and no break in sight.
The girls are 7 months old now, and completely fabulous, but OI are they a handful, and I am TUCKERED OUT. Mom is shipping the girls and I off to her house in Boston for a week until Thanksgiving to 'give me a break,' but since I have the most hands-on hubby EVER, I just figure that I will be doing MORE work, not less.
Ah well, she means well.
Nothing artsy WHATSOEVER. Not even my usual ornament schtick. Sigh. My studio is now the househould junk room, and I really don't see that changing any time soon. Pain is still a constant in my life, and my meds and doctors just aren't helping anymore. Plus, time and energy are just nonexistant, as evidenced by my complete absence from this blog (hey, at least I remembered my account name for once!)
I think that my next project is going to actually be for my very own children, even though I have projects in process for other folk's kids. Those WILL get done eventually, but why should their kids get my limited work output when my own girls have nothing but the sweaters I made them (FINALLY finished them recently - they'll wear them once over this week for a picture, then get packed away, since they will already be too tight on my big 15 pounders!!! Best reason ever to not have something fit, eh?)
I want to applique their names in nice big letters that I made the templates for back when I was pregnant. I originally planned to do them in pastels, but since EVERYTHING I see these days is either a)pastel or b)bright primaries, I thought I might actually use like loden green or eggplant or something, just to give my eyes a break, but I probably won't. Regular colors on pastel grounds is probably going to be the ticket - something that will look nice now when they are babies, and will still look ok when they are preteens, in the not so distant as I like to think future.
Sigh. They are already growing up so fast! It sounds wicked cliched, but when life feels like one never ending day, it seems like they grow an inch a week!
Anyway, happy Turkey day to all. Do something creative for me (and tell me about it) so I can live vicariously. I'll even trade you pictures of my girls in their Halloween costumes for your good stories, ok? I'll check back in early December, so you even have time to DO the creative something before you write about it.
The world might still be spinning in it's appointed orbit, but it is still SPINNING, and my life with it! Whee!!!
11.16.2006
9.29.2006
Nothing so profound
No quilts, no politics; not really all that much ME under all of this spit-up. I LOVE being a mother - I've never wanted anything more than I've wanted my girls - but I have to have something that I want to do other than take care of them - I need something for my down time, something for my ME time; something FOR me, something ABOUT me, something ME, not just something MOM.
Fatigue is a very insidious disability. I keep getting just enough sleep to realize how frustrated I am with my situation. The art that I used to create is, again, too physically demanding. I stepped down from weaving to quilting years ago for the same reason, and I don't know where to step now. I dream of making furniture, but that is obviously right out of the question, and even my much lesser dreams of beading and scrapbooking require a stillness of hand and a dedication of time and environment that I just can't offer them. Let alone, a stillness of mind - I have to be able to put something down for an indefinate period of time in the time it takes my girls to go from asleep to inconsolate (about 30 seconds) and I need whatever I'm doing to be inexpensive ($360/month on less-allergenic formula to supplement my breast milk), baby/cat safe/proof, and not particularly flat surface consuming. I still haven't finished knitting the coming-home sweaters for my girls, and they are almost too big for them at near 6 months of age, and I am already spinning wool for blankets that I want to crochet for them that they can't outgrow, but neither "knitter" nor "crocheter" sounds like a description of myself that I could find self-satisfaction in.
If we move to the South Shore of Massachusetts, I can take on textiles and textile equipment curation at the Alden House in Duxbury, but we can't afford living there, and my parents can't afford to help us live there, and when we have said that, we've said it - no amount of *wanting* is going to change the financial facts of the situation, and I really don't want to risk my girls getting to see more of their grandparents just to get to spend most of that time watching them talk money with Mama and Dada. Plus, we can all do without the traffic, even if it does come with a lovely beach and dear, dear friends.
I *WILL* go back and get my MSW at some point, but my husband has his RN to get first, and who knows what life with the girls will be like by then anyway, so it sounds more than a little bit lame to define myself by what I want to do when my girls grow-up! Honestly, I want to spend the bulk of my time being the best Mom and wife that I can be, (as hokie as that sounds,) but I also need something where the free-will of others isn't going to be able to derail my senses of self and accomplishment.
My husband says that I could write, or program a game of my own (his hobby/semi-profession), but something about me just requires handwork, and not of the 'can do it in front of the TV without even watching' variety. Anything that a machine can do isn't likely to make me feel very good about my hard work.
Yes, I am a human BEING, not a human DOING, but I want to be something for and of myself, not defined by my relationship to others for 10 minutes a day (mother to my children, wife to my husband, daughter to my parents).
Suggestions welcome...
Fatigue is a very insidious disability. I keep getting just enough sleep to realize how frustrated I am with my situation. The art that I used to create is, again, too physically demanding. I stepped down from weaving to quilting years ago for the same reason, and I don't know where to step now. I dream of making furniture, but that is obviously right out of the question, and even my much lesser dreams of beading and scrapbooking require a stillness of hand and a dedication of time and environment that I just can't offer them. Let alone, a stillness of mind - I have to be able to put something down for an indefinate period of time in the time it takes my girls to go from asleep to inconsolate (about 30 seconds) and I need whatever I'm doing to be inexpensive ($360/month on less-allergenic formula to supplement my breast milk), baby/cat safe/proof, and not particularly flat surface consuming. I still haven't finished knitting the coming-home sweaters for my girls, and they are almost too big for them at near 6 months of age, and I am already spinning wool for blankets that I want to crochet for them that they can't outgrow, but neither "knitter" nor "crocheter" sounds like a description of myself that I could find self-satisfaction in.
If we move to the South Shore of Massachusetts, I can take on textiles and textile equipment curation at the Alden House in Duxbury, but we can't afford living there, and my parents can't afford to help us live there, and when we have said that, we've said it - no amount of *wanting* is going to change the financial facts of the situation, and I really don't want to risk my girls getting to see more of their grandparents just to get to spend most of that time watching them talk money with Mama and Dada. Plus, we can all do without the traffic, even if it does come with a lovely beach and dear, dear friends.
I *WILL* go back and get my MSW at some point, but my husband has his RN to get first, and who knows what life with the girls will be like by then anyway, so it sounds more than a little bit lame to define myself by what I want to do when my girls grow-up! Honestly, I want to spend the bulk of my time being the best Mom and wife that I can be, (as hokie as that sounds,) but I also need something where the free-will of others isn't going to be able to derail my senses of self and accomplishment.
My husband says that I could write, or program a game of my own (his hobby/semi-profession), but something about me just requires handwork, and not of the 'can do it in front of the TV without even watching' variety. Anything that a machine can do isn't likely to make me feel very good about my hard work.
Yes, I am a human BEING, not a human DOING, but I want to be something for and of myself, not defined by my relationship to others for 10 minutes a day (mother to my children, wife to my husband, daughter to my parents).
Suggestions welcome...
9.20.2006
Another political quilt RE: Aminedijan
Yes, I'm sure I have misspelled that. ZERO offence intended.
Anyway, I watched his speech to the UN last night, and thought it was great. Aside from his paradigm that everyone needs spirituality, and that said should be monotheistic in nature, he didn't say a darned thing that I disagreed with.
The thought provoking part for me, was looking at where the line, time-wise, should be drawn on who 'belongs' where. I learned recently that Lebanese school children learn geography from a map that simply doesn't include Israel at all. Based on that, I can understand how the one can believe that Israel is an interloper.
I asked my mother, who was alive but a child at the time, how the decision to locate Israel where it is today was made. She said that, to her understanding, Israel was located in it's historic position. It seems odd to me that 2000 years of conflicts had determined who had the right of arms to live in that area (not absulte RIGHT mind you), and that European guilt over WW2 didn't give Europe the right to rewrite the net result of those conflicts and 'give back' land that wasn't theirs to give.
That said, I COMPLETELY support the right of both Israel and Palestine to exist. I'm just questioning the location of said countries. I think Aminidijad (sp) had a point that perhaps Europe should have created a Jewish state there, which to my mind makes sense, since that is where the Jews effected by WW2 actually LIVED at the time (as opposed to where their ancestors lived 2000 years ago.)
Anyway, I have ideas for two quilts, both involving a solid background layer of a geographical and political map with a sheer of a proposed political boundary of an Israeli state on them, one of Europe and one of the Levant. I'd have the sheer hang about 6 inches forward of the solid, and be basted down with VERY long stitches to connect the two, showing the outline of the proposed states on the solid/'given' maps. Basically, revisit the proposal, and see wherelse Israel may have gone...
Just an exploration, not a statement one way or the other. Might doesn't make right - not 2000, 65, 57 (when Israel was founded) years ago, or today. It does make maps though, and I'm not sure that we should go back and try to rewrite them, even if we can.
Anyway, I watched his speech to the UN last night, and thought it was great. Aside from his paradigm that everyone needs spirituality, and that said should be monotheistic in nature, he didn't say a darned thing that I disagreed with.
The thought provoking part for me, was looking at where the line, time-wise, should be drawn on who 'belongs' where. I learned recently that Lebanese school children learn geography from a map that simply doesn't include Israel at all. Based on that, I can understand how the one can believe that Israel is an interloper.
I asked my mother, who was alive but a child at the time, how the decision to locate Israel where it is today was made. She said that, to her understanding, Israel was located in it's historic position. It seems odd to me that 2000 years of conflicts had determined who had the right of arms to live in that area (not absulte RIGHT mind you), and that European guilt over WW2 didn't give Europe the right to rewrite the net result of those conflicts and 'give back' land that wasn't theirs to give.
That said, I COMPLETELY support the right of both Israel and Palestine to exist. I'm just questioning the location of said countries. I think Aminidijad (sp) had a point that perhaps Europe should have created a Jewish state there, which to my mind makes sense, since that is where the Jews effected by WW2 actually LIVED at the time (as opposed to where their ancestors lived 2000 years ago.)
Anyway, I have ideas for two quilts, both involving a solid background layer of a geographical and political map with a sheer of a proposed political boundary of an Israeli state on them, one of Europe and one of the Levant. I'd have the sheer hang about 6 inches forward of the solid, and be basted down with VERY long stitches to connect the two, showing the outline of the proposed states on the solid/'given' maps. Basically, revisit the proposal, and see wherelse Israel may have gone...
