Growing Up

Can someone please tell me who this young lady is? She can't possibly be my eldest child. This girl got her first pair of glasses yesterday, and while she won't be wearing them all the time, she is quite excited about the whole idea. And I so admire her style and conviction; she picked out exactly what she wanted and she looks amazing, and awfully grown up in them. She's continuing through the Harry Potter books and loving school and generally dazzling me every day. 

And not too far behind in the growing up department is this young man: 

Who really really loves to "shop" for Transformers on the iPad. This week he finished his fourth session of swim lessons - he's been swimming twice a week since November and has taken to swimming with incredible discipline and enthusiasm. It has been a wonderful experience for him.  His teacher is gentle and encouraging. She told me Wednesday that he's now at "Level 4," which means little to me but I can see how far he's come since that first lesson and it's pretty impressive for a four-and-a-half year-old. 

And then there is Miss C, at breakfast with me here, clearly not sitting in her booster seat, but eating at the table like a big girl. Though, truth be told, she's more often found sitting ON the table. Or standing on it. Stealing the markers. Or someone else's food. Still some growing up to do there I suppose, but I do hope she takes her time. They are all growing so fast. 

Trip Around the World Remix

I am not one for swearing, but honestly I can only describe my quilt-designing style as completely you-know-what-backwards. I have never used a real pattern, almost always buy the fabric first and then decide how to use it, and dependably change my plan at least twice before completion. This quilt, finished, washed, and hung today, was no exception. 

A whole two years ago it started life looking like this: 

An attempt to use my beloved collection of Sarah Jane fabrics, mixed with my beloved butter yellow, in my beloved trip-around-the-world pattern. It was a fail. Way too sweet, matchy, predictable, awkwardly-sized, and the yellow just didn't work. So this top sat, all folded up, in my stash, feeling very sorry for its well-intentioned self. 

In cleaning out my fabric last month I had moved this to the give away pile, hoping someone might find a treasure in it. But then I got the crazy idea to take a pair of scissors to it instead, cutting away the offending yellow. After trimming up the four-patch squares that resulted and putting the rest in the scrap bag, I found a white-on-white print in my stash, cut setting squares, and from there I was on a roll. 

The whole thing is only 36" square and I knew after all this quilt and I had been through it had to be a just-for-me pretty wall hanging. It worked up quickly and I am so very pleased that it is now done and that I have been able to turn a resented project into a beloved one. 

I also am an ADD quilter, and naturally have two others in the pipeline right now and will share here soon. I only find time to work on any of this in tiny little bursts, here and there, but all those little bits of time do add up, and I am rather astonished to find how much creativity I've been able to fit in lately, when I am otherwise feeling barely capable of keeping up. 

Now that I got that run-on sentence out of my system, I will move along to some other little bit of me time. Next project? 

Just to Say Hi

How has it been over a week since I have last written here? Busy, yes, but who isn't? I have so many almost-done projects that I can't wait to share, but none of the clarity to write about them yet. Too many irons in the fire. But I hope you enjoy this sunny shot of our new little table in the kitchen. The smaller yellow table and chairs have been reassigned to the living room, and this slightly bigger and sturdier one seems to be just the thing for this space. Two other chairs came with it, a red one which is currently looking sharp next to our black and white fireplace, and a blue one which unfortunately arrived cracked, and is awaiting replacement by customer service. I'm doing some other kid-stuff reorganizing, one of many projects. Will share more soon! 

Through the Rain

Sometimes I think whenever we do move back to our beloved New England, it will never snow again. That's silly, I know, but I do so hate missing all theses glorious snow dumpings my friends share pictures of. Don't get me wrong, I'm plenty grateful that I haven't had to bundle anyone up or dig out a car for a few years now; mild winters are much simpler. But still, allow me a bit of homesick nostalgia for the romance of snow. 

Anyway, we've made up for it in rain, these last few days. We spent the whole weekend at home which was just perfect. There were cozy fires...

Some riveting water play in the kitchen...

A disassembled, repaired, cleaned, and reassembled washing machine...

Lots of puddles...

Lots of quilting...

Table climbing (and she's not the only one who thinks the top of the kitchen table is where it's at. Does this mean I've lost control?)...

Heavy things blown clear over in the backyard, and a hole in the greenhouse roof...

And all the usual in between. Lovely February days, even without any snow. 

New Curtains

Just a quick post to share a project completed. Happily refreshed living room with new curtains made from a set of cheap sheets. I think I mentioned these in my last post, but I finished them today - it is a good feeling! I'm rather pleased with how economical this project was, as well as how nicely. It turned out. All the stars aligned on this one. I'm also working on two quilts (no wait, three!) concurrently, and will share about those soon too. Sewing time is happy time.