I finished a quilt!

Here it is.

I am not a host.

That's all for tonight.

RinseLatherRepeat

First we protest. 

And then we sew. 

Then we protest a little more. 

At this point I don't know what else to do. 

Happy 2017!

... only a month in!  Well done by me.  Let's see.  I think I uploaded some photos recently.  Hang on.

...

Wine bags and keychains made as a hostess gift for a cookie swap party.  Wholesome!

Pieces and a messy table!  Ooooo.

Christmas kid crafts.  Paint makes me crazy.  But that which doesn't kill me makes me stronger.

Quilt top!

Trip to NH for Christmas.  Dinner @ Rudi's with Uncle Andy.

Sweet ass Paw Patrol shirts avec capes.

Christmas dinner at my sister-in-law's family's house.  I think they only regretted the invite a litte.

E. + Nutcracker = True Love

Introduced the kids to Excitebike.

It snowed.  She was very little help.

My little angel

Another quilt top!

Not quilting.  Splashing.

E.'s favorite hiding place.

B. reads to E.  My work here is done.

I can't get enough of the cupee doll hair.

Hilarious pic of child trying to climb into a tiny car.

Terrible bowling selfie.

 

Given the way the world is going right now (spoiler alert: I am not a fan of POTUS45.  No arguments, no apologies, that's just the way it is), I need to put my time and efforts towards whatever good I can, even if it's not really good, but just something that keeps me off of Facebook and Twitter.  And Candy Crush.  But that's not Drumf's fault, I've got to own that one.

So.  I'm attempting to make a "bullet journal."  Kind of.  Right now it's terrible but I'm hoping I can put together something that will be useful, functional, and helpful to focus me to get more shit done so I can clear the cobwebs out a little more regularly.  Expectations are set low.

Also: I've set back to transcribing my parents' war letters.  Now, I'm not only typing up the whole letter, but I've started another document where I clip out highlights.  Here's one that completely undid me the other day (from Dad to Mom, 12/8/1969):

I’ll try to be brave around Christmas time, but I know it’s going to be depressing and sad being away from you on our first Christmas as a married couple.  But think of all the other wonderful Christmases we’ll have.  With unnumbered little Rays sneaking downstairs at 5:30 in the morning to see if Santa made it.  That’s what I really look forward to.  Our little kiddoes.  Smarter & prettier & stronger than their folks ever were.  Prettier than Mommy’s going to be a tough act to follow, too.

Right???  Ahhhhh.  So f*ing sweet.

But then I got to his next letter and I was met with the thing that I'd most dreaded and was pretty much the reason that I'd waited so long to start digging in to this project and oh no oh no oh no I can't unread what I read and it wasn't that bad but I still didn't want to go anywhere near it and let's just say I will NOT be transcribing that part of his letter and God willing I'll be able to drink heavily enough in the near future to forget about it.

Anyway.  Happy 2017.  Let's hope we all make it out alive.

Christmastime! And Gilmore Girls!

John got invited to go see the Wizards game tonight.  At first I was not super psyched about it... and then I remembered that the Gilmore Girls redux is now available on Netflix.  Done and done!

Thanksgiving is in the rearview and it's time to jump full throttle into the December holiday season.  The tree is up and the decorations are on display.  As each year passes, I feel like I've got my shit together, Christmas-wise.  I grew up in a house that had rock solid traditions.  Maybe it was because I was the third and there were many years of refining before I could remember.  But everything seemed so effortless.  Nothing fancy - mostly handmade items saved over the years.  Each of us had our own ornament boxes - my was a Vodka case procured from the local liquor store.  I believe there was also a Cutty Sark case.  It was so magical to pull out each ornament, unwrap it from the old newspaper and put it on the perfect spot on the tree.  Most of my ornaments were homemade by my mother and my aunt.  I still have all except one late edition painted porcelain chili pepper... not a huge loss.  My mom made ornaments for every person she knew, I'm convinced of it.  Family, neighbors, church friends, co-workers.  Seriously.  Like, dozens every year.  So many people still remark to me how special it is to have those small remembrances of her.  I do not know where she found the time or energy, but mostly I don't know how she was so organized.  So able to hone in on a project, start it, work on it, complete it to perfection AND actually hand it out to the people she intended to give them to.

I flail.  I start things, I put them aside forever.  I can't make a decision so nothing gets done.  I only chose things that don't require accuracy because I can't focus long enough to measure things properly, make colors coordinate or line rows up.  I don't cook because more often than not I leave out at least one key ingredient or skip a crucial step in the process.  My life lacks cohesion.  Eclectic might be one way to put it.  Mish-mash might be more appropriate.

Finally, finally, I'm building my own traditions for my family.  Tree the day after Thanksgiving.  2 (and only 2) Rubbermaid tubs of curated decorations to put out on the sideboard.  It filled me with crazy joy when the Rupper pulled out the stockings and excitedly announced to e. harrison which one belonged to whom in our family.  We made crafts - the ugliest paper plate Santa Claus you've ever seen.  But we made them.

Tonight, Lorelai, Rory, and I pulled down a box from the inheritance filled with Christmas fabric.  I found a kit that I'm sure was bought at fancy quilt shop by my mom.  A pattern with all of the appropriate fabrics in all of the appropriate measurements.  Cohesion.  She always read an instructional manual all the way to the end.    

I decided to cut out.

And then I thought I'd see how far I could get putting the pieces together.

It's a simple project, I think the final measurements will be 26" square.  But still, the pressure I felt that all those little points had to line up and all the seams had to be pressed the right way was so very real.  It felt like I owed it to her, to slow down and breathe and concentrate.  I should do that more often.

Done!

 

Finally!  I feel like I've been working on this quilt forever.  Or, I guess to be more precise, I've been putting off working on this quilt forever.  Now we move on to my second favorite hobby: the procrastination of sending the finished product to its recipient. 

Binding Marathon Pt.1

1 Baby Quilt.  3 Doll Quilts that have been sitting around for ages.  Progress feels great.  At least something is heading in a positive direction.