Just an exploration, not a statement one way or the other. Might doesn't make right - not 2000, 65, 57 (when Israel was founded) years ago, or today. It does make maps though, and I'm not sure that we should go back and try to rewrite them, even if we can.
9.08.2006
Thus Spoke Dad...
... and the really great house got kaboshed. It would have been nice if he had mentioned that it was too expensive (even with his help with the mortgage) BEFORE we drove down to Boston to see it, but oh well. At least my folks got to spend time with the girls, and we all got to talk about the move face to face.
It came to light that one of the best reasons for moving to Boston (and the first that my DH has really considered valid) is that my best childhood friend lives there, and REALLY **WANTS** us to move there, so we can be closer, and so our kids can grow up together like we did. DH Kevin moved about a billion times before college, so he doesn't have *any* childhood friends (other than his sibs, which I don't have), and he (and I, of course) really want them for our girls. Plus, having my best girlfriend just a short 5-10 minute jaunt away (rather than a phone call or the 35 plus minute drive to my other best girlfriend's house) would be amazing. The idea of walking or biking to my friend's house makes me feel like a kid again. Granted, she used to live next door, but we can't afford to live in her current hometown, at least not YET. Give it five years, and Kevin's RN, and maybe we can move even closer.
So, we have found ANOTHER house, $100,000 cheaper, and we want to look at IT next weekend. Kevin had already offered to help my Dad move some stuff then anyway, so it wouldn't be an extra drive. Kevin has even dropped his one on-campus class on the premise that we might move this semester - only online classes until we are done moving is the new rule!
Art this week? Does reading "Real Simple" count? Yeah right. My milk production PLUMMETTED with a new drug I was on (note past tense) and my pump went on the fritz, so my big project for the week (aside from yet more sleep) is getting my milk back up! Kevin plans to paint the beginning of next week, so I'm sure I'll be masking up a storm then, but, in the meantime, my life is getting my milk up for little girls whose vocal cords are making sounds like they are perpetually on idle and need a tune-up! VERY annoying!
It came to light that one of the best reasons for moving to Boston (and the first that my DH has really considered valid) is that my best childhood friend lives there, and REALLY **WANTS** us to move there, so we can be closer, and so our kids can grow up together like we did. DH Kevin moved about a billion times before college, so he doesn't have *any* childhood friends (other than his sibs, which I don't have), and he (and I, of course) really want them for our girls. Plus, having my best girlfriend just a short 5-10 minute jaunt away (rather than a phone call or the 35 plus minute drive to my other best girlfriend's house) would be amazing. The idea of walking or biking to my friend's house makes me feel like a kid again. Granted, she used to live next door, but we can't afford to live in her current hometown, at least not YET. Give it five years, and Kevin's RN, and maybe we can move even closer.
So, we have found ANOTHER house, $100,000 cheaper, and we want to look at IT next weekend. Kevin had already offered to help my Dad move some stuff then anyway, so it wouldn't be an extra drive. Kevin has even dropped his one on-campus class on the premise that we might move this semester - only online classes until we are done moving is the new rule!
Art this week? Does reading "Real Simple" count? Yeah right. My milk production PLUMMETTED with a new drug I was on (note past tense) and my pump went on the fritz, so my big project for the week (aside from yet more sleep) is getting my milk back up! Kevin plans to paint the beginning of next week, so I'm sure I'll be masking up a storm then, but, in the meantime, my life is getting my milk up for little girls whose vocal cords are making sounds like they are perpetually on idle and need a tune-up! VERY annoying!
9.02.2006
Hi ho, hi ho
... off house-hunting we will go...
Yummy prospect at a very decent price, considering the craziness in the markets lately.
More details to follow, but it will be a few days.
This *could be it* and I am VERY excited!!!
Happy Labor Day weekend all - can't believe the summer is over already!!! Ack!
Yummy prospect at a very decent price, considering the craziness in the markets lately.
More details to follow, but it will be a few days.
This *could be it* and I am VERY excited!!!
Happy Labor Day weekend all - can't believe the summer is over already!!! Ack!
8.31.2006
Politics : Fabric - the minimum wage
I'm just wondering if you think the two mix. I figure if it worked for Betsy Ross, it ought to still sort of stand for the real day to day life and how it looks at the issues of our day.
Crazy ideas I've had for political art quilts include my latest rant - the minimum wage. I haven't done the math out, but I do know that someone working 40 hours a week at the federal minimum wage still doesn't make enough money to break the federal poverty line. How stupid is THAT? It would seem to me that figuring out what the minimum wage ought to be should be a pretty simple calculation, namely poverty line amount divided by 52 (for the weeks in our vacationless and never sick working joe's year)and then divide your result by 40 for the number of hours in a full working week, American-style. Shouldn't THAT number be the minimum wage, ie the minimum amount someone can make an hour and still NOT fall below the poverty line and be able to get some sleep and have time to eat? (If they can *afford* somewhere to sleep and something to eat on what the federal government thinks they can, ie the poverty line.)
So - how to show this in fabric? I think fabric is actually the PERFECT medium for this subject, (other than dollar bills themselves, which, being printed on cotton rag themselves are pretty much fiber objects to begin with) being about daily life.
Idea #1: Some sort of mosaic-like graph of actual wage vs poverty line wage. Lame, but first anyway.
Idea #2: Seven panels wide - one for each day of the week. Photo transfer image of person at different minimum wage job printed at top of each. Money actually paid (the real US currency, since I mentioned it) glued beneath, then beneath *that*, the money that the person DIDN'T get for each day, dyed red bills, painted red coins, and below *that* an image of what that money would have gone towards in the life of a person actually living at the poverty line, like fresh fruit, bus fare, or even protein other than beans (horrors!) Then quilt the whole sucker with words; words that people use to describe folks who manage to get up and face another day at or below the poverty line. Words that I would never want to be called, and won't repeat here. You get the idea.
I actually really like that image, so I'll stop there. BTW - sorry I'm not actually drawing that for you and posting it as my uber-blogger friends would, but I'm just not feeling that cool today, or ever, really. So - where to show said quilt? I mean I *could* make it and just hang on to it, but a quilt about something this important should be SEEN. Somehow though, I just don't see it going over very well at the Vermont Quilt Show. The prize-winning quilt this year was about a pretty group of Native American women; that is about as much cultural guilt most shows seem to be willing to deal with. And, no offense intended, but many of the small, fringy shows that actually DO show politically progressive work all just preach to the choir when you get right down to it. How frustrating THAT would be.
Anyway, that is what I *would* quilt about right now, babies and all, if I thought it would make any difference what so ever, but it wouldn't and I just don't need that kind of disappointment right now.
People who continue to make and actually show political art must be just as hardworking, dedicated/desperate, and able to deal with frustration as those folks working and living at or below the poverty line are. Then again, many of the folks that I know that fit into either category have problems with alcohol and/or relationships. I guess art DOES imitate life, and when that life is spent working for peanuts it can look pretty dreary. A sort of dreariness that I am glad that I can be unself-absorbed enough to notice, but not enough to make me want to spend a lot of time there... even if that time would be in the studio.
Crazy ideas I've had for political art quilts include my latest rant - the minimum wage. I haven't done the math out, but I do know that someone working 40 hours a week at the federal minimum wage still doesn't make enough money to break the federal poverty line. How stupid is THAT? It would seem to me that figuring out what the minimum wage ought to be should be a pretty simple calculation, namely poverty line amount divided by 52 (for the weeks in our vacationless and never sick working joe's year)and then divide your result by 40 for the number of hours in a full working week, American-style. Shouldn't THAT number be the minimum wage, ie the minimum amount someone can make an hour and still NOT fall below the poverty line and be able to get some sleep and have time to eat? (If they can *afford* somewhere to sleep and something to eat on what the federal government thinks they can, ie the poverty line.)
So - how to show this in fabric? I think fabric is actually the PERFECT medium for this subject, (other than dollar bills themselves, which, being printed on cotton rag themselves are pretty much fiber objects to begin with) being about daily life.
Idea #1: Some sort of mosaic-like graph of actual wage vs poverty line wage. Lame, but first anyway.
Idea #2: Seven panels wide - one for each day of the week. Photo transfer image of person at different minimum wage job printed at top of each. Money actually paid (the real US currency, since I mentioned it) glued beneath, then beneath *that*, the money that the person DIDN'T get for each day, dyed red bills, painted red coins, and below *that* an image of what that money would have gone towards in the life of a person actually living at the poverty line, like fresh fruit, bus fare, or even protein other than beans (horrors!) Then quilt the whole sucker with words; words that people use to describe folks who manage to get up and face another day at or below the poverty line. Words that I would never want to be called, and won't repeat here. You get the idea.
I actually really like that image, so I'll stop there. BTW - sorry I'm not actually drawing that for you and posting it as my uber-blogger friends would, but I'm just not feeling that cool today, or ever, really. So - where to show said quilt? I mean I *could* make it and just hang on to it, but a quilt about something this important should be SEEN. Somehow though, I just don't see it going over very well at the Vermont Quilt Show. The prize-winning quilt this year was about a pretty group of Native American women; that is about as much cultural guilt most shows seem to be willing to deal with. And, no offense intended, but many of the small, fringy shows that actually DO show politically progressive work all just preach to the choir when you get right down to it. How frustrating THAT would be.
Anyway, that is what I *would* quilt about right now, babies and all, if I thought it would make any difference what so ever, but it wouldn't and I just don't need that kind of disappointment right now.
People who continue to make and actually show political art must be just as hardworking, dedicated/desperate, and able to deal with frustration as those folks working and living at or below the poverty line are. Then again, many of the folks that I know that fit into either category have problems with alcohol and/or relationships. I guess art DOES imitate life, and when that life is spent working for peanuts it can look pretty dreary. A sort of dreariness that I am glad that I can be unself-absorbed enough to notice, but not enough to make me want to spend a lot of time there... even if that time would be in the studio.
Thanks Diane
Just wanted to let my readership know that the moderator of the Art Quilt ring, Diane, kindly read my post about being bumped from the list, and wrote to me about it. She filled me in on my criteria for reinstatement, and I wrote back that I wasn't sure that I was going to qualify any time soon.
