Mom.this would be a great picture of eating and drinking.

On Staying at Home.

Dear Mr. President,

I left the "work force" willingly more than 12 years ago. As the mother of six young children, I take pride in my choice to raise them. I chose to bear them, love them, and fill their minds with truth. I chose to teach them to read. I chose to teach them to think and work. I chose to be their mother.

I am not concerned about the money I will or will not earn in the future. I am currently employed running the highest-quality daycare available. I am paid in hugs, trust, memories, and emotional security, their security. Money I may earn in the future will not buy the security of mom's presence now.  So while I will try to thank you for your concern, would you please refrain from condemning my conscious choice to be a full-time, day and night, everyday of the year, stay-at-home mom?

If you really want to help, pay dad more for his 80 hour work week.

Sincerely,

Happy to be here when they need me

Surprises

Once in a while I come across something surprising. Here is an eraser I picked up today.

Oh there's sunshine

Amy's Quilt Festival is up. 

Everyone should have a quilt made with absolute love. This one is dedicated to the man in my life. I showed him a couple of my favorite ideas...until he told me he didn't like the patchwork look. He prefers the art quilts. I should have known. He is an artist by trade and hobby. When I asked him what he wanted he told a sun. Yellow, his favorite color.  Angrily I began planning. When I found Toscana by Deborah Edwards for Northcott, I knew it would be okay.  

I didn't have to love it, he did. Honestly, I don't think he really cares, but I did. After four months, I finished the largest quilt I've ever made at 108x120. It's all free-motion. I love detail in the sun.

We call these mini-stars "sparkles." I think I first saw them on something by Leah Day.

This is the best reason to make quilts. My kids love to see it come together. They frequently pull out the graph paper and design something.

I used Kona Ash on the back, but I think I would have loved to use one of the yellow toscanas or a marble yellow.

Even on the gray, I like the texture of the sun.

Even if he really doesn't care, at least it's long enough to cover his more than six feet.

For the love of Becky

Sometimes, life is hard. Our cousin is treading some difficult ground. On one of her visits, she sat wrapped in a very flawed quilt I made. Her words shocked me and set things in motion: "I should commission a quilt from you." Stitching for someone is like infusing love into every stitch. I knew she would love these colors. The original center was very different from the final one. I did a lot of unpicking and growling. It wasn't for naught though.  These are the best pinwheels I've ever made and the new center piece was definitely better. Life is flawed just like the quilt, but life is also beautiful and sometimes, we just need someone to love us. This one's for the love of Becks. Even though I don't get paid.

I love how messy this picture is. It's a messy life and sometimes things don't fall into place. But I hope I can appreciate the beauty of it anyway.

Check out Amy's Blogger Quilt Festival.

Swirls and The Quilt Festival

I can do hard things. And it turns out, they aren't always that hard.  I used to be nervous about colors and circles and intense quilting. After this project, I still am. But not as much.

Nearly three years ago, I saw a quilt top in a book called Strips'n'Curves by Louisa Smith. It was a strata cut and stitched into swirls and circles. I loved it and was terrified of it. It looked so complicated.  Two years ago, I pieced my strata with peaches, oranges, and reds. I loved the strata and didn't want to cut into it. Alas, I loved the idea of swirls more.

 After one year and a myriad of other quilts, dresses, and other projects, the top was ready.  Three more months of sitting and I found a back. Six months and a baby later, the quilt was stacked. Four days of quilting and an hour of binding. It's finally done.

Here is the most intense, on all levels, quilt I have ever attempted. It is steeped in discovery. I love a peachy color scheme. A darning foot makes free motion pleasant. Circular piecing doesn't have to be hard. It's okay to take a long time to finish something. I didn't rush this like I usually do. If my ideas were congealing, I set it aside. It's not perfect technically, but I learned so much and I am excited to look at it.

PS. Check out the festival hosted by Amy.

Christmas gifts

 I made a Palm Tree quilt for my mother-in-law with hand prints from all her grandbabies. Lucky for us, they were all together in July for only a few hours. Since she lives in Florida, we thought it funny and fitting. I tried to give the border cresting waves to mimic the ocean.

 Then I made a ton of peppermint bark popcorn for our neighbors. We all like it and hope you will too.