Marsbarn Designs...

And she walked away

Sweetheart G and Little e's school doesn't have an art teacher. The art curriculum is created and taught by parent volunteers. I worked in that program for the past three years, but know what? I didn't go to the organizational meeting today... I'm letting it go. I am a room parent for both of the girls classes, I am in the midst of organizing the book fair, I have plans to do an art project with all four (4!) kindergarten classes (this is separate from the Parent Lead Art Program), and I just don't want to sign up for any more. Instead of hearing the plan for this year, I sat in the bakery, drank coffee, wrote up my To Do lists for Book Fair, and planned my day. Then I did the grocery shopping. I have plans to get some sewing done, to make pasties for Big E's lunch, and to do some more phone work for the book fair.

Do I feel guilty? No, not really. Sometimes you have to say "no", and this is one of those times.

thread of discord and irritation (Ya, Coats & Clark.. I'm talking about you!)

I had to buy thread today. (Not my favorite chore.) I use Coats & Clark brand thread for my sewing needs. Why? Because, it gets the job done, isn't expensive, is made in the US, comes in tons of colors, and is easy to find. I brought my list of color codes to my local fabric store and discovered: the price has increased, the number yards per spool has decreased by 50 yards, the color numbers have all changed (making my list useless!), the range of colors has decreased, and the thread is now made in Mexico.
I think it is time to find a new brand of thread.
Damn it.

At least they went out happy

If you kill copulating fruit flies, do you get some sort of special karmic demerit?

The fabled land of Dresser

What is it about putting away clean clothes? I wash the dirty clothes without a problem, and I fold said clothes. But then they sit in the baskets..
Oh the baskets might migrate upstairs to the bedrooms, but unless our House Fairies come to the rescue those clothes go from clean basket to body to dirty basket without ever visiting the fabled land of the Dresser. Does this make our clothes sad? Do they talk amongst themselves about the Promised Land of Folded Rest, where they lay in neat piles and bask in the order of the drawers?
It is not like putting the clothes away takes that much time. Today I put away three baskets of clothes in under an hour, I could easily do this all the time, but I don't. Do I loose momentum since I tend to fold clothes after the girls are in bed or while Big E's asleep, and therefore I cannot immediately put the clothes away? Is it that seeing the empty laundry baskets immediately leads me to starting another load of wash? Do I only see the basket as half full? Does this make me a laundry pessimist or optimist? Do I abhor the vacuum of the empty basket? (I do abhor the vacuum...) Must my basket overflow with folded clothes? Oh the mysteries of the science of clean clothes. Oh, gotta go.. I feel the need to start a load, I've those empty baskets to fill.

Buzz, buzz, buzz, I wonder why he does

Busy, busy.
Big E told me today that I "sew like a sailor" when I work with brocade.
He means I rant and say bad words.
He thinks it's amusing. That may be why he encourages me to work with brocade.
You know, it's all about the entertainment value.

Little e cannot hear when she speaks.
She likes to talk over me, which means she isn't listening.
When I say she needs to stop talking to listen, she argues.
Then she says, "What?! What did you say?" when she sees me move away.
This might be about entertainment value, too.

Sweetheart G doesn't like me to talk about her on the blog.
"Mom! Don't talk about that!"
But then she gets sad when I don't mention her.
What's a mom to do? I just don't know.

When inspiration turns to intimidation

Big E, my mom, Auntie O, and I braved the Northwest Quilting Expo today. We were tough. (There was a lot to see.) We were intrepid. (Should I mention the harp muzak music.) Oh, and I spent money. I like to think that the money I spent on fabric today is my effort to support our economy. It is my economic (and artistic) stimulus package. (Doesn't this sound philanthropic? So much grander than stuffing my face with fiber goodness, right?)
But, it wasn't all about shopping, there were quilts to ogle as well. Janet Fogg was the featured quilter of the show. She makes marvelous art that makes me want to go home, box up my fabric, and take up a different hobby... like creative laundry folding. (Oh, you laugh?? Look at the face on that bear... that is so beyond me.) The bear, the bicycle in a sunflower, and the fish are all hers. But there were other quilts that made me want to be more.. artistic. Marcie Eaddy's Portrait of Growing Beauty? Look at the detail in the hair!! This was one of the Hoffman Challenge quilts.
There were only a couple of quilts which made me smile, and one or two which made me laugh. This one by Jacqueline McClure, with the lady getting the tattoo, was another challenge quilt and I thought it made the best (meaning most original) use of the peacock in the challenge fabric. Plus, it made me laugh.

