Marsbarn Designs...

if you give a mom a sequin...

If you give a mom some sequins,

she'll want to get out the felt.

When she gets out the felt,

she'll need some scissors.

The scissors will be lost on the sewing table,

so she'll need to clean the table.

When she cleans the table she'll find the project she didn't finish,

so she'll need to do some sewing.

When she almost finishes sewing,

her girl will need a snack.

When the snack is finished, 

there will be dishes to wash.

After the dishes,

the mom will remember the sewing, 

and when she picks up the project, 

she'll find the scissors.

Then, she'll remember the sequins,

and the felt,

and the laundry,

and that dinner is only twenty minutes away.

So she'll pack up the felt,

switch the loads in the laundry,

run to the store,

and promise herself some time with the sequins tomorrow.

Guest post: Little e

I    Love  my mom   and  I                                            
Love  mom so  moch   I    

cod   kiss  mom   all  up.

By Little e.

(Translation:
I love my mom, and I love mom so much I could kiss mom all up.)

The day started with sparkle, and ended with snotty sneezes

Little e is feeling under the weather.  It's one of those creeping yuck type viruses.  The first three days we thought she was growing, until the snuffliness started, and then the cough, and now the limpet action.. oh ya, this be virus.  Do you know Limpet Action?  It's when your normally outgoing, independent child, suddenly wants to burrow into your leg, or better yet, be carried everywhere.  We did venture out for a bit this morning, but I think we'll spend the rest of the day ensconced at home.

 

Last night I sorted all my fabric scraps for Wednesday's fourth grade art class.  The scrap box is now like a box of possibilities waiting for their cue to shine.  Oh, and all of those bits of fabric have previous lives, most of which I could tell you about if you asked.  Mmmm... scraps of good fiber!

Today is St Nicholas Day, and the jolly saint filled our shoes with goodies.  We each received a book with a dragon in it and a sweet treat.. oh, and my shoes were filled with packages of sequins!  A lovely way to start the day!

Oh, and I made cookies and cupcakes this week.

This felt like a busy week, but perhaps it is just par for the course.

 

There were frequent trips to the post office (Yay!), lots of school volunteering, and our Christmas prep is well underway.  

Its a three day weekend,  so I'm under those three-day delusions about how much I can get done.  I'd like to get the garland hung, the outdoor decorations up, the kitchen reorganized with the Christmas dishes, and finish up some gift buying loose ends.  Oh, and marshmallows.. I'd like to make a couple of batches of candy so I can wrap up and send out my mailed Christmas packages.  (Shocking, I know!) 

But, I also need to sort and cut fabric for next week's art class with the fourth graders.  This Wednesday's meeting went so well, that they finished steps I thought they'd do next week!  They are a fabulous group, and I can't wait to see their quilt squares.  

Auction Project, the Fourth Grade round.

Our school auction is in March this school year, instead of May.
So, I'm starting the classroom work now, instead of January as I normally do.

As is my habit, I am coordinating a class quilt for both of my daughter's classes.

The fourth grade classes have a large outdoor project in our local wetlands that they work on through out the year. Once a month they walk to the wetlands to observe, learn, and work.  So, we are using that environment for the inspiration for this year's art project.

Each student will have a 5" block on the quilt to express a detail of the wetlands.  The final piece will have windows that show the view each child has of this outdoor classroom.

This week the students will make a pencil sketch on a 5" piece of paper.  Next week, they will choose their fabrics, and transfer their pattern onto fabric.  

In a departure from previous years, this year the students will do all of the work of assembling the quilt themselves, except for the final topstitching and sewing.  I plan on taking home a stack of 29 quilt blocks that only need some stitching before being assembled into a wall hanging.

As this project moves forward, I will have photos and step by step examples of the process in case anyone else wants to do a project like this.

Oh, and a little business note.

Oh, I forgot to mention.  Both of my little Etsy shops are having pre-Holiday sales at the moment.  

Dice bags and little children's totes are both 2 for $20 (instead of $12 each), and you can mix and match between the shops.  (I will refund the savings and any shipping adjustment after purchase.)

Marsbarn Dice bags.

Marsmade fun.

December the first

It is here.
December.

 November finished with a burst of productivity that has left me feeling a bit blurry eyed today.  (Of course that may have something to do with staying up to fill advent stockings and then not being able to sleep because my brain kept on buzzing.)  

But. The advent stockings are done.  My sewing room is in functioning order.  All of the special order dice bags are made and mailed.  I am not doing anymore shop sewing for the rest of the year.  The rest of the sewing I do this year is for love, not money.

 

Which brings me to this bundle.  This is my third year participating in Meg's Holiday Traditions Exchange.  The idea is to send an ornament, a recipe, and the description of a holiday tradition done by your family to a partner somewhere in the world.  This year I sent my partner an advent calendar filled with found and handmade objects, and of course a bit of chocolate.  I was playing a bit with the requirements of the exchange, but I don't think my partner minds.