Inspiration Overload

So, now that I am done my Fab Little Quilt (no time to down load pics and do a proper post on that today, so it will have to wait until later in the week - if that is too much of a tease, just check my Flikr stream), I am trying to finish up some WIP's and think of what I want to make for a baby quilt, and for Emma's big bed quilt.

The problem is that I have too many ideas and choices. I've gathered some awesome fabrics for both quilts, and part of me wants to just do simple one-patch quilts of some variety. But I know I could do so much more, and I sort of want to stretch myself a little bit, so I never actually cut into the fabric. Instead I just toodle around on Flikr thinking, "oh, or I could do that. or maybe that. oh, that's nice too . . ." without actually choosing an idea, or thinking about how short my time frame is before the baby is actually here.

And every time I do settle on a plan, life gets in the way and I have to wait a little longer to start working on it. This week I thought that I would finally get some solid sewing time in, because Thurs. and Fri. are half days at school. But Emma picked up Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease and she is highly infectious, so she has to stay home from daycare all week. So there go my free days - AGAIN.

I think I just need to acknowledge that as much as I'd like to be making more complex and challenging quilts right now, my actual sewing time is short. So I need to think simple, stop trying to over-complicate my own life (one of my favorite pastimes) and just make something relatively quick, that  I will still be happy with. I will have years when my kids are older to make Dresden quilts and Postage stamp quilts and carefully crafted and balanced Improv quilts and Wonky neighborhood quilts. Right now I just need to think lovely, simple, comforting quilts in happy colours to brighten our rooms and warm our hearts. Right? Right.

So maybe I should spend that extra 15 min. I have here and there sewing instead of popping in to Flikr, overloading my brain with MORE inspiration. Well, okay, once my Fab Little Quilt arrives at its recipient's doorstep, anyway. Then I will cut into that yummy stack of baby boy fabric. Promise.  

Cool Invite . .

So, I got a cool invite a few days ago, which I couldn't help but accept! I received an email, asking if I would like to join a by invitation only doll quilt swap. The swap mamas hand picked some quilters from a variety of swaps whose quality of work they appreciated, and invited them all to this swap. I was bowled over that I got asked to join in! You can see their Flikr group here .

Even though it is a little thing in the big picture of life, it is still really encouraging. I have been stalling out on sewing a lot lately, partially because I don't have much time, but partially also because I feel like I don't want to keep sewing if I'm going to be mediocre. This is, of course, my own issue - I don't like doing things I'm not extra good at. I also am one of those ironic people who fears both success and failure in equal measure. Although my friends often tell me they think I'm talented, I think, "Well, of course you say that, you're my friend."

To have a few really amazing swap mamas invite me to a group of really top notch quilters (I feel like I must have been number 99 out of a hundred or so, but none the less) is confirmation. Other people who make quilts think I'm doing something great.

I am also happy to have a creative challenge after the total lack of creative energy I've been putting into sewing lately. Because let me tell you, to meet up to the standard of some of these amazing doll quilters is going to take everything I've got. Bring it on, I say. Bring it on.

Despite the little time I have right now, I've signed up for the first round. After all, life is just going to get busier in April, and I'd like to at least do one round . . .

So Much to think about . . .

Hello, friends. Sorry I haven't been in this space much lately. There are several reasons for that:

1. My brain still hurts from making my doll quilt. I put so much time and energy and care into that thing, and so my crafty batteries need to be recharged a bit before I can produce anything else ( a laptop cover, red cordoroy messenger bag and a couple of voile blouses are stewing next).

2. We've all been sick. Again / still. I think I need to start carrying hand sanitizer when I substitute and make the kids wash their hands whenever we get home from anywhere. I have never been this sick this often in a winter. It must the kids in daycare / me substitute teaching in all different schools (mostly for people who are, you guessed it, sick) catching up with me.

3. I have been getting work. I have actually had to turn down jobs because, well, we've all been sick. And for some reason Andrew's school has about a hundred pedagogical days in March, and I've chosen to take those to spend with him. But they're different than the days at the school board where I'm working, so I keep getting called in on those days.

4. I am still / again trying to sort out my feelings and the practicalities of this whole work / day care / Dave's school balance. I hate the fact that my baby didn't go to daycare today because she was sick and she had a tantrum because she didn't want to be with me. I hate that my 4 year old understands what she's saying beter than I do and that she refuses to eat any solid food for me right now, because she just wants to nurse when I'm around. I hate that our household rhythm is always in disarray because my work is so irregular and that we forgot to discuss who was picking my son up from the bus and he spend an hour at the neighbour's house last week because neither of us showed up at the bus stop.

5. I am trying to spend less time on the computer and more time with my kids when I have it, because I have less time with them.

6. I keep forgetting to bring my camera / running out of batteries / having a full memory card lately. The Hetkes were here and we wandered around Old Montreal and I forgot my camera. What is the world coming to?

7. I am considering how this blog is going to change, and if it is going to continue, and if it does what the content is going to be as I go through this life change that is moving to Montreal and going back to work and changing what we all do and how we do it.

Please bear with me. Later this week I should have some doll quilt photos and also I'm almost finished my sewing machine cover, which is pretty colourful and crazy, but I love it.

Also, I must say, I loved this conversation with my husband the other day:

Me: What do you think of a red corduroy messenger bag? Is that to crazy?

Dave: Who are you making it for?

Me: Me.

Dave: Oh, in that case, nothing is too crazy.

I love how my husband has grown to love my creativity over the years.

My Present Definition of Satisfaction:

Finding all the Playmobil knights' hair. Their little open, empty heads disturb me -- its like they accidentally left their brain laying around somewhere.

My Present Definition of Frustration:

Having a son too sick with the respiratory flu to be able to get the H1N1 flu vaccine. And hoping he doesn't have the H1N1 flu. AND having the vaccine offered AFTER the H1N1 has already run through said son's school once.

Let the Nesting Begin!

Well, now that Andrew is settled in school, decisions about extra activities have been finalized, the doll quilt is finished, and Andrew's 5th birthday party is finished (more on that in another post), I can get to baby prep.

Yes, I can feel the itch starting. I washed the shoe matts yesterday, and scrubbed down the kitchen garbage can, and I re-organized the toys in the basement, and sent Dave to the Salvation Army with a bunch of big stuff we haven't been using but haven't been throwing out, and started sewing storage bags for the car so we have room for a third car seat (and because my husband is complaining about the stuff everywhere), and soon its going to be clearing out closets and re-arranging furniture and hanging shelves . . .

Not to mention sorting and ordering prints from digital photos for the last two and a half years, freezing meals, sewing quilts and gifts, and trying to get our house a little bit happier for this coming winter . . .

And the inevitable breaking up fights and putting boys in time out a hundred times a day and reading Tintin and finding fun crafty things to do and going to the park while we still can . . .

Its going to be a busy fall. But hopefully a good, less draining kind of busy.

Fun Kitchen Find

You might notice that I haven't been posting any cool vintage finds this year. That is because I decided not to do yard sales this summer. There were several reasons for this:

• we were a little tight on money this spring, what with extra flights for my Dad's funeral and a new mattress to save Dave's back


• I was crazy burned out and busy


• Saskatchewan has a bit of a Great Depression hang over, so there isn't usually much that is actually great at the yard sales around here - good things are generally kept just in case


• I kept buying things I thought I could fix up, but then didn't fix them up, so they just sat around taking up our basement space, and cluttering my mental "to do" list

After we got back from holidays, and I was feeling less burnt out, I had enough brain power to compile a mental list of things I might actually need (serving bowls, mugs and cups, a tv cabinet with doors, a kids table and chairs) and start a little bit of a hunt for these items.

Well, this weekend I had a major yard sale score. Not only did I find a serving bowl and some funky mugs (no photos of these, sorry), and some free powder blue suitcases (I'll show them to you another day), but I got this:


A hand crank food chopper. It slices, it dices and it grates with the help of three easy attachments and Andrew. Andrew is seriously in love with this thing. Yesterday, we grated and julienned carrots. Today we sliced cucumbers. Tomorrow, we might try potatos. He's even thinking he might be willing to eat cole slaw if he got to chop the cabbage himself. I'm thinking I might be willing to make some spring rolls or dumplings with this baby to chop the carrots and cabbage and onions and ginger really fine. The possibilities are endless. I just have to find a place to keep it in my kitchen where its not going to drop on someone's head and concuss them.

Dear God:

Overall, your design concept "summer" is perfect. Watermelon must have been thought of on a particularly brilliant day. But mosquitos? Have you fired the guy that came up with mosquitos yet?

We have had a couple of brilliant days here: hot and sunny. Full of watermelon and waterguns and wading pools. Its been a two-bath-a-day kind of week so far. Perfect. Flawless. After such a long wait, I am loving the heat. Although cooking roast beef yesterday was not one of my brightest plans, it has otherwise been great. Hooray for summer!

What's In a Name?

Tamara over at 1/4 of an inch is asking bloggers to tell the story of the name of their title.

I started this blog before I started quilting. I had just made the giant life transition from being a childless professional to being a stay at home parent. I had also just moved to a different province. So I didn't start this blog with a huge focus -- the idea of a craft blog,or that I would take up crafting to the extent that I have, was foreign to me. I wasn't sure if I was just going to write about my life, or comment on things that were going on around me, or discuss ideas, or what. My friend Kris had started a blog, and I kept hearing about blogging on CBC, and I thought it might be an outlet for all my ideas and thoughts and randomness, and keep me writing something.

I used to write plays and fiction, and was directing my plays in local play festivals and submitting my short fiction to magazines. Nothing ever got published, but with that in mind, I thought that Life and Times of Jill (as in Life and Times of Shakespeare, or Dickens, or Jane Austen) might be a fun title. It would sound a little bit grand, but then have a note of self deprication and bathos, because I'm just Jill, not some famous person.

It was kind of funny, because I thought that it would for sure have been taken by someone already, or that there would be lots of Life and Times of . . . titles out there. But I've never heard of another one. Which is all good.

If you want to check out the what and where of other bloggers' titles, or add your name and description to the list, you can go to 1/4 of an inch and add yourself to her Mr. Linky here .

Quilt Qua, Summer Swap and Spring Cleaning

So, I'm feeling a little naked around here without my camera. Its been so long since I posted without photos that I'm feeling silly. Seriously, can you do a crafty blog without photos?

But despite that, I just got an email from Connie who has started a new website, QuiltQua . It looks like a great round up source for quilt shops, classes, teachers, blogs, and information. Go check it out. And if you post a quilt on her Show and Tell page right now, you could have a chance to win a Jelly Roll. How sweet is that?

In other news, Inpired Mama has just opened up her Summer Celebrations Swap. She is accepting swappers until May 31. I am a bit low on sewing time and creative energy right now and in June I plan and execute a youth group camping trip and plan our yearly Art camp, so I might not join, but it is sure to be a great swap, so check it out.

Now that I am out of the first trimester fog (yay!), I have also decided to spring clean my house. It is in serious need of a thorough clean and de-clutter. I spent a whole $7 on Tsh's 10 Day Guide to Spring Cleaning for Normal People ebook, and I am working my way through it. I think it may take me more than 10 days, because I have a basement and our house is a big mess. I am a huge hoarder, and can think of a use for everything (and I do mean everything) so the first day was the hardest for me.

On day one you go around your house and just go through every room and throw out of decide to give away everything you don't think to be useful or beautiful. In my case, this includes all the scrap wood and yogurt containers that were drifting around the house. And broken toys. And (take deep breaths) two bags full of fabric and assorted fabric-y things I had vague plans for or that I bought when I started quilting or that I bought on an impulse and then realized I would never actually make into a garment, or that I thought I would re-purpose into something else.

