How things appear

It's easy to look at how people present themselves online and to imagine they have it all together, isn't it? We see someone's blog or Facebook pics and we think, "wow, they're amazing".
I laughed when I took the quilt pics earlier this week- and I showed you only the quilt, not the urban city trash on the street and ugly car that my neighbor has. I took this bigger pic to share the reality. Then this morning as I was waiting to meet my friend for a nice workout walk, I began to play with some silly apps on my phone. Here is a horrible photo of me, sitting bored in my minivan this morning. Then I played with it in a few apps and I had these ridiculously glam shots.

Makes you wonder about what other people hide behind their glamorous online lives, doesn't it?

Bag #4

Bag #4, a photo by libby dibby on Flickr.

Gifted to my neighbor who is so lovely I've decided she's a long lost sister.

Re•building joy and choosing hope

Sometimes Re•building joy can focus on the "building" parts. How quickly have these first two months of 2012 flown by? At first it was easy to schedule time in for quiet hikes and sunlit moments in a park. But then it was time to tour charter schools, since I've become passionate about their different style of learning. And then my kids got into a great one (but only if we jumped immediately) and we had to change schools suddenly last week. Wow, chaos is constantly encroaching, isn't it?
I'm still here though, still always chewing on this idea of "re•building joy". Not just "choosing joy", because I have to acknowledge that mine was there and then was depleted, stolen, crushed, lost - whatever you want to call it. And in my case, choosing just to be happy might ignore some pretty important points. So now I am focusing heavily on choosing HOPE as I re•build my "container" of JOY.
Last night I looked back at the beginning of my current journal. I started it about 2 weeks before G came to our home. And I KNEW KNEW KNEW that a baby was coming soon. I was telling people... I kept writing that I was going to "CHOOSE HOPE" (yes, in my journal it was all in caps, too)
Somehow that thought has been here this past two years... That I have to choose hope. I've been thinking... There are two options I have: 1- to not hope anymore. That leaves me hopeless, and if I even bother to pray or wish for things, then I am coming from a place where my only "hope" is that I can perhaps manipulate things to go my way by sheer force or willpower. Quite frankly, that sounds horrible and exhausting.
Option #2 - hope. It's foolish, right? To have been beaten down and kicked to the breaking point and to decide that I believe the future is better.
It's Black History month and I love to address that in my personal life. I've spent this month looking at the art of Romare Bearden and I have a half-read (much highlighted) copy of some of the most powerful speeches and writings of Martin Luther King Jr. in my pile of books... I marvel at the hope MLK had. Why would he believe things would/could change? Wasn't that foolish? How foolish was Nelson Mandela to sit in a prison for decades and to not only decide not to hate, but to hope? Foolish, right? Or beautiful and brave? How foolish was Rosa Parks to decide one day her bus ride might change things for an entire nation? Or is it NOT foolish to hope? Maybe it's brave and wise?
I think hope is scary.
I also think choosing NOT to hope is even scarier, no matter how foolish the choice may appear.

What that looks like, I don't know. But trust me, I am leaping at even the smallest opportunities I have for choosing hope. I think they will show me the way. These are the days where re•building takes work... But I'm not really the type to give up easily.

Modern sampler - a charity quilt

I have been on the hunt for a modern sampler layout. I really do not love sewing sashing through a gazillion blocks and though it works for a number of layouts, I'm tired of the traditional sampler. I've searched all over for new ideas, but not seen many options.
But at the same time, I had all these sampler blocks that I'd used for practicing my Seams Perfect Bee blocks each month. They were so bright and garish that I had to find a way to settle them down.
I finally decided on grouping them all together in a clump and calming them down with lots of old white (a paisley screenprint on white someone had given me years ago) fabric I had around here. I used it all up and needed a little more design, so I added the red stripe to even it out.
A friend (Tanya) from my guild has been urging us to make a few quilts in red, white and blue to donate to the Wounded Warriors organization - they ship quilts to war zones and welcome wounded US soldiers in hospitals with these special thank you friends from home. I love that idea, so I decided to use this for that cause. My other guild buddy, Ramona, gave me some leftover Ty Pennington Ivy fabric to back it with and I spent my LAMQG Weekend Sew time this week basting this quilt. I used my new extension table that I got for Christmas last night (thanks to my in-laws!) and practiced my stippling. I'm not winning any awards with my stippling, but I believe strongly in the proverb that says, "do not despise the day of small beginnings" - we all have to start somewhere, right?
Well, it's done now. And I feel good knowing some service person somewhere will know they are appreciated for what they have given.

