Honoring those who went before us

Welcome to Comfort, Creativity and Sanity
Why do I call it that? Because I am a caregiver for my husband who was originally diagnosised with Parkinson's but it has now been changed to MSA (more about that later)., and I have been given a challenge to find ways to create respite situations. One of the ways is to indulge my love for artistic expresssion such as quilting and creating other forms of art (usually involving sewing)

So when I began to stay at home and care for my Husband and manage the Ministorage business where we live I found that I had large blocks of time where I couldn't go anywhere and didn't have much to do. So I used quilting and other sewing type crafts to fill the time and use the creative outlet as a respite from the burden of caregiving. I find it is infusing me with an enthusiasim I haven't had in a long while .

  So this Blog is my way of both sharing my attempts at respite and to document my journey as I care for my husband. Come join me and share your crafts and the joy that they bring you.

It all started because....
In February my husband was diagnosed with a rare disease called MSA - Multiple Systems Atrophy. This was not an improvement from his previous diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease that we have been laboring with for the last 2 1/2 years.

As a result I have had to face the fact that I will be relinquishing my position with my current job and taking over his job as the manager of the ministorage business where we are resident managers. At this point niether my husband nor the business require lots of work but they do require that I be on site for most of the day, 6 days a week, so I find myself being "On Call" with large chunks of time to myself. I have also been challenged by those who love me to "take care of myself and make sure that I get respite". I am searching for ways to accomplish that within the specifics of my circumstances.

Quilting!
My mom gave me some embroidered and cross stiched blocks that my grandmother made shortly before she passed away when she was in her 90's. I have created a design and am now working on putting it together. The plan is to complete the quilt and gift it back to my mom who has made everyone else in the family a quilt.I am finding that this is a very rewarding, exciting and more emotional task than I had anticipated. In this way i can honor my grandmother and make use of the beautuiful work that she did. Her stitches are near perfect!. And also honor my mom for all the qwuilts she has made and given away to her loved ones. I know she will cherish a quilt made of her mother's work.

Several of my friends - who quilt- have gotten very excited that I have joined thier ranks and offered any help that they can send my way. I feel like I just joined a club. I have not been able to express my creativity in a very long time so i am excited by this outlet. I also have some native Panamanian art called Molas. They are reverse quliting appliques with traditional designs. I have ahd them for about 16 years , always with the intention of making them into a lap quilt. I hope to do that one next and already have the design in the infant stages of creation.

When I am finished with these two quilts I have some ideas for a couple more. It will be interesting though because they will be my first  "from scratch" quilts as the first two were created with blocks someone else created. I look forward to the challenge.

SO HERE GOES!