If writing my book was all crocheted up into the squares of the book blanket, then these few weeks before the release time is definitely stitched into the book quilt.
Each email received and sent, each room tidied and cobweb brushed away, each photo taken, each interview question answered, each time and date diarised, each little piece of nervousness and over-emotion, each big piece of excitment buliding, each ohmygoodness ohmygoodness I wrote a book!
Each time I cut out a bunting flag to advertise the book, I also cut out a tiny 9mm by 9mm square of the same fabric.
As I sewed and pressed the flags, I sewed the little squares into long strips.
And as I stamped the bunting, I took breaks and sewed the strips into a quilt.
There was never any plan beyond the current stage. There still isn't.
Sometime over the next little while when I am meant to be doing something else, hopefully I'll sort through my stuff and find an old blanket. Then I'll pin the little sqaures to the blanket and to a bigger piece of fabric. And then sometime after that I'll stitch it all together. Together.
It's not all that big so I don't know what will become of it or where it will go.
But I do know that this time just before the release has surprised me with its mixture of jumbled up emotions. It feels big and sometimes overwhelming to see my name printed in red on the cover and the photos that I took and words that I wrote inside. It feels like an acomplishment and through the nerves I am also really proud.
I also feel really lucky to be a crafter. For the therapy of the cut and the stitch and for this quilt that holds the stories of this time. It's such a blessing really.
Happy weekend my friends.
I do hope yours is wonderful.
xx