There is beauty in the broken

Having spent a lot of this year very broken and searching for visual imagery and art to help me express things, I constantly have my eyes open.
I love urban settings. I have a love for buildings and architecture, too. Maybe that goes back to my days working with architects and designers among the architectural gems of Chicago. And I've always seen beauty in ruins. Maybe that goes back to my love of Greek history and my summer of archeology in Israel. Ancient ruins are obviously beautiful. But so are modern ruins. Over and over I've found myself stopping and turning around when I see abandoned, neglected or ruined urban buildings. I run back to them with my camera and snap pics. I can't explain why.
Last week, I passed a factory that was being torn down. I probably have passed this factory a couple thousand times in my life. It was always old-school and fascinating to me - I think they made aluminum cans there... But last week, I turned the car around, parked in a local parking lot at a nearby business park and walked a block back to get these pics. I don't know why, but I needed to capture this beautiful destruction.
Maybe it's the job of an artist to see these things. Maybe it's weird to look at something being destroyed and to see beauty in it. Maybe it's just me, looking for things that are beautiful in the ashes. It's not solely related to my recent adventures. Don't we all wonder what things look like at their core?

Be•loved

These two gifts arrived in the mail on Saturday.
The first is a mini-quilt in my favorite color by a guild/bee friend of mine, Jennifer. The bag has a "Happy Birthday, Liberty" label on it. It feels so nice to be thought of. I treasure everything my friends make for me and I love this.
The second is a valentine made by my amazingly thoughtful friend, Anita. We used to be able to get together often for coffee back in Chicago, but now we just are penpals... I have handmade cards from Anita all over my house. I think I've posted every one she's sent. She also has the incredible knack of knowing how much glitter to use on something so that it looks sparkly and exciting, while maintaining a strong sense of design.
Mail is so fun. I love my friends.

13 years ago today

13 years ago today, this beautiful man asked me to marry him. I said yes, but I had no idea how happy he would make me back then. I chose him because of his integrity and sense of humor, but he's so much more... Jay is the kindest, most patient man I have ever met and my best friend and I have been married now for 11.5 years. I would pick a day with him over a day with anyone in the world. He's thoughtful and generous, a great dad and so tender and romantic. I've also seen a bold and brave side to him as we have had to step into tough situations recently.
We actually marvel at how the past few years have drawn us closer than ever. We have been through things so hard that I never could have imagined them as part of my future... But we have stuck together like crazyglue and this man is (in my humble opinion) the best this world has to offer.
I'm so so so happy you asked me, Jay.

Libby Dibby sighting

We went to a gorgeous wedding this weekend on the beach in Malibu. (I promise there will be more pics)
For me, it was really funny to see a woman I didn't know wearing one of my skirts. (that's never happened before! Even though I've sold over 1200 skirts, you would think I would run into someone besides close friends or family wearing one, right?)
Anyhow, I tried not to stalk her, but we ended up talking because she recognized me from the show where I'd sold it to her years ago. It's funny that I was stalking her for this pic, because the wedding photographer kept stalking me because she wanted pictures of my foot tattoo (which kind of got awkward after a while).... Still, it's a fun picture to share, because I've really been hoping for this day!

Front door #3 - beach door

Yes, this is actually a front door I walked through today. J is a best man in a wedding at this house... His kindergarten buddy and college roommate, Tony. I'm sure I'll have some pics to share tomorrow.
Isn't it amazing that some people live like this? J and I both grew up overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Really close. Now we live in urban intense LA and its easy to forget that the beach even exists some days. But the ocean is always there. It's good to come back to places that can remind you to slow down and take a deep breath. Like a door that you can just walk through that says, "beach".

Front door #2

My friend's front door today. I texted her this pic and said, "Go Home!"
Sometimes friends just need a new bag dropped off on their front porch.