mentallystrong

It's Okay....On Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Something like this

This piece needs a Crop

Let's face it ... most pastimes come with a lot of rules. Name a hobby, I'm sure we could name the rules that go along with it. It's no different for quilting. Really that has suited me just fine for 35 years since I'm a ~~anal~~ natural rule follower. Then there's the saying we've all heard .."You gotta learn the rules, to break the rules". This week, it dawned on me that nobody said how well you needed to learn said rules. Also, I'm an adult ...

added by Nina Marie 2 months, 2 weeks ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri

Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

I'm struggling with a cold this week, so I'll keep this short. You all sure know how to make a girl smile. Just when I needed a little encouragement, you're there to answer the call. Nothing makes me happier than to see a post spark a conversation in the comment section like last week.

I think we can all agree to coin Julierose's phrase, "Wordy Person". I 100% represent that. If it has words involved, I'm in. I grew up playing word games, writing pretend newspapers and creating poetry. Not to mention I'm the ...

added by Nina Marie 3 months, 2 weeks ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , quotes

The Word of the Year...Reset on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

2023 Block of the Month Club
Where I left it

Here I am! WoW, its hard to get back to the normal routine after all the hoopla of the holidays. I hope everyone found peace and happiness as 2025 ended. Our family was blessed for sure. Just getting a break in the winter weather to celebrate Christmas was amazing. Spending some quiet time with my inner circle was a gift too. It seems that lately, I'm getting less and less time to do that.

Maybe with getting some well-deserved rest, has me wondering....what comes next? I won't ...

added by Nina Marie 4 months, 1 week ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , steallikeanartist , to-do list

Let's Talk Gatekeeping on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Ain't THAT the truth!

It's an odd place to be.. .a 35 year veteran of one craft .... quilting and a rank amateur of another... rug hooking. After doing something for 30 years, you get to know most of the answers. Diving in deep on rug hooking, the more I know, the more I realize I don't know. Luckily, I've found a circle of ladies that are happy to share their opinions on things (and let me tell you, rug hookers are strong in their opinions). One of my favorite 90 minutes of the week is the ...

added by Nina Marie 8 months, 3 weeks ago. under likedislike , mentallystrong , off the wall fri , rants , rug hooking , steallikeanartist

We Do Not Care Club - Off the Wall Friday Edition from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

We interrupt your regular scheduled programming to bring you the Off the Wall Friday's

We Do Not Care Club

Quilter's Edition

Founded by Melani Sanders for perimenopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal women

Our Founder, Melani Sanders

Today's Announcements:

As quilters, we do not care if you feel we already have enough fabric; we will buy as much as we like, with no particular purpose in mind. It's our money. We will spend it anyway we want. (That goes for thread and notions as well.)

We do not care if you don't want the quilt we made ...

added by Nina Marie 9 months, 1 week ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , wdncc

Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

added by Nina Marie 11 months, 1 week ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri

Why Quilt on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

The last 10 months my life has been consumed by a new job which while not earth shattering has been super fun. And my studio has sat empty. I work all day creatively problem solving my way through customer service. And my studio sits empty. I wake up in the morning, thinking of ways to be more productive at my desk. And my studio still sits empty.

It's been very fulfilling, and a pleasure and the months have flown by. The work week is filled with one challenge after another. The weekends are time for sleep and recharging. It ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 2 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri

Word of the Year: Quilt on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

The Crosses II, Nina-Marie Sayre

This week I was reminded by Jenny Lyon that I used to a write a Word of the Year the first post of January. The ritual started on our Art Quilt email list of the 2000's. (Sigh, I miss that list. Reddit is just not the same...just sayin') The members of the list would choose a word and write their meaning why. It was inspiring to hear the different words from so many diverse voices chiming in from around the country and world.

Mine always were normally words that represented an aim or ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 4 months ago. under likedislike , mentallystrong , off the wall fri

Creativity in the Face of Adversity on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

For all my US readers...well it's been a week, hasn't it? No matter what your political views, I'm sure
I'm not alone to say, this week has been A LOT. Raise your hand, if you've had enough politics to last you four years? Living in Pennsylvania, it's been kinda like being the most popular girl at the dance. THEN living in Erie County, just doubles that. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, the saying goes in the political world...the way Erie County goes is the way the country will go. We've picked the ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 6 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , rants

No You Don't Suck on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Okay, since I've had a big day that started at about 3:45 am...I'll make this short and sweet. You do not suck. You only think you suck, but trust me, you don't.

