Scallops

Earlier this year - I don't even remember when - I made this quilt top. I was inspired by this picture from this blog post by Rachel of Stitched In Color. I absolutely fell in love with her idea and had to try my hand at piecing some scallops. She was offering an online curves class that featured this pattern, but I was too poor to join so I decided to wing it on my own. I hesitated to post about this quilt because I didn't want to show a "borrowed" idea that someone was selling, but I finally wrote Rachel the other day and she has very graciously given me her blessing to share these photos.

 

Piecing curves wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, although a pattern and some instruction would have been nice! I love working with all solids and I am now more than a little obsessed with scallops. I especially love Rachel's modern take on them. There will definitely be more scallops in my future. The fabric kind, that is.

(Quilt-Holder Fatigue. It could happen to anyone, but seems more prevalent among husbands and sons.)

I love echo quilting. And these lines turned out rainbow-ish - even better!

By the way, in 7.5 years of quilting this is the very first quilt I have completed for myself. It's already gotten lots of use - perfect for playing Candy Crush, or napping, or watching tv studying. And I won't mention the tiny holes that my bunny bit into it with his sharp teeth and affinity for tasting everything... because everyone knows he can do no wrong.

Huckleberry

Back in July, my husband accidentally mowed over a rabbit nest. One of the kits died and we dutifully put the other one back in its shallow hole so its mother could take care of it.

But then I started to worry. What if she abandons it because of the incident and the fact that we touched it? All evening long, and all day the next day, I worried about that poor little baby out there all alone and what if, what if, what if. I finally just couldn't stand it anymore so I did some googling about how to tell if a kit is abandoned. I went out and checked its skin for tenting/dehydration... but honestly, I couldn't tell. Then I started to worry about the fact that I'd touched it again and what if she abandons it now? Plus, the ants were biting it... I was so conflicted that I finally just went out and got the poor thing and brought it inside.

 

And thus began the crumbling of our stubborn determination to never want a pet. We were quickly and forcefully smitten and the next two weeks consisted of research, pet stores, kitten formula, droppers, teensy bottles, kitchen scales, heat lamps - and yes, even 2 and 4am feedings. By this time we had read that it is so very rare for wild bunnies to survive if taken away from their mother; but against all odds, he started to fill out, grow fluffy clean fur, and explore his surroundings.

 

He was so tiny! I would sit and snuggle him against my skin for hours while he slept. Below is my very favorite picture of him, sleeping so deeply that I rolled him over onto his back and he didn't even stir.

 

A day or two later he got sick. We did everything we could for days but he eventually died. I couldn't believe how sad I felt! But he'd opened a door in our hearts - and my birthday was coming up - so the decision to become official pet owners was made.

 

(Eeeeeeee!!!)

 This is Huckleberry:) Although, more often than not, he's called Hucklebunny, Stinkleberry, Hucks, or some other such variation. He is almost 5 months old now and so full of personality and quirks!

 

Just look at that big nose, deep frown, and huge foot! He did not like being held like this and he let me know it with a loud thump of his hind leg when I put him down.

 

I could seriously just die of cuteness. I love him so much!

October

October was hard. Glad it's over.

I'm looking forward to November, though, because the weather is finally getting cool and I love Fall.

And also... because it's not October.

My husband made these costumes for the boys. He even learned to sew just so he could make the one on top. It was very cute to see him sitting at my sewing machine, stitching away. That is, until I wanted to sew... and then it wasn't so cute.

I did manage to make this Fall pillow. I suppose October wasn't all bad.

Turtle Quilt

When I said it would be done "within the week" in my last post, what I really meant was "in two months". So I'm right on schedule. ;)

I had quite a few issues with this quilt, but somehow I pushed through and ended up being happy with it. It's finally done and shipped off to its new owner. 

I love the bell-shaped tortoise shells! I got my inspiration here.

 

 

The center of the block on the right is an old Amy Butler print. It is my favorite fabric ever! I have about three yards that I'm hoarding for a very girly quilt for myself one day.

 I like the quilting around the letters on the back.

 Texture!

I don't like how the turtles don't stand out very well. But, like I said, I had some complications with this quilt, including some design dilemmas, and eventually I just had to make a decision and move on.

I love the blocks very much! I wanted to branch out from my usual off-centered concentric squares... but apparently I couldn't, and now I'm glad. 

 :)

Your Mom Goes To College

The semester is over! Oh my word - like a bad song on the radio, I thought it would never end! But it has at long last, and now I hardly know what to do with myself. Never has a girl been so excited to do housework and laundry - anything as long as it's not studying! These are all my notes from the semester...

 

Good grief, right?! This is how much more information is now in my poor little brain. At least. And yes, my 4.0 is still intact, need you even ask???

