Pizza anyone?

I hope that the rest of our school holiday activities will be a little healthier than this one! (Pizza cookie recipe from this book.)

Beginning to piece my "Regeneration 2012" quilt

 

I started the piecing phase of my quilt for "Regeneration - Contemporary Quilted Textiles 2012" - this afternoon. Some weeks ago I cut up my working pattern and ironed all the pieces onto the correct fabric.

 

Today I trimmed the first section...

 

...and with the help of my quilt drawing...

 

...laid the pieces out like a jigsaw puzzle, all ready to be stitched together.

I didn't spend much time in the studio, but it felt good just to have made a start (that's often the biggest hurdle!). I'm looking forward to seeing this one come together!

Boredom Management System

 

School holidays officially started at 12 noon today for us. At about 1:42pm I heard the first 'Mum, I don't know what to do'... So I put my other activities aside and set up our Boredom Management System. It involves a selection of craft/drawing/sewing/lego books made easily accessible on the computer table...

 

...and three little 'booklets' attached to the nearby pillar...

 

...one with jobs to be completed...

  

...one with activities to do together with me (like ride around the lake, visiting a playground, baking, or a sewing project)...

 

...and an 'entertain yourself' booklet which basically lists all the things I always suggest when they are bored (although, often "I'm bored" actually means "I don't feel like doing anything")...

 

My aim is to tackle a holiday job and a 'together' activity most days (jobs before morning coffee, and fun stuff after morning coffee and before lunch). Then I can have 'time out' in my studio after lunch while Daniel sleeps and the other kids entertain themselves. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how it works in practice.

Another play quilt

Our baby is nearly two. He holds his own rather well with the other three children, and I know he'll be please to have his own play quilt just like theirs. I love making these, especially playing with which fabrics to put together. I now cut up any fabric scraps I have into 5 inch squares. That way I always have a stack with which to get started on the next quilt.Last week I had all the laid out in position on my design wall and then got caught up with something else. When I next checked in, Daniel was carefully removing them all and stacking matching pieces on top of each other (deconstructing my carefully thought out fabric layout). Still makes me smile to think of it!

Set the table

The funnest part about hosting a dinner party is setting the tables! Well, actually, we thoroughly enjoyed the company and the food as well (I can say that because it was a combined effort - everyone brought something). In a trip down memory lane, the peonies in the flower arrangements were also my wedding flowers (but at least double the price, ten years on).

Today I had a lazy day. I'm very happy with the progress made on my childhood quilts over the last months (nine months ago I made a schedule noting what I wanted to complete each week, and I have just completed it, right on target!) Today was my last opportunity to go shopping with only two children this year, so we did that this morning, and this afternoon was happily spent browsing Pinterest (what an enjoyable way to waste time!).

I still hope to finish burying the threads of my childhood quilts this year, as well as taking photos of them all. Over the summer I have a quilt to complete for Regeneration - Contemporary Quilt Textiles 2012. I'm looking forward to tackling that. I would also like to do some drawing and planning for new quilts, but I will try to work at a slower pace while the kids are all home for the holidays.

10 years ago yesterday

10 years ago I was just thankful that all the wedding hoo-haa was done and dusted! Now I am thankful for the life-partner God has given me in Phil. A best friend whom God knew would be a perfect match. Someone who can handle (and temper) my strong opinions and creative passions as required, as well as encouraging and stimulating me in my various responsibilities.
I'm so glad the wedding only has to happen once. Any day which begins with half a morning at the hairdresser is automatically disqualified from 'best day of my life' in my book. Then add to that having to prance around in a ridiculous dress and smile for photos for the rest of the day... no thank you!

Anniversaries just might be a different story however. To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary yesterday, Phil surprised me by organising babysitters and taking me out to dinner (to a restaurant introduced to us by dear friends just before they skipped the country). Now that is something I could happily repeat at least annually!

Quilt progress

Just a little peek at the quilt I pieced together over the past two weeks...
Somehow I have around thirty pieces left over... but if I don't think you will ever notice!
Piecing this one was not fun, but I am looking forward to quilting it tonight!