mama urchin

Last evening we were driving home from my parents’ house and had to turn around three separate times because the roads were flooded and blocked by all manner of emergency vehicles. Two other times we only got through a flooded road because we drive a tank that is rated to ford streams up to a depth of 20″ without a snorkel — not my car in that photo. So yeah, it was kind of an intense end to a lovely Mother’s Day.

Today the rain continued and the temperatures reached a high of 45 degrees. Tristan wore his wool sweater he got for Christmas and Katie asked for a fire late this afternoon. May 12, that is the date, right?

Tonight we took the igloo and the penguin plane out of the basket by the piano symbolically saying goodbye to Winter. We did all this while it was 40 degrees and hailing but we’re removing the Winter toys from the basket so we mean business! This basket is always available in the family room and holds some of the toys that are special or that hold seasonal interest — pretty much anything that I don’t want to get buried under all the other stuff. The empty basket, a trip to the toy store for a dinosaur or two to take for show and tell tomorrow, the fact that the Easter Bunny left many eggs with Spring animals inside, and a photo of a friend all prompted us to gather together the animals in one place. And of course, before we could tuck them all inside the basket they needed to line up for a parade, the dinosaurs watched the animals. Nothing can stay well-ordered in our house for long though. The parade formation was smashed to bits in no time at all.

Your sewing machine engines that is. Today I cut twelve fat quarters and packed them up to send. That can only mean one thing… the Virtual Quilting Bee is about to begin. My quilt is going to be first so I can be the guinea pig and work out any kinks in the system — as well as work out some participant nerves. So let’s talk about the quilt I’m hoping to have come March 1.

First off, the quilt is going to be for our playroom. This is where we spend a lot of time but the room is in our basement and it can be chilly down there in all seasons. My crafty area is in this room too so happily I’ll be able to keep a close eye on the finished quilt. As you can see the colors are bright — really bright — and the mood is fun. I love the idea of all of you making a quilt to wrap around my kids.

As for the actual quilt, I’m up for pretty much anything as long as it will tolerate the washing machine. I love patchwork and appliqué; I think freezer paper stenciling is gorgeous; I don’t mind crazy patterns and textures. As for what I’m sending the group: the fat quarters are a busy, busy print from IKEA and I also included a 10″x10″ square of squash colored chenille. I’m planning to use the same chenille for the back. So, be inspired friends, I cannot wait to see what you come up with.

I’m continuing my efforts to try and keep my house presentable should someone happen to stop by. Luckily, the person most likely to stop by with little warning is my mom and I figure, she changed my diapers and nursed me, she knows me and I know her. She does not get the glossy version of my life, she gets the real deal. But I would like the real deal to be more presentable on a regular basis, for her and everyone else too, but let’s be honest, I don’t want to do anymore housework — read: pick up more toys — than I already do. So, to that end I did a little re-arranging of our family room. Here’s the scene from my front door:

Clean, huh? So let’s say someone stopped by selling girl scout cookies — as actually happened the other night — I could invite them into the foyer instead of being rude and talking to them on the front porch. But what they wouldn’t see is this:

When I was a little girl my sister and I played school at two of these vintage school desks and chairs. I think we did our homework there too. Actually I’m sure that we did because when I cleaned this one up after getting it out of my parents’ basement I noticed 21 x 5 worked out on the desktop. My parents have the other one in their family room for when Katrina and my niece are there. The girls use it as their coloring station. We have a serious issue in our house with containing Katrina’s artwork/crafting/projects — they’re typically covering the kitchen table and surrounding floor. We’re usually clearing just enough space for dinner and it really gets on my nerves.

I had forgotten that my parents had two of these desks and I mentioned to my mom that I was going to try and find one like the one in their family room. She reminded me about the other and my Dad and I got it out of their basement last weekend. The canvas box has learning activities in it. My desk and computer are right through that door so we can work at the same time — my work is blog surfing, in case you were wondering. One of my goals this year is to have the house more presentable on a daily basis and I’m hoping this desk will help with Katrina’s mess. I’ve tackled Tristan’s mess too but that corner will have to wait until next week.