As in most things, the internet is a blessing and a curse. It brings us together as "makers". It helps us connect and finally we feel like we fit in. It's like we're with a tribe that understands why we take $300 in fabric, spend hours cutting it all up, only to take hours to sew it all back together. You ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 8 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri

Learning to Fail on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

So last week, I was talking to a friend of mine and she said, "Ohhhh I don't have a creative bone in my body." If I only I had a dime for every time I heard that. I do believe people are born with strengths and weaknesses and there is no reason that you need to be strong in everything. HOWEVER...I believe that everyone can enjoy the joy of "making" no matter what their talents. I mean think about it. How many kids don't like to color and draw? Hardly any. It's only when they hit ...

added by Nina Marie 2 years, 2 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , quotes

Build Your Own World on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

(The following post comes with a "My Opinion Only" Warning and you are more than welcome to disagree)

Look, I know artwork like everything else goes in and out of fashion. But lately, I've noticed a LOT of art quilt work that is more derived from rather than inspired by another artist. Now, I'm not talking about direct copying and using for profit as this article shows. More like I see art quilts that look more like they were done by the same artist when they haven't been.

You can see where this can easily and innocently ...

added by Nina Marie 2 years, 8 months ago. under likedislike , mentallystrong , off the wall fri , rants , steallikeanartist

Do You Need a Website? on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Paul's latest coffee Table

Shhhhhhh, can you keep a secret? My husband, Paul is turning 58 this week and I decided it was

The man, the myth

high time he got his own website. You see he became a full-time artesian woodworker when he retired a couple of years ago and he really needs an online presence. So with a lot of help from my daughter, Tessa, we put together a portfolio site. A portfolio website is a site that is primarily there to showcase you and what you create. Not only can it include a gallery of your ...

added by Nina Marie 3 years, 1 month ago. under family , mentallystrong , off the wall fri , social media

8 Not Sew Good Habits on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

All this back-to-basics sewing around here lately, has got me thinking about when I was a beginner quilter. I began quilting on a fluke, not because someone I loved taught me. So it was kinda doing whatever works at the moment kind of thing. Along that journey, bad habits were formed. So the first step to improvement is realizing there is a problem, right? Some of these are practical, some are mental, and some are just, "I should have known better". So if you recognize some of these, shhhhhh it's okay, your secret is safe with me!

8 Not ...

added by Nina Marie 3 years, 2 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri

7 Ways to Create in Happiness on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

This week I read an emotional social media post made by a friend of mine from high school. They are and always have been a truly unique, special individual. I knew that from the moment I met them when we both were 14 and I said, "Hey, you want a Pez?" The post spoke finally of their acceptance of the fact that they did their art for the love of it. Not for the money...not for the accolades...not for the "likes".

I read it and I thought FINALLY!

I knew from the start that their art wasn't ...

added by Nina Marie 3 years, 9 months ago. under likedislike , mentallystrong , off the wall fri

Musings on Mosaics on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

The moment when you realize you've let things get too complicated

So today I took the afternoon off to sew. It isn't a great time to take off since all of a sudden, the country has decided it's actually summer and they want to buy, buy, buy their summer clothes. It's been kinda crazy at work and with summer here, crazy on the social front. All of that adds up to no time to sew. So I did it. I took the afternoon off to finally finish up Tessa's Mosaic.

I've been three weeks ...

added by Nina Marie 3 years, 11 months ago. under art quilt , creative process , mentallystrong , off the wall fri , process , quotes

Rules for a Busy Quilter on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

With March comes not just the end of our grey days but ... National Quilting Month!! I always thought spring was a perfect time to renew ourselves into our favorite passion. I mean, really, it takes a special kind of person to cut up perfectly good material and then take hours and hours to sew it all back together right?!

Rules For a Busy Quilter

When you're "In the Zone" the sewing room is off-limits to everyone else. How many times has a family member or a phone call gotten you off track and it's impossible to get right ...

added by Nina Marie 4 years, 2 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , quotes , steallikeanartist

Connections on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

If anything Covid has taught me, is the need for connection. How many of us have taken our
social time for granted right up to the moment when it wasn't there. To be fair, since moving to "Working From Home" 5 years ago, I've been looking for a way to connect. Still there wasn't any kind of sense of urgency. Until...well, ya know....March, 2020. I don't think I really understood how much our year was going to change until the President closed the airports to Europe. Of course, the connections in our lives were ...

added by Nina Marie 4 years, 6 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , pinwheels , to-do list

Quilting and Motivation on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

You know I'm quite sure that most people don't realize how much time and effort goes into a quilt. That goes double for a quilt that is an original design. As I've gotten back into the swing of things, I've been thinking over what I want to do next. I have a few projects started that really do need finishing but it's been hard to get myself back in there.

One of the reasons is it literally looks like a hurricane went through from me pulling supplies to go to John C. Campbell's Folk ...

added by Nina Marie 4 years, 8 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , quotes , steallikeanartist

Maintaining Momentum on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

I remember the first time I realized that the amazing quilts I saw in quilt magazines and national shows were made by very human women and not some kind of artistic geniuses. Before that I thought they must have some special gift from God bestowed on them on some higher level to achieve such masterpieces. Well, they did, but it wasn't really what I originally thought. Don't get me wrong though.

These women are all talented artists but their real "magic" lies in the fact that they have discipline, patience and perseverance. Behind every great piece are hours ...

added by Nina Marie 5 years, 1 month ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , steallikeanartist

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