Obligatory Belly Photo

So here I am, at 20 weeks pregnant. Half way there!

Yeah, and I have bangs. I don't think I've had bangs since I was in highschool. I"m trying to decide if I like them, or if they're too girly. I think its that the rest of my hair has really heavy layers, so I feel like its too much of a mom cut, or conversely, like what my hair was like in grade 11. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Donna, for getting my camera back to me! Lots of crafty things to post in the next day or so (or just check my Flikr, they're already up there).

I Was Totally THAT Mother Yesterday.

You know. The one you pity if you have small children and swear you'll never be like if you don't yet have children and never remember being if you're children are 25 or older. Yep, that was me. But what did I expect, going into the city (a 2 hr drive) with a 4 and 2 yr old in tow, at 20 weeks pregnant with a still slightly sprained ankle (no crutches, thank goodness), to buy enough craft supplies for a 4 day Art-based day camp with 25 kids already registered? Well let me tell you, this trip exceeded my worst expectations.

First, we had to stop at the only gas station / resteraunt on the way there for lunch, because we did not get out of town until eleven o-clock. Add Friday afternoon vacationers line ups and a two year old who insists on doing everything HIMSELF and can't make up his mind about whether he wants ham or turkey on his sub with a LONG line-up behind him.

Second, we "had" to stop at the quilt shop in town (the only one I've found this side of Edmonton that carries Free Spirit fabrics -- and I'm just assuming someone in Edmonton does because its just a cool city). Since our local quilt shop has a toy table, the boys insisted that they DID NOT need to bring toys into the store, because fabric stores always have toys. This one had a bin of little legos. Which Aaron dumped all over the floor. And then they started fighting over the legos. And then Aaron discovered, as we were trying to pick up said legos (which included 15 or so lego guys that they had completely taken apart -- like, even removed the tiny arms) that there was a twirling display of needles and pins above his head . . . and I got out to the car to discover that he had exploded his diaper . .

Third, was the actual trip to Michaels to buy craft supplies. Which included many, many reminders that we were only buying things for ART CAMP and that no, I would not buy a volcano kit, or a worm-making kit or a crystal growing kit or a Spiderman colouring book and sticker set or . . . you get the idea. Andrew was finally sated when I told him that we would go to Burger King after this to get supper and hopefully transformer toys. After this the boys decided that the best way to amuse themselves while Mom tried to figure out what quantity of foam to buy was to head butt each other. Then the cart got too full of craft supplies to happily hold Aaron as well (and although he thought it was amusing to jump on the four margerine-like containers of clay, I didn't want clay bursting all over the store). This meant releasing Aaron into a store with long, open aisles and lots of interesting, brightly coloured things at perfect grabbing height. After this came the debacle of Aaron getting a hold of a crayola marker I was using to mark things off my list, lying down in the middle of the aisle in front of our cart and drawing all over his legs. Finally, we were done shopping and came to the check out . . . where only one till was open. And they had bins and bins of shiny plastic toy-like candy dispensers. Fortunately, I had a box of raisins in my bag, and managed to coax him into sitting in the top of the cart while we went through the check out line.

Fourth, we arrived at Burger King right at 5 pm and had to wait in a long lineup that was filtered through one of those maze-like contraptions that just happened to have three bars running along it that were perfect for Aaron to climb up and down on. We got to the counter to discover that there were NO toys at all, never mind transformer toys, and Andrew started wailing. To try to distract him and get him away from the poor workers who were just starting their supper rush and really didn't need to hear his howling, I grabbed our cups and we went to get drinks. Aaron grabbed his drink before I could put a lid on it and spilled it all over the floor. So there I am, pregnant, with one child wailing "WHY DON'T THEY HAVE TRANSFORMER TOYS? MY PLAN IS RUINED!", and a second child, covered in blue marker that I still haven't wiped off, now soaked in red Fruitopia, cheerfully wiping the floor with paper napkins. Fortunately this Burger King had a play place with a glassed in room and some seating, so we sat in there, I got Andrew calmed down eventually (after a stern, "I know you are disappointed and you had a cool plan that is ruined. You have had a chance to express that. Now eat your food and enjoy the play station.") and we did manage to eat with minimal hassle (aside from Andrew's inevitable "Why are there seeds on my bun? Who is going to swap their bun bottom with my bun top?" panic), and they did eventually play, and Andrew even made a friend.

When his new friend left, he sat down, discouraged and said, "We can leave now. My friend is gone." I suggested that he could meet some of the kids who had just entered the play area and he said, "No, mom. I can only make one friend in a day. That is enough."

Finally I got them bundled into the car and we could drive home.

On the bright side, I did find a copy of the Spring/Summer edition of Stitch magazine , and I just might have picked up a lovely bundle of bright, hand-dyed felted wool and a few fat quarters . . . but let's just keep that between friends, shall we?

Craft Blog Linky

Alison at cluck, cluck sew is hosting a linky to all the craft bloggers that want to join up and "meet".

If you are here from that linky, I would like to say welcome, and please scroll down a bit. My blog is usually full of lovely photos of things I have made, but right now my camera is MIA (well, more accurately MIW - Missing in Winnipeg), so my blog has been sadly mainly photo-less for the last two months. I am almost finished a roll of film, so there should be some quilty goodness soon.

Anyway, welcome, and I look forward to meeting you all. Feel free to drop me a note somewhere and say hi.

I miss my camera.

Its been two months now since I left my camera in Winnipeg. I'm feeling a big lonely without it. No Flikr photos, no pretty pictures for my blog, no photos of boys in just underwear and superhero capes, or of their cute new matching swimmers (Aaron had to have the same shorts as Andrew). No photos of my new bathmat, or the progress on my Craft Hope quilt or my new scrap quilt or . . . sigh.

Well, in two weeks I'll be back in Winnipeg and I shall pick up my camera. Sorry for the lame blog of late, but its just not the same without my camera. Who knew an inanimate object would become such a big part of my day to day life, or that I would become so used to telling stories with pictures as the punchlines.

Ah well, I've almost got another roll of film finished, then there will be a few photos before I go on vacation. That is, when my foot heals, and I can sew and drive again . .

New Workout

Anyone want to join me in a great workout that will totally tone your upper body and core? I've only been doing it for two days and I can feel the results already.

Its called CRUTCHES

Yes, that's right. I sprained my ankle. At 19 weeks pregnant. Thank goodness I'm not at 29 or 39 weeks pregnant. It was the loosening ligaments thing that got me.

You see, I'm naturally loose jointed to begin with. So much so that I used to have problems with my wrists spontaneously slipping slightly out of joint when I was a teenager. Not so much that I would be in a lot of pain, just enough that I couldn't carry anything in that hand. My cousins are all gymnasts, but I only inherited the flexibility, not the co-ordination, of that side of the family.

I digress. Anyway, my hips started to loosen up at the beginning of this week, which means I'm a bit off balance. Then I took the boys for a long walk and wore out my leg muscles. Then I got in an argument with my son about pickles and he wouldn't go to his room, and as I marched him down the hall our feet got tangled . . . and next thing I knew I was propped up on the couch with a bag of frozen peas on my ankle.

Yesterday I thought it wasn't too bad, so I kept walking on it. But because I did it kept getting worse, so this morning I crawled everywhere until the drug store opened and Dave could get me crutches. Fortunately its feeling better today.

So send fast healing vibes my way.

Stuff White Christians Like

So, I was visiting Sharon last week, and she had a copy of "Stuff White People Like" out of the library. This is a book, based on a blog that basically is an ironic list of things upper middle class white people with libral arts educations like. The list includes coffe, Apple computers, yoga, the outdoors, organic produce, indie rock and NPR. It is a pretty funny and, as a GenX, liberal arts educated white person, pretty painful list to read.

This led me to my own riff on the topic, which is Stuff White Christians Like. To explain a little, I grew up as a Baptist Pastor's kid, so I've had my share of experiences with Stuff White Christians Like. I won't go into a lot of detail, but a few that came to mind:

Missions Trips
Pop
Buffets
Leather Bound Bibles
Zip-up Bible Cases with Handles
Arguments about Predestination and End Times
Leaving Tracts instead of Tips
Applying Singles Verses out of Context to Justify Anything
Abstaining from Alcohol
Faith Fish Jewlery
Subtly Christian Tatoos
Evangelistic T-Shirts
Christian Music Festivals
Rallies
Summer Camp
Retreats
Car Rallys
Sharing Other People's Prayer Requests
Popcorn Prayer
Singing Praise Music by a Campfire accompanied by a Guitar
Christian Replicas of Popular Music
Christian Celebrities
Being "Led"
Soup Kitchens
Being in a Worship Band

Anyone else?

General Update

Well, I still have no camera, so I'm feeling a bit out of the blog / Flikr loop. Plus I tend to get a bit grumpy and introspective when I'm pregnant, and after the winter we had around here, I'm sure you've all had enough of grumpy and introspective Jill.

So instead, I shall give you funny / clever Jill's kids. One story from each.

Andrew longs to have a Playmobil castle or pirate ship (despite having two other plastic yard sale find castles). The other day we got out his piggy bank and counted up his money to see if he had enough yet. He has $16, because every time Dave empties his pockets, or I find change in the laundry, Andrew immediately swipes whatever he finds. So, after I told him he needed another eighty or so dollars to get a playmobil castle, he said, "You know what we should do tomorrow, Mom? We should have a Money Hunt. It will work like this. You get some money, and hide it around my room and your room. Then I will find it and put it in my piggy bank. Then I can get my castle." (I wish someone would do a money hunt for me.)

Aaron has decided that he is Batman. This means that he wears a superhero cape whenever he can, feels like he has the right to punch everyone whenever he wants to (sigh) and insists on being addressed as Batman at all times. Last night he woke up around 10pm because he had to pee (no, I don't know how you can get your kids to do this, so just enjoy your sleep and put them in diapers). I set him on the potty, and after a bit said, "Are you done, Aaron?". He said, sleepily, "I'm Batman." I corrected myself: "Are you done Batman?" Aaron: "Yes. Batman went pee."

The new baby is beginning to recognize voices. S/he has started turning and kicking whenever s/he hears Andrew or Aaron or Dave start talking after they have been silent for a while. No one else can really tell yet, but it is very cute for me.

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!

Threads Together Update

I realized I haven't actually shown you guys any of my quilt blocks so far. I finally finished the infernal triangles, and they look pretty good and will hopefully stay together. Then I did my May blocks and sent them out. Ironically, I picked up the fabric for my June blocks (not finished yet) the day after I sent out the other two sets. So here goes:

These were the blocks for March. We got some beautiful Kaffe Fasset fabrics to play with. One block is improvised, and the other is a block from the "New Orleans Star Quilt" in Kaleidoscope of Quilts:




These are Betty's triangle blocks. The odd little bits of yellow peeking out of the edges are some gray martini dots I had drifting around. The grey matched with the grey background fabric I recived, so I used mostly tiny pieces of it to fill in the gaps:




This was the fabric Cris sent us for May. She said she wanted something fun, so I tried to comply. Again, I did one improvised log cabin-y block and one from a pattern found online (although I modified it -- first on purpose to use five fabrics instead of 3, and then by accident because I can't ever keep track of what's supposed to go where:




So there you go. I still don't have my digital camera. I actually used our film camera, and got a photo cd with my prints. Handy, eh? If I can learn to wait 5 days (ha!) I can even get the film processed for .99 cents. Remember when One Hour Photo finishing was a luxury, and we expected to wait 5 days for photos once we had finally finished a roll of film and taken it in to be developed at the photo shop?

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 .

Hello! Still here, and still no camera. I managed to mostly salvage Betty's blocks, and got my May blocks done, too (um, yeah, in June. Bad Jill.). Once I finish the roll in my film camera I shall post photos. TTFN

Disaster Strikes!

Its late (for me) so I'm feeling a little melodramatic, I admit.

But seriously. What do you do when you make a total mess of someone else's quilt? In my Threads Together quilting bee, betty ninja asked us to paper piece her some triangle blocks. After my first batch of fabric got lost in the mail, I finally received my second batch. Completely overestimating my abilities to paper piece precisely, I decided to do some of these . The finished blocks on the twiddletails quilt are 6", so I thought I would just do four for each 12" block and it would be all good. But I didn't quite have enough background fabric unless I cut really, really closely.

So I cut really closely. Too closely. And now I have 16 finished rows of triangles that are slightly wonky, have a very scant 1/4 of an inch seam allowances and aren't going to make 12" blocks, because there's just not enough fabric left on the edges for proper seam allowances. Blech. The secret perfectionist in me is doing its best impression of "The Scream". The rest of me is madly scrambling to fix the blocks so they'll be usable and look okay when they are finished, with only four very thin triangles of background fabric to patch them together with.

On the other hand, the points are brilliant. I think I only cut off 3 points out of 48 triangles. There is that about paper piecing, it certainly is precise.

I think its time for me to go to bed and look at this with a fresh perspective in the morning. It can't possibly look worse than it does right now, right? Right?

Pseudo-Soxul

Still no camera, sorry.

We found a happy solution to one of our worst problems around here these days . . . Soxul Furry is just getting too much love. Andrew's little purple bear has been co-opted by Aaron. But she is still Andrew's favorite bear, as well. This has caused endless screaming fits, wrestling matches and general removal of said bear to high, safe places.

The answer? Pseudo-Soxul. A small blue bear, the same size and shape as the beloved purple bear.

Thanks, Extra Foods.

April mini for Isaacsmama

April mini for Isaacsmama
Originally uploaded by davenjilly

This was my April 6 - 12" mini. These blocks are about 3" square.

This block is called "broken dishes" and I love it because it has sneaky little hourglasses and two-toned pinwheels everywhere in it. I love patterns that you can look at, and then unfocus your eyes and look at again and see a different pattern. Do you see the original broken dishes block? The two-toned broken dishes? The white pinwheels? The two toned pinwheels? The hourglasses?

Quilting Bee Anyone?

I've joined another quilting bee, and we're looking for a few more good quilters that are willing to brave the arduous task of shipping internationally. Its kind of cool because instead of sending all the fabric you want used, you just send one piece and the other quilters add to it from their stash to make the block. How much fun is that?

If you're interested, check out the rules here .

Gee's Bend Mini Swap Quilt

Gee's Bend Mini Swap Quilt
Originally uploaded by KnitOneQuiltToo

Here it is! KnitOneQuiltToo posted a photo of the quiltie I made her for the January Mini Swap. Due to my Dad's funeral it was late, and not quite all I had hoped it would be, but cute none the less.

I may have to try some half log cabins again. I love the strong graphic lines in them.

Garbage Worker's Union, Local 110 Scotia Dr

I have decided that Andrew has a future as a union rep. Today I was moving everything around in the basement and vacuuming the floor. For whatever reason, that floor always seems to be covered in tiny pieces of garbage -- bits of cardboard and tape from various "inventions" of Andrew's, bits of fabric and thread from my sewing, three vials of very small seed beads Aaron decided to explode everywhere . . . that kind of thing. So while I was clearing the floor and moving the furniture around to vacuum, Aaron decided he was going to be the garbage man and take charge of collecting the garbage on his little car.

When Andrew caught wind of this (and realized it was taking more than 20 min or so for me to vacuum the basement) he came downstairs to see what was happening. Before I knew it, I had two garbage men collecting up tiny scraps, and I was informed that I was not allowed to pick up garbage. I must leave it on the floor for the garbage men.

As I kept moving furniture and gathering all the toys on the couch, the garbage men continued in their important function. Until I found the plastic cutting knife. This knife went with one of those produce cutting sets with the velcro fruit and veggies. I got rid of the fruit about 6 months ago because I would be constantly finding random slices of plastic pineapple and discarded plastic pea pods all over the house. But the knife sparked the idea of cooking lunch.

I was vacuuming one section of the floor, and as I went to move the furniture and bins in my sewing corner Andrew informed me that I would now have to pick up my own garbage. The garbage men were taking their lunch break.

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.

No camera!

Well, I'm afraid my blog might be a bit slow and boring for a while. I seem to have misplaced my camera. I'm guessing it is either at Kym and Jeff's house or at my sister's house, where I stopped to pick up some boxes in Portage la Prairie.

This is unfortunate, because I brought home an awesome stash of my Dad's ties. He had given a bunch away a few years before he died, since he didn't wear that many, but there are some beauties left over. I have plans to make wall hanging sized quilts for my siblings and my mom sometime when I feel up to it. It was fun to sort through them today, as I could see the different eras of my dad's style reflected in the ties. There are a bunch of solid ones from his "Power Uniform" stage in the '80s, and some bright, geometric ones from his "Pinstripe Mafia" stage in the '90s, and some wide, paisley and crazy patterned ones from the '70s, and a bunch of blue striped ones from when he used to preach on tv a lot and had to wear grey suits and blue ties and shirts because they "read" better. My Dad loved pattern and colour and having a "look". His ties always remind me of this side of him, which he passed down to me, so I'm happy to have them.

I also wanted to take a picture of the newest addition to our family. At 12 weeks along, we just have a little bump to show for my three months worth of exhaustion and yukkiness. But since this addition will be baby #3, my body is pretty confident that it knows how this goes, and has relaxed into a roundish shape already.

And yes, if you missed it, that was my round about announcement that I'm pregnant again! If all goes well, Baby #3 will be arriving in late November. Andrew is hoping for a girl. I'm fine either way -- I don't know what I'd do with a girl. Girls means actually having to brush hair and buy them more than one pair of shoes. And somehow manage to teach them all the feminine wiles I've yet to catch onto myself . . .

Hello, again!

As you may have guessed, I did get away. The part never did show up, so at 2pm we asked them to just put the car back together for us. They did, and it was fine. Apparently, when you are driving on roads without giant potholes, and with out a huge gulph between the edge of every driveway and the road (like 2 - 5 inches), you hardly hear the rattle at all . . .

This meant that I had to rush off and shop and didn't get away until well after 3, which meant we got into Winnipeg at around 12:30. Crazy. The boys travelled amazingly well, especially considering that it was so cold that we couldn't even stop to play. Andrew was disappointed because I had told him we could stop and play in some parks along the way, and then because I hadn't packed their winter jackets it was too cold.

The wedding was lovely, despite a last minute venue change (garden party weddings in the pouring rain when it is 2 C are just not so fun), and it was great to see all my family and catch up with everyone.

