group were to spend the night in the home of a farmer.  I wondered where would we be sleeping?  Would it be on a mat on the floor, all of us in the same room?  Would the bathroom facility be a hole in the back yard?  I was a bit apprehensive not knowing what to expect. 

On the day my tour group was going to be spending the night in the farmer's home our group made a stop in downtown Xian at a grocery/department store.  We were told to buy snacks for the next day's six hour bus ride through the countryside. There would be no place to stop and eat in route as it would be all rural farmlands.  We would just be making a few quick pitstops at gas stations for toilet breaks. 

The grocery/department store we stopped at in Xian was four stories and reminded me of a super Walmart and Costco rolled into one.  My husband and I and the couple traveling with us went inside.  We picked out several different snacks that we thought might be good, guessing since we couldn't read the labels. 

We decided it would be nice for each couple to bring a bottle of wine to the farmer's home to drink with dinner that night.  Of course we didn't know one Chinese bottle of wine from the next so we just guessed.  The exchange rate was so good that the various wines only cost $3-$4 U.S.  And most of them had a small corkscrew attached to them too.  We each picked a different wine - Great Wall and Dynasty - both dark reds.

THE NEXT DAY

The farmer's home was in the Hu Xian Farmer's Painting Village, located in the country about a half hour's ride outside of Xian.  In route there we were told who would be staying together in each home.  My husband and I and our friends would be sharing a home.  The arrangement worked out to four people per home.  Then we were each given two pieces of paper.  One sheet had English to Chinese phrases and the other had Chinese to English phrases.  All we had to do was point to the phrase we wanted to tell our hosts and they did the same thing for what they wanted to tell us.  This was to be how we would communicate with our host and hostess for the next eighteen hours since they spoke no English and we spoke no Chinese.  This was going to be a night to remember for sure!  I was so glad we bought those bottles of wine.

As we drove through the small village of Hu Xian I knew we were in the country where tourists don't usually venture.  All the signs on stores and buildings were in Chinese only, unlike downtown Xian where you could see English translations underneath the Chinese words on billboards and signs on stores.

The bus stopped outside a small community of homes.  The "Mama" of the home where my husband and I and our friends would be staying met us as we got off the bus.  Her warm smile welcomed us as we greeted her with "Ni hao".  We grabbed our small overnight bags (our larger bags went on ahead to our next destination) and proceeded to follow our "Mama" to her home, as we walked through the small community.

Mama's home was two stories with two bedrooms and one bathroom on the second floor.  We were surprised to see that our friends and us each had our own bedroom.  The bathroom was a rectangular cement room with a sink, Western toilet, a drain in the floor and a shower head coming out of the wall.  Downstairs was a small livingroom with four more bedrooms, and a tiny dining room.  Behind the house were several three-sided rooms (open in the front) used for cooking, laundry, storage, etc.  These rooms were detached from the main house with a walkway between them.  Mama's kitchen had a long counter for preparing the meal, and set up on the walkway was a one-burner charcoal cooker.

Mama's teenage son and teenage daughter joined us in the livingroom while Mama served us hot tea.  We presented them with gifts we had brought from home. They spoke a little English so we were able to communicate somewhat.  We enjoyed looking at family photo albums they showed us.  The elderly grandmother of the house briefly came out of her room to smile and see us too.  We were able to take pictures of her before she retreated back to her room.

The children left to go see friends when Mama was going to make dinner.  With our phrase sheets we were able to point to the phrase asking Mama if we could help her make dinner.  She smiled yes and motioned for us to follow her out back.  We opened our bottles of wine and joined Mama outside.  Each of us was given a chance to roll out dough and cut it into strips of noodles.  We also took

turns stir-frying vegetables on the one burner stove.  Mama's daughter returned home bringing her teenage cousin with her who spoke some English so we could talk with her a little.  The two girls took us back into the house to get seated for dinner.

