Empty Nest

I am now officially among the ranks of the empty nesters... My 25 year old son moved out of the house yesterday and into his own place.  It's only a rented room in west LA, but he's moved and I'm elated and sad at the same time.  He's still in the air on tottery wings and I'm breathless to see if he'll fly.  I'm thrilled the nest is empty - my husband and I have this huge house to ourselves...  OMG, my husband and I have this huge house to ourselves... what the hell are we going to do with it all? 

That's not hard to answer - I'm getting a new sewing room!  (hence the elation).  I can envision it now - all cleaned out, my sewing table, ironing board and design wall all in one room.. maybe even a cutting table if I can eke out a little more space.  New paint on the walls.  Maybe a small quilt or two hanging where there's room. 

And yet the house seemed so empty this morning... and I felt... strangely out of sorts and at odds with the world.  Who am I now and what is my place in the world?  It's time to re-define myself and come to terms with a new me.

I went to the mall with a friend today.  First time I've stepped inside a shopping mall in years.  I tend to avoid them.  I get all the shopping therapy I need in quilt shops.  Nothing much has changed over time.  More kiosks maybe.  Despite my lack of recent mall experience, I felt jaded and uninterested in most of the shops.  I did buy a case for my not-so-new cell phone.


THEN, we went to a couple of quilt shops (I was very good and only bought 1/4 yd each of 6 different solids that I absolutely needed to finish a quilt I'm working on, and some more aurifil for piecing), and lunch. 

Haven't finished any quilts lately but I did send a couple of fabric postcards that I finished up.  Here's a picture of one of them (they're both essentially the same)... puffy paint and crystals on inkjet printed fabric.  The theme was 'bright and funky'.  Hope the recipients like them: