A Snappy Little Blanket

I've been reading a blog, "house on hill road," for the last several months.  Each time Erin writes a new post, I hurry on over to see what new project she's created, that I can steal .  I mean copy.  Borrow?   Shamelessly borrow, that's it. I love everything she makes, and her creativity amazes me. Since I don't have that kind of creativity, I just see what she creates, and then I copy it.   Isn't imitation supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery?  

Anyway, Erin wrote a tutorial for a rock pockets picnic blanket recently at this blog, and I had enough fabric in my sewing closet to make it without it costing me a cent! That's my kind of project.  An actual picnic hasn't happened yet, but I have used the blanket from everything to reading a book on it under a tree, to sitting on it during a morning of school by the tire swing, to wrapping up one chilly early morning.  Because it's backed in an old sheet, it's the perfect weight for a nap.  Or a picnic.  Or a book reading session under a tree.  You name it, it's perfect.  

If you have some large scraps, lightweight batting, and a cute old sheet in your closet, this would be a great gift for someone you love.  Like your sister.  Except that you might make it, think it's super cute, keep it for yourself, and borrow another one of Erin's projects to make for your sister instead.  If that one turns out super cute, your sister might never get a Christmas present. Not that I'm talking about myself or anything.

Grayson

I was going through the pictures on my camera recently and noticed quite a few of Grayson.  Here are some of my favorites.  There aren't any of him by himself, mainly because he and Caiden are inseparable, and also because the only one of him solo featured him in his underwear with a sword and helmet.  In the driveway.  

Here he is with Daddy, ready for a "Daddy & Me" date.  He dressed himself, complete with gardening gloves, and Chris was gracious enough to tell him he looked terrific, load him in the car, and actually take him in public.  I was very impressed.  Those cowboy boots come up to his knees.

This is a regular occurrence in our house.  Grayson dresses up daily, and it almost always involves socks on his hands.  This outfit is complete with underwear for hats.  And binoculars.  Notice the shirt.  (Don't notice the furniture.  It's going.  And so are the hideous drapes.) 
Spying?  Soldiering?  Who knows.  Those two speak their own language and spend a large portion of each day sneaking around in camouflage and catching frogs.  They define the word, "boy."

Best friends.  And experts at destroying a clean room faster than I can blink.  Or weep.


Coat, hat, socks-for-gloves.  And a tiny hint of those cowboy boots again.  I love it.

Taking an afternoon nap with Daddy on the John Deere, wearing his "earbums" to drown out the noise.

He's one of a kind, that's for sure.

Inauguration Day

A happy way to spend a Sunday afternoon, underneath a new quilt.

My Own Definition of "Mystery Quilt"

I talked to my mom yesterday, telling her I'd finished my mystery quilt. She broke it to me gently that a true mystery quilt is one where you piece a block a month, finding out the entire pattern only after you piece the last block. Oh, well. I never said I knew anything about quilting. I just make it up as I go, referring to "Your First Quilt Book" by Carol Douk when I get stuck. So in the "Sarah Dictionary of Quilting," a mystery quilt is one you make for your husband but can't say so on your blog, because he reads it. :-)

I saw this quilt at Amanda Jean's site (And if you're a quilt lover, you must read her blog! It's terrific.) I decided to make a football-watchin'-favorite-team-rootin' quilt for Chris. He roots for both the Tennessee Volunteers and the Washington Redskins, so I was at a loss. Orange for the Vols or maroon for the Redskins. Ugh. I really need him to be a Dallas Cowboys fan. Blue and silver are a whole lot easier. Nobody who loves the Redskins is going to be down with rooting for the Cowboys, though, so I just chose the Vols, since orange looks cute with blue, and everything looks good with black, and surely I could come up with something orange, blue, and black that wouldn't be horrid, right? I couldn't find a pattern I liked, though, until I saw Amanda Jean's striped quilt. It seemed just the thing for making a football quilt as cute as possible, without being girly.