Mama made us a delicious selection of dishes all cooked on her one-burner stove.  She refused our invitation to sit and eat with us though.  Instead, the two teenage girls ate with us, giggling at times like typical teenagers.

After dinner we were taken to the village square.  Every evening the people of this small Hu Xian community gather together.  The men sit on benches to watch the women and children dance to music played on boomboxes.  The villagers seemed very happy and excited to have us join them.  The women and children grabbed our hands and took us into the center of the square to begin dancing.  I learned how to do the Chinese version of line dancing as well as the Chinese fan dance with huge colorful fans.  I also had a very long bright red sash tied around my waist for another traditional dance.  The children loved joining hands with us and forming a large circle to dance round and round and round.

The evening was hot and muggy and I felt like I was getting quite a vigourous aerobic workout.  There seemed to be no end to the stamina of these women and children.  No wonder no one here was fat!  After one hour of dancing we bid our goodbyes to the villagers and followed our Mama back home.

We had been told by our guide not to shower at our host's home because they had very little hot water.  I washed my face quickly with cold water and dried it with my t-shirt, since the only towel was a threadbare skimpy hand towel hanging next to the sink and I opted not to use it.

I put my nightgown on my sweaty body and lay down on a very firm-as-a-board bed.  A small window in the corner of the room was the only ventilation.  I dozed off and on while I tossed and turned all night.

About 4:00 a.m. I heard a chopping noise coming through my bedroom window from outside.  I listened for more than an hour.  Unable to sleep any longer I got up and so did my husband.  Our friends in the bedroom next door were also awake.  We wondered what kind of breakfast Mama would be serving us.  My girlfriend said it probably wasn't a good thing when you could hear your breakfast being chopped. 

When we went downstairs Mama was busy cooking various dishes in her outside kitchen.  We said goodbye to her teenage daughter before she left for school, then Mama ushered us to the dining room table as she began placing dish after dish before us.  I found it difficult to eat stir-fried vegetables for breakfast and I had no idea what several of the dishes were.  The fresh eggs Mama had made were quite good though, as well as a few other dishes.  The four of us seated around the table were in desperate need of coffee, however, all we had to drink was very weak hot herbal tea.  Not quite the caffeine jolt we craved!

Mama once again entered the room carrying bowls of something hot.  She set a bowl down in front of each of us and said "Congi."  I looked down at a huge bowl of thick yellow liquid and thought, "Oh no, I just can't do it."  My girlfriend looked down and proclaimed, "I'm going to be sick!"  My husband is always willing to try anything, so he proceeded to eat his, telling us it wasn't that bad.  I tasted mine, and, yes, it was that bad.

Mama returned to see how we were doing.  When she saw that my husband's bowl was empty she offered him more, but he quickly gestured no more.  I rubbed my stomach too as I pointed to the sentence on my phrase sheet that said, "Your food is delicious but I am full."  Mama seemed pleased as she smiled at us.

The "Papa" of the house came to join us for breakfast before he left for work.  We each pointed to different sentences on our phrase sheets complimenting Papa on his family, home, and country.  Suddenly Mama appeared carrying a mixing-bowl sized portion of steaming Congi and set it before Papa, who was seated at the table between my girlfriend and myself.  Papa proceeded to raise the bowl to his mouth and began slurping the slimy, yellow soup.  It was all I could do not to jump up and dash from the room.  When he finally finished his soup he bid us farewell and left for work.

When breakfast was done and the table cleared, Mama took us outside to meet up with the rest of our group.  We each hugged her goodbye, then our guide took us on a walking tour of the old village, the new village, and a visit to a famous Chinese artist's studio for a demonstration of his techniques.    

When the walking tour was done we bid farewell to the Hu Xian village, bringing away special memories.  An experience that I had been apprehensive about during the planning stages turned out to be a most memorable travel experience.