Not that I can't post twice a week - easy, even now, with 4.5 month old twins. I'm just not sure that I want to limit my creative work to art quilting right now, especially since that is just so multitasking heavy, and the last thing my sleep-deprived down-time needs to be is *demanding*!
So, I may be back in a month or two, or it might be longer. I WILL get back to art quilting, but I think that I am going to enjoy my foray into other forms for a while first. I have all those projects listed below to be working on, and other ideas too - rustic furniture making (probably dreams only), *actually* getting my house and yard ready for sale (Partners in Clean, where are you!?!?), finding a new home to move into and helping my parents get a potential new property up to snuff (which might be all the same thing!), and, obviously, taking care of my girls and taking care of myself. Fitting myself back into the AQ box seems counterproductive, not to mention overly difficult right now, so I'm not going to do it. Period. What you see is what you get! Right now though, what I've got is a little girl asleep against my rhymically typing left arm. I should get her off to her crib...
Not that I can't post twice a week - easy, even now, with 4.5 month old twins. I'm just not sure that I want to limit my creative work to art quilting right now, especially since that is just so multitasking heavy, and the last thing my sleep-deprived down-time needs to be is *demanding*!
So, I may be back in a month or two, or it might be longer. I WILL get back to art quilting, but I think that I am going to enjoy my foray into other forms for a while first. I have all those projects listed below to be working on, and other ideas too - rustic furniture making (probably dreams only), *actually* getting my house and yard ready for sale (Partners in Clean, where are you!?!?), finding a new home to move into and helping my parents get a potential new property up to snuff (which might be all the same thing!), and, obviously, taking care of my girls and taking care of myself. Fitting myself back into the AQ box seems counterproductive, not to mention overly difficult right now, so I'm not going to do it. Period. What you see is what you get! Right now though, what I've got is a little girl asleep against my rhymically typing left arm. I should get her off to her crib...
8.26.2006
shows what *I* know and block printing
I guess I do have readers - they just can't all post comments to my blog. I don't know why, and I'll try to figure that out when I've had a little bit more sleep.
Right now though, I am contemplating the uses of block printing in art quilts. I have an itch to try carving some, and want to put them to use asap, so...
I thought about making a sort of diaper pattern (all-over texture, not the nappy sort), or doing a large piece and make it a whole cloth quilt. I have even thought of printing part of the design on one side, and a complementary part on the other side of the quilt sandwich, and then quilting both designs, so that the pattern becomes complete only though the quilting stitches themselves. Then that begs for a translucent batting so that the whole pattern can be viewed at one time, and...
Well, you can see the sorts of things my brain dreams up during the 4 AM feeding!
Anyone have any brilliant ideas on what I can do, art-quilt-wise, with three rolls of tin foil?
Right now though, I am contemplating the uses of block printing in art quilts. I have an itch to try carving some, and want to put them to use asap, so...
I thought about making a sort of diaper pattern (all-over texture, not the nappy sort), or doing a large piece and make it a whole cloth quilt. I have even thought of printing part of the design on one side, and a complementary part on the other side of the quilt sandwich, and then quilting both designs, so that the pattern becomes complete only though the quilting stitches themselves. Then that begs for a translucent batting so that the whole pattern can be viewed at one time, and...
Well, you can see the sorts of things my brain dreams up during the 4 AM feeding!
Anyone have any brilliant ideas on what I can do, art-quilt-wise, with three rolls of tin foil?
8.23.2006
Things I'm working on
Shoulds: (self-imposed, so they are ok)
* finish baby quilt for Erica's son, Jacob Jules
* sew labels on back of Jesse's and Genna's quilts so I can get them delivered
* finish Tra's girls' quilts (one in progress, other unstarted! Yikes!)
* CLEAN OUT MY STUDIO!!!
* finish postcards for year-old exchange (better late than never, I hope)
* send thank-you's for all the lovely things my girls have been given
* finish quilting the Magic Bus quilt from the Straight and Narrow challenge (languishing on the design wall at present)
* line up contractors for garden recovery and ceiling repairs
* get out invites to girls' baptism
Want to's:
* try block printing
* dyeing/painting some yardage
* order print paste from Pro-Chem
* order RTD clothes from Dharma
* play with batik more
* find some fun FICTION to read before the summer vanishes
* play the Civ 4 warlords expansion DH got me, and Sim City 4 that cousin George lent me
Have done recently's:
* screen-printed hand and footprint Father's Day shirts for my husband and Dad
* pastel drawing for card for my Aunt for her birthday
* continuing to document babies on digital camera
* enjoyed stargazing and other simple pleasures in Heath, Mass with family
* sewed boutique overalls for friend Barbara's daughter Ellie (princesses galore!)
___________________________________
Not too bad, and not so good, but doable. Get cracking, and have fun!
Life is what I make it!!!!
* finish baby quilt for Erica's son, Jacob Jules
* sew labels on back of Jesse's and Genna's quilts so I can get them delivered
* finish Tra's girls' quilts (one in progress, other unstarted! Yikes!)
* CLEAN OUT MY STUDIO!!!
* finish postcards for year-old exchange (better late than never, I hope)
* send thank-you's for all the lovely things my girls have been given
* finish quilting the Magic Bus quilt from the Straight and Narrow challenge (languishing on the design wall at present)
* line up contractors for garden recovery and ceiling repairs
* get out invites to girls' baptism
Want to's:
* try block printing
* dyeing/painting some yardage
* order print paste from Pro-Chem
* order RTD clothes from Dharma
* play with batik more
* find some fun FICTION to read before the summer vanishes
* play the Civ 4 warlords expansion DH got me, and Sim City 4 that cousin George lent me
Have done recently's:
* screen-printed hand and footprint Father's Day shirts for my husband and Dad
* pastel drawing for card for my Aunt for her birthday
* continuing to document babies on digital camera
* enjoyed stargazing and other simple pleasures in Heath, Mass with family
* sewed boutique overalls for friend Barbara's daughter Ellie (princesses galore!)
___________________________________
Not too bad, and not so good, but doable. Get cracking, and have fun!
Life is what I make it!!!!
Frustration and Paradigm Shift
I know that I haven't been posting much. Twins and Fibromyalgia are most of the reason, but lack of readership is another. It is very depressing to spend lots of time posting things, knowing that no one will be reading it! Why won't anyone be reading it? Because I was bumped from the list for not posting in over a month back in June. I wrote to the moderator of the ring and requested that I be placed back on the ring, but never got a response. Having just checked the ring, I see that several folks were added to the ring July 8, and another on July 30, so obviously the mod is looking at blogs and mine just didn't stack up. No wonder, since I haven't been posting into the void!
So I am in need of a paradigm shift: I WAS posting becuase I liked being part of the ring community. I miss that aspect of blogging *very* much, especially since it got me both into the studio and through my pregnancy; the support therein was amazing. Now though, I am out here on my own, hoping to meet the mod's standards so I can be allowed back into the group, and I don't like the feeling this evokes in me.
Therefore, although I would love to be allowed back into the group, I need to blog for a different reason in order to actually ENJOY my blogging - I need to make blogging for my audience of one an OK thing. I need to make it fun for ME.
So - I'm going to worry less about what others think about what I am posting - less about general interest, and more about my life and art. I *am* working on art around taking care of my girls (4 months old now) and feeling wretched, and I'm going to write - to MYSELF - about all of it. I learned years ago that I only journal when my relationship with my partner is bad. As a result, I have not journalled since my husband and I got together just over two years ago. So, while keeping the private details private in this online world, I am going to attempt to at least document my artistic life here, and try to do so in a way that fosters personal reflection on my work and my quandries about it.
Sound good? I hope so! Besides, it only needs to sound good to me. Any readers that eventually find their ways here can like it or lump it! Bon voyage, Susan!
So I am in need of a paradigm shift: I WAS posting becuase I liked being part of the ring community. I miss that aspect of blogging *very* much, especially since it got me both into the studio and through my pregnancy; the support therein was amazing. Now though, I am out here on my own, hoping to meet the mod's standards so I can be allowed back into the group, and I don't like the feeling this evokes in me.
Therefore, although I would love to be allowed back into the group, I need to blog for a different reason in order to actually ENJOY my blogging - I need to make blogging for my audience of one an OK thing. I need to make it fun for ME.
So - I'm going to worry less about what others think about what I am posting - less about general interest, and more about my life and art. I *am* working on art around taking care of my girls (4 months old now) and feeling wretched, and I'm going to write - to MYSELF - about all of it. I learned years ago that I only journal when my relationship with my partner is bad. As a result, I have not journalled since my husband and I got together just over two years ago. So, while keeping the private details private in this online world, I am going to attempt to at least document my artistic life here, and try to do so in a way that fosters personal reflection on my work and my quandries about it.
Sound good? I hope so! Besides, it only needs to sound good to me. Any readers that eventually find their ways here can like it or lump it! Bon voyage, Susan!
7.14.2006
VT Quilt Fest - Best in Show
"Maidens in Full Bloom" by Denise Tallon Havlan of Palos Hills, Illinois. She says that this is "... one quilt in a continuing series of quilts celebrating the Native American." You can't see it well in this photo unfortunately, but the quilting work on this is *definately* one instance of where the quilting really makes the quilt, not that the graphic nature of the piece is slacking, because obbviously it is not.
I love that a non-traditional piece won. :)
Anyway, I will try to play with this in photoshop so I can get you a detail shot of the quilting work. Also, now that my husband is no longer keeping these images hostage on his hidden hardcard, I am going to TRY to show you one a day, ok? I apologize in advance for those images I guess at the artist of because I chopped out the ID numbers with my digital camera. Said camera is now in the shop as my karmic payment for such said error-of-ways. Mea Culpa. I will do the best I can to give correct attributions of work, and will happily take corrections, ok?
I love that a non-traditional piece won. :)
Anyway, I will try to play with this in photoshop so I can get you a detail shot of the quilting work. Also, now that my husband is no longer keeping these images hostage on his hidden hardcard, I am going to TRY to show you one a day, ok? I apologize in advance for those images I guess at the artist of because I chopped out the ID numbers with my digital camera. Said camera is now in the shop as my karmic payment for such said error-of-ways. Mea Culpa. I will do the best I can to give correct attributions of work, and will happily take corrections, ok?