I realized that I just don't throw things out. There is some twitch in my brain that thinks is might be interesting to keep ten mandarin orange boxes or a metre of tangled wire or the plastic balls that are supposed to go in our little wire and vinyl house, but instead just get scattered around endlessly. I just love stuff. It all fascinates me. Like, everything fascinates me. I am amused to watch my children turn broken furniture into trains and ladders and spaceship parts. But then when they lose interest and it becomes crazy clutter around my house, I keep it around anyway, in case they think of something else to do with it. I enjoy being constantly surprised by what I might find drifting through the hallway at any given moment on any given day, or what might be under the couch when I go to find the sippy cup Aaron shoved under there. Its like having a constant treasure hunt in your own home. Unfortunately, this oddity is not very conducive to peaceful and calm family life. It drives my husband crazy that he can never find anything or walk anywhere (which I agree is rather maddening). My oldest son goes around the bend when a piece to his latest thing-with-lots-of-small-parts goes missing because it has been drowned under the book hurricane that has blown right out of the book bin and all over the floor. So I am going to have to change my ways.

Maybe if I put something interesting on the walls (like art, or fabric or photos or, um, anything) I would be able to throw more crazy things out because there would actually be something to look at in our house. Maybe. I'll have to try it and see.

Hello, Sun.

Thanks for being there to greet us in the mornings again.

Right now, rising around 5:30, your timing is perfect.

Now, could you do me a favor and skip that week in June where you wake up at 3:30?

How about if I set an alarm, and you can't rise until we're ready to get up. Would that work for you?

Golden Syrup!

This is probably not a revelation to anyone else, but I just discovered that they sell Golden Syrup at the grocery store! I am super excited simply because now I can make these:

I should note to anyone who bought this book on my recommendation (Anna) that the American publisher miscalculated all the metric measurements in the recipes. Jane Brocket has noted this and posted the errata page on her blog .

An while we're on the topic of the Gentle Art of Domesticity, I must say that whenever I think, "What am I going to do with four or five lap quilts made just for our family?" I turn to this great photo as a reminder of why it would be great to have several quilts drifting around:


I tell you, perusing that bright book has got me through the March doldrums.

Luxembourg: Who Knew.

So, as well as dabbling in the Mini Quilt Swap, I also joined a fabric and chocolate swap (who wouldn't?) that seemed like a lot of fun. My first swap partner was from Luxembourg, a place I had never heard of. I assumed it was a province of Germany, becuase it sounds kind of Germanish, but never the less sent my package to the address I was given with just Luxembourg on the bottom.

Imagine my surprise when my lovely swap partner, Lil, informed me that it was an actual independent dutchy! Of course I was fascinated and I had to go and check it out. It is a lovely little country (size-wise. as far as culture and history they kick Canada's butt). According to Wikki it is prosperous, beautiful, historically interesting, and a founding memeber in the UN, Nato, and all kinds of other important things. The best description, though, is the one from the Catholic encyclopedia the New Advent. An excerpt I am rather partial to runs as follows:

. . . it is situated at an elevation of about 1000 feet above the sea level, is mountainous and possesses a temperate healthy climate. The arable lands, including almost half the country, yield abundant crops of grain, and splendid pastures feed numerous herds of cattle and horses. The vine produces annually more than 1,300,000 gallons of wine and the fruit harvest is no less generous

It also has some cool, fairy tale like castles, towns and stoneworks , as you can see if you click on the photos there. Sure beats any archetecture you can find around here (rural decay, anyone? we've got plenty!).

So, all in all, my journey to discover Luxembourg was most pleasurable. Descriptions online were found easily, and the photos were no less generous to my opinion of the country.

I think I'm going to look everything up in the Catholic encyclopedia from now on.

I think I should start writing like that. "The fabric I discovered in this store was most generous, with the friendly staff abundantly at my disposal."