The rest of the trip was really great. I just hung out at my friends, the Lukins' house or went out to do the shopping that I needed to get done. Kym and Jeff have a lovely home, and know just how to make it tidy and comfortable and welcoming. The boys played well with Sam (also two) and I got lots of chances to chat and rest. I was really tired, and kept falling asleep with the boys at around 8pm, but the Lukins were terribly understanding and didn't hold it against me.

The drive back was a little tenative to start off with -- pouring rain and strong gusting winds -- but the rain cleared up and the winds just meant I used more gas. I was laughing at myself, because when I was in the midst of the storm, I kept staring at the horizon. I knew that if the storm was going to blow over, I would see the edge of the rain in the distance. You know you've been living on the prairies too long when you don't listen to the weather, you check the horizon.

Almost On Our Way

The boys and I are on our way to Winnipeg for a week. My niece -- who was my flower girl, incidentally -- is getting married this Satruday. We are all packed up, the boys are anxious and aggrivated because they have to wait until after Andrew's playschool. I am just missing one thing:




Yep. Still no car. Apparently the parts they got (early) were the wrong parts. So then they had to get the right parts ordered in, and now they are still fixing my car. It is supposed to be done by lunch. Which is great, because it is 7 hr to Winnipeg, plus a thousand stops to pee and eat and run around at every park along the way, so I was estimating I would get in at about 10pm if I left right at noon. So now I'm guessing 11? Or midnight?

Ah well. On the bright side, unlike yesterday, it is not snowing today.

The big blue bin is not coming with us. Still, do you think I packed enough?

Medium Sized Town Life

You know what happened to me today? I got a phone call in the middle of the day from the mechanic. We had a appointment to get the car fixed tomorrow morning. I was planning the next few days around this, because they boys and I are going to Winnipeg for a week, and I have to get everything ready. The mechanic phones me and says, "So, the part for your car are in." I responded, "Great." Then he says, "Well, can you bring your car down right now? I've got some free time, and I'm kind of busy tomorrow, and you said you need the car fixed by the weekend." What I was thinking was, "WHAT?" But what I said was, "Let me see if I can find a way to get back home." He says, "Oh, well just drive the car down and get someone to drive you back." Yeah, because I have so many friends and relations who can just drop everything and pick me up at the mechanic's at the drop of a hat. I said, "Well, I have two kids I have to bring, too. Can you give me half an hour?" "Yeah, I guess." he says. So the boys and I had a surprise walk to get slurpees and go to the park this afternoon, after I figured out how to pack Andrew's bike and the stroller into the car and packed my happily playing children away in the car. On the bright side, I did avoid folding the basket full of socks I had waiting for me at home for a few more hours . . .

I tell you, sometimes this city reminds me so much of Stephen Leacock's fictional town, Mariposa. I have come to know and love his book "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town", a satire about a typical rural Canadian town. When discussing the business of the town, he says, "Busy -- well, I should think so! Ask any of its inhabitants if Mariposa isn't a busy, hustling, thriving town. Ask Mullins, the manager of the Exchange Bank, who comes hustling over to his office . . .every day at 10:30 and has scarecely time all morning to go out and take a drink with the manager of the Commercial."

seasonal celebrations SPRING swap from tinteltenen

seasonal celebrations SPRING swap, sent
Originally uploaded by tinteltenen

This is a pretty photo (better than mine) of all the spring goodies I received in my Spring celebrations swap. The two bunny things with flowers on them are bubbles for my boys, the little pots are eagerly awaiting me to get some soil so we can plant the nasturtiums, and the almond covered chocolates are a traditional sign of new life in Belgium, where this package flew from. This was a little unexpected cheer on a dreary day!

Mini Swap update

It looks like I'm behind on my swap posts! I just realized that I haven't shown you the last two little mini-quilts I received, or the last one I sent, OR showed you my cute spring swap package. Terrible, terrible!

First, here is the lovely little Gees Bend inspired quilt I received in January from KnitOneQuiltToo. See all that quilting? Its by hand. It is very pretty and vibrant:

I got behind on this swap because of my Dad's passing, and then I forgot to take a photo of the quilt I sent. So here's another photo of my lovely little quilt.

The next theme I participated in was Children's Literature. I made this little Dr. Seuss inspired quilt for spinstersister. The house is pieced, and the figures are made of wool felt that I thread painted on. After having to rip off the eggs and ham three times, I gave up on the idea of being able to do Sam-I-Am's face in this manner, so I did his details with a fabric marker. I wish I would have just done the face with marker and would have done his legs with thread, but once I had done it, I couldn't really go back. Still, I was pretty happy with it, and spinster sister's son claimed it instantly, so its all good.

