the emotional life of sølje

I received a letter from my sister in Kosovo! It’s funny the syncronicity that happens in life, she has been on my mind often this month–I don’t know why, she just has been. This is the first real letter in response to one of my first letters to her. Because translating can take so long, it can sometime be upwards of a month or two for your letter to reach your sister.

On the day I received her letter, was the day I sent out one to her… along with some pictures of springtime in my garden (daffodils… my favorite!). I wish that the correspondence could continue beyond the one year we get together. In a few months, my sponsorship will be transferred to a new woman in need somewhere in our ever-shrinking world. womenforwomen.org

Dear Melissa,
Hello! I was so happy when I received your letter. Thank you for your kind words. They made me happy and I think I am blessed to know you.

I live with my parents and I also have seven sister and two brothers. My eldest sister is married and has five children. Thre of them are girls and they have very beautiful names: Djellza, Donjeta, and Liridona. Her two sons are Shkelzen and Altin. I am 27 years old. I am not married and I don’t work. I have finished only primary school and because we were occupied, I couldn’t go on further schooling. Now I help my mom round the house works. I live in a village about 7kilometers far from the nearest town. It is a very beautifl place and all the seasons are beautiful here. My village is surrounded by hills. Two of my younger sisters go to school. They have to travel to town by bus. A woman from Sweden supports them. They are happy and I hope they’ll make a better living for themselves than I did for myself. this is a ll for now. I am eagerly waiting a letter from you. Please write.

I am sending my warmest regards to all your family.

Sincerely,
Nazlije

Tags: A Family Affair, Women For Women writings by Solje
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Yesterday I posted my Baby Blues Therapeutic quilt top in progress. Today I am posting my “I am feeling pregnant so it’s time to knit” baby blanket!

After a huge disappointment near the end of March following a possible adoption match, I began to research our family-building options: other agencies, facilitator, attorney, fertility treatments, and finally surrogacy. First off, at a possible $60k for a surrogate, we crossed that off our list. Second, I haven’t even been able to get a hold of anyone for an appointment regarding fertility options, third, I got good advice from a couple of attorneys, and the facilitators were ready for us to sign on with them. Finally, I called a different agency, Amara Parenting and Adoption Services (formerly Medina Children’s Services) in Seattle and I was put in contact with the adoption worker that had helped us with Daniel’s adoption six years earlier!!! Kevin and I were thrilled to have found her, to say the least!! All of a sudden that dark cloud was lifted from my brain. We were on the right path, and I wish we had chosen Amara to begin with (but the previous agency was the one we used to adopt Daniel, and had a good experience with them).

Yarn dyed by Danette Taylor… very yummy!! I can’t remember the name of this color way, but I am thinking that it is Azalea–but I could be wrong. The sun washed the color a bit in the image, but it’s very close to actual colors.

I am knitting this one lengthwise, in garter stitch. I am thinking about adding some fringe at the end. But I am also considering adding a border in the round of the same yarn. We’ll see how I feel when I finish knitting the width.

Tags: Knitting by Solje
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I worked on this top following some emotionally disappointing adoption progression (or non-progression!) a couple of weeks ago (we’ve since switched agencies, and I am feeling really good about where we are headed now!). The middle border print is a black/white print with goofy faces, feet, etc. Love that fabric, and now I think I have used it all up.

I had some baby/kid print squares that I played with, came up with something I liked and left it for the next day on my design wall. The following morning, I woke up to Daniel asking me if I had been in my quilt room yet. He decided that my layout wasn’t good enough, so he changed it–matching the quarter square triangle blocks together.

Never mind he had his OWN set of kid’s prints to play with, he had to dabble with mine The grass must have been greener on my side of the design wall! LOL!

Tags: Quilting by Solje
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Tonight was Daniel’s very first t-ball game. In the second image, I tried to get a good shot of what he was doing… armpit farts, and hat on backwards. Griffey JR has nothing on this kid! LOL!

Kevin was “wrangled” into helping out. He stated before we got there that he just wanted to watch… yeah, right. When he was pulled over by the coach, Kevin was having the time of his life being able to work with the kids. He wouldn’t have been content on the bench with me anyhow… I told him I was a bench widow! LOL!

All I have to say is thank goodness they only do 4 innings or 2hrs. But it was a lot of fun seeing how much fun the kids were having as they played.

Tags: A Family Affair by Solje
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What’s on your design wall? This is the design wall that I have been using for about 8 years. It works well, and I can adjust the size. Another benefit is that I am able to use it for pin basting! I have basted all sizes of quilts on it–nearly king size as the largest. I do have larger images at my flickr site. Click on the image to take you to my “Design Wall” set.

#1 Here is my “Cottage Garden Houses From Hell” quilt sandwich. The entire quilt sandwich has been placed on my wall, edges have binder clips attached to keep the fabrics tight, leaving no wrinkles.

Pin basting is very easy to do this way. Saves on the back and knees, compared to the other methods. The safety pins always go through the sandwich, and I never worry about scratching the surface of the design wall.

#2 Showing the flexibilty of changing the size of my pegboard design wall (it is two panels).

#3 Putting my wall back together again. Shrinking up the size. This isn’t always necessary, but I don’t like to have to search for the on/off switch for my closet, or the doorknob to the bathroom.

#4 I had been using my previous cotton batting as surface for more than three years, and it was showing it! LOL! It was time to pull out a strip of a new batting scrap.

#5 I have a couple of things back up on the wall for inspiration, and for future projects. Daniel decided that he needed to create a quilt using some kid squares.

Tags: Quilting by Solje
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