7.02.2006
Vermont Quilt Festival 2006
This year was the 30th Anniversary of the Quilt Festival, and they ran a special exhibit to celebrate it - "Historymakers" - it showcased championship quilts from the last 30 years! They also had their usual contest quilts, and those made by kids and by their judges and teachers.
Honestly, I wasn't feeling very well, so I buzzed through the quilts with my 8 megapixel camera and took photos to be studied at length later. Not so good for me, but great for you, eh? I'll get them uploaded and annotated over this coming week so I can post them here.
Shopping can only happen in person though, so I *did!* Mostly gadgets, but also some real indigo fabric (I love the smell!), some fabric from Lunn with the ASL alphabet on it, and, finally, "Color by Design" and "Color by Accident" both by Ann Johnston. If I'd been smart (and frugal!) I would have read the supplies lists while I was at the ProChem booth, and would have gotten what I needed there. Now I'll have to pick stuff up locally or have it shipped, both of which will mean waiting and more money! Rats!
In other news, my girls are growing leaps and bounds, so friends are handing over more and more handmedowns for them, including dozens of *plain white onesies.* Sigh - a fabric painters HEAVEN! I am also placing an order with Dharma for some cute little outfits for the girls, so I ought to be well set for 'canvases' for a while! And I'll have lots of time to work too, since my teaching gig gfot kaboshed -again - for lack of students. Not that plenty of kids aren't still failing biology, but that fewer parents have the money or clout or sense of responsibility to send their kids to summer school. The upshot for me? Less money, but more time - perfect for playing with paint in the sun in between diaper changes!
Honestly, I wasn't feeling very well, so I buzzed through the quilts with my 8 megapixel camera and took photos to be studied at length later. Not so good for me, but great for you, eh? I'll get them uploaded and annotated over this coming week so I can post them here.
Shopping can only happen in person though, so I *did!* Mostly gadgets, but also some real indigo fabric (I love the smell!), some fabric from Lunn with the ASL alphabet on it, and, finally, "Color by Design" and "Color by Accident" both by Ann Johnston. If I'd been smart (and frugal!) I would have read the supplies lists while I was at the ProChem booth, and would have gotten what I needed there. Now I'll have to pick stuff up locally or have it shipped, both of which will mean waiting and more money! Rats!
In other news, my girls are growing leaps and bounds, so friends are handing over more and more handmedowns for them, including dozens of *plain white onesies.* Sigh - a fabric painters HEAVEN! I am also placing an order with Dharma for some cute little outfits for the girls, so I ought to be well set for 'canvases' for a while! And I'll have lots of time to work too, since my teaching gig gfot kaboshed -again - for lack of students. Not that plenty of kids aren't still failing biology, but that fewer parents have the money or clout or sense of responsibility to send their kids to summer school. The upshot for me? Less money, but more time - perfect for playing with paint in the sun in between diaper changes!
6.10.2006
Scraps!
I need to know:
What the heck does everyone do with their SCRAPS?!?!?!
I am far too thrify a girl to just throw them away, and so I horde them. I have both a drawer and a special rice basket full of them, and I even sort them into different color groups and give them their own ziplock bags.
But what do I DO with them? I rarely (but sometimes) dig in them to find just the piece I want, and sometimes I actually DO use bits of a fabric that I don't want to cut up muy larger chunks for, but not much more than that - my stash of scraps is growing.
Crazy quilting would be a natural, but is just not for me. Pieces are mostly calicoes, 1" x 2" and up. Suggestions or offers to take them off my hands welcome.
Thought for the day, to be perused while I keep purging the studio: what can I do with CHALK?
What the heck does everyone do with their SCRAPS?!?!?!
I am far too thrify a girl to just throw them away, and so I horde them. I have both a drawer and a special rice basket full of them, and I even sort them into different color groups and give them their own ziplock bags.
But what do I DO with them? I rarely (but sometimes) dig in them to find just the piece I want, and sometimes I actually DO use bits of a fabric that I don't want to cut up muy larger chunks for, but not much more than that - my stash of scraps is growing.
Crazy quilting would be a natural, but is just not for me. Pieces are mostly calicoes, 1" x 2" and up. Suggestions or offers to take them off my hands welcome.
Thought for the day, to be perused while I keep purging the studio: what can I do with CHALK?
6.09.2006
Partners in Clean - I need YOU!
I have used my studio as a refuge - for my sanity and my junk - during my pregnancy, and now it REALLY needs a good cleanout. I've done quite a bit already, but you would never know it to look at it. So... I'll take a picture now, and then post it and a new shot when you can actually see progress. Please don't let me off the hook on this, ladies - I need my studio too much right now to let this slide.
BTW - both of my girls have smiled at me for the first time in the last two days. They are growing so fast! I need to order some blank clothes from Dharma Trading to paint/stamp/print/dye up for a summer of growth for all of us!!!
BTW - both of my girls have smiled at me for the first time in the last two days. They are growing so fast! I need to order some blank clothes from Dharma Trading to paint/stamp/print/dye up for a summer of growth for all of us!!!
6.08.2006
Dana Cordelia
Dana's nickname is Monkey, and boy o boy, has she earned it. It started out because she looked like a baby monkey when she was born and made really cute monkey noises, but now it is because she is full of mischief (don't let those baby blues fool you!)
She is an UBER drama queen, and makes a ruckus over darned near anything. A little smaller than her sister, she eats like a horse, trying to catch up. BTW - that is breast milk in the bottle - neither girl nurses very well, and we just haven't had the energy to work on it, so I am still pumping breast milk for them to take in bottles. At least this way Dad Kevin can feed them (like in the picture) and I can *sleep*!
Dana has a toy hippo, lots of dark hair, and a mighty fine set of lungs. Don't ask me how I know.... just trust me and everyone who lives within a 3-mile radius of our house.
She is an UBER drama queen, and makes a ruckus over darned near anything. A little smaller than her sister, she eats like a horse, trying to catch up. BTW - that is breast milk in the bottle - neither girl nurses very well, and we just haven't had the energy to work on it, so I am still pumping breast milk for them to take in bottles. At least this way Dad Kevin can feed them (like in the picture) and I can *sleep*!
Dana has a toy hippo, lots of dark hair, and a mighty fine set of lungs. Don't ask me how I know.... just trust me and everyone who lives within a 3-mile radius of our house.
Rowyn Eliza
This is one of our pair of much favored Pooh Suits. We .LIKE Pooh Suits, but we do NOT like Poo Pants. Understand?
Rowyn's nickname is Little Lady Love. She finds that many things offend her delicate sensibilities, including her own sneezes. She makes the most lovely moue of distate, sighs in exasperation, and even has her very own demure cry of outrage. Since she is such a Princess and the Pea type (although very easy going, in general) she got Froggy for a friend (Frog Prince, ok? Not much sleep, ok????)
Forggy is about 4 inches long, if you want scale. This picture was taken when she was about 4-5 weeks old, but she looks just the same, just bigger - about 10 lbs now!
Rowyn's nickname is Little Lady Love. She finds that many things offend her delicate sensibilities, including her own sneezes. She makes the most lovely moue of distate, sighs in exasperation, and even has her very own demure cry of outrage. Since she is such a Princess and the Pea type (although very easy going, in general) she got Froggy for a friend (Frog Prince, ok? Not much sleep, ok????)
Forggy is about 4 inches long, if you want scale. This picture was taken when she was about 4-5 weeks old, but she looks just the same, just bigger - about 10 lbs now!
Pictures of Babies, as promised
Me, April 13, 2006. Huge, as you can see. I went in for a regular OB appointment only to find out that -wham- I had developed preeclampsia, and needed to have a C-section that very day. The girls were delivered at 11 PM that night.
The blue belt shows the contraction monitor, and pink belts show the girls's heart rates - Beck/Rowyn on the bottom, and Call/Dana on the top.
See the stretch marks? Tip of the iceberg!
The blue belt shows the contraction monitor, and pink belts show the girls's heart rates - Beck/Rowyn on the bottom, and Call/Dana on the top.
See the stretch marks? Tip of the iceberg!
Ack!
A) Please don't bump me! I'm blogging, I'm blogging! Having this void to fill urges me into the studio and keeps my brain thinking ART and not just BABIES 24/7.
B) How the heck do I post pictures again!?!?! I swear, once I figure this out again, I need to make a post giving myself directions so I can read it next time I forget. Make sense? I sure hope so...
Art update:
* got silkscreening stuff for Mother's Day, and plan to get block printing stuff too
* have tentative plans to play with above with VT Art Quilters this summer, in my studio
* above playdate ensures that the Great Studio Cleanout Project continues (so far all of my painting supplies and dyes have found baby-proof homes! Hurray!)
* I'm thinking of a colaborative dye project with my daughter Dana - paint and spit-up. What do you think? %)
B) How the heck do I post pictures again!?!?! I swear, once I figure this out again, I need to make a post giving myself directions so I can read it next time I forget. Make sense? I sure hope so...
Art update:
* got silkscreening stuff for Mother's Day, and plan to get block printing stuff too
* have tentative plans to play with above with VT Art Quilters this summer, in my studio
* above playdate ensures that the Great Studio Cleanout Project continues (so far all of my painting supplies and dyes have found baby-proof homes! Hurray!)
* I'm thinking of a colaborative dye project with my daughter Dana - paint and spit-up. What do you think? %)
5.06.2006
Announcing....
Rowyn Eliza and Dana Cordelia, born 11:04 and 11:05 PM respectively on Thursday, April 13, 2006. Rowyn spent a few days in the NICU, but both girls came home with their Dad and I on the following Tuesday, and all is well, despite the emergency C-section for rapid-onset pre-eclampsia that brought them at 37 weeks and 4 days gestation. Rowyn weighed in at 5 lbs 12 oz, and Dana at a respectable 5 lbs 3 oz. Our girls are big and strong, and getting bigger every day!
They are completely different from each other, and each infinitely wonderous to behold. I'll post pictures as soon as I get back onto my own computer and remember how to do so!
