Good den leader...bad mother?

The kids did a great job coloring their quilt blocks yesterday, and I was proud of myself for putting them right together when I got home last night. I still need to sew on the borders, and sandwich it so we can tie it at our meeting next Monday, but I don't anticipate having trouble doing that. I think the quilt is going to be a hit at the Blue and Gold Ceremony in February.

But meanwhile, back at the ranch, my youngest is having trouble in school. It's just kindergarten, I know, but I think the foundation for building lifelong learners is created at a young age. It seems to have sunk in with Jason, but Donald is another story altogether. Jason loves going to school; Donald claims to hate it. Jason enjoys doing homework; homework reduces Donald to tears. Jason has always been a teacher's pet, never getting into trouble; I got another exasperated note from Donald's teacher today letting me know that another day like today and he won't be able to accompany his class on their next field trip. What am I doing wrong??? I hug and kiss him and tell him that I love him every day. We read books together before bed every night. We play games together, go on adventures together, and I include him in projects around the house like baking and cleaning. How did I end up being "that mom" with "that kid"? I know it is a giant leap from kindergarten class clown to juvenile delinquent, but my mind can't help but travel in that direction. I'm so frustrated and flummoxed. Anyone been there? Anyone still willing to associate with "that mom" and give me some advice?

EXHAUSTED!!!

I have some quilt-y developments, but first, a peek into my work so you understand why I am so exhausted right now. I am the scholarship coordinator at the university where I work. We had 2327 applications for scholarships this year, and we had to narrow that number down to 200 finalists. Today was the day I had hoped to get the letters in the mail, and everyone in my office pulled together to make that happen. 207 signatures later...

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Literally. Like the weight has been lifted but like the carrying of that weight for so long has left a permanent knot in my right shoulder blade. I'm headed to my room to lie down as soon as I finish this post. Or at least that's where I WISH I were headed. Instead, it is off to basketball practice for Jason, grocery shopping, and family movie night at the kids' school. When do I get to rest!?!

Anyway, if you are interested, you can read more about the process on our Admissions Blog. (which, by the way, was just named one of the Top 25 Admissions Blogs - who knew there was a ranking!?!) The posting the link will take you to is one I put up today titled, "Time to Stalk the Mailman!" (oh, man, looking at that now, I should have written "mail carrier". Drat! My sincere apologies to all the female mail carriers out there!)

So, understandably, my quilting time has been close to none. But I did manage to slip down to my sewing studio for an hour or so last night. I settled on my sashing strips and cornerstones and borders for the Cub Scout Quilt, all from my stash.

I had some pretty grandiose plans, but then reason took hold and I realized that with my quickly approaching deadline, it didn't have to be fancy. The colors are Blue and Gold because that is the name of the ceremony in February where this quilt will make its debut. I'm sure the colors signify something, but my mind is empty right now. I'll have to research that. Unless any of you know...Angela? Julie? Anyway, I've sewn together the rows of cornerstones and sashing that will go between the rows of blocks, but everything else is on hold until the kids color their blocks on Monday.

While digging out pre-cut scraps for the cornerstones, I found some pre-cut scraps of the fabric I needed to finish my first border around my little house from Beth, so I got a little stitching done on that, too.

I'm liking it, but not quite sure where I'll be going from here. I do like the golden fields that remind me so much of where I live in the fall and winter, so I'm sure that fabric will figure somewhere in my plans.

Bonus - while stitching those two small things together, I finished two more scrappy log cabin blocks. I'd love to finish making all those blocks this weekend so I can get it off my design wall and make room for my Bonnie Hunter style Virginia Bound quilt,

but we'll see. I need some rest this weekend, and I refuse to over-commit myself.

I do, however, commit myself to spending some time reading! All those books I ordered came in, and while I had already read 4 of them, I have 4 other new-to-me quilt fiction books stacked up next to my bed. I decided to start with The Fortune Quilt.

