The month of January is ending. It has been a whirlwind for me.
The writing of my Organic Color Collage book proposal has been finished and accepted by the publisher. Now I am working on making samples and illustrating with photos what I am trying to explain. That is a lot of work and requires much better lighting, setup, and camera, than a shot for Facebook and Instagram. I am surrounded by white umbrellas!
Thank goodness I have a husband who enjoys photography and who is good at cleaning up photos. He's cropping, and removing little threads that are all around me to give the photos a clean and professional look. Next, he organizes them in all kinds of files to give me and the publisher easy access. He has always done this for Webfabrics when it was still my business and this allows me to focus on the fabrics and colors, much more my strength. It almost feels like we are back in the day!
I am a little bit in a hurry because ideally, the book should come out at Market, but that is short notice, considering that I just started writing after the last Market! I am not sure this will happen, but snow days and a lack of outdoor activities are helpful! After the visuals have been submitted I will know more.
A little sword is hanging above my head. My mother may be living her last days on earth and I expect to go to Europe within the next few weeks for a goodbye. Most of you know that my mother is suffering from Alzheimer's and her (requested) death will be the end of the misery. That is how she sees it in moments of clarity. That is how all her children see it. We have had many discussions about situations like this in our family and know her wishes. We are extremely grateful for a most wonderful, loving, and dynamic mother who up to age 84 had a very fulfilling life. These last years have been difficult for all and she is now in a situation that is not her.
Many of you know her. In her younger years, we have attended many shows together and she loved being in the shop. She became an accomplished quilter herself after initially saying about my quilting "so you buy fabrics, cut them in pieces and then sew them back together again?" My basket of great memories with both my parents (my father passed away in 2011) is overflowing. I have been so extremely fortunate with them and we have enjoyed each other so much. "Smell the roses" is indeed almost a family slogan in my family and has been passed on from generation to generation. We all are trying to do this and the built-up gratitude that comes with it is helpful in tougher times, which are also a normal part of life.
My parents have been the most amazing grandparents to my children. I have big shoes to fill and hope I can honor their legacy.