And just in case you're wondering if I'm ever going to post about quilting again - or actually finish a WIP - here's something I've been working on slowly (get it? haha) all semester.

It's now my #1 priority until it's done and shipped off to the most patient girl on the face of the earth. So hopefully I'll be sharing a picture of an actual finished quilt within a week.

I also have tons of quilty plans for the summer - fingers crossed that I somehow morph into a different person and actually follow through=) Because nursing school starts at the end of August and I have a feeling that it's not going to be very quilter-friendly.

A List of Lists

You know you're overwhelmed when you have to write a list of the lists you need to write.

I already see that I forgot one: things to organize. I only have 3.5 more weeks of school, though, and then I'll start tearing into these lists. Or not...

Another broken wrist, just in time for this pretty spring weather.

 And I finally finished the third season of Downton Abbey. (Warning: spoiler ahead!) I was so devastated I had to google him to make sure he'd come back to life.

Zombie Matthew is much cuter anyway.

The One Where I Let Them Play With Their Food

Kal's first taste.

Levi's first impression.

Levi feeds it a fry.

Kal orchestrates a pincher wrestling match.

Kal searches for the brain.

Levi dismembers and categorizes the parts.

Kal makes shell stew.

I Am Ok

I don't really have an official bucket list. But if I did, one of the things on it would be to pay for the order of the person behind me in a drive-thru line. And if I had such a list...  

...I would be marking that item off today...

...because I DID IT!!!

Ok, I know this doesn't seem like a big deal. Not only was it a small amount of money, but it was fast-food - not exactly solving world hunger or procuring world peace. Not even meeting a "need". But that's almost the beauty of it. Completely unnecessary random act of kindness for no other reason than to make someone smile.

And boy, did she smile! She honked and I looked at her in my mirror and she had one of the most sincerely giddy smiles of pure, spontaneous joy I have ever seen. I don't think I'll ever forget her smile, stretching from ear to ear and pouring out in a rush of excited energy from her eyes and waving hand.

The cashier was not impressed. He looked at me with what seemed like disgust or extreme disrespect. Like I was a complete weirdo. As if I were breaking some unwritten rule about minding your own business and succumbing to the drudgery of life, without making "happy" waves that make dutiful rule-abiders uncomfortable. Oh well. If he got splashed with "happy" he surely won't melt.

So... why run home and blog about it??? It seems a little self-serving and defeating the purpose. But you just have to understand... how much this little thing I did has meant to ME. I call myself a generous person because I like to think I would give the shirt off my back to someone who needed it. And I often think of things I'd like to give to or do for others. Sometimes I come to the conclusion that I don't have the money or time, but often I just put it off. Always planning, never doing. How fitting that I got this fortune just the other day:

However, the main reason that I am so affected by all of this is because I have been the one in need. Not just financially, but in many other ways, as well. How often have I stood in a crowd with a brave smile on my face - or written a blog post about rainbows and sunshine - yet on the inside, I was just almost buckling under the weight of my burdens? How often has the pain deep inside been so excruciating that it was all I could do to hold back a flood of tears while at work, church, a birthday party or, yes, even sitting in a drive-thru line?

But not today! I just can't tell you the gratitude I felt today when I was able to reach out from a place of healing and peace and give to someone else, knowing I was ok. Knowing that weeping endured for the long, dark night - but morning came, full of so much joy that I even had some to spare. =)

Tapeworms 'n Such

I had some pretty lofty goals for spring break this week - catching up on housework, getting ahead on homework, and lots of sewing - but nature said no and gave me an evil cold instead that has me feeling just rotten.

Although the past few weeks have been real booty-kickers, overall school has been going well. Not saying I enjoy it (!) but it could be worse. My favorite class is Microbiology. I didn't think I'd like it because I knew we'd be learning about tapeworms, which creep me the freak out. (Did you know that each little segment of a tapeworm is a sac full of eggs??? Ew, ew, ewww!) But I find it extremely fascinating and worth the occasional heebie-jeebies.

I'm surprised that I've found as much time to sew as I have. No finishes to speak of, of course - I haven't actually finished anything in a long time=( But I'm getting there. This is a commissioned quilt that is making me severely nervous - what if she doesn't like it???

(I got the idea for the tortoises here. Too cute!)

 And my new flavor of the week, so to speak = scallops.

What's with all the wrinkles? It's not like I wad my WIPs up and toss them in a corner...

Actually, I do. *hangs head in shame*

A (Teensy) Bit Of Calm

Things are finally starting to calm down a bit around here after the holidays. I feel like I'm back to being myself again, which means catching up on Downton Abbey, a walk along the river with my husband, and even a bit of sewing.

But it probably won't last because I start back to school this week in pursuit of the ever-elusive nursing degree. Ah well:/