I'm Back!

Okay, I have been a total blog slacker.  I have been up to my eyeballs in quilt orders.  It is safe to say that I can now see the light at the end of my tunnel.  While I was away I was working on this...

And this...

And this..

A really bad picture!

Would you believe I was so busy I forgot to take a final picture of any of them!  Apparently blogging wasn't the only thing I slacked off on.

We had a number of un-quilting related things going on around the house as well.  There was this...

Mark's Broken Ankle

And this..

Emma and Kaela's First Concert

And don't forget...

OREO cheesecake!

Happy 12th Birthday!

The "Art" of self-esteem

Fostering self-esteem in your children is hard.  Fostering self-esteem in a pre-pubescent/ pubescent girl seems impossible.  One day they are high on themselves, they can do no wrong, and you quite obviously are always wrong.  The next day, heck the next minute, they are awful, can do nothing right and they dislike everything about themselves. (you however, are still wrong.)

Such is the case with my daughter these days.  Every day after school is a fit of tears,  sometimes they last a few minutes, other days I worry we will have to get flood insurance.  Tuesday was a day just like that.  The tears kept coming.  Everything was Wrong.  Everything I did or said was definitely Wrong.  I was at a dead end.  How do I help my daughter when she does not want help?  Then It came to me.

Years ago I watched a movie called What the Bleep Do We Know?  (click on the title of the movie to see a YouTube trailer).  The movie discussed how our thoughts influence our environment and our bodies.  I remembered a scene in the movie where the main character is writing positive statements of love all over her body.  Right then I was struck with inspiration.

I can still teach her to think positively about herself.  I dug out the washable markers and set to work. I explained nothing.  I just started writing on her leg.  I wrote.  "I am Smart."  then drew a heart and some flowers. She said, "HEY, why are you writing on me?"  But that was all.

After a second message.  "I am Wonderful."  She said, "I want to do that."  So I handed her a marker and we set to work.

All told we wrote 18 positive affirming statements and drew assorted pictures.  By the end of the evening she was tattooed from head to foot and there was not one more tear shed.

I believe I could use a little body art myself. :)

Go Bengals! Oops I mean Steelers!

Here is the newest quilt to grace my etsy shop.  I am very excited with the way the Steelers logo turned out.

I love it when you have a design in your head, then it actually turns out the way you pictured it!  I did, however, fail to notice how big the end result would be.  It was intended to be a lap quilt. It is really more of a twin.

I quilted a basic meander all over the surface of this quilt.  Just to mix it up, I used a small meander on the border and a larger meander all over the remaining space.

 I think it turned out quite well.( even if I did grow up in Ohio:)

Leaf Pile

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree."

Emily Bronte

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

Dr. Seuss

I've never known anyone yet who doesn't suffer a certain restlessness when autumn rolls around... We're all eight years old again and anything is possible.
Sue Grafton

baseball quilt announcement

It's the bottom of the 6th inning.  There is a runner on first.   Stepping up to bat for the Team Quilt is Kristin.  This 20 something quilter from South Carolina, is quite a little powerhouse. Her last at bat was a pop fly that still remains a UFO.  She seems confident as she steps to the plate. I believe I have seen that look of concentration before.  She's looking dangerous now folks. Here's the wind up, the pitch and.. It's a strike.  Kristin steps back, shakes it off.  This quilter is looking for a fight,  I don't think I have seen that look since the 2009 season, when she was just a rookie.  She lines up for the next pitch and ... Strike 2.  This is very surprising.  I thought for sure with that look she was going to make something happen.   Don't worry fans it's not over yet, I have seen her come back from much worse.  She takes her stance once more.  The pitcher winds up and it's a hit..IT'S going BACK, WAY BACK..

This one looks like it is... Gone!

Rockin' his new quilt.

How do you Make a baby quilt cuter?  Put the baby in it, obviously!

 Here is my new nephew chillin' out on his new quilt!  How can you not love that!

Royalty

This year our Halloween was complete with a couple of royal characters.

Emma, the Greek Goddess Artemus, complete with Grecian Up-do, sandals and quiver.

She would have loved to have had a bow and arrows. However, mom felt that while that would be accurate it was a bit over the top for an hour of candy retrieval.

Jack, or should I say Count Jackula, was once again an evil character. I am beginning to get ever more concerned about the number of times I have painted my son to look dead or dying.

The twosome collected just over 8 lbs. of candy, ( Oh, yes they weighed it.)  Emma is happy to report that she feels this is sufficient enough to last until Easter.  We shall see.