The girls have their first art project this weekend - hand and foot stamp thank you cards to send to all of their loving family and friends. I suppose that means that I'll have to scan one in, so all of you who have written and checked-in with your support over the months - you KNOW how much I appreciate you all!
In other art news, the girls are my new biggest fans - I put pieces of Mending Broken Dishes in their bassinet with them, and they stare at them for hours (white, fuschia and purple in high contrast). I think I'll have to wait a few months to hear what their comments are, but that is ok with me. :)
Meanwhile, I have had a whopping 3 showers in their 3+ weeks of life, have no appetite, and have lost well over 60 lbs between fluids and not eating, so I am exhausted, but looking great (at least from the neck down, and excepting my midsection; stretch mark city!) - back under my pre-pregnancy weight already!
Pictures soon, I promise. Even thinking about introducing my Mother in Law, Linda, to the wonders of fabric painting while she is here from Germany to help us out...
Spring has sprung, and my heart is in bloom...
They are completely different from each other, and each infinitely wonderous to behold. I'll post pictures as soon as I get back onto my own computer and remember how to do so!
The girls have their first art project this weekend - hand and foot stamp thank you cards to send to all of their loving family and friends. I suppose that means that I'll have to scan one in, so all of you who have written and checked-in with your support over the months - you KNOW how much I appreciate you all!
In other art news, the girls are my new biggest fans - I put pieces of Mending Broken Dishes in their bassinet with them, and they stare at them for hours (white, fuschia and purple in high contrast). I think I'll have to wait a few months to hear what their comments are, but that is ok with me. :)
Meanwhile, I have had a whopping 3 showers in their 3+ weeks of life, have no appetite, and have lost well over 60 lbs between fluids and not eating, so I am exhausted, but looking great (at least from the neck down, and excepting my midsection; stretch mark city!) - back under my pre-pregnancy weight already!
Pictures soon, I promise. Even thinking about introducing my Mother in Law, Linda, to the wonders of fabric painting while she is here from Germany to help us out...
Spring has sprung, and my heart is in bloom...
4.09.2006
Or.... Not.
They still aren't here yet, actually. It has just been crazy here, but the girls still haven't made their grand entrances. I WILL let you know when they do, but, meanwhile, I am 37 weeks today, bigger than a house, none too happy about it, and awaiting a scheduled C section for the 18th if I don't go into labor first.
Talk to you soon!
Talk to you soon!
3.18.2006
Long and Short
BRIEF update -
34 weeks tomorrow. Literally ANY day now.
Off Methadone (manic narcolepsy and massive itching is NOT a good thing)
On Oxycontin (not working as well on pain, but no longer psycho, so good all around)
Survived 34th Birthday yesterday, despite false alarm trip to Labor and Delivery - Kevin made sugar-free cake and frosting from SCRATCH. Chocolate, natch. Joy.
Spring starts this week, and I couldn't be happier.
Storing up on sleep since that any DAY now could just as easily be any NIGHT now.
Actually making headway on the sweaters, so maybe my girls won't be coming home nekid.
Missing you all like crazy, and thankful for your thoughts and well wishes. You rock!
34 weeks tomorrow. Literally ANY day now.
Off Methadone (manic narcolepsy and massive itching is NOT a good thing)
On Oxycontin (not working as well on pain, but no longer psycho, so good all around)
Survived 34th Birthday yesterday, despite false alarm trip to Labor and Delivery - Kevin made sugar-free cake and frosting from SCRATCH. Chocolate, natch. Joy.
Spring starts this week, and I couldn't be happier.
Storing up on sleep since that any DAY now could just as easily be any NIGHT now.
Actually making headway on the sweaters, so maybe my girls won't be coming home nekid.
Missing you all like crazy, and thankful for your thoughts and well wishes. You rock!
3.02.2006
Update
Hi folks -
I'll be 32 weeks pregnant with the girls this coming Sunday, and am now gearing up for 34 weeks, or right around the Equinox. 32 was a MAJOR milestone for me, and 34 is no different, but with my pain levels (and resultant narcotics use) doubling every few days, two more weeks sounds like an eternity.
Ah well. The girls should be about 4.5 lbs by this time next week, and every day I make it though makes their chances of being 100% A-ok that much better, so I am just taking it one day at a time, and using every trick in the book to not go crazy with it all.
That all said, I have been 1 cm dilated for a week and a half, and we never know when this show is going to get on the road all by itself. Trouble with that is that both girls are lying sideways across my uterus (stacked like cordwood!) so I CAN'T have them vaginally at this point, unless they both move A LOT.
Anyway, thanks for the ongoing support - I really appreciate you all! More news when two criteria are met: a) that I have any new news to impart, and b) when I have the brain, body and presence of mind to actually report any of it at the same time.
Enjoy! Spring is almost here!
I'll be 32 weeks pregnant with the girls this coming Sunday, and am now gearing up for 34 weeks, or right around the Equinox. 32 was a MAJOR milestone for me, and 34 is no different, but with my pain levels (and resultant narcotics use) doubling every few days, two more weeks sounds like an eternity.
Ah well. The girls should be about 4.5 lbs by this time next week, and every day I make it though makes their chances of being 100% A-ok that much better, so I am just taking it one day at a time, and using every trick in the book to not go crazy with it all.
That all said, I have been 1 cm dilated for a week and a half, and we never know when this show is going to get on the road all by itself. Trouble with that is that both girls are lying sideways across my uterus (stacked like cordwood!) so I CAN'T have them vaginally at this point, unless they both move A LOT.
Anyway, thanks for the ongoing support - I really appreciate you all! More news when two criteria are met: a) that I have any new news to impart, and b) when I have the brain, body and presence of mind to actually report any of it at the same time.
Enjoy! Spring is almost here!
1.25.2006
Knuckle Cracking
Well, it looks like I have a studio-away-from-home ahead of me this weekend - Mrs Good wants me to finish her quilt for her before she dies. All it needs is quilting and binding, and I'll do the first and my mother the latter (since it takes me FOREVER and she just doesn't have that long), and I hope to get it done in the 36 hours that I am in Boston this weekend. Apparently it is the matching quilt to one that she made for her husband, but this one is for her. I have no idea what she intends for it when she passes, but she wants it done, so it is going to get done, even if I have to do it all in 10 minute stretches 'cus the girls won't let me sit up for longer.
And I am pretty sure it is her only UFO. If I get a death warrant anytime soon, expect my dear husband to take out ads on billboards across the nation trying to get enough folks together to finish all of my drek...
Actually, I am being inspired. Mrs Good used to do a lot of sashiko sitting in front of the tv, and I'm thinking that some might be just the ticket for whiling away some bedrest - not anal, and goes fast, plus you can actually SEE it when you are done, so it makes it feel worthwhile to do in the first place... So, now I'm concocting a simple plain block pattern baby quilt just to be adorned with such easy-to-do-in-bed stitchery... I'll let you know how the processing goes.
Meanwhile, I felt the girls wiggles for the first time this last weekend, and now it feels like a constant earthquake in my belly! Comfort is officially an utopian dream, and sleep is quickly arriving at that status. I have now put on more weight (at 26+ weeks) than my mother put on her entire pregnancy with me, so from here out I can say fooey to her 'when-I-was-pregnant-with-you' stories. Hurray!
Ah well - back to bed for me - my 10 minutes are up! Enjoy!
And I am pretty sure it is her only UFO. If I get a death warrant anytime soon, expect my dear husband to take out ads on billboards across the nation trying to get enough folks together to finish all of my drek...
Actually, I am being inspired. Mrs Good used to do a lot of sashiko sitting in front of the tv, and I'm thinking that some might be just the ticket for whiling away some bedrest - not anal, and goes fast, plus you can actually SEE it when you are done, so it makes it feel worthwhile to do in the first place... So, now I'm concocting a simple plain block pattern baby quilt just to be adorned with such easy-to-do-in-bed stitchery... I'll let you know how the processing goes.
Meanwhile, I felt the girls wiggles for the first time this last weekend, and now it feels like a constant earthquake in my belly! Comfort is officially an utopian dream, and sleep is quickly arriving at that status. I have now put on more weight (at 26+ weeks) than my mother put on her entire pregnancy with me, so from here out I can say fooey to her 'when-I-was-pregnant-with-you' stories. Hurray!
Ah well - back to bed for me - my 10 minutes are up! Enjoy!
1.18.2006
Good and terrible news
The girls are doing grand, and have put on 3/4 lb each in the last 4 weeks - they are up to 1 lb 12 oz each now! We saw Call yawning, and lo and behold, the girls are in the same spots they were in just before Christmas - Beck head down and facing my right side although her body is on my left, and Call still sprawled across the top, face down with head on the left. I am actually starting to believe that the girls might actually stay in there until they can come out without too many problems - good thing too, since I hear that NICU bills for twins can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars (I shiver to think what we'd do without good insurance!)
And, hold on to your hats ladies, I actually did something CREATIVE yesterday - not just rote sewing, or slopping paint around, but planned and executed ART. I love mosaics, and am playing around with mosaic quilts. Yes, I know the cat one that won so many prizes a few years back, but I mean the WHOLE THING, not just the subject, but the background too, and I'm thinking of how to use variable backings as different 'grouts' as well. The subject of my current piece (still being worked out in construction paper) is the communication between my girls in utero. I hope to work on it more soon (although it really is tedious), and will post pics when I do.
In other crappy news, my dear mother-fiugre of 28 years, Barbara Ann Powell Good, has had a turn for the worse, and is officially dying of pancreatic cancer. Hospice starts tomorrow, and they think she has 2-3 weeks. Kevin and I weren't going to go down again until after the babies are here, but now we have two trips to take - one to say goodbye, and another for her funeral, when it comes. I would have liked to have had a peaceful last trimester, but more important now is that she has peace around the idea of and during her actual passing. If any of you are the praying/meditating/sending thoughts out to the universe types, I would have enormously more peace in MY life if I knew that you were thinking of her having more peace as she ends hers. So, if your thoughts might wend that way, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
And, hold on to your hats ladies, I actually did something CREATIVE yesterday - not just rote sewing, or slopping paint around, but planned and executed ART. I love mosaics, and am playing around with mosaic quilts. Yes, I know the cat one that won so many prizes a few years back, but I mean the WHOLE THING, not just the subject, but the background too, and I'm thinking of how to use variable backings as different 'grouts' as well. The subject of my current piece (still being worked out in construction paper) is the communication between my girls in utero. I hope to work on it more soon (although it really is tedious), and will post pics when I do.
