I have hit a wall

And I don’t know how to pull myself out of it.

I think I am suffering from Covid fatigue. I can’t get myself motivated even though I have ideas and plans. It all seems a little pointless. Why have I hit this wall? Things are looking up. Both Gordon and I had our 1st Covid vaccinations. In six weeks, we will be able to go to a restaurant to eat. We will be able to walk outside without our masks. I should be feeling good, but I am not!

I should be happy as we have finally decided to move back to the UK once Gordon is retired. I have been pushing to do it for quite a few years, but after the election of T####, I became pretty depressed about staying in the USA. Gordon was not so sure about returning as all the family would still be here. Then this election came around. It should have made us feel better, but with the riots and the Republicans declaring themselves die-hard T#####rs, it just made us more dispirited. Feb was the breaking point with the winter storm that left us with no power for several days. It’s not as if things are going well in the UK. The Tories are dismantling the NHS bit by bit and the SNP is collapsing in on itself while still retaining power. No-one is even considering Labour, at the moment, in either country (England or Scotland). The difference is that I know this is just yet another turbulent time in UK history and we will get through it, even if Scotland does become independent. Who knows where the USA is heading?

I haven’t done much creatively. I finally finished my Oops quilt. This quilt started as my very 1st attempt at quilting about 2.5 yrs ago. It was a design from a book which was for beginners. I am hopeless at understanding or looking at processes in books. One of the reasons I am not a clothes makers is because I cannot fathom the pattern! I love the videos that are on YouTube and other platforms, as I can rewind them until I learn the correct way or alternative methods. After all the cutting of the fabric and grouping the pieces together, it is evident that it wouldn’t work. I put it aside and went to a class. A couple of quilts later, I decided to pull the Oops quilt apart and start over. It was never going to be a good quilt, but it looks better than it was.

My Oops quilt.

The only thing that remains of the original quilt design is the three rail blocks which as you can see, are all higgle Piggly. It is relatively small, but after not machine quilting for a while, I found it quite an effort pushing it through the machine’s throat and my lines are all over the place!

Tomorrow, I am determined to get over this wall of lethargy that has enveloped me these past few weeks. I have signed up for two online classes with Lisa Walton. The first one is called Aurora, which will include Fabric painting, beading, and bobbin work with different threads. The second class is called Fantastic Fusion. With the dyed fabrics plus batik cloth, we will design a quilt using fusible interfacing. My biggest issue is dyeing fabric. It scares the bejesus out of me! I am a messy painter, so I can only imagine how shambolic I will be with dyes.
The one thing I have been able to concentrate on during this period of inertia is discovering my family roots. I started it years ago but never really got that far. A family relative recently told me a story about the background of one of my very close relatives that didn’t ring true. I have been like a dog with a bone. The weird thing that has happened is that I have discovered a lot about that side of the family dating right back to the 1800s, but I cannot find more recent family information.
I am going to give it a break for now as I can’t take any more Jones (on at least two branches of my family), Barkers, Florence, William, Edward etc.