The quilt I received FROM spinster sister put my little quiltie to shame. This is an amazing work of mini art based on the Eric Carle story "Draw Me A Star".

All those little fields and sky patches are pieced, and then the tiny houses and the star and guy are appliqued on top. This little lovely has now joined my mini quilt display in the kitchen. Aren't I lucky?

Pirates! Robots! Ravens! Oh My!

I must say that having two boys with full blown imaginations in the house is very fun. Aaron has just started telling me stories. The other day, when he was learning about keeping on the sidewalks, he informed me that a raven flew onto the road. He had to call out, "No, raven! That dangerous! Get off the road!". Then the raven flew away and was safe. Apparently, Dave also drove him and Aaron through a big pile of mud and they got soaking wet. We're not sure when this happened.

Yesterday, there was some heavy duty construction going on outside at about 7am. Aaron insisted that he needed to go out (I let him in the fenced back yard by himself, and peek out the kitchen window). He kept running in to get little dump trucks, diggers and loaders. Apparently there's a lot of important work going on back there.

This is one of my favorite games -- the Fabric Pirates:



There are several stages to this game. In the first, the boys gather all the fabric they can find (usually one of my bins of yard or so cuts -- I let them at the fat quarters once and it took forever to clean up) and shove it in the bottom of their two story climbing thing. Then they set up their "gun"(an old vacuum pipe and an old hose spray nozzle) on the top deck and climb aboard.

In the second, they collect up their treasure into a bin (the one Andrew is sitting on) and put in on the top of the pirate ship with them. Then they usually argue about how long it is before the inevitable happens - a storm! When the storm hits, everything is knocked out of the pirate ship. This means the fabric bin is thrown out, hard enough that all the fabric scatters, landing at the bottom of the slide. Then the boys slide down the slide and "float" on the fabric treasure. Then they recover, gather up most of the treasure and get back on the ship. This used to be the end of the game.

But now, my favorite addition is stage three. This is the part where they are shipwrecked on a tiny raft, with only the treasure, a book, a trumpet (I know it looks like wheels ripped off of a push toy, but its very magical) and a spyglass (part of a toy microscope). They then entertain themselves on the raft until, well, they get bored and find shore. How do they entertain themselves? Well, Andrew and Aaron look at the book and talk about the pictures (Andrew gets to show off his superior four year old knowledge). They search for land or ships to rescue them. The rummage through the treasure. And my favorite of all, Andrew plays the magical trumpet, which makes Aaron do the magic dance. Classic, I tell you.

Andrew decided he needed to do some research on robots a while ago. The librarians love him, so when they realized he had already taken out all the interesting books on robots in our local library, they ordered some in from the city. Did you know there are robot soccer tournaments? Robots that can link together and follow each other's movements based on sonar signals? Robots that climb walls and wash windows? Insect robots that they are trying to program to reproduce? Crazy, the things people think of.

Anyway, this has led to a further spate of robot building. Here was a recent example of a robotic arm tool:


Do I really have to send them to school? Andrew is already starting to tell me that only Transformer robots are cool and that he only likes Buzz Lightyear and Spiderman, not any other guys. Sigh. I guess I'd better enjoy it while it lasts.

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?

Andrew's I-Spy Quilt

A long time ago, when I only had Andrew, I started collecting novelty fabrics to make him an I-spy quilt. I decided to use mostly blues, browns and creams for something that would be fun but soothing for bed time. Then, I got pregnant with Aaron. And all my friends decided to have babies withing 6 months of me. So the baby quilts began to roll off my sewing machine. Then last winter, I started fussy cutting fabric to the same size as a pack of 6 inch pre-cut squares I had bought. I realized that my pre-cut fabric was not washed, so I soaked and dried them all in the sink, with the help of a very excited Andrew. And then something terrible happened. They shrank and warped. So I had about 25 fussy cut 6" squares, and about 40 pre-cut, needing to be re-cut 5 3/4" squares, and about 100 more squares to cut after that. So I put the quilt in a "to be continued"drawer, and started work on the two Peas and Carrots quilts.

The whole time I was working on these quilts, and the other odd baby and mini quilts I did in between, Andrew kept asking, "When are you going to work on MY quilt?" When I pulled out all my monkey flannel and started piecing it together into a quilt for cousin Seth, Andrew had a complete breakdown. Being Andrew, he started sabotaging my sewing time -- fighting with Aaron, pulling apart my sewing machine, emptying all the fabric bins and strewing fabric all over the basement . . . until I finally promised him that his quilt would be the next quilt I finished, if he would just STOP. Well, suddenly he became Mr. Co-operative, and I got Bea's quilt done, and started re-cutting all his squares into 5 1/2 inch squares.