I found collegiate fabric by googling for it, ordered a yard of black and a yard of white, and then spent a few days finding good supporting fabrics. I bought what I thought would be the backing, then decided the quilt needed something else, so I found a great Alexander Henry black and white fabric at JoAnn's a couple of weeks later. Voila! Perfect. I pieced a long strip for the back, and then used both the orange and the black and white, and I think I love the back maybe even more than the front. I love happy endings like that.

Here it is, pieced and ready to be trimmed.

Finished.  I cut the black Tennessee fabric in less-than-perfect lines, to give it an overall effect of motion.  (Or, "I cut the black Tennessee fabric in less-than-perfect lines because I hate cutting and am not great at it."  You decide; I'll never tell.)

The back is my favorite, although the photographer's lack of skills photograph quality doesn't show it to its best.  It's really nice in person.  Trust me :)  That's a 2" tall pieced strip running horizontally between the two fabrics, but it's hard to see in the photo.

I took a gamble and quilted it all in an orange Guterman thread, which ended up being a great idea since my sewing machine hated me the entire time and threw massive tantrums, resulting in me spending over an hour pulling threads.  White would've been hard to see.  Thursday I finished sewing down the binding by hand, threw it in the washer with some Shout grab-it sheets, and Caiden and I prayed out loud that it wouldn't run.  It didn't, and when I gave it to Chris tonight, the orange thread was instantly noticed and appreciated.  Hooray :)

It was so fun to give to him, because he was genuinely surprised and pleased that I'd made it for him, and he even mentioned passing it down to our sons someday.  Forget flowers; complimenting my sewing is the quickest way to my heart.  That and pretending he doesn't notice the size of my fabric stash.

And here's my favorite shot of it.  It's late afternoon, with the sunset to my back, and taking the final photo means one thing:

I can start working on another one.  

Colonoscopy and Other Thoughts

My yard had a colonoscopy yesterday.  Actually, it's had two in the last week, and I'd feel sorry for it, but I'm too busy feeling sorry for myself.  A colonoscopy for the yard is expensive.  Our septic system, now nicknamed "Trouble," has as many quirks as this house, and generally speaking, quirks are expensive.

But now all wrongs have been righted, at least the sort-of-cheap wrongs, and my boys have earned a pretty thorough septic system education.  So not all was lost, right?  If they ever buy a house in the country, they'll know that an unused sink line in the laundry room can generate some pretty stinky sewer gas smells, that could fill the entire house for four months.   Except they'll know that if they stick a rag in the opening, it'll block the smell, and they won't have spent four months buying Yankee Candles and cleaning feverishly to hide the smell.  Not that I did that, or anything.

And maybe that's the last time I write about wanting to become a pearl.  God seemed to take me seriously.  My sewing machine came back from being serviced, only to have developed an attitude.  Quilting a new quilt should've taken a day, but took three.  I have several broken needles, ripped out stitches, and tension headaches to show for it.  I almost cried once or twice but refused to lose the battle.  I'd take it back and have it fixed, but I'm afraid of what they'll do at the shop next!  So now I sew cautiously, holding my breath and hoping she'll behave.  It's a lot like taking a toddler in public.  

I'm almost finished with this newest quilt, and then I'm tackling Addison's curtains and window seat cushion.  She had an old bedspread over her window for two months, and now we've graduated to a Roman shade and blackout panels.  So I think it's time I drove to the quilting shop to actually buy something attractive.  My fall list for sewing is ridiculous, and I have to remember sometimes that it should be fun, not a marathon.  With just an hour or so every day to work, it's hard to make progress.  But we're fully into our school year, and also dealing with septic systems and air conditioners and toilets and carpet installations and the like doesn't leave much time for playing.  But I'll give up some playtime for me, if that means my toilets don't overflow and my laundry room doesn't stink up the house.  Soon it'll be cool here, and we'll spend a large portion of the day outside.  And children outside can't make nearly as many messes as children inside.  I can always knit in a chair outside, right?  Except that Chris mentioned this morning it's almost time for the winter mulch to be applied, which makes me want to weep, since I think we're not done yet applying the summer mulch.  It never ends.

But really, that's good, since it's great job security for me.  My people like to be fed, bathed, read to, loved, and occasionally sewn and knit for, which means nobody'll be phasing me out anytime soon.  And that's also good, since despite septic system woes and mulch mountains and a long sewing list, this is what I love doing the most, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  Not even a stink-free one.

