Patchwork Bucket

Algebra. Yup, needed to use an algebraic formula for this. It called for measuring the diameter of the base circle, mine was 19" x 3.14 + 0.5, which then = 60.16 inches. Who knew I could even remember how to do this?

I am not sure what I expected as I made this patchwork bucket. Whether it was my wounded left-hand index finger or that it was a two-day project, I was only able to make the outside shell of the bucket.

There were 10 blocks leftover from the Butterfly Wings quilt, and the bucket needed five on the outside and five on the inside, so its perfect! I put all the small gifts inside and they are completely enclosed. Now all I need to do is line the lining with something a bit stiffer, add the binding to enclose the raw edges, and add the handles. 

I did a grid quilt for the base which was two pieces of a heavy corduroy, and then played around with generic machine quilting stitches for the outside. Luckily the patchwork was done or the bucket wouldn't even be at this stage of work. AND there was just enough batting leftover from the Butterfly Wings quilt to do the 60.25" circumference!

My inner child was squealing with joy. I think that play is the real mission for the child within us, even if she is wounded. Sure sometimes the emotional or psychological wounding is even harsher and deeper than the superficial cut on a fingertip. So that wounded inner child hides out in fear, and our adult selves avoid facing the fear of what they will see when the psychological bandaids come off.

And, of course my adult self decided to take off the bandaid to see what the cut looked like. It stuck and I pulled, and of course re-opened the wound, which bled and hurt all over again. Hmpf. Real life. I felt stupid, and realized I knew better and should have waited until it had a chance to heal more. One day was not enough and the wound went back to ground zero and the healing had to start over. Well, it bled less.

This is what therapy was like for me too. I have always wanted to get to the heart of my issues, bring them out into the light, air them out and get the healing going faster. Like the Ghostbuster's song goes, "I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts!" However, today, I will slow myself down and have declared it a day to heal. There is enough time to work on the patchwork bucket for the baby shower on Sunday, as well as the one that holds my emotional life stories.

Blessed be.