Learning not to think

I'm a thinker. I mull things over, obsess, worry. I spend so much time thinking about how best to do something, sometimes it keeps me from doing it. I am not spontaneous. In college, I quit the clarinet--which I'd played well for years--because the next stage would have been for me to play improvisationally, and I just didn't have the nerve to do it. I love ballroom dance (it has rules; I can follow), but am self-conscious just moving to music. I love to sing, and can learn and hold a second-soprano part with ease, but ask me to make up a harmony on my own? Forget it.

So it's interesting that my favorite quilts tend to be the improvised ones, rather than those that follow a pattern.

When I began my crazy log cabin quilt, I was thinking too much. Each block took me a very long time, because I'd cut a piece, search and search for the best piece to go next, think about which pieces should come after that, think about what size and shape I wanted the pieces, etc. Then one day I just cut a whole bunch of pieces randomly, so I'd have a bunch ready to just grab. They were in nice neat color-sorted piles, and I was still spending a lot of time looking for just the right piece.

Then last night, I took my color piles and jumbled them up into baskets. I liked it so much better already--I could see at a glance what I had, and the juxtaposition of pieces beside each other in the baskets suggested possibilities.



I knew I wanted to start a block using a small piece that featured a girl in bed with a rooster on the bedpost. That meant using a very wide piece against the center block, making it almost double-centered. But I didn't obsess about it. I glanced, made a quick choice, and sewed. (In fact, I was being so spontaneous, I messed up--you'll see it if you've made log cabin blocks before. Oh, well. I chose not to worry about it and kept on.)



And in the end, I love how it came out. I did another block using the same method, working too quickly to think it over too much. I generally knew which color I wanted next, and I sometimes chose and rejected one piece before settling on another, but that was about as much thought as I gave it. And it worked.

How wonderful. Sometimes, not thinking is exactly what I need. Now if only I could apply it in other areas of my life...

Independence Days challenge, week 13

Time again for Sharon's Independence Day's Challenge:

1. Plant something: No.
2. Harvest something: Eggs, grape tomatoes, lovage, chives, blueberries (from a local organic farm), currants (total harvest this year: about 8 berries. Pooh.)
3. Preserve something: Froze blueberries.
4. Waste not: Nothing new.
5. Preparation and storage: No. (Wow. I've been terrible this summer!)
6. Build community food systems: I feel pretty good about this area, because I'm raising/teaching children who know where food comes from. We've been making daily rounds of the garden this week, assembling what amounts to a salad-in-the-hand: a leaf of lettuce, a chive, a piece of lovage, a grape tomato, a currant, etc., and then gobbling them up as a snack on the spot.
7. Eat the food: I made a great pasta salad this week with tons of cucumber, scallions, and radishes from the farmer's market and lovage and chives from the garden. We've been eating well from the farmer's market, too: fresh salsa, peaches, green beans, etc, etc, etc. I made two delicious zucchini breads, and realized just how far I've come in learning how to really cook (i.e. not just follow a recipe)--I was able to figure out several successful substitutions for ingredients I didn't have. (All that practice from eating out of storage in the wintertime.) That said, I'm realizing just how depleted our stores have become, and I need to do a big huge shop to replenish.

Circus crafting

For the past several months, the kids in my early childhood program have been into the circus. My teaching is inspired by the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and in part, that means that curriculum emerges from the children, supported by teachers and parents. What started with one girl pretending to be a "circus girl" has blossomed into a long, whole-group project. As one way to support them, we recently went on a field trip to see Circus Smirkus, and as I sat there in the stands, completely enthralled, I took notes on aspects that I thought the children could incorporate into their play.