While I was in the middle of this, Andrew got into my bin of polka dots and declared that he wanted red dots in his quilt. Oh, and these blue ones. And those black ones . . . so I had a new design challenge. How to fit red and blue and black polka dots in with my former plan.

This quilt was finished pretty quickly, because my niece's wedding is coming up, and I have a picnic quilt to make for a friend, and the weather is getting nice which means less sewing time . . . so here's what I came up with.



It is not really well balanced. Every time I tried to edit it a little, my patron would insist, "No, I NEED the chickens, mom. The giraffes have to stay, mom. Where are the race cars gone?" And I don't have a design wall, and Aaron kept waking up while I was trying to work out the layout . . . but its cute and has EVERYTHING in it, just as a certain little boy wanted.

The back is the same -- I was going to just add one more fabric aside from the rockets, but we had to have the race cars and knights and race cars and trains and trucks . . .

I do, however, have one VERY happy little boy, so it is all good.

I am loving . . .

these sunkissed faces. Andrew kept doing this every time I tried to take a photo.

So I told him to just keep watching the movie, which resulted in this:

Finally I got this.

Still, I love the healthy, warm glow that has returned to their faces. Even if it means that mama is crashing at 9pm after pushing, pulling, chasing, climbing, and catching (mostly Aaron trying to jump off high things) all day long.

Where have I been?

I've been outside enjoying the sunshine, or inside working my way through the virtual quilt festival. Also, I did promise Andrew that I would finish his quilt before I started another new one. And its in the dryer right now. Did I mention Aaron is a VERY ACTIVE two year old? Who knows how to put on his own boots and open doors and can now get to anything on top of the fridge? Re-organization of dangerous objects is once more in process, too. And switching over of wardrobes can hopefully begin -- I think the snow yesterday was the last one for the year. I hope.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by for the Virtual Quilt Festival for all the lovely comments. This has been terribly fun.

Quilt Festival

Hi. Welcome to the Blogger's Quilt Festival. Amy over at Park City Girl thought it would be fun to make a Virtual Quilt Festival, where we could all have a convenient way to enjoy other blogger's favorite quilts. Sounds fun to me!

This is my favorite quilt that I have done so far. I made it for my goddaughter Margaret Marie (who we generally call Meggy). She is three, and lives and hour's drive away from me. Her mom and I both wanted to make something that would last for a long time, and that she could use for years without it becoming too "kiddish".

The fabric is Peas and Carrots by American Jane (mostly) and the pattern is from an American Quilting and Patchwork Magazine. I machine pieced it, and quilted it with a walking foot on my little Kenmore. I had a few moments where I thought it was just going to be too busy, and that it would be a complete failure and my friend would feel like she had wasted the money she spent on fabric for this quilt. But in the end, I love it. I love going to visit and seeing it on Marie's bed, and I love the fact that even if we move away from each other, she will still be able to feel my love and prayers snuggling her as she sleeps.


Thanks for checking out my quilt! Now, go see the rest of the First Annual Blogger Quilt Festival !

TS Eliot was right. April is the cruelest month. Snow on April 16, just after we took out all the sand toys and patio furniture, is just cruel.

Quilting Impasse

I seem to have come to an impasse with my I Spy quilt. I put the top together, and it is okay. Its really busy, and kind of oddly balanced. Then I put the back together, using the 6 fabrics Andrew insisted I used, instead of one or two nice calm ones I had chosen. Then I started quilting it diagonally through the 9-patch units. But they're 15 inch blocks, so I've now realized that the quilting is going to be too far apart for the batting. So now I have to either pull all the quilting I've done out, or find some oddball way of quilting between the giant diamonds I'm going to have without making a mess. Arg, arg, arg.

This is what happens when I decide to do something "easy" and rush through it. And of course, it is on the quilt for MY son that I am going to have to see every day for years. I wish I would have taken a bit more time to think this one through. And that I wouldn't have promised him I wouldn't do any other sewing until I finished his quilt. Maybe I can sneak in my April mini for my mini quilt swap without him noticing, and let it sit for a week.

I Need to Explore the Weather.

I looked out our window at about 8am yesterday morning to find this fog had suddenly set in. Then I heard the door slam and saw this little man had got himself ready and headed outside.

"I need to explore the weather" he said. I realized he wouldn't remember fog from last year, so it was new to him. So the boys and I walked to the park in the fog, looked at it, and came home.

Andrew was trying to convince Aaron there were ghosts in the fog to scare him. Ah, older brothers.

Stash Sunday

No Easter theme here. Sorry. But I did just get this very springy fabric, Wonderland by MoMo. I love this fabric. I have no plan for it at present, other than to just look at it
This one is my favorite. I don't know what I"m going to do that will do it justice. I might just have to make a big cushion out of it.


