Use What We Have

Arthur Ashe, Jr. who was the #1 World Professional tennis player in the 1970's, said that we should "Start where we are. Use what we have. Do what we can". If you remember, his life was changed after contacting HIV from a blood transfusion. He became a spokesperson for AIDS awareness and changed how we view this dreadful disease. Its just a good reminder that life is short and most of the time we have more than what we need within us.

A number of times, I've been asked about my personal health and well-being, and I am probably as healthy as one can be for my age, my experiences and choices.

My attitude towards conservation has always been one of awareness towards resources. I believe in recycling, in repurposing and reusing whenever I can. And I have learned that eventually, we all cross the rainbow bridge and leave behind a lot of material possessions that someone has to deal with.

I am committed to shopping from my closets. I have been holding off going to the fabric store until the weekend. It is so easy to buy more rather than to make use of the odds and ends or scraps. 

One of the quilts I am making is for a PayItForward project that will go to a long-time family friend this year. Rob doesn't read my blog, so I feel ok sharing this before he gets the quilt. (Not every PIF I make is a quilt.) I spent the day piecing the back from Lee's estate fabrics, and found myself saying, "Oh this is so nice, I should save it for...." For what? If not now, when? I had measured the top and pulled out some larger pieces to use for the back. Lee tended to purchase 1 1/3 yards most of the time when she saw something she liked.

Most of my time was spent calculating to get these pieces to match with the front sizing. I started with the largest piece and then used the calculator to help me figure out how to do the borders. There are many apps out to help with this and I use:
http://www.quiltersparadiseesc.com 

Then of course, I was able to finish a few spools of thread that had been almost used up on other projects. They take up space and dry out after awhile. And I have enough of the stripe to make binding for it. It was a lot of measuring, cutting, pinning, piecing, and pressing. Its a lovely backing and presents a completely different look from the top. 

Best of all, its a scrap quilt.