'Yeah?' you're saying...
A little background:
1. I learned to drive late in life, and most of my driving experience is in rural areas. Not cities. City driving, what little I've done, has frequently made me cry. Just thinking about city driving can drown me in a vast pool of anxiety.
2. I have no sense of direction. Literally, none. I have not only ended up in the wrong city, but in whole other states. I have to establish a path to places I go, then never ever ever deviate from that path because I will get lost. Trying to find new places can be fraught with, you guessed it, anxiety.
3. I am extremely introverted, and shy to the point of being broken. I have to really work myself up to talk with strangers. (Even on the phone...)
So read that first sentence again, knowing what you know now, and see that I faced a Perfect Storm of terrors today, and survived.
And had a good time in the process.
Both Liz and The Other Liz were really really nice and not scary at all! It took less than 5 minutes of hanging with them to feel like I'd known them forever, and I haven't laughed that much in a long time. Lovely ladies the both of them.
I managed to find my way into and out of the city without getting lost. And I even parked in a parking garage. (A first!) You have no idea how scary that was...
And I saw fabulous quilts! I've only begun to process some photos, but I'll share a few.
I went back and looked at this quilt at least three times:
A close-up of the label (and part of that border!):
And just one of those gorgeous blocks.
I'd been thinking for a while that I'd like to make an applique quilt, and this quilt may have been the tipping point. All that luscious color on a red background makes resistance futile. It's been years since I've done applique, but I'm now tempted enough that I bought a pattern at the show. Though the quilt I'm planning will be a wee bit smaller than that 'Funky Garden on Red' - the finished blocks in the pattern are 4.5" square. Lots of pretty flowery blocks, but in a manageable size.
Like I always say, Go Small or Go Home.
You go, Girl!
ReplyDeleteThat quilt is beautiful! Way to go on conquering your anxieties!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm right there with you on everything but driving (I have a crazy phone phobia... the point where I have to work myself up to just ordering a pizza or booking a doctors appointment.)... I LOVE driving! Anywhere, anytime... I am a BOSS behind the wheel. I will drive for hours just for the fun of driving!
Congratulations on getting there and back and still be able to talk about it. In college, I had a roommate like that. I brought her to the mall and we went into a store. Coming out the store she had no recollection of which way we came in to the store, left or right. She was just lost, poor girl. She never got her driving licence either. So kudos to you and next time will be less scary. Love that quilt too. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteGood for you on the driving! It probably helped that there was a fabulous goal at the other end ;-)
ReplyDeleteWow! you did great, girl! I'm so proud of you but I had no idea that it was such a big issue for you because you are so witty and erudite here on your blog. The quilt is so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteAlways great to tackle a fear! My mom learned to drive really late in life and had not driven on an expressway. We moved an hour's drive from her, best (maybe only) access by freeway. We needed a steamer to remove wall paper; none available in our small town, but she could get one and bring it to us. She gulped and did it. And discovered that she liked freeway driving.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could tackle driving in new cities these days without my GPS. It made a major difference in my bravery when I moved to POrtland. (I did keep a paper map in the car as back up in my driving days.) I'd planned not to replace my car when it died--it died much sooner than I'd expected, but public transportation is good here in Portland, OR.