ETA: Lil just gave me a link to her virtual blog tour of the capital. Find it here:
http://whatidobesidework.blogspot.com/2008/04/this-will-be-long-post-lol.html

My latest attempt at convincing myself that I really do need to keep the house tidy and clean ( I know I do, but after a grinding day with the boys it seems like such a chore to then spend an hour doing, well, chores) is to re-name the event. I no longer clean up after the boys' bedtime. I make the house happy again. Really, who wants to relax when the couch is pulled apart and spread all over the floor, you can't walk without stepping on something small and metal and every view contains at least one piece of crumpled laundry (usually all Aaron's -- he's at that age where everything he encounters during the course of the day finds its way on his shirt and inevitably makes him cold, wet and cranky).

Off I go to make the house happy again.

Why I Should Have Been An Upper Class British Victorian

• ankles were all the rage during parts of the Victorian era, having been hidden under long skirts for a really long time. I have great ankles


• clutter was a good thing


• rather than trying to do 100 things at once, you could just demand that the butler do them all


• I could spend my winters in London being clever and witty and my summers in my house in the country making crazy quilts and harrassing my neighbours


• someone else would be responsible for hunting down my children and getting them dressed in the morning


• pre-Raphelite hair was in


• eccentricity was in


• the winters are not so damn long in England

Close to Home: Faithful

I totally agree with this .

Steps mini quilt

Steps mini quilt
Originally uploaded by stitchindye

Don't you wish your wall was that colour (and that you had that art quilt, while we're wishing)? I do. Seriously considering painting the two walls in my kitchen this colour. No, really, I am.

Sock Puppet

This is Sock Puppet. Anna Irish made him for Andrew, as one of her first knitting projects. For about six months, it sat in my hats and mits organizer, becuse Andrew was really scared of it. But now he's getting to that stage where scary is good. So when we found Sock Puppet while organizing my laundry room, Andrew took to him instantly and gave him a terrible personality.

Sock puppet is mean. He eats everything. He's not allowed to go to church becuse he's too bad for church. He makes annoying sounds that Andrew is not allowed to make ("It wasn't me, mommy, it was Sock Puppet"). He grabs Aaron by the back of the shirt and drags him out of the way. Sock puppet is a big bully.

Now we get to the nearly theological question Sock Puppet presents: Would Anna still have made Sock Puppet if she had known he would turn out to be such a disreputable character?

I think this is a sign of Ultimate Laziness

We had a lovely visit with our friends Arden and Judith and their son (Dave's godson) Nate last weekend. But before they came, I had to tidy our thoroughly disastrous house. So I decided to try a piece of cleaning advice I had read in a book when I was in my "researching how to keep house" phase a few years ago.

Apparently, a quick way to clean clutter is to carry a box with you. You throw everything in the box that does not belong in the room you are presently tidying in. Then, theoretically, you put all the stuff away as you get it to the room you need it in.

Well, let me tell you, it is a relatively quick and painless way to remove misplaced items from, say, your spare room in order to make it guest ready. But what do you do about the fact that the items in said basket actually belong mostly in rooms you have ALREADY tidied in? Are you actually expecting me to go BACK to the linen closet, my room and the bathroom after I have already cleaned them and put more stuff away when it is so conveniently coralled in a laundry basket? Especially when I have supper to make and my baby is getting teeth and having a growth spurt? Of course not.

What this advice leads to in my house is a number of random boxes and baskets full of out of place stuff. So when you really need the Saline Drops that were in the spare room because that's where you used them on your infant so that they wouldn't wake your sleeping toddler when you invaded their nasal passages you will no longer know where to find them. Instead of being able to think, "Oh yeah, I was in the spare room" and get them from there, you have to think "Oh yeah, they're somewhere in that basket wrapped up in a dusty blanket that is squished under five library books."

Um, maybe I should just learn to put things away after I use them. I think that will happen about when I actually start putting clean folded laundry in drawers rather than back in the basket.

1000g of Fimo + 15 children + 1 frazzled instructor + 2 hrs of baking =

What more can I really say about this year's "Art Camp" VBS? We were understaffed and I am exhausted. I was reminded of why I don't teach elementry school. The kids loved it, the parents were happy and there is always the chance that someone will show up for Sunday School in the fall.