In other crappy news, my dear mother-fiugre of 28 years, Barbara Ann Powell Good, has had a turn for the worse, and is officially dying of pancreatic cancer. Hospice starts tomorrow, and they think she has 2-3 weeks. Kevin and I weren't going to go down again until after the babies are here, but now we have two trips to take - one to say goodbye, and another for her funeral, when it comes. I would have liked to have had a peaceful last trimester, but more important now is that she has peace around the idea of and during her actual passing. If any of you are the praying/meditating/sending thoughts out to the universe types, I would have enormously more peace in MY life if I knew that you were thinking of her having more peace as she ends hers. So, if your thoughts might wend that way, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
1.16.2006
Happy Anniversary to Us
Cince no one is reading my ramblings any more now that they know that I am not dead, I will self-gratuitously sing Happy Anniversary ( a la the Animaniacs) to myself and my husband of a whopping one year, Kevin.
We spent the entire day in bed, which was lovely, but not in the way y'all think - phone calls from well-wishing friends every half hour, Kevin sick as a dog with a head cold, and the girls *seriously* tyring to get in on the party they figured we'd be having. Or not. I'm currently trying to cook up the salmnon that Kevin left marinating earlier, so tht we can actually have some semblance of an anniversary dinner before we try to poison ourselves with year old raspberry torte.
Our presents to each other were ideas yet to be executed: a framed copy of our vows to hang in our bedroom (my idea) and before and after birth formal pictures of our growing family (Kevin's plan). Ain't that sweet?
And last night, before we both felt crap, we went to B&N and got me the new 400 pieces from the Dairy Barn to drool over, and then went out to Friendly's for Sundaes. Yum.
Gotta love an anniversary that is completely screwed up and wonderful anyway. :)
We spent the entire day in bed, which was lovely, but not in the way y'all think - phone calls from well-wishing friends every half hour, Kevin sick as a dog with a head cold, and the girls *seriously* tyring to get in on the party they figured we'd be having. Or not. I'm currently trying to cook up the salmnon that Kevin left marinating earlier, so tht we can actually have some semblance of an anniversary dinner before we try to poison ourselves with year old raspberry torte.
Our presents to each other were ideas yet to be executed: a framed copy of our vows to hang in our bedroom (my idea) and before and after birth formal pictures of our growing family (Kevin's plan). Ain't that sweet?
And last night, before we both felt crap, we went to B&N and got me the new 400 pieces from the Dairy Barn to drool over, and then went out to Friendly's for Sundaes. Yum.
Gotta love an anniversary that is completely screwed up and wonderful anyway. :)
1.13.2006
Meme me!
It is just as well that no one has sent me the on the 4 Meme, since I HATE chain letters (that bad luck if you don't pass it thing bugs me incredibly), and since my brain functions and posting have both been sporadic at best. That said, I am cruising through AQ blogs today, and keep seeing this Meme, so I thought I'd jump on board too... (see? I can *pretend* that I am still cool instead of just still cooling my heels!)
Also, since I am not 'officially' in the Meme, I can make up my own questions, no? Heh heh heh...
4 jobs that I have had THAT I GOT PAID MONEY FOR:
- physical therapy office receptionist
- HS biology teacher
- calligrapher
- print advertising sales
4 jobs that I have had that PAID IN SELF-SATISFACTION:
- teaching sign language to developmentally disabled adults for a performance piece
- running a Pagan community here in Vermont (and no, I'm not a witch)
- peer counselor to others with disablity issues
- sitting on my butt gestating babies - my current and far away most important job
4 movies I could watch over and over again:
- A Philadepthia Story or anything else with Katherine Hepburn in it
- Some Kind of Wonderful - the ultimate tomboy's chick-flick
- Dangerous Beauty - sex, brainy banter, and cool costumes. How can you do better?
- The Princess Bride - wait, I HAVE watched that one over and over again... :)
4 places that I have lived:
- Boston, MA (where I grew up)
- Providence, RI (where I went to RISD)
- Burlington, VT (where I went to Trinity and UVM and have lived since)
- Wiltshire, England (where I have spent years if you add up all my visits)
4 TV shows I watch regularly:
- Surface, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis - since my husband has them on anyway
- Firefly - since WAY before it became trendy. I'm buying the series on DVD.
- CSI (original of course) - in reruns since I can't stay up that late anymore
- pretty much anything on the Discovery Health or History channels
4 places I have been on vacation:
- Isle of Skye, Scotland (where I stayed on a croft and talked to cows)
- rainy but still gay Paris (museum hopping when I was 14 and actually spoke French)
- both Norway and Iceland (textiles AND Vikings AND natural gorgeousness - WOW!)
- Temegami, Ontario (with Earthwatch, working on old growth red and white pines forests)
4 websites I visit everyday:
- Fibermania (sort of daily worship, really)
- Sonji Says (because she is just the coolest chick *ever*)
- PaMdora's Box (because her life and her art are both facinating and fun)
- Twin Shock (because I need to get ready and attitude is everything)
4 favorite foods BEFORE PREGNANCY:
- pancakes with real VT maple syrup
- anything uber-chocolaty with no nuts, since I am allergic and don't want to die
- stuffed shells with meat sauce and tons of cheese
- Taco Bell quesadillas (please don't hurt me, Mrs Mel!)
4 favorite food SINCE I GOT PREGNANT WITH TWINS:
- steak - must rip flesh with my teeth daily
- eggnog - just enough fat to help me reach my weight gain goals
- Cabot's uber-sharp Hunter's Cheddar cheese
- granola bars sans nuts
Favorite beverage before, during and after *anything*
- skim milk, by the gallon!
4 places I'd rather BE:
- a way tidier and better repaired and prepared house
- somewhere all on one floor with no steps to climb
- a bigger bed (Quess isn't big enough for 4 people and two cats!)
- closer to Mrs Good so I could visit her more :(
4 things I'd rather be DOING (but my body, pregnancy or circumstances won't let me):
- anything for the Peacecorps or the CDC
- anything related to my art
- anything that comes without paperwork
- sailing the SW coast of England with my husband on a lovely summer day
4 albums I can't live without: (not that I play them often, but need them when I need them)
- my natural sounds CDs - best way to relax
- Eastern Odyssey (2 CD set) - great music to create and work to
- Tori Amos "Little Earthquakes" for when I need to shout the lyrics in a bitter mood
- They Might Be Giants "Flood" for when I have to drive all night, or just need to let off steam
4 people who don't deserve to live and die the way they are going to:
- my aunt Betty with Huntington's Chorea
- Mrs Good with pancreatic cancer
- my cousin Bill with ALS/Lou Gherig's
- anyone who dies for lack of food in a world full of MacDonald's
(cheerier) 4 names we are considering for our girls:
- Cordelia - my middle name and a must-have family name (I'm the 9th one!)
- Lyn, Lynn, Llyn or some version thereof, for my mother CaroLYN and his mom LINda
- Rebecca - for our little Beck, even though it means "noose"
- Joyce - family name on my husband's side, and way better than all the Welsh ones!
4 things I want for my girls in their lifetimes:
- good, honest, lifelong friends
- the guts to try things and the brains to try the *right* things
- healthy inner children who they play with often
- peace and passion, in equal measure
Also, since I am not 'officially' in the Meme, I can make up my own questions, no? Heh heh heh...
4 jobs that I have had THAT I GOT PAID MONEY FOR:
- physical therapy office receptionist
- HS biology teacher
- calligrapher
- print advertising sales
4 jobs that I have had that PAID IN SELF-SATISFACTION:
- teaching sign language to developmentally disabled adults for a performance piece
- running a Pagan community here in Vermont (and no, I'm not a witch)
- peer counselor to others with disablity issues
- sitting on my butt gestating babies - my current and far away most important job
4 movies I could watch over and over again:
- A Philadepthia Story or anything else with Katherine Hepburn in it
- Some Kind of Wonderful - the ultimate tomboy's chick-flick
- Dangerous Beauty - sex, brainy banter, and cool costumes. How can you do better?
- The Princess Bride - wait, I HAVE watched that one over and over again... :)
4 places that I have lived:
- Boston, MA (where I grew up)
- Providence, RI (where I went to RISD)
- Burlington, VT (where I went to Trinity and UVM and have lived since)
- Wiltshire, England (where I have spent years if you add up all my visits)
4 TV shows I watch regularly:
- Surface, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis - since my husband has them on anyway
- Firefly - since WAY before it became trendy. I'm buying the series on DVD.
- CSI (original of course) - in reruns since I can't stay up that late anymore
- pretty much anything on the Discovery Health or History channels
4 places I have been on vacation:
- Isle of Skye, Scotland (where I stayed on a croft and talked to cows)
- rainy but still gay Paris (museum hopping when I was 14 and actually spoke French)
- both Norway and Iceland (textiles AND Vikings AND natural gorgeousness - WOW!)
- Temegami, Ontario (with Earthwatch, working on old growth red and white pines forests)
4 websites I visit everyday:
- Fibermania (sort of daily worship, really)
- Sonji Says (because she is just the coolest chick *ever*)
- PaMdora's Box (because her life and her art are both facinating and fun)
- Twin Shock (because I need to get ready and attitude is everything)
4 favorite foods BEFORE PREGNANCY:
- pancakes with real VT maple syrup
- anything uber-chocolaty with no nuts, since I am allergic and don't want to die
- stuffed shells with meat sauce and tons of cheese
- Taco Bell quesadillas (please don't hurt me, Mrs Mel!)
4 favorite food SINCE I GOT PREGNANT WITH TWINS:
- steak - must rip flesh with my teeth daily
- eggnog - just enough fat to help me reach my weight gain goals
- Cabot's uber-sharp Hunter's Cheddar cheese
- granola bars sans nuts
Favorite beverage before, during and after *anything*
- skim milk, by the gallon!
4 places I'd rather BE:
- a way tidier and better repaired and prepared house
- somewhere all on one floor with no steps to climb
- a bigger bed (Quess isn't big enough for 4 people and two cats!)
