Kaleidoscope Placemats

I got into working on the Kaleidoscope material, I was still sewing when Michael came home last night. I'm fortunate to have a self-sufficient husband who understands when the truck is rolling down the hill, the last think I want to do is stop and make dinner.

I had serious doubts about this pattern - it seemed too easy to be true. I did a chevron quilt last year using the "old school" method of making half triangle squares and then matching all those points - great practice but once is enough, right? This pattern has you sew strips together, cut them into squares and the turn the squares so they make a chevron. There are still a lot of points to match but so far; this is much easier.

Here are the 3" strips laid out in the order that will make the chevrons. And a close up (just for the record):

 

 And here are all the squares put together to form the chevrons.

 

Now, all I have to do is sew the blocks together in rows on the diagonal and then sew the rows together. Should be able to get that done by the time my sister arrives next week so we can work out how to make the placemats from this material.

Daring Greatly

"Connecting (love and belonging) is why we are here. Shame is the fear of disconnection."

 

Here are three things about shame that helped me understand:

1. We all have it.
2. We're all afraid to talk about it.
3. The less we talk about it, the more control it has over our lives.

And here are definitions of a few words that get confused with shame:

• Shame - "I am bad."
• Guilt - "I did something bad" - something that doesn't match my values. Guilt influences positive change.
• Humiliation - "This isn't about me." I stay aligned with my values while trying to solve the problem.
• Embarrassment - "I'm not alone; others have done this." It will pass rather than define me.

Shame Resilience

"The ability to practice authenticity when we experience shame. Moving from shame to empathy."

 

I feel like I could write pages and pages after each paragraph in this book - like my whole life is an example of Brene's research. And, up to now, I've chosen to hold back and just write my detailed responses in my head where they are safely under my control; or I write them down to get them out of my head but I don't put them in my blog where someone might stumble on them. And although the idea of talking to someone is filled with hope for me; I haven't actually done that yet.

 

And then I read this, "Shame is a social concept - it happens between people - it also heals best between people."

 

Posting my thoughts on a blog which no one reads isn't exactly reaching out - it is? I think, because I'm a writer my first step in any project is to write it down. But now I know I will make progress if I actually share with someone "who responds with empathy and understanding." Those people in my arena that I've been ignoring -  are perfect candidates, aren't they?

 

My assignment to myself for this weekend is to talk to someone in my arena about this book and some of the things it is teaching me about myself.