By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW How does needlework and quilting bring me Joy? In several ways: Tactiley — the feel of the cloth and thread in my hand and fingers brings me a sense of calm. Audibly — the sound of the pop of the cloth as the needle pierces the material from the other side. Audibly –the sound of the swish of the thread as it is pulled through to the top side of the piece where the picture is being created. Visually — watching the different stitches build the picture. These small steps are a process of creation that brings me great joy. When I quiet... Read More

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW One of the gifts of my retirement has been my resumption of needlework — specifically embroidery and quilting. Since I fully retired in November of 2019, I have embroidered, quilted, or both, daily. Before Covid, I made two baby quilts for my young grandson (now 6 years old) and young granddaughter (now 3). As I sat embroidering the first quilt square in a new quilt for my middle granddaughter (now 22) I realized that something had changed in my time spent with stitching. I found myself asking  why and how hand embroidery and hand quilting had... Read More

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW I ended my last blog stating that I was going to use the following prompts to set my year of Joy. I hope that they helped you in January and February as they have me. Prompt #1: “What are you most proud of from 2022? Both my daughter (56 years old) and I were with my mother when she took her last breath here on earth. When I put her in the hospital in late December 2021, I was afraid that she would die alone before my daughter and eldest granddaughter (25) would be able to get to California from Washington State. They made it and were able to spend some... Read More

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW I spoke often about grief and loss in 2022. I also covered journaling and the different types of journaling as the way I chose to listen to my inner self. I used it to figure out what was bothering me and what to do about it. This year I will continue to use my journal for that purpose, while adding gratitude and joy as this year’s focus. Why did I choose gratitude? I chose it because it is my pathway to joy. Joy is going to be my word of the year. For me, the year 2022 was one of deep loss. January 2, 2022, I was with my mother when she passed, and my husband... Read More

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW In my last post I explained how an ordinary course of events – like traveling and not immediately being able to find something – can create much anxiety, even a panic attack – actually, a “Dyslexic Spin,” is how I label it.  It is part of my lifelong learning disability, with which I’ve learned to cope over the years. Journal writing is one effective tool in this process of coping. In my earlier discussions of journaling technique, I have been promoting unstructured, or free form, journaling. When using this type of journaling, I... Read More

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW   Recently, my husband and I were on our first vacation together in 3 years. COVID and my mother’s heart condition had kept us from traveling anywhere, especially together. So we started planning to go through  Portland, Oregon to Sammamish, Washington, in the Seattle area,  to stay with our son and his family,  and visit with our daughter and hers. Our eldest granddaughter was having a two year wedding anniversary party, which included a vow renewal and a weekend bash over the 4th of July weekend.    I was extremely excited. It was going to be... Read More

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW In my last blog, written just before my mother’s death on January 2, 2022, I wrote about the difference between using journals and diaries. At the end of the post, I said that my next blog would cover several different types of journals and how you can best use them. I am a bit late, as life got in the way, but here is the promised blog.  I will start with some guidelines for effective journal writing: Forget the “rules.” Penmanship, grammar, and spelling are not important. Write what/however you want. Write with pencil and paper as... Read More

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” ~ John Lennon, lyric from “Beautiful Boy,” from his last album, ‘Double Fantasy,’ with Yoko Ono. My intention was to follow up on my last blog post by describing types of journals one could use throughout life. Then on January 2, 2022, my mother died at age 97. She was healthy, her mind was still sharp, but her body started shutting down. So when the grieving started, I changed my plan and decided to write about what the grief of losing my mother has taught me so far. I’ll... Read More

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW In reviewing the blogs that I have written over the last year and a half, I have discovered they have some common themes. These themes are: – The Pandemic – Change – Loss – Grief In some of my posts, I have shared the thoughts and feelings I have had while dealing with these issues. But I have not discussed the major tool/process that I have used for the last 29 years, which is journaling. To begin with, I want to be clear that journaling should not be confused with keeping a diary, though they ARE often confused with each... Read More

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW All day, no — for many weeks — I’ve been ruminating on this song: “Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.” I learned it almost 70 years ago, when I was a Brownie. Perhaps you once sang it as well… The question I am asking myself today is how does each metal signify old and new friendships? Gold is a precious metal. It is in it highest form at 24 carets. It is highly malleable and signifies wealth. It is durable and will last a long time. Silver is a white precious metal that is ductile and malleable.... Read More