Cure for the "pits"

   Some days are the "pits".  Things don't work like they should, frustration level rises, and I feel over whelmed and want to escape from it all.  Today is one of those...actually it started yesterday when we upgraded our Internet service, modem and phone.  The phone still doesn't work.  My main computer is a mess....I can't log in to access photos and my files are scattered everywhere.

    My cure.....retreat to the sewing room.....push everything aside and do a journal quilt.   I opened up my favorite reference book, Art Quilt Workbook, and  literally let it decide for me.  The page it opened to was about creative piecing by slashing and adding inset strips.  I needed this to be easy, so I chose a fabric that I had sun-dye painted last summer, with bold colors and a few fern fronds.  I used a dusty green for the strips to inset in 2 different widths, just because that was what I found. 
  The process:
  I cut a section of fabric 12 by 12 inches to begin, then cut a section off the top and added the first strip.  Then  I slashed it down the side and added the second.  At this point the size was awkward, so I hacked off on side again and added it to the bottom with another strip.  I liked the balance better and the size was 10 inches by 15 inches.   Some outline quilting and fill in stitching with  mctavishing and a strip of batik that matched for a binding.....and I felt much better. 
   
    The phone still doesn't work, and I am having to use the laptop to post this...but I feel more relaxed.  I know it is only  a temporary fix, but maybe I can get thru the rest of the day without screaming.  Now to see if I can post this to flickr....
Happy stitching.