Moment of Truth...

My very first AA meeting the day before yesterday... I stand up, face the group, and speak the words I've been needing to say for years... "Hi, My name's Francie, and I'm an alcoholic."

There. It's out in the open. There's really no more to be said. I'm sure there are those who were well aware of this fact before now, but I'm tired of dancing around the obvious, and it's way past time for me to face facts. Last Thursday, I sustained my third serious alcohol-related injury. Following a torn rotator cuff in the summer of 2009, a broken hip in December of 2010, this time I blacked out and fell flat on my face, breaking my nose, gashing my forehead, smashing my chin and rearranging some of the teeth in my recently remodeled million dollar mouth. After waking up in the North Bay Trauma Center, I spent a couple of days in the hospital drying out, and sleeping it off. After a long visit with a social worker, I bit the bullet, and promised her I'd give AA a try. Quoting Yoda, she sternly reminded me, "There is no try... there is do, or not do." OK. Right. So, AA and I are now going to become best friends for a spell until I, somehow, get away from my path of self destruction. If we have to become lifelong buds, then, so be it.

The main task is entirely up to me, but I'm asking for a little help from my friends along the way. After over 50 years of hard drinking, this is going to be quite a change in my life, and I'm sure old habits are going to die hard, with lots of howling, kicking and screaming. On the other hand, every time I look in the mirror these days and see this (which looks worse as the days progress)...

... I'm reminded that time is running out, and the change has got to stick this time.

Enough said. Thanks for listening.

Completed Top!

As promised... here's the completed top. I still have to do the back, but that's going to require a trip to the quilt shop for more fabric. Alas... how "unfortunate"!!

Mystery Quilt

On June 16, my quilt guild held it's annual mystery quilt class... so called because each participant gets only bare minimum instructions before the class, and then the piece is constructed one step at a time during the class, so it's a true mystery what the finished product will look like. I like this unknown quantity, and am usually pleased with my results. This time, I was VERY pleased.

The only pre-class instructions given were to cut 128, 17" x 2.5" strips, and separate them into 4 sets of 32 strips. The sets could be totally random, or identical. I chose the identical option. I used two packages of Timeless Treasures' "Tonga Treats" in the Gum Drop colorway.

The next step was to sew the fabrics from the individual sets together to make four identical panels...

Then, sew the panels closed to make a tube, and cut each tube into six 2.5" segments.

Decide which square you want in the upper left hand corner, then begin cutting the strips open in the desired order, lay them out to check for correctness, and start sewing them together.

 Two sections sewn together...

All four sections sewn together...

I'll be adding a skinny black & white inner border, and a wide, multi-colored outer border to finish the top. I'll post that picture in a few days.