Thursday, October 6, 2011


Hiya :)
So I've been quiet on the blog front, yet again. Mostly because I'm still in that creative funk, where nothing is truly motivating me. Still not liking that last quilt I put together. And yes, I think I am going to border it with some of that darker raspberry, and see if that will tie everything together.  But none of the local stores have anything that will work, so just ordered some online and have to wait for it to get here.
In the mean time, when I have a little time to sew, I have been plugging away at my ufo's.
Got this top finished, and now to piece the back.
This started out in a funk - just to make myself sew - i started sewing a charm pack of Hoot to this banana kona - just chain piecing the squares... figured at least I was DOING something! LOL  which promptly started the juices flowing again - and these got pitched in a corner while I madly sewed on something else. They got pulled out again a month later... only to find that the basic squares still held no interest to me. So, I started chopping them up. :)  Wonky stacking and wacking. Wow what a labor! And really a pain in the behind!  Mostly trying to get them to stay straight in one long line was the irritating part! So.... got 5 long rows pieced, and still didn't like it. Set it aside once again, and decided to quilt the whirlygig quilt that has been sitting in my sewing room for almost 2 years - get this - already backed and basted and READY to go.  I think that's about when I started having machine issues - so there it sat. sheesh!  ( i have two others basted and waiting as well!)
So got it quilted and it's now being bound in the evenings. :)  (sneak peek below)
Came back to this gold one and decided to separate the rows with more yellow, and I had decided to do thin scrappy pieced horizontal lines. So pulled out fabrics... tore thru my scrap basket... but nothing seemed to work. Wasted two days pulling different fabrics and throwing them in piles. LOL  Still it just wasn't working.  See what I mean about a creative funk?
And then this Denyse Schmidt green floral seemed to be the way to go. But I didn't want to give up the scrappy pieced look... wavered back and forth and finally (geez FINALLY) decided to just use it and get the blasted thing done!
And yah know what? Now I love it! :)  


 Do you ever hit that point, where you just don't feel like you can trust your instincts? And analysis paralysis sets in and you get NOTHING done?  Yah. That's where i've been for way too long!
Funny how easy everything is when you're not having stunted brain issues! LOL


So, beyond the creativity line is family life :)
Staying busy!
I've been volunteering a couple times a week at Calli's school. She's so funny! She loves it when I come! Begs me to!! I keep thinking I'm going to embarrass her (just by being me!) but no - she thinks I am the coolest! I figure I might have one... maybe two years left before that changes. Gotta suck it up while I can!! :D 
Luckily my teenage son isn't embarrassed by me either. Mostly. LOL
As long as I don't act like a retard around his friends! hahaha!
He cracks me up. He's recently discovered the theater crowd at school, since he signed up for tech theater this semester. :)  And, he ditched marching band this year because his schedule conflicted with getting all his honors classes. So he got "stuck" in men's choir.  Imagine his surprise when it turned out to be one of his favorite classes! LOL
So this last weekend we held a garage sale on friday and saturday. Ugh. I was soo whooped! Bailey had play production thurs, fri and sat, and late nights and crew parties. (and mom is still the taxi). And then Tuesday was their choir concert - which turned out to be amazing, and not the dud type concerts we have been going to for the last 6 years. They had "inductees" that had to give solo performances to get into AP choir - their FIRST solo in front of a crowd.  Oh man. Some of them were just AMAZING!! Soooo much talent in some of these kids! It was truly a CONCERT! Many a goose bump moments, and incredible performances!
And the men's choir - ohh the characters in that group!! The baritones! (be still my heart!) And the cocky attitudes that only teenage boys can pull off! LOL! My face hurt from laughing and smiling so much!
And there was my son, front and center enjoying every minute of it! I think it is soo cool that he is so comfortable in his own skin, and he is loving every minute of the different aspects of high school!  :)
Wednesday night both my sons went to a rock concert with a friend and their dad. (Bailey's first REAL concert) And Gavin crashed here for the night.
He ended up just hanging out with me all day today!  I kept thinking he would want to bail and go do something fun - so kept trying to give him an out! LOL!! Nope. He was all about just hangin with mom today. (ok... tremendous smiles)  even when I said i had to run to joanne's to grab some fabric so I could finish that yellow quilt - he was like -COOL!
SAY WHAT?? REALLY?? LOL
Ok. (shocked)
It was a nice day :)
We came home and picked up Calli and her friend. They all busted into nerf gun wars for the next hour or two, and I escaped down to my room. Gav came down to visit for a while during the tactical rest periods. lol
Things that may sound dumb really. But it's those dumb things that paste a smile on my face from ear to ear. Having my family together. Getting to hang out with my kids, one on one and just BE together is priceless to me. Getting to be the mom that shows up at school, and having all the kids run and say hi to you - "it's Calli's Mom!!!" - that NEVER gets old! : D  Getting to just hang out with my 21 year old - even tho it was "boring" and I was so tired - he still wanted to be here and not somewhere else.
I feel blessed. I AM blessed!
So yah, I'm not blogging much - but you guys don't want to hear about all these things on a daily basis, right?
Or about doing laundry or vaccuuming (daily) there's not much else to blog about if I'm not sewing much! :)
I'll be back with a couple of finished quilts to show you soon!
xo
Bren

4 comments:

Jacque. said...

Good grief, Brenis...if you blogged more often, you wouldn't have to write a book to catch us all up with what's going on! Looking forward to seeing your finishes. So happy that you had time with Gav...and, of course, Bailey and Calli are still at those great ages. Love you.

kelley said...

So glad you had that wonderful family time...has to be refreshing for your soul!

No help for the creative zombie time...the only thing I can do then is clean and organize my supplies...work on simple log cabin quilt blocks or some simple hooking to get my fix in...

hus and prayers my friend

WoolenSails said...

Sounds like you have been enjoying time with your family and that is always good. How are you feeling? Better I hope.

Debbie

Gayle said...

Hey Bren - Sounds like you've been having some nice experiences with your kids - and getting a LITTLE sewing done.

BTW - years ago on Wool Snippets (I think) you shared instructions on how to make felted pincushions using snippets from hooked rugs and a kitchen blender. Would you be able to send me those in an email? I'd love to finally try my hand at making one!

Thanks!