Right-brained quiltmaking

I have a variety of projects in various stages of progress. I'm a great starter but a bit more challenged in the completion part of the process. Ah, but part of creativity is the DOING, the joy of the activity. And with quilting I love the piecing. Being a right-brained, intuitive kind of designer, I like to randomly cut and put together and cut some more, replace, lay it out and see how it feels. I don't follow a pattern because my life has enough logical rules and instructions. For me, this is a time to be free and play with color and blocks and pattern. This grouping of blocks (and I don't know if there is a name for such a rectangular pattern/random piecing as this) I started in the hopes of making a quilt for our king sized bed. I'm scaling down my vision a bit because I would like to get to the sewing part someday. So a bit smaller but probably big enough to wrap up in while watching tv. I usually spread my pieces out on the floor to get some perspective and see how I am balancing the composition overall. Of course the downside to this method...my dogs. I believe Roxy thinks I'm making this for her.

MomDesk Syndrome

I think there is a requirement for being a mom and working from home. Your desk must look like a garage sale of kids toys and books and homework at all times. It doesn't matter if you have a deadline or you had everything organized exactly the way you needed it to be. It is now chaos. Your desk becomes their desk. Yes, they have their own desks in their own rooms as well as the kitchen counter, table, etc. But my desk is where they are drawn like little clutter magnets. My colored pencils and paper and computer are so much more intriguing than theirs, but really it is because they want to be with me. And seeing as how much time I am at my computer and my work, it is the most efficient way to help with homework, to connect after school, to spend a little time together.

I remember a year ago as my friend Susan helped me prepare materials for an exhibit. Our husbands were watching the Super Bowl and the kids were running around on foot and on scooters in the house, screaming and eating pizza and little meatballs. Susan and I sat in my office, drinking red wine, drowning in doublestick tape, printouts and folders as kids came in and taped notes on us. Ah, just another work day and we laughed at how ridiculous we must have looked with little pieces of paper stuck to us and how ludicrous it sometimes seems to work in such chaos.

I am so very lucky to have children that want to spend time with me (teen years have not hit yet) and want to set up shop next to me. And even luckier that they are creative, curious and full of great ideas. So I will remember that this is a gift and a fleeting moment in time as I work around the Hello Kitty sewing machine and Lego contraptions.

Spring in the air

I was walking the other morning and rounded the corner to these flowers covering the bushes across someone's front lawn. Same block I am on every day but today it was splendid and announcing itself in color and glory. Did I not see this yesterday because my mind was too busy thinking about getting my tax paperwork together (yes, I know, a little late for that thought)? Or did all of these blooms really come out, perfectly timed, to greet me today? I'm not sure how long they have been blooming, how many days I missed seeing them, but I guess what matters is I saw them today and it stopped me in my tracks. Bright, happy, full of life and color...dancing in the sun, perky in the morning crispness. Any worries seem to melt away when you see something as lovely and simple as that. I know they won't stay forever, so enjoy now. Take a moment, slow down, and enjoy.