Sunny with a chance of Pajamas

Well, here we are, at the end of a long summer holiday.  Next week we officially start school and all the things that go along with it:  making lunches, car pooling, signing long legal agreements so that the kids might play-sports-go-on-field-trips-march-in-band- not-take-drugs-or-wear-spaghetti-straps and other very important things.  I always think I should proffer my own document for the ones-in-charge.

I could just sit here and think of all the things that could go horribly wrong and make some one else entirely responsible.  Such as," If said child does not want pinto beans as a side she may be offered another helping of rice, and we shall presume we understand that NO FOOD SHOULD BE TOUCHING ON SAID CHILD'S PLATE."

or..."if said child's phone loses charge and she does not remember aforementioned guardian's number, ones-in-charge shall unfurl the document that said guardian signed previously with her cell and home phone number, place of work, and six emergency contacts and offer it to said child to call for a ride home after day long field trip of orchestra competition which ended much later than school hours or bus schedules.

and so forth.

Oh, I got on a tangent there, didn't I.

Anyway, although we could have never fathomed it the first week in June, I think we're all about ready for the school season to begin.  There's a certain rhythm to getting up early, having a chaotic whirlwind leave the house and then...the quiet...before scooping them all up again and taking them here and there throughout the evening.  

It's that little slice of quiet I'm looking forward to.  I may stay in my pajamas for a while longer and just have that second cuppa ...alone.

Hope you all are finding some extra time to wear pjs where ever you are.  And if you'd like to make some like these, get 20% off Heather Bailey and Amy Butler's Love fabrics at my shop with the code

pajamadays in message to buyer.

The Fancy Schmancy Zoo of Love

Well, there's some new blood in the old family tree, and to welcome the little mister to the family, I made him a quilt from Michael Miller free quilt patterns, Giraffes, Elephants, and Hippos! Oh My! (Oh, yes, much inspired by Katy's version here)

I didn't have all of the kiddy prints they used in their version, so I opted for a lot of Love, because my animals live in a very fancy zoo, you see. Hmmm, and I didn't quite follow the pattern now that I'm seeing Katy's. Hate instructions! Just look at the pictures and go with it, right?

Actually I was wanting to tackle this quilt pattern and jonesing to cut into the Love stash, and I thought it was a fun spin. I do wish I were a really good stippler. I wanted to stipple all around the big animals. ...and you know I tried, like some one who doesn't have good sense. Let's learn to free motion quilt right here and now! Worth a try, because I always think that if I up the ante I will really follow through. But I ended up quilting around the animals in a wavy line farther and farther out each time. The back is a Heather Bailey's new Hop Dot in Sky, very sweet.

So there it is, fun, simple and sweet.

Happy Birthday, Joseph Paul!

Hopscotch Quilt

And this would be my second quilt ever, made in one day...well, most blocks were waiting for me on the day, with a deadline imposed by self so that it would be a part of my new online store header. Pictures have been safely uploaded to the web genius lady, so now I can sit and blog with the little quilty over my knees. And notice that the binding needs a bit of work...

But since I give myself some beginner's grace, I can enjoy the quilt for the colors and fabrics and even the stitches. I had thought in the planning of it that it lacked a little spontaneity so I added the rusty bouquet of Garden Party (Anna Maria Horner) and the wine from Amy Butler's Love.

My free motion technique is still quite lacking, so I plugged on the walking foot and did wavy, curvy lines across it. I quite liked the kinesthetics of that, the quilt rolled up on each side and steering it this way and that, my mind meandering like the stitching.

oh, new online store plug, speaking of plugs, www.thistlehillfabrics.com is coming soon, another wonderful little experiment into the webby world of quilters and lovely fabric and maybe some Munki Munki pjs, that I cannot sell on Etsy, unless I cut them in bits to offer as "supplies". And, listen, I am an upcycler, recycler, get another use out of it, but, first things first...and firstly, you wear the apparel, then you make your quilt. Ok, I hear you, it's Heather Ross, she gives us no alternative, licensed exclusively with them. And I understand. I do. Just buy the whole classic set and you cut it up. And I don't need to know. Now how did we get into this whole argument? I didn't mean to argue. I was just telling you about my quilt. And it's meandering stitches....

A Good Day

Today I...

1. secured a ravely hem in my daughter's pants with packaging tape.

2. realized I missed out on Amy Butler's new Love collection's early release.

3. saw that Jennifer Paganelli posted that she loved my skirt on my Flickr site,

here

It was a good day.