- closer to Mrs Good so I could visit her more :(
4 things I'd rather be DOING (but my body, pregnancy or circumstances won't let me):
- anything for the Peacecorps or the CDC
- anything related to my art
- anything that comes without paperwork
- sailing the SW coast of England with my husband on a lovely summer day
4 albums I can't live without: (not that I play them often, but need them when I need them)
- my natural sounds CDs - best way to relax
- Eastern Odyssey (2 CD set) - great music to create and work to
- Tori Amos "Little Earthquakes" for when I need to shout the lyrics in a bitter mood
- They Might Be Giants "Flood" for when I have to drive all night, or just need to let off steam
4 people who don't deserve to live and die the way they are going to:
- my aunt Betty with Huntington's Chorea
- Mrs Good with pancreatic cancer
- my cousin Bill with ALS/Lou Gherig's
- anyone who dies for lack of food in a world full of MacDonald's
(cheerier) 4 names we are considering for our girls:
- Cordelia - my middle name and a must-have family name (I'm the 9th one!)
- Lyn, Lynn, Llyn or some version thereof, for my mother CaroLYN and his mom LINda
- Rebecca - for our little Beck, even though it means "noose"
- Joyce - family name on my husband's side, and way better than all the Welsh ones!
4 things I want for my girls in their lifetimes:
- good, honest, lifelong friends
- the guts to try things and the brains to try the *right* things
- healthy inner children who they play with often
- peace and passion, in equal measure
Frownie Face
This has been a long week, but ART HAS HAPPENED!
First, the good stuff
- the babies are great and officially viable! Hurray!
- I just did another 4 blocks in the studio and even tidied a smidgen
- I slept well, and even had pregnancy-induced kinky dreams }:)
- Kevin brought me a honey-dipped donut for breakfast again - Hap Cakes around here
- I got up meaning to paint those onesies all sorts of tealy/limey blue/yellow/greens
- it is sunny out, and everyone that I love knows it.
Then, the not so good stuff
- HARD contractions twice an hour ad nauseum
- I couldn't find the onesies to paint them (might still be in the car)
- I am out of steak to rip with my teeth
- my health insurance case worker is on my butt to apply for kid insurance
- my Dad perceives such state-supported insurance as 'not-for-HIS-grandchildren'
- I am stuck in that anxious/bored-out-of-my-mind part of my pregnancy
- we still have the to-do list from HECK before the girls come
- my case worker said they could come anytime now! Yikes!
- I keep finding myself doing the frownie face thing for no apparent reason
And, monstrously worse than anything, my dear, dear friend/other Mom, Barbara Good, just got the news that her chemo has stopped working, and that her pancreatic tumor on her liver has grown too much to do anything with. Everyone is now talking 'quality of life issues' and Kevin and I are madly trying to work out when we can go to Boston to see her again. She came to my shower, but a)she was exhausted and b)I thought I'd see her the next day when I visited, but when I got there I spoke only with her husband as she had gone to bed. I am NOT satisfied with the last time I see her being a peck on the cheek on her way out the door.
So, her cancer and my babies permitting, Kevin and I are going to go down about 4 weeks from now, when we can also pick up my Mom for her whirlwind make-the-house-ready-for-babies trip. If either my pregnancy or her prognosis looks bad though, we'll go earlier, and convenient pick-up for Mom be damned.
I think this is all hitting me WAY harder than normal because a) I'm a hormonal pregnant lady, for pete's sake, and b) because I am very much in a 'link the generations' mode, what with having babies and all. This frownie face thing is bugging me too - brand new last week, ever present, and NOT the face I want my baby girls to get familiar with!!!!!
One day in front of the next, and smile every chance I get. Kevin is going to clean out the garage this weekend (yes, in January, in Vermont. Don't ask.), while I fold mountains of laundry. Frighteningly, the garage is a huge job, and I think that Mt. Laundry is its equal.
Plus, we get to drop by one of our SCA (medieval reenactment) thingies, and show off my big belly to all sorts of folks who don't even know that we are expecting yet. That part should be fun, especially since it is only about a mile away, so I can come home and fold myself into bed if I get too tired.
Funny the things that please me now - 4 little patches for a trad quilt, a bed to fall into, and rubbing the furrow off my forehead. Simple minds, simple pleasures...
Now if only SONJI would start posting again!!!!! ;)
First, the good stuff
- the babies are great and officially viable! Hurray!
- I just did another 4 blocks in the studio and even tidied a smidgen
- I slept well, and even had pregnancy-induced kinky dreams }:)
- Kevin brought me a honey-dipped donut for breakfast again - Hap Cakes around here
- I got up meaning to paint those onesies all sorts of tealy/limey blue/yellow/greens
- it is sunny out, and everyone that I love knows it.
Then, the not so good stuff
- HARD contractions twice an hour ad nauseum
- I couldn't find the onesies to paint them (might still be in the car)
- I am out of steak to rip with my teeth
- my health insurance case worker is on my butt to apply for kid insurance
- my Dad perceives such state-supported insurance as 'not-for-HIS-grandchildren'
- I am stuck in that anxious/bored-out-of-my-mind part of my pregnancy
- we still have the to-do list from HECK before the girls come
- my case worker said they could come anytime now! Yikes!
- I keep finding myself doing the frownie face thing for no apparent reason
And, monstrously worse than anything, my dear, dear friend/other Mom, Barbara Good, just got the news that her chemo has stopped working, and that her pancreatic tumor on her liver has grown too much to do anything with. Everyone is now talking 'quality of life issues' and Kevin and I are madly trying to work out when we can go to Boston to see her again. She came to my shower, but a)she was exhausted and b)I thought I'd see her the next day when I visited, but when I got there I spoke only with her husband as she had gone to bed. I am NOT satisfied with the last time I see her being a peck on the cheek on her way out the door.
So, her cancer and my babies permitting, Kevin and I are going to go down about 4 weeks from now, when we can also pick up my Mom for her whirlwind make-the-house-ready-for-babies trip. If either my pregnancy or her prognosis looks bad though, we'll go earlier, and convenient pick-up for Mom be damned.
I think this is all hitting me WAY harder than normal because a) I'm a hormonal pregnant lady, for pete's sake, and b) because I am very much in a 'link the generations' mode, what with having babies and all. This frownie face thing is bugging me too - brand new last week, ever present, and NOT the face I want my baby girls to get familiar with!!!!!
One day in front of the next, and smile every chance I get. Kevin is going to clean out the garage this weekend (yes, in January, in Vermont. Don't ask.), while I fold mountains of laundry. Frighteningly, the garage is a huge job, and I think that Mt. Laundry is its equal.
Plus, we get to drop by one of our SCA (medieval reenactment) thingies, and show off my big belly to all sorts of folks who don't even know that we are expecting yet. That part should be fun, especially since it is only about a mile away, so I can come home and fold myself into bed if I get too tired.
Funny the things that please me now - 4 little patches for a trad quilt, a bed to fall into, and rubbing the furrow off my forehead. Simple minds, simple pleasures...
Now if only SONJI would start posting again!!!!! ;)
1.11.2006
Wednesday already...
And I still haven't reported in on my baby shower in Boston last weekend (kind of wore me out) - it was lovely! I was a little nervous at first at seeing such a varied group of my mostly my Mother's friends, but once everyone arrived, I did a little introduction about each person, and that seemed to get folks laughing and comfy (who doesn't like hearing nice things about themselves, eh?) and, most importantly, chatty.
I didn't get to eat a bite until the very end, when I was chatting with my old friend Jen (Hi Jen!) and introducing her to my husband. We spent about 9 million hours together as kids, but I hadn't seen her in at least 15 years. I have suggested that she look at this webring and into blogging as an idea for getting connected and advertised herself - she was an AMAZING artist when we were kids, and I certainly can't imagine that she hasn't surpassed herself a dozen times over since then. She is working mostly in pencil drawing and logo design right now, and when she DOES get a blog, I'm sure she'll let us all know so we can go visit and give her a warm blogging welcome, RIGHT JEN???!!!! >:)
Anyway, the loot was Pirate worthy. I have never seen so many tiny matching outfits! Pink was in evidence, but not overwhelmingly so, thank goodness! A few outfits were saccharin enough to give me a toothache, but I'm sure that I'll have days when they seem perfect on my little angels. (Please make me stop before I make myself sick though, ok? That 'little angels' thing? WAY over the top for me...) So, the upshot is that we are going to have the best dressed babies in Burlington, if not the whole state. Add in the bibs, blankets, and boppies, and, pas d'accord the pack and play, and our girls are well on their way to being set for life.
Jen, artiste that she is, even gave us 10 pristine white onesies, size 6-9 months. Hm. Like ANYTHING is going to stay white during my summer fabric painting spree, which, gee shucks, hopefully falls right around the time my girls might be needing said size onesies. Art AND babies, all in one shot. Joy, Joy, Joy! Tie-dyed, watercolored, appliqued babies, here I come!!! Might not be what you expected Jen, but it was the first thing to cross my mind when I openned them, other than 'practical present - hurray!!' - thanks twice over! And yes, ladies, I promise to show you my Done Over Onesies when we get to summer, ok?
In the meantime (the sun being WAY too low to dry fabric before it bleeds all over hell if I tried to paint now) I've redesigned the quilts for my friend's twins, and have even picked out some fabric to start one for - gasp - my OWN girls. I also got a magnetic quilt set over the weekend from my mom - 1000 colored triagular tiles to play with on a magnetic surface - just the thing for a fatigued brain on bedrest! I'll try and take a picture of it in the next few days to show you all. Other than that though, I am just laying low, and watching my belly grow a little more with every passing day. They could technically be here anytime now, but we hope to keep them in until March, so I'm watching days on the calendar, and am enjoying every bit of sleep and down time that I get. More news as I have it, ladies - enjoy!