INDIAN TEXTILES

I've made reference in previous blogs about India being one of my best shopping trips.  And I've shown a black tunic with beautiful green hand needlework decorating a major portion of the tunic.  Well, I have a lot more to share about the incredible Indian textiles.

One of their specialties is creating block printed fabrics.  The cotton that is used for stamping has a soft feel and is perfect to use in clothing and other textiles.

While staying at the gorgeous Nahargarh Ranthambore, in Rajasthan, India, I visited the Dastkar Ranthambore Women's Cooperative.

The women welcomed us to watch and take pictures of them while they worked.  Several of them had their children with them too.

The workmanship was excellent with a wide range of different textile crafts for sale in the shop.  All the block printed fabric was used for their handicrafts, not sold to the public.

I bought a lovely hand stamped cotton tunic with an embroidered border on the cuffs and hem, and have worn it several times since then.  I bought several gifts for friends there too.  The small purses caught my eye with their beautiful hand embroidery.  And I couldn't resist an adorable plum headed parakeet with detailed hand stitching, as well as an elephant keychain.

The woman who made my purse

If you look at their Facebook page or their website you will see many of the items they make and sell, as well as the women who work there.

MORE CREATIVE PLAYTIME

Earlier this summer I decided to take one of the sketches I had drawn a year ago and tweak it a little here and there to see what it would look like.  I had already made two small quilts last year from this sketch.  On one I had painted the design, on the second I had machine appliquéd the design.

This time around I doubled the size of the design, removing some shapes, and adding some new ones.  I already had a general idea what fabrics I was going to use. Ever since I got home from the class I took at Asilomar Conference Center this year I wanted to make a quilt using some non-quilting fabric.  My teacher was Rosalie Dace and she encouraged us to use silks, velvets, and fabrics not usually used in quilting.  Since I had only brought a small selection of silk fabric to the class I couldn’t wait to make something at home using my collection of “party” fabrics from years of sewing gowns and dressy clothing for myself.  

Just like quilters who never throw out even the smallest of fabric scraps from their quilts, I never threw out any of the leftover pieces of fabric from a lifetime of making clothing.  I guess I am a wee bit of a scrap hoarder!  Ages ago I spent some time going through my “collection” of sewing (not quilting) scraps and I discarded everything that didn’t resemble a cotton, or a party fabric.  I was able to trim the scraps down to one trash-sized bag.  And in that bag are scraps from clothing I made back when I was young to the present.  I’m just positive some of those vintage fabrics will come in handy one of these days!!!

The party fabrics I stored separately from the cotton.  I was surprised at how many different satins, brocades, and silks I had, as well as some sparkly netted fabrics.  It took me quite awhile to decide which fabrics to use on the different design shapes in the revised sketch I drew. 

I ironed a lightweight interfacing to the back of the silk fabrics to prevent raveling.  Wonder Under was used under all the fabrics on the quilt.  After they were fused onto the background I went around the outer edges of each shape with either a blanket stitch or a zigzag stitch.  On several of the shapes I zigzagged a metallic cording to add some sparkle.

Once this top is sandwiched and machine quilted I plan to sew on beads for that extra touch of pizzazz.

THE CHART I MADE FOR MYSELF

I USED THE SCALLOPED EDGES FROM A PIECE OF FABRIC FROM INDONESIA

WORK IN PROGRESS, BORDER BASTED ON

SUMMERTIME FUN

I'm back on-line after the most wonderful 9 days!  And I didn't even have to get on a plane or pack a suitcase.  And I also wasn’t quilting or doing anything related to sewing.  Do you give up wondering what I've been up to?

Well, my oldest son and his two boys, my grandsons ages 7 and 12, have been out here from the East, visiting my husband and I.  It has been a whirlwind of a week too!!  Included in all this activity has been my youngest son, his wife, and their two sons, my grandsons ages 9 and 11, who live close by.