From the children, I'd already realized that being "circus girls" required costumes. From the circus we saw, I wanted to add hula hoops and juggling with "devil sticks." From Reggio, I got the idea to host a parent night during which we'd make gifts for the children to support their curriculum. So last night, several of the parents came over for a crafting night. The results of our labor:

7 child-sized and 2 adult-sized hula hoops (tutorial here):


5 pairs of "devil sticks" (tutorial here):


2 vests, 3 capes, 5 tutus, and 2 sets of open-ended sleeve/leggings/hat thingies:


(The red fabric doesn't photograph well, but is a great glittery star pattern--perfect for the circus. I thought it would be great for quick projects, too, as it doesn't unravel. But it was a nightmare to sew. It's bathing-suit fabric. How does anyone ever sew a bathing suit!?!)

They'll be gift-wrapped, for the children to discover and open over the coming week. Let the show begin!

Back to Lucy's quilt

Finishing my quilt for Craft Hope seems to have given me renewed energy for Lucy's quilt, which has lain dormant for a while now. The other night, I made this block. Despite the error (can you see it? One side required an extra piece, as I'd cut it too small...), this is my favorite block so far. I showed it to Andi and said "I think I need some more fabric to work with," and she said "yes, you do." It shocked both of us to hear that come out of her mouth! Not one to miss an opportunity, I was in the car in minutes and on my way to Goodwill, where I picked up this pile of shirts and giant pajama pants, soon to be cut to bits.

Mama needs a treat

Rough morning. Five asleep. One awake and at my feet. There's only one thing to do with this naptime:





Cowboy cookies with crystallized ginger added. That's better.

Hope in the mail

Two hats and a quilt, on their way to Texas, and then on to India. Doesn't look like much, but a lot of love and time and yes, hope, is in that package.

I finished my quilt!

I can hardly believe it: I finished my quilt for Craft Hope. On time. And it's pretty darn cute! I am ridiculously proud of it.

Now, that isn't to say it went smoothly. Last you heard, I'd pieced all the blocks, lickety split. And then I sewed them all together the next night. But soon after, I got stalled. The problem was the quilting.

I'd ended up with several extra blocks (after laying it all out, I thought it was too big, so I removed a row). So I used those to practice quilting. First I thought I'd try free-motion quilting. I gave it a shot, but decided I would need a LOT more practice before I could do it on a quilt. So then I decided a squared-off spiral would look good with the pattern I'd chosen. Nope. I kept having problems with the thread bunching at the turns (more on that later). Also, I was surprised at how quickly the quilt got stiff that way--very stiff. Not the feel I was going for. Finally, I decided on diagonal lines, dividing all the squares into triangles. A nice look and feel and better for my novice self, but there was the problem of straight lines on not-perfectly-lined-up blocks. That made me crazy.

I went ahead anyway, using a water soluble marker and ruler to mark the lines. But it was taking forever (we know patience is not my strong suit). So after doing only a few lines, I set it aside and dreaded finishing it. But then, just in the nick of time, Crazy Mom Quilts posted a painter's-tape tutorial. Just exactly what I needed! I pulled out the blue tape, and somehow, it made the line marking so much easier. Plus, she made me feel better about the lines not perfectly bisecting every corner.

But I was still having trouble with the thread. It just kept breaking--strangely, in almost the same spot on every line, about 4/5 of the way along (just when I thought I'd finally finish a row without rethreading!) I was using a new needle, there weren't any particularly bunchy seams, I'd cleaned out all the lint...I couldn't figure it out. But then I ran out of white thread, and had to run out to the drugstore on the corner to get more. I took whatever they had so I could get back to work. And guess what? It stopped breaking. I've been so pleased to be able to be able to dip into my big thrift-store and tag-sale stash of notions whenever I want to make a project, without having to buy new. But it might be time to admit that some new thread would be worth buying.

I thought about various fabric options for binding, but in the end, went with expediency and chose some bias tape I had on hand. I worried that it would be too narrow, but I actually ended up really liking how it looks: the bright turquoise pops out despite its small size, and saves the quilt from being too cutesy pastel. I even love the back--simply solid white, but now, crisscrossed with quilting lines and edged in turquoise, it looks so inviting.

I made mine much smaller than the pattern called for, but even still, it's quite large: about 36"X42". I think it's just right for a baby to play on, though, and will work well for years. I've never been a big fan of tiny receiving blankets; I like something more substantial.