Roll it out

Another baby quilt... for Vanessa and Dave's baby due this month. I can't help myself, I gave it to them early in case I don't catch them immediately after they have the baby. You know, like immediately! I can't stand having the pretty peacock blue and the sweet plaid boarder around the house without some little one on it. Once again, a design borrowed from http://katiedid.squarespace.com/katie-did-journal/2009/1/27/quilt-how-to.html. I love her stuff, but the clothes are still beyond my skill/patience level. This quilt is easy peasy though and looks so cool... and gets even cooler after washing! Basically I had the blue and a flannel polka-dot (Next time I'd go for two solids though)

and sewed back and forth making big ol' zig-zags four times changing the top thread each time. It was perfect for putting my new sewing machine (YAY) through its paces... (story to follow).

It uses a ton of thread, a little more than a very full bobbin's worth every go-round. Top thread was orange, yellow, white and green though the last three are tough to discern in the end... too close in color. I LOVE the plaid floral boarder, it is just right with that blue. Sigh, happy.

Aren't baby quilts perfect, just the right size not to be too cumbersome, but still cuddly, and mine are getting large enough that they would be good lap blankets at least until that teenage growth spurt.

Okay, the poor sewing machine (owner). Brian and I finally decided to get one (europro reviewed on Consumer reports)... nothing too fancy, though much quieter and smoother than my last. Ordered it through e.bay got it set-up after it finally arrived from Canada and to my horror, had problems with it sewing backwards... not all of the time, just some of the time. Sometimes for just a few inches, sometimes all night (of course in the middle of a project, coming in and out of standard running when it felt like it). We just soooo hated to send it back since I finally had my hands on one and really didn't want to pay return shipping and wait....

Anyhow, I finally succumbed and after a few weeks of intermittent working and being infuriating (yes, weeks, I am stubborn) I wrote the dealer and complained asking how to proceed. While I was writing the e.mail, Brian was finally looking at it touching all of the levers and buttons (as I am trying to stop him, telling him to be careful, don't touch that and what everything was like a big ol' know-it-all) until he came across one in the back behind the foot... what's this? Uh, I don't know. Turns out it is a handy dandy new fangled button holer lever thinggy. "What does it do?" you may ask... turns out it controls the direction of stitching so that you can sew all the way around a button hole without much fuss. OR you can knock it occasionally with your fabric causing your machine to unexpectedly change directions because it is not locked like it should be and you have decided that sure, you can sit on the floor and sew so you can watch your movie and be oh so productive, but you can't really see a lot of those levers from your weird angle, so you can swear at your bad sewing machine mojo for weeks before writing a letter of complaint followed 20 minutes later by a letter of retraction and apology... yep, brilliant.

PIF

Pay it Forward... , I am sending a few handmade treats on as part of a PIF that I saw from Deb on facebook. I can't say I often sign up for this sort of thing, but I liked the self-selecting part of it and the concept ...

Worked up a few snack bags inspired by Cascade's snack bags (but I don't have velcro on me... so I went with the old-school fold-over model I remember from my school lunches). Also a few more dishtowels; I'm hanging onto the red pot (it matches one of ours!) but will send the other two on. The Pot and the Mocha Pot are patterns from Posie gets cozy (http://aliciapaulson.com/Pleasant_Kitchen_Dishtowels.pdf) and the whales are from Tigerpup embroidery.

Alas, the parting picture of a beloved mug...

it has been well used in this household. Brian gave this and its mate to his grandparents when he was a kid. We reinherited them when we moved and I loved them. They fit perfectly under the espresso maker (unlike most other mugs which are, of course, too large). Anyhow, although we lost the grandma one years ago, this one just broke in the sink... sadness, but it worked hard. Just the perfect size, perfect translucence and a touch of sweetness.

and just because it cracks me up... one of O.'s teachers at school is a sweet artist (and great with the kids, I really appreciate that he always has an anecdote to share about what Owen is up to). He drew all of the kids robots... O's was a "Good Knitting Bakugan", he was afraid Owen would be upset that his didn't have the elaborate pinchers and gizmos that the other ones had, but Owen was quite pleased that his had knitting needles and was making a scarf... "Arts and Crafts 4-ever!"

Mothers

I have found myself surrounded by more mothers than I can ever remember outside of childhood. I am so, well, I don't have one word for it... blessed, honored, lucky, joyful, thankful to not only be able to celebrate my amazing Mom and wonderful Grandma Mary on Mothers day, but also to take a moment to be thankful for all of the other shoulders to lean on, ears to bend and heartstrings and spirits that encourage that come from the rest of the Moms in my world. I am grateful.

sweetness

Serious sweetness. A new baby quilt for a new baby... and a nice afternoon to spend with the happy family.