Our days have been spent at the beach or at our pool, since all my grandchildren, and us adults, absolutely love the water.  I feel like I have been magically transported back in time as we load the car with boogie boards, sand toys, food and drinks, and surfboards tied with bungee cords on the roof.  

That's exactly how my summer days were spent when my two sons were growing up.  They learned to surf when they were young, and some of my fondest memories are of our regular trips to the beach.  Before they could drive I would sit on the beach and watch them surf.  Such amazing balance and control!  Only once did I attempt to surf, with help from my sons and husband.  Each time I tried I could only get to my knees before falling off.  I finally had to give up and realize that me becoming a surfer was not going to happen.  And my many bruises the next day reinforced that fact!

Now, as I sit on the beach as a grandmother, I marvel at the passage of time.  I'm now watching my grown sons and 3 of my grandsons out in the water on bogey boards and surfboards.  My 9 year old grandson gets to enjoy the surf in the floating wheelchair provided by the city lifeguard station.  When he's not in the water he loves to sit and dig in the sand.  

I haven't spent this much time at the beach and in the ocean in many, many, years.  It was such fun to be out in the water with my grandsons, who are fearless.

After a long day at the beach we would come home and jump in the pool.  Dinner was on the patio, where we talked, laughed, and told family stories.

Besides regular trips to the beach, we went on all the boats at the Maritime Museum at the Embarcadero, went to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center to see “Madagascar, Island of Lemurs” on the IMAX, and went to a birthday party for my second grandson’s 11th birthday.  We finished our last day together by going to the Chula Vista Challenge, where we watched my oldest son compete in the sprint triathlon.

After tearful goodbyes at the airport that night, my husband and I came home to an oddly quiet house, exhausted, but so very happy inside.

CRAZY FOR HEXIES

A few years ago I learned how to English paper piece and I started with simple hexagons.  I didn’t realize how much fun it was going to be to whip stitch all those little hexie shapes together.  I also didn’t realize how addictive it could be, too.  Before I knew it, I had made a couple dozen hexagon flowers in lovely colors.  

I made most of my hexagon flowers in the evening while I was watching TV.  I found they were also easy to take with me on a trip; something I could work on to pass the hours on an airplane.  

Tired of the colored flowers I had been making, I decided to make some hexagons out of my stash of black and white fabrics.  The 1” hexagon papers with my fabric glued around the edges went with me on my next trip.

On a really long bus ride one day, I was watching one of my friends, sitting across the aisle, hand sewing a large English paper pieced project.  The various shapes she was sewing together, as well as the beautiful fabric, really caught my eye.  I asked her what she was making and where she had gotten that interesting pattern.  She said she was making the largest rosette from Katja Marek’s quilt along project.  There are 12 rosettes in total and the finished quilt is really large.

After the trip, when I was back home, I looked at Katja Marek’s website and downloaded the largest rosette and a few smaller ones too.  I also ordered her book, “The New Hexagon” with 52 different blocks to EPP. 

Pretty soon I was on a roll making the largest rosette, choosing my own fabrics and colors.  I spent several hours almost every night working on the rosette, and soon my hands and fingers began to cramp up.  That was when I knew how addicting these little hexies could be and I had to spend less time hand sewing and make sure to stop and do hand stretches.  I certainly didn’t want to injure my hands!  

I like the finished rosette a lot, but I just haven’t figured out how I want to finish it.  So for the time being it keeps company with many other UFO’s in my closet.

Once I was done with that rosette I debated whether I wanted to download another rosette from the website.  Because I enjoy creating my own designs, I decided to try my hand at drawing my own hexagon pattern.  This time around I kept the design much smaller than the large rosette I had just made from Katja’s pattern.  

In no time at all I had created several different hexagon-based patterns; a few I hand-sewed together in the evenings.

I decided to take a break from my evening hand-sewing as summer approached and my interests and focus changed.  But come this Fall and Winter I have several larger EPP projects already lined up, along with the fabrics, to keep me quite busy!