Anyway, it is Friday, Sweet G's teacher sent home a newsletter (Total Bliss!!), I have blisters on the soles of my feet, I have monkeys who are ready for bed, and a cup of decaf coffee sounds divine. Happy Friday everyone!

A Good Day in the Life

Two hours spent volunteering at school, brownies from scratch baking in the oven, the kitchen clean, laundry spinning, Big E's lunch packed for work, and oh.. just about two hours to sew before the girls come home from school. Ah... Life. It is a good day, now I just have to remember to eat lunch... (I forgot to do that yesterday until my tummy began to rumble on the way to school for afternoon pick up. Luckily, I had a protein bar in my purse.. Yep. I'm all about the good nutrition.)

more than parts and labor

Ah.. Satisfaction. Completion. Joy.
The "Fan Quilt" (which was in reality a Peacock Quilt) has been joyfully welcomed into its new home. (YAY! YAY! And Double YAY!)
Now that the project has been finished and well received, I find my brain is already beginning to soften the edges of memory. As I relax into this sense of accomplishment, I can feel that post childbirth-like haze descending.. What? This project gave me a hard time? No, no.. it was a joy to make! It was all creative color pairing, exciting design, and anticipation. The beginning phase and the ending rapidly eclipse the hard work in between. With completion, it is again clear to me that the final product is worth so much more than the sum of its parts and labor, and this is, of course, why I love to create and why (once the buzz has worn off) I will do it all again.

Live long and prosper Lovely Peacock Quilt!

(As always, click on the photos to enlarge.)

History of use

Little e came home from school today wearing pants. As soon as she stepped through the door, I knew something had happened.

Easter morning 2003, I was in a hospital bed with a newborn Little e, and Sweet G put on this dress for the first time. The dress, sewn by my Mom (Thank you, Mom!), was a hit, except for the sash. Sweetheart G, out of sorts without her Momma, refused to wear the pink ribbon sash that was made to go with the dress. (The sash went on to become a tiger leash.) There was a brief rest between girls, but the dress has spent more time in rotation than out. Little e was thrilled when the dress came to her. "You're too big!" she said gleefully to her sister. The fabric is soft and worn, but the colors stayed bright through all those washings. On the way to school this morning, I noticed how short it had become on Little e and I began to think about retiring it. And then, in school today, Little e caught her foot on the hem.
So many memories, so much sweetness, all in a yard and a half of fabric.

All it takes

Sweetheart G is home sick with a cold. Really, yesterday was the day she should have spent at home, but in one of those Mommy Logic moments I sent her yesterday and kept her today. I knew (in that underground Mommy Way) that change was a-coming and I didn't want her to miss the Transition to the New School Year. So, this morning after escorting Little e to the Kinder Realm, I went to fetch Sweet G's homework.

The new teacher? Know what she said? "Oh, you know.. yesterday Sweet G was pretty quiet, but I didn't know if that was normal."

I could have pulled out the Happy Dance of Great Joy right there complete with Jazz Hands.

So you, who live in Normal Classroom Land, are thinking, "What is the deal? Really, this pushes your happy button? That is all you need?"

And to you, I would say: Yes. This one observation makes my day a great day. A day where miracles could happen. A day when I can believe this year is going to be a good one. I day where I can start to relax back into the school year and put away my war bagpipes. Because last week, two weeks into the school year, when a parent asked the previous teacher if she could describe anything about her child the response was a blank stare. Our children have been anonymous faces in a sea of 25. Any questions would have been met with a blank stare and maybe even a question about which child you were talking about.

This may not be all I need for a good year, but damn it is a good start.