This quilt... this quilt was (a) fun to make, (b) not really that tough in spite of many more pieces that I am accustomed to and (c) murder on two sewing machines. My good ol' one that my Mom gave me an age ago pooped out... it had been a while in coming but after the sewing machine repair man, who looked and talked a little bit like a mobster told me not to spend any money on the ol' girl (before granting me a free tuning up out of pity I think). Anyhow, finished her up. Caused an issue with Mom's old singer (though maybe the needle is just in backwards... I donno) where it would only catch the bottom stitch every two inches or so (I haven't tried too very hard to fix it, it was very late) . Anyhow we finally ordered a new sewing machine; a Europro that was ranked well on consumer reports... nothin' too fancy but it sews so smoothly and quietly and with great confidence! Plus it has a few more fancy stitches than my old'un. Anyhow, enough waxing poetic about a sewing machine. The new one has a few more bells and whistles and supposedly can go through several layers of denim without great concern so I'm sold! The quilt is a take on log cabin blocks, based on, well, I think it was a translated japanese sewing book that I checked out from the library ages ago, but forget the name... and I've seen it somewhere on a craft blog somewhere, but can't remember where either. so helpful I know. Anyhow, the idea is that you sew strips of fabric and quilt it directly on squares of batting then attach the backing after the fact. Makes for cute, if not a little wonky, squares. In spite of the sewing machine issues it was in fact a lot of fun to do. I am even so proud that I was able to channel Val when picking out fabrics (she is really good at pulling together nice groupings of fabrics in pretty colors!). She's also really good at putting together some cute babies! She and her sweet Ray of course... Grace loves him!

Heartwarming cowl and unloading excess baggage

One thing done... I finished this Cowl (http://juliannesmith.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/free-knitting-pattern-burberry-inspired-cowl-neck-scarf/) on our last trip to visit the folks... it's mostly a car cowl! The yarn was dreamy to work with... Malabrigo worsted on size 10. The color was Intenso... and while I LOVE the color, I think I will do another in a something more neutral... a cream color or a nice grey may be nice, the same yarn though, definitely.

feeling out of balance again... I have so much that I want to do, so much that I have to do, and much like the buds bursting to bloom, just so much to do! Maybe some of it has to do with my sewing machine finally crashing for reals... in the middle of a project with two in the wings... my typical late night creative outlet has been squelched for now... leaves one with that somewhat ill feeling of things undone and purchases to be made. Well, I'll pull out my Mom's old singer and finish things up, but ... sigh... I've just always had this one, and had no idea that Sewing machines could be sooo (sew... heh) expensive. Do I get one that is more within our happy budget right now and hope it lasts as long as my old one at least? I don't ever really want to buy another one. ever, even now shopping for one kinda makes me cringe... so do I buy a little ahead of my skill level (thus a higher price point; it takes about a doubling - quadrupling leap) in hopes of avoiding some of the pitfalls encountered with my current machine (layers and layers of fabric...tension tension tension... grrr) down the road and that it will better hold up to my sort of whimsical and occasionally challenging (for me and the machine :) sewing projects... to when the kids take up sewing a bit maybe? ... plus just so many extra things to pay for this month... CSA, Parking Permit, Grace starting daycare tomorrow... TOMORROW! OMG I can't believe it. On one hand I think she will love interacting with all of the kids, she has so very much enjoyed our little visits so far that I feel completely superfluous when we are there, just a hand to catch her when she gets over excited and lunges at something out of reach or tries to straighten her legs while sitting and tumbles backward. On the other hand... my baby... out of our family's care for days on end. DAYS! Three days a week, plus I teach until six, so she will be with Brian and Owen without me just at the end of the evening when we need eachother most. I will be able to see her midday at least to nurse and play a bit, but with only three days at work, will probably have to not linger too very long. I am thrilled to teach a few classes and it will be fun, but I am nervous learning how to juggle yet another ball. What else... TWO classes... that's twice as much as I have taught before... I hope I can keep everything strait, organized ... I will have to stay as organized as possible. At least one is a repeat, but I still have to prep before class a fair bit... then twice the grading... ugh, why do I think it is so key for them to write papers... Brian is working on our chicken run... these days everything in his mind kinda intersects with beer brewing... so our chicken run will double as a hop vine support, which means he wants it over 10' tall. Its a little obscenely tall, we negotiated it down to about 8' but somehow (hmmmm....) it still ended up closer to 9.5'. He promises to make it attractive so I will reserve final judgement, but as of right now... I'm still a little overwhelmed. I guess I'm glad of a chicken run though. It will be nice to not worry about them eating my garden or chicken poop in our yard this summer... easier for kiddie play and hopefully fly control (blech). Okay, now that I have vented... can I get back to work? Through the lecture notes for classes tomorrow one more time. Let's go girl, focus focus focus.

When I look outside my window

I see sunshine, springtime, new peas poking up, jonquils, blooming magnolias, cherries, plums... our orchid! Its a magic orchid, and has rebloomed repeatedly, twice a year or so for years and years. Auntie Chow gave me the advice that Orchids "Like it tight" so after putting this TJs beauty into its current pot, it sat for a year or two and has been blooming ever since. I'm nervous though because it seems to want to escape. Also on our windowsill... a cute succulent garden, two jade plants waiting to go outside, an attempt at a sweet potato start.

Otherwise, I have finally put together Suz's quilt. B. thinks its a bit loud, and it is, but I just love the fabrics, it'll keep the little'un busy.

And Grace likes it :)

I'll miss this

...Days at home with the baby. Long hours with her sleeping on my lap, in our chair, couch, only rarely her bed. Warm, sleepy, cuddly days.