While you were sleeping

My Grandmother tells me that she suffered from insomnia, even as a child. Everyone in her family learned to wear slippers when they got up at night, because they were likely to land their bare feet upon freshly mopped flooring. An unpleasant feeling I suppose. She just felt the need to be useful, I suppose, even if everyone else was sleeping.

At 1 am I went looking for something to help me sleep. At 2 am I gave up and went upstairs to sew. I took this old torn, much brighter than the picture shows, orange towel:

Added some funky vintage fabric I got at an estate sale:

And made this funky little mat to go under the dishrack:

I've wanted something like this for a long time. It should soak up the dripy-drips while dishes dry, and it definitely brightens up the room. It will make me smile when I'm washing dishes. Can't beet that :)

Project of the day

I have 9 quilt blocks so far. I really think this is going to turn out great.

Today, no time for quilt blocks, but I did make this little household necessity:

I used this tutorial at Crazy Mom Quilts. This time last year, check writing was so rare that I didn't keep a check book or even a register. But now, with kids in school, it seems we write checks quite frequently, so it seemed time to have a real way to keep up with them. Even though it is kind of an odious task, at least I'll smile when I see my pretty checkbook. You can make one, too. It took me about 3o minutes from start to finish.

Maybe it wasn't the first block?

I found another whirligig tutorial at Quilting on Turtle Hill, and made a block from it. Here are the two side by side:

The first is from yesterday, the second is from this morning. Which one do you like better? Can you even tell a difference (besides the fabric)? There is a bit more angle to the whirl in the second one. Maybe, I'm nit-picking, but I think the second one has a bit more movement. And movement is what I'm after in this next quilt.

I have to say, Man, I love the internet. I'm learning so much from quilting and design blogs, that would have taken me years or decades to discover otherwise. Without a local quilting mentor, I would have really floundered and probably given up. But thanks to all the wise women willing to share, I think I'm making considerable progress with my art. So, THANKS!

Yesterday Jewel felt a bit cuddly when I needed to be up and about. She got so cuddly while I was holding her that I thought the sling might be the thing. So here we are:

She was quite happy to ride around with me while I did my chores.

What a difference a day makes

Just a little time to sew and everything seems better. Is anyone else like that? Whatever the caes, this is the first block of the the new quilt.

I got to sew, today!

I haven't had a second of my own for the last few weeks. But today, I found a few minutes that I used to sew this.

This is a just a practice block (done with scraps) before I start cutting into my fabulous new stash for the next quilt. This is a whirligig block. I used this tutorial over at Bitty Bird Quilts.

Even though I haven't been at the sewing machine, I've been mulling the next quilt over in my mind. I think it will alternate whirligig blocks with plain blocks, some of which I will applique. In my head, at least, it looks fabulous!

Now I just need a few hours to get started. It might be awhile, as Mr. Waitress is heading out of town next week.

dealing with anger

********I very nearly removed this post. It isn't crafty, it isn't happy, it isn't anything a mother aspires to, but I decided to leave it, because I think so many if not most of us, have days like this. And, maybe it helps to know you aren't the only mother feeling this way. If it just leaves you thinking what a horrible mother/woman I am . . . well, I'm willing to take that risk. *********

Today is one of those days that just isn't going the way I want it to, and I can't stop being angry about it. Do you ever have days like that?

I don't know if good parenting skills are inborn, taught or personally developed. Probably some mixture of all three. Some days I do great, I roll with the punches, I make homemade soup and feed 8 more people than I expected, and still get the laundry done. Some days, like today, I feel like I am defeated before I even begin. Like around every corner, or with each next step is a new obstacle. I get angry because the day isn't going like I planned. Angry about things that are completely out of my control.

How can I manage this? How do you? I'm re-reading Buddhism for Mothers. But I need to do something more than read. I need an active way of changing my response to the world. Gotta run, more people to attend to . . .