Marketause

 

Another of my very favoritest Non Sequitur cartoons. 

So there I was... middle of the night... sewing my little heart out.  And I get to thinking about Market... about stuff... about quilts... and stuff... and being tired... and feeling guilty about maybe trying to get some sleep while a mother-of-three we all know isn't... and I start thinking about "the Big M". 

Market.  Except that for a chica my age, the Big M can mean something else.  And in one of those odd, silly streams of consciousness that seem to come up most in the middle of the night, I started thinking about the parallels between the two. 

Hot flashes, flushes and/or cold flashes.  Night sweats.  If you realized that Market was three weeks away and you still had 23 quilts to finish, 17 patterns to write and 73,003 patterns to pack, wouldn't you be sweating like crazy?  (Numbers created for dramatic effect -- see additional symptoms below for hormonal explanation of that.)

Fatigue.  Check. 

Sleep disorders / disruptions.  Check.

Mood swings, sudden tears?  Check.  Difficulty Concentrating?  Mental Confusion?  Disorientation?  Disturbing Memory Lapses?  Irritability?  Anxiety?  Panic Disorder?  Sense of doom?  Check.  Check to it all - CHECK! 

Irregular periods.  This is relative -- I take this to mean periods of time where I behave irregularly.  Of course, that also means I've been menopausal or Market-ausal much of my life.

Loss of libido.  It might just be a time and/or fatigue-related issue, but the end result is the same.  Nada.  Does the actual, clinical reason really make that much difference?

Changes in body odor?  If you hadn't showered in a week, you'd start smelling a little differently too!

Fortunately, Marketause only lasts for a few weeks and then the symptoms disappear completely.  Until the next time.  Medication is not required though some folks do find that viticultural therapy helps.  (Wine.)

Which kind of gets me wondering... since so many of the people affected by Marketause and Menopause are women, do you think that might have something to do with why there are aspects of being at Market that are a lot like being back in high school?  

Just curious.

Before I get back to work, there are a couple of things to share -- quilt-related!

Have you seen or read about this magazine?  Primitive Quilts and Projects. 

 

It is a new quilt/project magazine published by Judy Williamson, Jenifer Gaston, and Gretchen Streeter.  There are projects by Pam Soliday and Janet Nesbitt - the Buggy Barn girls, Lynda Hall - Primitive Pieces by Lynda, Jan Patek, Maggie Bonanomi, Cheri Payne, Cherie Ralston, Dawn Heese - Linen Closet Quilts, Renee Plains - Liberty Star, Rita Briner - Quilter's Station, Paula Barnes - Bonnie Blue Quilts, Lisa Bongean - Primitive Gatherings, Gloria Parsons -- Olde Green Cupboard Designs, and Kathy Schmitz. 

The projects are all terrific... and I know I shouldn't admit this, but Kathy's quilt is my favorite. 

 
The only thing is, it kind of depresses me too.  She can paint.  She does those amazing chalkboard doodles.  She can stitch, embroider and cross-stitch beautifully.  And now she designs gorgeous quilts?  If she wasn't so nice, I might be a little annoyed at her being so talented.  Except that she does have a character flaw or two.  I once saw her rooting around Bonnie Sullivan's booth at Market... I'm sure she was up to no good.  

Have you seen these?

 
Published by Leanne Beasley of Leanne's House in Australia, these magazines have lovely projects, delicious-looking recipes and beautiful pictures.  The issues will have the patterns and instructions for a 16-block embroidered, pieced mystery quilt.  That's about as close to perfect as it gets!  I got mine here. 

And last but definitely not least -- Pat Sloan has a new book from Leisure Arts -- What a Novel Idea!

 
And because Pat knows everybody and she never sleeps, she has organized a blog hop for the book.  Blog Hop Alert!  And because I love Pat and can never say "no" to her, I will be telling you about one of the quilts in her book, giving you chances to win a book - and maybe even something else on Tuesday.  Here's the line-up:

Tuesday – April 19th.  Me and the incomparable Pat Sloan. 

Wednesday – April 20th ~ Victoria Findlay Wolfe of Bumble Beans Inc. and Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side. 

Thursday – April 21st ~ Amanda Herring of The Quilted Fish and Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister Designs. 

Friday -- April 22nd ~ the Divine Miss E, Gudrun Erla of GE Designs and Erin Gilday of Patchwork Underground.

And that's it for now. 

If you come back for the lookity at the bookity, blog hoppity boogie, I promise not to try and do another rap. 

Then again, you never know what sort of stream of consciousness I might get on tonight...

 

Comments

[Michele]

Your blog is always so much fun! You would make a great writer, but I love your patterns, so don't stop being a quilter. It took me a minute to think who the mother of three was....then the lightbulb went on. Thanks for the book and magazine tips :-) Have a great week!

[Jeanne]

Hahaha! That is scary how closely related those 2 are.

[Marié]

I have pity for you- but if you can make time for us writing your blog- you are still going strong!

[Thelma]

I smell different too? ugh.....

At least you have plenty to do when you're up in the middle of the night sweating and worrying!

My Doctor said eliminating caffeine and sugar from my diet would help, like that would help anything!!

Hang in there, I've convinced myself that sleep is overrated but then that could be attributed to mental confusion!

[madame samm]

Ahhhhh Marketause...a very good analogy and the parallels between the two do seem uncanny. and leave it to you my dear to bring forth such depth of knowledge and humor. Love the new book my Pat A novel idea...great name for novelty fabric...way cool!

[kathie]

LOVE kathy's quilt too, yes she is amazing! I can't wait for my magazine to arrive, still waiting :(
Vignette looks interesting I may just have to collect those too, right?
ok trying to figure out the mother of 3....
not enough coffee yet...
oh speaking of coffee should I send you a few lbs of high test to keep you going the next few weeks?
Kathie

[Cheryl Miller]

Great reading with my morning coffee! You can always make me laugh. I know you will have a very successful market and then hopefully, some sleep.

[Heartsdesire]

I'll be back to morrow, Carrie. Thanks for my morning laugh. Hope you get some sleep to night.

[Kristyne]

You make me laugh!

[Ramona Chester]

Gorgeous! Just shows you can take a quilt block design from modern to traditional to primative. Can't wait to check out some of those books. Thanks for sharing Carrie but do try and get some sleep. I think the three child person would have to be Camille!!

[Becky S]

Carrie you are so funny!!! I'm so glad you aren't still rendered speechless after seeing the red and white quilt show!

[SuzK]

I frankly don't know how any of you manage to get everything done by Market! I was watching Project Runway over the weekend and a couple of them were hotgluing the clothes together...hmmmm.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has decided Pat Sloan doesn't sleep.

[Victoria]

I LOVE how you write!