I'll let you know how it is!

A Scout is BUSY!

I recently learned that only about 15 members of our quilt guild entered quilts in the quilt show last year. I am determined to encourage more people to enter quilts. As I was wondering who else could I cajole into submitting a quilt, it came to me - my Cub Scout den!! One of our activites that we need to complete is to create an original piece of artwork, and a quilt certainly qualifies. Plus, we can tie the quilt, and get lots of practice tying our square knots. So most of my (absurdly minimal) free time lately has been dedicated to prepping this project.

• Coming up with an idea - a crayon-colored quilt that highlights some of the fun things we do in Cub Scouts.
• Buying the fabric (see last blog entry).
• Cutting the fabric into squares and ironing it onto Freezer Paper to stabilize it
• Sketching and printing out images to put under the fabric for the students to trace and color
• Making a sample block - my block is CAMPING, obviously

This project is going to have to be fast-tracked because we are coloring our blocks one week, then tying the quilt the next week so that we can display it at our annual Blue and Gold Ceremony the following weekend. I've already indicated how I work well with deadlines, right? Well, I'm going to be putting that theory to the test, big time.


Readers who've been with me for a while probably remember that last year, our Cub Scout den sang the National Anthem prior to one of my husband's basketball games. Well, we were invited back this year. So this past Sunday, we sang again. I don't know how the kids feel about this, but singing in public is NERVE-RACKING for me. We got through it, received a huge round of applause and then settled down to watch the game.

I gave the scouts each a stat sheet for a player, and they kept track of their points and fouls. Then, after the game (which we won, yay!) we lined up to give the team high-fives (OK, low fives - the boys are only 8, after all) as the players retreated to their locker room. As per previous arrangement, my husband sent the players right back up and the scouts collected autographs from and photos with the players they had been tracking.

Here's Donald with the team captain on the right

And Jason followed two players, the shortest guy on the team (5'9")

And the TALLEST (6'10")

Being a Den Leader takes up a lot of time, but it sure is FUN!

Construction zone

I didn't sew at all on Monday. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. I was determined to make up for it on Tuesday. And when I got to my mailbox and received my teeny, tiny house fabric from Beth, I knew just what I was going to work on!




I couldn't just put this little piece of fabric away for another day; it is too small - it would be lost. But what to do with it? I had 9 little 1.5" HST units that I found when straightening up on Sunday, maybe I could start by surrounding it with those.

Duh, Erin, you need 16 to go all the way around, not 9! OK, maybe just on 2 sides? Nah. Sides and bottom and then a sky with a fussy cut sun and moon up top and flowers in the lower corners?

Nah, I like the flowers in the corners, but I want those HST units on all sides. And then maybe I can set it in a golden field like this one that reminds me of the golden hills outside my window beyond my immediate yard. Perhaps with a little border first.

But I'm out of energy to go digging through all my scraps looking for more of those two particular fabrics used in those HST however many years ago when I cut them off as bonus triangles from another project. That's a project for another day.

Meanwhile, my scrappy log cabin continues to grow.


And BONUS! While looking for scraps to use with my teeny tiny house, I found more of the yellow that I used for the centers of my log cabins. I was afraid that I didn't have any more and thought my log cabin quilt would be limited in size because of it, but now, I have enough of that yellow to make it as big as I want. Big enough for a twin bed, at least, is what I'm thinking now. I just love feeling like I am using up my scraps, although you wouldn't notice when looking at my scrap bags.

And I want to get back to my color words at some point. And figure out what I'm going to do next with the chicks and coffee. And finish piecing my Virginia Bound quilt before Bonnie Hunter gets here next month. Why, oh why, couldn't we have had a snow day like most of the rest of the country (at least that's how it seems!).