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a little while may recall that my mom — aka Grandmom — has a tradition of making each of her grandchildren a bed quilt for their second birthday. Both urchins got their twin beds from Papa and I for their second birthday so the quilt giving is perfectly timed.

You may remember my goal with these quilts is that they be fun but not too juvenile and not too themed - cowboy, or fairy princess, or anything — because I want them to have longevity. Well, I think my mom made another perfect one. We decided on a log cabin pattern and we started with some fabrics from the Michael Miller Dick & Jane line. I wanted it to be very scrappy and not traditional log cabin blocks where one side is light and the other is dark — examples of what I mean here and here.

My mom decided to use a red square as the foundation for each log cabin and I think that was a smart decision. It brings some continuity to the quilt. She ended up using all kinds of prints and some solids. There are lots of cars and robots and cowboys and Indians and dots and stripes and plenty for Tristan to look at but I think when you stand back and look at it it looks less like a little boy quilt and more like a cool scrappy log cabin quilt — exactly what I was hoping for.

Grandmom sends these quilts out to be machine quilted — they hold up better with all the washing that way — and the woman who quilted it asked my mom if she made it from a kit or a jelly roll pack. Then when she met the quilter at the local quilt shop to pick up the quilt they laid it out on the table and everyone oohed and ahhed. We’re still oohing and ahhing too and enjoying the coziness of the new quilt from Grandmom.

Thank you for all the get well wishes. I think that they, combined with quite a few doses of airborne jr. and zinc lollipops, made for a quick recovery. So right on cue as the urchins felt better I woke up with a sore throat last Monday. I was working on the premise that if I denied the problem it would go away but now that I’ve lost my voice the only thing being ignored is me. Anyway, sorry for not popping in here to say hello in a while. Stefan’s family arrived last week for Turkey Day and a certain boy’s birthday so we were trying to finish up a number of home improvement type projects. Nothing like company to light a fire under your rear.

High on the list of things that needed to be done was our upstairs hall bathroom. Katrina was, in her words, trying to swing from the towel bar so it needed to be replaced. We decided hooks might be a better solution since they would be easier for the kids to use plus they could not be confused for a trapeze. But since you never know with these two we decided to mount a board to the wall for the hooks to be screwed to — wood is stronger than drywall. We mounted two boards to accommodate a lot of hooks. To make the whole thing look intentional we painted between the boards with magnetic primer and a topcoat of gray.

We bought magnetic photo frames — these are 3.5″ x 3.5″ — and put a black and white photo of each urchin in one. Then we put the frame on the magnetic strip above where they should hang their towels. I’m planning to add some twill tape loops to the towels to make them even easier to hang. We replaced the horrid light fixture that was in there and hung two black and white photos that Nichole took last Spring. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out although I did say to Papa that if we ever leave this house the new owners will be thinking I was some crazy lady with a magnet stripe in her bathroom. Oh well.

If you were to walk into my house today you would be greeted at the door by the wafting scent of menthol. That, and two coughing, sputtering children. So we’re snuggling under quilts and on new pillows while trying to recuperate. When we’re feeling up to it we can do a little choo-choo until we need a rest again. And we’re eating soup. Soup, soup, and more soup is definitely on the menu. Now we just need to decide which kind. Any suggestions?

I despise our couch and love seat in the family room. They are threadbare, the springs stick out the backs, they’re an all around mess. But… Papa points out that with a four year old and an almost two year old replacing them might not be the best idea at this moment. So instead I’m making pillows. I think there will be a lot more before I’m through, enough so I don’t have to look at the couch anymore. So this is the first of many.

It’s made from a sweater that I felted. I used the ribbing around the waist of the sweater to make a finished edge on the back. But, I sort of liked how it looked and then I thought of some owl buttons I had from Molly. Presto, change-o — back becomes front. Instead of making buttonholes I sewed the pillow shut. I figure I’ll have to take the buttons off the pillow if I’m going to wash it anyway.

Sorry for the late post, we’ve been attending a gallery opening of Pirate art.

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