Like an Oyster

I've been thinking about irritations a lot lately.  There's been just cause for that:  our air conditioners have gone out eight times this summer. Eight.  That's a lot, considering the high so far has been 107 degrees.  Evidently it's electrical.  As soon as one unit's fixed, the second one blows a fuse.  Irritating.

Then yesterday Chris was mowing and hit a yellow jacket nest, instantly surrounded by an angry mob with stingers.  We're inundated with wasps here, because the house changed hands frequently in the last decade, and nobody thought pest control was warranted.  The mice, rats, and wasps say otherwise.  If I find one more dead mouse in the kids' play closet, I'm going to cry.  Ralph S. Mouse is a whole lot more charming as a notion than a reality.  Irritating.

To add to the lack-of-maintenance woes, we evidently have three septic tanks, none of which has been pumped in 10 years.  My laundry room smells as possibly unlike Downy as it can whenever I do laundry.  That happens a lot in a family of five who live in the country.  Two of us consider playing in dirt a hobby.  There's nothing like folding fresh towels while enveloped in the odor of sewer gas.  And yesterday Caiden happily exclaimed, "Hey Mama!  Look at this!  Whenever Grayson flushes our toilet, toilet paper shoots out of the flower bed!"  So now a septic guy is in my yard, digging huge holes trying to find the elusive third tank.  If he doesn't find it, my flowers are going to drown in toilet paper and, well, other stuff. It's irritating.

But you know, each individual source of irritation isn't that big a deal.  The laundry room smells?  Hire a company to pump the system.  Wasps live on every corner?  Call Orkin.  The a/c keeps going out?  Be thankful it's fall, and find an electrician.  

It's when all three happen at once, or on a weekly basis, that I feel like an oyster.  Grains of irritation are constantly rubbing against me, curious to see how I'll respond.  Am I a grouchy oyster, or a pearl-in-formation?  I'm decidedly unpearl-like, I'm afraid.  The fuse blows, both figuratively and literally, and I complain and sigh and grouch about, letting a silent air conditioner ruin my day and attitude.  Precious jewels are rare for a reason.

Today it's sunny and cool, with the hints of fall blowing across our land.  The kids eat every meal possible on a blanket on the lawn, then chase lizards and butterflies and dogs.  They collect fallen acorns and bring me wildflowers, leaves in their hair and joy in their eyes.  Today my leaf wants to turn over, too.  I'll let the septic guy worry about our system.  I may have to pay the final bill, but at least I can keep from paying with my spirit.  

That's what I love about a new season.  It reminds me that God's mercies are new each day, each moment, and that I don't have to stay the same, either.  If the trees can shed their leaves each fall, I can shed a few of my sins, too.  Like worry.  And anger.  And irritation over the things that just don't amount to much, after all.  Even if that means we have a fountain of toilet paper in the flower beds.  At least I'll have a pearl to show for it.

In No Particular Order (Look, Woody! It's Your Dog!)

Be prepared:  this is random.  Really, really random.

My mom is wondering what crape myrtle trees look like in full bloom. Here's one of my favorites in our yard. Lavender blooms aren't as common as pink, and I love this one. Our others are pink, so I'm thinking maybe I need to plant some more lavender trees next spring.

It's a good thing the tree is pretty, since we have a toilet next to the front door.  The plumber who replaced it said he can't dispose of it.  He suggested we plant flowers in the basin and tank.  And he wasn't kidding.  Nice.  And Woody, there's a shot of my good dog.  The one who doesn't eat things.  There used to be a really nice entry rug there.  Before it got eaten.  
I need help here.  What is this?  The berries are bright purple clusters.  Any ideas?

Here's a fitting shot from our first day of school.  How I managed to take a picture with not a soul looking at the camera accurately represents my camera skills.  I promise this isn't posed.  I'm just that good.