By the way, we did have a 2-hour delay this morning, which makes me happy because I get to sleep in until it is light out AND take my time eating breakfast, but they make both of my children sad. When I told them, Donald slumped over and moaned, "We still have to go to school!?!" Jason slumped over and said, "We have to miss part of the school day!?!" Why did I think having one kid prepared me for having two? They are as different as crocodiles and porcupines!

I made coffee!

It's been cold around here lately, so yesterday, I made coffee!

Hot coffee!

No real plan yet, we'll see where I go from here. I sure am having fun making something with no recipient or end result in mind - how liberating! Although, I'll be honest - I was a bit dismayed at how NOT wonky my letters were. I didn't measure, so they arent' the same size, but they aren't wonky either. I guess I really need Tonya's new Word Play Quilts book.

Speaking of liberating, on Saturday, we had a trunk show by Judy Loope at our guild meeting. The woman used to be an art teacher, and I think it shows in her creative quilts.

Most are wallhangings, and she incorporates lots of techniques into her quilts. Her work was AMAZING! Unfortunately, I don't think photos can do justice to the detail and texture and depth to her work, but in case you want to check it out, her website is http://www.judyloope.com/.

And then we get to this morning. I had a doctor's appointment, and on my way back from the doctor's office, I passed the new location of a quilt shop near me that had re-located. I HAD to stop in, right? It turns out, this was opening day, and I was her first official customer. Well, then, I HAD to buy something, right? I mean, this is a woman in my quilt guild that I just MUST support! In case Mrs. P is laughing so hard that her coffee is going up her nose, please know that I was VERY good. I limited myself to the $20 bill I had in my purse. I bought 1.5 yards of Kona white muslin for a cub scout project, and then 2 spring-y fabrics (2/3 yd and 5/8 yd) to remind me that it won't be cold and gray forever.

The shop is delightful, in a big old house set back from the road, surrounded by a shaded yard, with two porches and a deck. There are plantation shutters on the windows (I love plantation shutters!), a cozy, bright sunroom for her longarm, a little classroom, and lots of wonderful fabrics artfully arranged on neat old pieces of furniture. If you are ever zipping down I-81 in Virginia, I encourage you to stop to stretch your legs (and lighten your purse) at exit 200 at the Quiltery. Tell them Erin sent ya!

Books, books, books!!!

As expected, yesterday was exhausting, so when I got home yesterday evening, I climbed into bed with my Earlene Fowler Love Mercy book; the sewing room would have to wait. Alas, no more pieced letters. But while sitting on the bleachers during the morning's basketball games, I did finish sewing the center circles onto my plaid Dresden Plates.


Quick question: why did none of you mention that I hadn't yet sewn those circles on PRIOR to my sewing the top together? It would have been SOOOO much easier if I had sewn those on first, the way it is supposed to be done! Oh well, done is done.

So, since I don't have new sewing to show you, how about new books? Bernie emailed me to see how I got my list of Quilt Fiction on my sidebar, which made me realize that I'd not updated my list with my most recent acquisitions, which made me wonder if some of the other books I wanted might be available yet, which led me to discover that there are some new books that have come out that I hadn't realized, and some others coming out soon. Yay!

I picked up the following titles (used) to add to my quilt fiction collection:

• Cat's Cradle, Jacob's Ladder and Double Wedding Room, all from Lizbie Brown - these are from a series of 6 books. I have the first two, Broken Star and Turkey Tracks, and once these arrive, I'll just be missing the third, Shoo Fly. I've been trying to find these books for years - they are hard to come by here in the US. In summary, "Elizabeth, a widowed American, left Virginia to run a quilt shop in Bath. There, she finds herself unofficially teaming up with Max, a PI whose office is above her shop." (from http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/lizbie-brown/broken-star.htm) I've not read these three yet.

• Sister's Choice, Endless Chain, Touching Stars and Wedding Ring from Emilie Richards' Shenandoah Album series. Oops, looks like I missed one - Lover's Knot. Oh well, I'll get it later. No rush, as I've read all of these (and LOVE them!). By the way, I also love her Ministry is Murder series, although I have one of those left to read. And in it, the protagonist's mom is a quilter, so there are quilts in these books, too.

