Me.

On my birthday weekend, I though I'd share a little about me.  You know, the me that exists beyond sewing, the "in real life" Rachel, so to speak.  And, if you don't want to humor me, y'all just come back next time, K?

Here we go...



Me, I'm intense.  I do pretty much everything all-the-way and 100% IN.  That started with ballet at age 4.  I was quite the serious ballerina-to-be until I quit my senior year of high school.  I mean like, dancing 6 days a week and planning to forgo having kids because they'd get in the way of my dancing - that kind of serious.  Thank goodness that didn't come to be!


I graduated high school at age 16, the same year I quit ballet.  Yes, I was a bit young for a valedictorian.  I seem to have been raised under the premise that earlier/younger is better.  Not true.  I'm really not particularly smart, just hard working.  I truly enjoy work.  I'm said to be "productivity oriented" (which may explain my energy for sewing, eh?).  For me school was an approval-winning bonanza, at least with my teachers.  Fortunately, I had the opportunity in later years to pursue an education that really meant something to me when I audited religious studies courses at Westmont, a Christian college in Santa Barbara.

Because, yes, my faith certainly means something to me.  It's difficult to know how to express that here.  My life is made meaningful, vibrant and hope-filled because of what Jesus is for me.  And God's had His hands is all my life's great turning points, from quitting ballet to starting Euphoria, and in the small things too, like inspiring me to begin do. Good Stitches.

I married my husband at 18. Sheesh!  I was waaaaay too young, though my husband (who had just turned 20) still maintains that he was ready.  I was so not grown up.  I'd just been charging forward on the "fast track" of life and since I'd hopped off the ballerina train, I was finding a new direction.  Those first few years were painful for me.  I'm so glad that my faith and my friends sustained me because my marriage and my family are the most precious aspects of my life today.

Having kids changes everything.  At 22 I became a mother, at home.  Our natural home birth was the beginning for us of a very "crunchy"  journey.  And, now, we're bonafide "weird" - especially since we moved from our native California to South Carolina.  Yes, I shop local and organic, wash my face with oil and even drink raw milk.  I suppose you could say we're free thinkers. But, for all the renouncing we've done, we're also embracing the good old ways:  gardening, homeschooling, and establishing simple family traditions.



So, who am I today?  Confident.  Sometimes I feel like I could do anything (anything but machine quilting, that is).  Busy. Mom, entrepreneur, teacher, artist, friend.  Fulfilled.  Life is sweeter than I could have ever imagined.  Creative.  Which is a new one for me to claim.  Restless.  I dance once a week, but it's not enough.  Energized.  By each chance to create.  Thankful.  For you, for God, for all the dear souls in my life.

I really like sewing.  And, I really like blogging.  So, I think I'll be here for awhile.  Thanks for having me.