And here's the rest. I am trying to remind myself that I already have lots of fabrics in oranges and greens and yellows and browns that co-ordinate with these in my stash. I don't need to get the pink little flowers, or the purple or pistashio polka dots. I really, really don't.

Happy Easter!

We had a little treasure hunt at our house this morning, since Andrew is allergic to chocolate, and gummi bears and jelly beans are too sticky to leave out overnight. They had to find the item in the picture (table, climber, dryer, couch). At each place there was a tin full of treats to share plus the next clue. It was fun, once they figured it out. I love the photo of Andrew directing Aaron to climb under the climbing structure to get the tin rather than doing it himself. Really, what would be the point of being the older child otherwise?

Yum, Sushi.

This is what I made the other night. Don't know how to make your own sushi? Its easy. Go to the ethnic food section of your grocery store. Pick up a bottle of Soy Sauce, some Nori (the seaweed stuff), and a tube of Wasabi, plus your sushi ingredients of choice.

Cook a batch of rice, and mix it with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar and a couple tablespoons of sugar. Pull out a sheet of Nori and spread the rice thinly, leaving about an inch free on one side. Put other fillings (I used crab meat mixed with mayonaise, red peppers and cucumbers) in a line in the middle of the rice. Splash some water on your fingers, and spread it on the empty part of the seaweed. Roll it up and cut it with a sharp knife. Enjoy. I sure did.

Hmmm . . . it appears I have writer's block.

Its not that I don't have anything to say. Its this new blog I've started with my friend Kris . I'm terrified to write something in it. It is such a blank slate. A chance to speak with a different voice, to let the world in on some of my thoughts and feelings and ideas about motherhood. I tend to shy away from actually acting smart and serious. Its a defense mechanism built up from years of trying unsucessfully to not be bullied in school, and to seem a little bit less weird.

You see, the thing is that a year ago, when Kris and I were talking about starting a website called Clever Mamas, I thought I knew something about parenting. I had opinions to give and help to share with the un-enlightened. But the last year or so, a lot of those beliefs and ideas have changed; my ideals and perceptions have been shaken by the greatest humbler and teacher of all: real life with my children.

This in part shows that I really am a Clever Mama. After all, isn't being a Clever Mama just being a mom who can think and reflect and adjust to their children and their life circumstances? I think so. In any case, I am going to pretend to be clever, and send you all over the our fledgling new blog, Clever Mamas and see what's happening.

Kris is my much savvier and more stylish partner in crime. She is always up on the latest thing and has an interesting opinion about it, so she has already posted some articles. I will write something when I get my courage up. Really.

Stash Sunday

I did say I was getting some new blues soon. Here they are. Lovely, Europeany Good Folks on the left (and top right) by Anna Maria Horner, and delicate, pretty Art Nouveau prints -- don't know the designer's name, sorry. I wish the gray was Kona cotton, but its just something I picked up at Fabricland that happens to match. I can't bear trying to match solids to prints online, so I don't get many of the Kona Cottons, although I love the feel of them.

These are destined to be a bed quilt for my bed. Yep, this will be my first queen sized, and is fourth on my to-do list at present. I'm planning on a simple square and rectangle type pattern with big blocks. I"m not worried about that part, but I am a bit nervous about quilting it. I don't know if my machine will agree to quilt a queen sized quilt. It might be the straw that broke the camel's back. Maybe I"ll make it a year long project and hand quilt it . . .

Anyhow, thats my offering this week. If you want to see who else is playing this week or join up yourself, go visit Tamara at 1/4 of an inch -- its her game.

I Spy Quilt Progress

So, I think this is going to be a quilt that only a 4 - 6 yr old boy could love. Although it has a lot of fantastic novelty prints in it, and is mainly blue and red and cream and brown, it is a busy, busy quilt. You see, the thing is that just as I had decided to do all big blocks, Andrew walked up to me with a handful of polka dots and said, "I want THESE in my quilt, mommy." As I am never one to back down from a challenge, and as I adore polka dots, I included them. Lots of them. In fact, I thought it might be a good idea to just do giant nine patches of novelty prints and polka dots to try to unify the quilt. Which it may yet do. Or it may just look crazy. We shall see once all the giant nine patches are sewn together and I can lay them out.

Still, it is amazing how quickly biggish squares come together after you've been stitching triangles and mini quilts for a long time. Now if only Aaron would stop climbing on top of the fridge or flooding the bathroom or disassembling my sewing machine, perhaps I could finish this quilt.

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.

Apparently SOMEONE has decided Spring has arrived . . .

Dave got the motorcycle out today. He could only use main roads because the side streets (like the one our house is on) are still icy. But apparently the rest of the roads are "safe".