• Murder by Serpents: The Mystery Quilt by Barbara Graham. I know nothing about this book or this author, but I like quilts and I like mysteries. The editorial review from Amazon reads, "Spring in East Tennessee is normally the most beautiful of seasons, a time of growth and renewal. Residents of tiny Park County are shocked when it is also a time for murder. When a snake-handling preacher is murdered with his own snakes, Sheriff Tony Abernathy and his wife, Theo, a quilt shop owner are thrown into the search for a killer. From the beginning of the investigation, it seems like an unlikely choice of weapons. Why kill a man few people even knew existed? The trouble has just begun. Soon the entire sheriff's department is fighting rising water, more deaths and illegal drugs. Theo aides Tony's search as she runs her shop, designs a mystery quilt (pattern included) and is mom to their two young sons." We'll see. If I like it, she has another book in the series. I've not bought it yet, though, since all I can find online is a $26 hardcover, and that is a bit out of my price range for my quilt fiction library purchases.

• The Fortune Quilt by Lani Diane Rich. Again, I know nothing about the book or the author, but one of the reviews on Amazon reads, "Carly McKay, a 29-year-old TV producer in Tucson, Ariz., comes from a loving Catholic family—a great dad and two sisters—all of whom have been scarred by the wife and mom who abandoned them 17 years earlier. On assignment from Tucson Today, Carly travels to Bilby, a small town revitalized by a thriving artist community, to interview Brandywine Seaver, a hip psychic quilt maker. Brandy gives skeptical Carly a quilt and a reading, telling her that her mother's not dead and that "[e]verything's about to change." When her mother's shocking return confirms Brandy's reading and she also loses her job, an angry Carly returns to Bilby to give back the "Quilt of Evil." She ends up staying in order to reimagine her life, and in the process discovers new love and the courage to take charge of her destiny."
  Again, we'll see.

And I am waiting on pins and needles (hee hee hee) for the following books to be released:

• Earlene Fowler's next Benni Harper book, Spider Web, is due out in late May. Woo hoo! this may be my favorite series of all time!
• Marie Bostwick's fourth Cobbled Court Quilts books, Threading the Needle, which is due out at the end of May, plenty of time for you to read the first 3 if you've not read them yet!

• Clare O'Donohue's third in her Someday Quilts Mystery Series, The Double Cross, actually came out in September. How did I miss that!?! Next order, that will be on it!

• Arlene Sachitano's fourth Loose Threads Mystery, Quilt by Association, was released in late December. I guess that will be on my next book order, too!

• Jennifer Chiaverini's The Union Quilters will be out in late February. Perhaps I should plan my next book order for then. I like all of her books, but I particularly like the ones with a historical slant/theme.

Also, does anybody know the answer to this: I have Bonnie Hunter's Scraps and Shirttails 2 and Tonya Ricucci's Word Play Quilts on my TO BUY list. But I am wondering, are they (the authors) better off if we buy the book from a "bricks and mortar" bookstore, from Amazon, or directly from them? Does it make a difference? I want to do whatever I can to support these artists/authors in the fullest way possible (within my limited means). Does anyone know?

It's getting HOT in here!

What wonderful ideas you all had for the chicks! And can we all agree that Cheryl is hilarious? I want to put all those ideas in the quilt, but I don't think I have that many pieced letters in me. If I can figure out how to quilt words, I think all those suggestions may make it into the quilt after all. But the word HOT has only 3 simple letters in it, so that's where I started.

And I LOVE IT!

I felt like I was simultaneously channeling Em and Tonya!

I wish I could go piece some more letters RIGHT NOW, but first I've got 2 basketball games, a quilt guild meeting, and a rollerskating date with my boys. After that, who knows if I'll even have energy left to piece?

Who am I kidding!?!