I didn't get to eat a bite until the very end, when I was chatting with my old friend Jen (Hi Jen!) and introducing her to my husband. We spent about 9 million hours together as kids, but I hadn't seen her in at least 15 years. I have suggested that she look at this webring and into blogging as an idea for getting connected and advertised herself - she was an AMAZING artist when we were kids, and I certainly can't imagine that she hasn't surpassed herself a dozen times over since then. She is working mostly in pencil drawing and logo design right now, and when she DOES get a blog, I'm sure she'll let us all know so we can go visit and give her a warm blogging welcome, RIGHT JEN???!!!! >:)
Anyway, the loot was Pirate worthy. I have never seen so many tiny matching outfits! Pink was in evidence, but not overwhelmingly so, thank goodness! A few outfits were saccharin enough to give me a toothache, but I'm sure that I'll have days when they seem perfect on my little angels. (Please make me stop before I make myself sick though, ok? That 'little angels' thing? WAY over the top for me...) So, the upshot is that we are going to have the best dressed babies in Burlington, if not the whole state. Add in the bibs, blankets, and boppies, and, pas d'accord the pack and play, and our girls are well on their way to being set for life.
Jen, artiste that she is, even gave us 10 pristine white onesies, size 6-9 months. Hm. Like ANYTHING is going to stay white during my summer fabric painting spree, which, gee shucks, hopefully falls right around the time my girls might be needing said size onesies. Art AND babies, all in one shot. Joy, Joy, Joy! Tie-dyed, watercolored, appliqued babies, here I come!!! Might not be what you expected Jen, but it was the first thing to cross my mind when I openned them, other than 'practical present - hurray!!' - thanks twice over! And yes, ladies, I promise to show you my Done Over Onesies when we get to summer, ok?
In the meantime (the sun being WAY too low to dry fabric before it bleeds all over hell if I tried to paint now) I've redesigned the quilts for my friend's twins, and have even picked out some fabric to start one for - gasp - my OWN girls. I also got a magnetic quilt set over the weekend from my mom - 1000 colored triagular tiles to play with on a magnetic surface - just the thing for a fatigued brain on bedrest! I'll try and take a picture of it in the next few days to show you all. Other than that though, I am just laying low, and watching my belly grow a little more with every passing day. They could technically be here anytime now, but we hope to keep them in until March, so I'm watching days on the calendar, and am enjoying every bit of sleep and down time that I get. More news as I have it, ladies - enjoy!
1.06.2006
Blog Heaven
I just went and read a couple of QA Digests, and, I gotta say it, I don't really feel like I have missed all that much in the months I have been away from it - I get what I need (and then some!) from these great blogs!
Obviously the list has its purposes, like supply info and shows and such, but for the day to day 'make-me-want-to-get-into-the-studio' I have YOU FOLKS! Hurray for the QA webring!!!! I'll be seriously evil and even say that I sometimes just scroll down a blog looking for pictures of cool art to bathe my brain in - VERY therapeutic!
Anyway, I'm off to Boston for the shower my Mum is throwing the girls and I - I'll undoubtedly be openning lots of PINK (gack!) but most babies *do* look good in it, so I'll be sinerely grateful anyway. Also? Cream puffs!!!!! Wahoo!
Obviously the list has its purposes, like supply info and shows and such, but for the day to day 'make-me-want-to-get-into-the-studio' I have YOU FOLKS! Hurray for the QA webring!!!! I'll be seriously evil and even say that I sometimes just scroll down a blog looking for pictures of cool art to bathe my brain in - VERY therapeutic!
Anyway, I'm off to Boston for the shower my Mum is throwing the girls and I - I'll undoubtedly be openning lots of PINK (gack!) but most babies *do* look good in it, so I'll be sinerely grateful anyway. Also? Cream puffs!!!!! Wahoo!
1.03.2006
Baby Steps
I actually went into the studio again this AM, and actually DID SOME WORK - real work, not just tidying (although I did some of that too!) - I ripped nasty old seams from the LAST time I tried to sew with baby brain (Oct? Nov?) and then got 4 squares done for one of the quilts for my friend's twins. Not like I have ANY time to make something for MY girls, mind you, since I still owe those 16 MONTH olds theirs, and only one of them is even 1/3 of the way to completion!
Ah well - I figure that working in small snatches of time is going to have to be the new modus operandi around here, so I'm thinking that I'll get in shape for it by taking 30 minutes a day and doing 4 blocks on this quilt. I *was* going to set the blocks right next to each other, but, well, the quilts won't be very big if I do that, AND (much more importantly, honestly,) I'd have to match all those points, SO - nice wide sashing strips have been added to the design, provided that my backing fabrics are big enough to accomodate the change. MUCH easier on my time and my sanity, and it might actually get this one DONE so I can start the OTHER one!
Meanwhile, I need to start listening to NPR again, if for no other reason than I need to knit and spin! I have six pieces of baby sweater to make before my girls are due to come home, and my MIL needs me to spin more boring black wool for the joint project sweater that she is knitting for my husband, Kevin. I need to order that from Halcyon, and try to make sure that I don't have TOO much left over as a) it's pricey, and b) it was BORING to spin - no flair, no panache, and I didn't even like the way it went through my fingers! Yeck! I also have to finish spinning up the tricolor mohair for my MIL (stupid plant matter in it requires way more time to pick out than actually spinning the stuff takes), and same MIL just sent a whole pound of yummy grassy/tealy/bluey-greens wool for me to spin as well - great colors, but not ones that I would wear... but we'll see - you never know until you see the yarn and swatch it up! (Hm... seed stitch does wonders...)
So, yeah - life is busy, but good. We are going to try and have everything ready to bo by March 5, my 32 week mark, and boy oh boy (or should I say girl oh girl?) do we have our work cut out for us! Wish me luck!
Ah well - I figure that working in small snatches of time is going to have to be the new modus operandi around here, so I'm thinking that I'll get in shape for it by taking 30 minutes a day and doing 4 blocks on this quilt. I *was* going to set the blocks right next to each other, but, well, the quilts won't be very big if I do that, AND (much more importantly, honestly,) I'd have to match all those points, SO - nice wide sashing strips have been added to the design, provided that my backing fabrics are big enough to accomodate the change. MUCH easier on my time and my sanity, and it might actually get this one DONE so I can start the OTHER one!
Meanwhile, I need to start listening to NPR again, if for no other reason than I need to knit and spin! I have six pieces of baby sweater to make before my girls are due to come home, and my MIL needs me to spin more boring black wool for the joint project sweater that she is knitting for my husband, Kevin. I need to order that from Halcyon, and try to make sure that I don't have TOO much left over as a) it's pricey, and b) it was BORING to spin - no flair, no panache, and I didn't even like the way it went through my fingers! Yeck! I also have to finish spinning up the tricolor mohair for my MIL (stupid plant matter in it requires way more time to pick out than actually spinning the stuff takes), and same MIL just sent a whole pound of yummy grassy/tealy/bluey-greens wool for me to spin as well - great colors, but not ones that I would wear... but we'll see - you never know until you see the yarn and swatch it up! (Hm... seed stitch does wonders...)
So, yeah - life is busy, but good. We are going to try and have everything ready to bo by March 5, my 32 week mark, and boy oh boy (or should I say girl oh girl?) do we have our work cut out for us! Wish me luck!
1.02.2006
Zen? Ha!
Well, my Week of Zen has become my week of Me against the Machine - Civ 4 at Noble level is just brutal. Actually, the focus that I use playing turn-based strategy games is very similar to that I get working out a quilting quandry - intense, immersive, and completely internal and relevant only to me. So - not SO bad really, but it doesn't sound as cool as saying that I spend my week in meditation and journalling. Oh well. "To thine own self be true." This week my Self seems to be wanting to crush Catherine the Great into a little ball of AI misery. I'm not the violent sort, but I DO take umbrage when folks start wars with me for no good reason other than that I am better than they are. >:)
2005 - my last year as a person responsible for only myself. The enormity of my impending parenthood is starting to weigh on me almost more than the girls themselves. I am really looking forward to their being here, but I DO enjoy my leisure, and two babies at one time just sounds like a lot of WORK. I know it will be great just as it is exhausting, but I am storing up as many long afternoons of snuggling up in bed reading for hours on end as I can, since I can, right now.
The 2+ maternity clothing idea has taken even better form lately - most moms of multiples are at least home from work by 28 weeks, and HUGE, if not just plain hospitalised by then or soon thereafter. So - the most needed, and undoubtedly appreciated item in the mom of multiples wardrobe? A bathrobe. The shiny one my Kevin got me for Christmas overlaps by about two inches at present, and I can't imagine that it will fit for long. Adding Xs to the size one buys won't help either, as then they are huge all over and just too wide in the back and shoulders to work comfortably. What is needed is for the back to be NORMAL, and the front to be HUGE - lots of room for overlap, without needing to pull it so far around that the armholes become nursing access! A small mailorder company off the web would work GREAT for this, and would make a fortune. Machine washable, easy to clean fabrics only please. Idea open to all and any takers, so run with it!
BTW - there isn't much in the world more lovely than morning sun on snow.
As for 2006 - if you are looking for adventure, or just to put your feet up, I hope you find what you are looking for, and never be bored along the way. Happy New Year!
2005 - my last year as a person responsible for only myself. The enormity of my impending parenthood is starting to weigh on me almost more than the girls themselves. I am really looking forward to their being here, but I DO enjoy my leisure, and two babies at one time just sounds like a lot of WORK. I know it will be great just as it is exhausting, but I am storing up as many long afternoons of snuggling up in bed reading for hours on end as I can, since I can, right now.
The 2+ maternity clothing idea has taken even better form lately - most moms of multiples are at least home from work by 28 weeks, and HUGE, if not just plain hospitalised by then or soon thereafter. So - the most needed, and undoubtedly appreciated item in the mom of multiples wardrobe? A bathrobe. The shiny one my Kevin got me for Christmas overlaps by about two inches at present, and I can't imagine that it will fit for long. Adding Xs to the size one buys won't help either, as then they are huge all over and just too wide in the back and shoulders to work comfortably. What is needed is for the back to be NORMAL, and the front to be HUGE - lots of room for overlap, without needing to pull it so far around that the armholes become nursing access! A small mailorder company off the web would work GREAT for this, and would make a fortune. Machine washable, easy to clean fabrics only please. Idea open to all and any takers, so run with it!
BTW - there isn't much in the world more lovely than morning sun on snow.
As for 2006 - if you are looking for adventure, or just to put your feet up, I hope you find what you are looking for, and never be bored along the way. Happy New Year!
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