"But I’ve been deaf since I was 3, so I didn’t listen"

I generally do not watch football. I am a hockey and curling girl. Super Bowl was always a good excuse for me to lock myself underground (aka the basement sewing room) and tune out the football mania. I'd put my headphones on, and sew away.

This Super Bowl is different. This Super Bowl became almost a cause for me. First of all it is in the neighborhood. Well, technically, it is in New Jersey, but really it is in New York. It is right across the river. Sorry my New Jersey friends, but we all live in the shadow of the Big Apple. I hear some of you are ticked off by all the celebrations in the city, like that one in the Times Square, but that's what happens when your town happens to be in the suburbia of the tristate metropolis. We all have to live with it.

Second of all, the Seahawks are in the Super Bowl this year. For my uninitiated friends, they are a team from Seattle, and since we are from the west coast, more precisely the Pacific North West, it is a must to support the local team. Yes, I am a Canadian from Vancouver Island,  but that is what good neighbors do. We support each other. Seattle is just a short ferry ride away. I just wish Seattle had an NHL hockey team so the Vancouver Cunucks can have a play date every now and then.

All this aside, the real reason I will be glued to the TV this Sunday is a true role model Derrick Coleman, Seattle Seahawks hearing impaired fullback and hell of a good player. In now famous commercial for Duracell batteries Coleman says: “They told me it couldn’t be done, that I was a lost cause. I was picked on and picked last. Coaches didn’t know how to talk to me. They gave up on me. Told me I should just quit. They didn’t call my name. Told me it was over. But I’ve been deaf since I was 3, so I didn’t listen.”

For all of us who have been touched by hearing loss which, by the way runs in my family, or any other disability we know what he is talking about. So, my happy and (un)impaired friends, do not say the words "I cannot do it" lightly. Yes, yes you can! I know you can. All you have to do is work hard. If you fail, try harder. Humans are a fickle bunch. We do not appreciate anything that we did not work hard to get. So work hard, the victory is going to be so much sweeter. Do not get complacent, and lazy, and try to take the path of least resistance. This is why Derrick Coleman is a true role model. He did not give up, he did not take the easy way out. He did not surrender.

My son had a very, very mild hearing loss. The kind that can be detected only by a watchful parent who knows what to look for and a specialist. He does not hear certain frequencies and it might correct itself as he grows, but he is not waiting for that to happen. I don't think he is even aware of it. He plays cello. He is very lucky that we caught it on time.

My daughter takes dance lessons in Chorus Line Dance Studio. Every year they have a gigantic, mind blowing, recital in the Patchogue theatre. I have been going to these exceptional performances for the past four years, and there has never, ever been a dry eye in the audience by the time the recital has finished. A staff member, who is also a daughter of the studio owner, is hearing impaired. Every year she dances on the stage with ALL the students incorporating the sign language with the dance moves. Sign language interpreter is also on the stage for the performance and the benefit of the audience. It is simply spectacular. First time I had the pleasure to see it, when my daughter was only 4 years old, it confirmed what I already knew - we found the dance school that we are going to stick with. Superb quality of instruction on the side, the school is inclusive of everybody, all shapes and sizes and levels of talent have their place in the school, and everybody is a star. Hats down in respect to all the mothers, especially the ones like Mrs. Coleman and the dance studio owner, and my friend Aisha whose son is the rising star of Italian rugby.

Speaking of mothers and crossing all the obstacles in your way, lets not forget Leigh Anne, adoptive mother of Michael Jerome Oher, offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. To my quilting friends who know nothing about football you did watch Blind Sided starring Sandra Bullock. Well Blind Sided is a true story of a phoenix, Michael Oher, rising from his ashes, all through hard work, support of his family and willingness of people to take a chance on him from the pure goodness of their heart. I still chuckle on the scene from the movie, when dainty Sandra Bullock playing Leigh Anne is protecting her son and is facing a dangerous local gang member and says: "If you so much as set foot downtown, you will be sorry. I'm in a prayer group with the D.A., I'm a member of the NRA and I'm always packing."

Now you are asking yourself, what the heck does this post have to do with quilting and Tasha's Patchwork. Nothing and everything. We all have our struggles and crosses to bear. I am all about tearing down all obstacles and barriers in my way. The bigger the obstacle the harder I try. If I cannot go over the wall, I will go through the wall.  From a war torn Bosnia, penniless and hungry (and I do not mean to sound pathetic here, I was luckier than most), I made my way to where I am now. It is a personal success. People helped along the way, just like Coleman's coach and his team mates, but it was a very steep climb with multiple curveballs thrown in my way. So, again, I am starting from the scratch. I am starting a business that relies on disposable income in the economic climate where many businesses are shutting down. I must be either stupid, or crazy, or insanely driven individual. I have $0 budget. I am a non-resident alien not allowed to work. What I do have is a small amount of talent, huge amount of willpower, and the most important of all, I have support of my family and friends.

So, let me drop this overly serious and dramatic rambling, and say - GO Seahawks! Go Derrick Coleman! We at Tasha's Patchwork will be cheering for you.

Onward into the Fog...

Momentous occasion for Tasha's Patchwork. Went to the printer today to get a master copy for what is hopefully going to be the first in line of many patterns. You may find it insignificant, but if you ever tried to start a business you will understand. Also, I gently persuaded a friend to be my pattern tester. 

Somebody asked me why can't I test my patterns myself. I can, and I do, but I work from my hand-drawn copy and I am too close to it to be objective. Pattern tester, in my opinion, should be an everyday quilter who generally quilts from patterns. My friend fits the bill perfectly - she is a quilter, and she mostly makes quilts from patterns. Pattern tester's input is sometimes more important than my work, because if she cannot follow the instructions, my potential customers will not be able to do it either. Instructions need to be clear, easy to follow and accurate. Two sets of eyes are better than one, so if there is a mistake that I overlooked she will be able to spot it. She will also be able to tell me if there was too much fabric left behind, or not enough. 

Mistakes happen to everybody, but when you make a mistake in you very first product that can be devastating for a start-up business. It would take a long time to get the trust back from the customers. So, my testing angel, I hope you cleared you schedule, since there is lot more work coming your way.

What Was I Thinking...

Now that I have gone through all the motions of creating a blog…I am speechless. I have a complete and utter writer’s block. Those of you who know me will call this a miracle since I always have something to say. When the cat that got my tongue comes back, I will be sure to get your attention and say something out loud. In the meantime, I am going to quilt out loud. When all else fails such as food, music, glass of vine, or chocolate, I crawl in my underground studio (because basement sewing room sounds so passé), and I quilt something, or dye some wool, of cut ugly fabrics into tiny little pieces while repeating “what was I thinking”.


“What was I thinking” is exactly what is on my mind right now. I am starting a business, a quilting business, an on line quilting business and it is going so well that I’d rather be taking out tiny little quilting stiches from a densely quilted king size quilt. I am hoping that a year from now all these growing pains will be forgotten and that I will be well on my way to having either a successful business or “what was I thinking” catastrophe. There is that phrase again. I really need to update my vocabulary.

In days to come, fingers crossed, I will link the blog to my website which is currently under construction. You know what else is under construction? Pretty much everything that needs to be on that web site - about half a dozen quilts, about a dozen or so patterns, and three lines of custom wool fabric. I simply cannot do one thing at a time. It is all or nothing and I am having a blast!