Best friends having a breakfast picnic.  Sorry Addie, I didn't mean to cut off half your body.  I'm rotten with a camera.
I told my mom that Grayson greets me every morning at my bedside, wearing a different costume.  I'm not sure what today's is, but this is mild compared to normal.  Usually he has socks on his hands, a football jersey, and a pirate wig.  He takes "middle child" to another level.
Woody, this is your dog.  I came home one night to find him out of his kennel, which was still closed, by the way, eating my quilting batting all over the entry.  And yes, those are diaper wipes, too.  Brand new ones, of course.  That dog eats everything, including the trim on my front door.  I'm sure he's going to grow up to be very nice.  Right?  Please tell me this will get better.  This week alone he's eaten an outdoor electrical cable, candles, trash, shoes, and a pirate sword.  The pirate sword was a huge loss.  
And there's my newest Cub Scout, off to his first meeting.  He was happy, but I felt a little sad.  Sob.  Growing up is fun for him, at least.  I'm tempted to put him back in the crib and start all over.  He lost a tooth this week, which is a whole other story.  We both cried :)

(Do you like the mover's dolly in the right corner of this photo?  Don't laugh; we moved in four months ago and I keep forgetting to return the dolly and hang the mirror that's on the floor.  Someday it's going to look like we really live here.)

Speaking of teeth, the entire family is off to the dentist in a minute.  Caiden made up a rap song about going to the dentist, he's so excited.  What is it with this kid?  And where did he hear about rap songs?  It even had backspins.

And not speaking of teeth, I'm almost ready to quilt my mystery quilt, which of course means I had to go to the fabric store and buy supplies for the next one.  This is a sickness.  A very happy one!  

I hope your Friday is happy and uneventful and sunny.  :)

Another One, But Different

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a long while but keep procrastinating getting the camera out.  I saw a version of this here and thought it would be really fun to make for a friend who's funky and happy and artsy and just had a baby.  It's a perfect fit. Her son's name didn't look right on the quilt, though, so I substituted the sun instead.  

Here's the back, with a strip of sky going down--not typical, since I've never seen the sky going down, but I liked it this way. (Confession: I didn't realize it was going down til it was too late. But let's just say I meant to do that.)


And here's my favorite part:

the edges of the trees and sun will ravel a little bit each time they're washed.

I just love those little tree trunk feet.
This quilt is entirely different from my first, with no pattern other than a picture on Flickr, but it was really fun to make.  Thursday I'll roll it up, tie it with a ribbon, and deliver it to the new mom with a plate of cookies.  And then I'll come home, turn on the machine, and keep working on quilt number three.  Because I'm completely hooked. 

Not Exciting

Lots going on around here, although nothing earth-shattering.  I like it like that, come to think of it.  

*Brittani lent me her sewing machine today, as mine is off to be serviced.  Hooray for great friends who own sewing machines and don't mind lending them!

*I'm pondering making this.  Because when I read the variation that includes white chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, and white chocolate pudding, I got really hungry and thought of Christmas, all at the same time.  We're big bread eaters around here, usually with a loaf of bread on the counter from this book, and we can always use some more, especially for breakfast.  If you live near me, know me, and want some starter, I'll be happy to share!  (Melissa, Angela, F.R.?)

*Today was so cool outside we spent just about every minute of it outside, except for during school.  Which we rushed, so we could go back outside.  My kids are filthy but really happy tonight.  And tired, I'm hoping.

*Speaking of school, we started yesterday.  Four weeks ago, when we went on "summer" break, I couldn't imagine being ready to start back.  But about a week ago, it was hard to tell who was more ready, me or Caiden.  We just operate better around here when we're in school. 

*And speaking of cool, it's really dangerous for me to have days like this, when the high is in the 70s.  That's about 20 degrees cooler than normal for September, and it makes me crazy.  I start setting out pumpkins and baking pumpkin pies and playing my fall music.  If we lived in Massachusetts, that'd be okay, but we don't, and it's not going to really be in the 70s for a good two more months.  I don't know why I do this to myself.

*And I guess that's it!  Well, we're getting a new toilet in the hallway bath; I'm finally getting my hair cut after four months; and Caiden's about to lose a tooth at the same time as he's cutting his last 6 year molar, which I think is funny.  You can see why I say it's not that exciting around here.  But if you've read about us much in the last two years, you can understand me when I say I really love times that aren't exciting.