Saturday, May 9, 2009

Miss me?

There is one basic reason why I have been so bad these last few weeks about doing any sort of regular posting. One small, cute, stubborn reason. My 2 year old daughter, in defiance of all that good and proper and a part of the natural order, has given up her afternoon naps.

My older daughter did this early as well, but not THIS early. I can remember talking to her daycare provider and later her preschool teachers to explain to them that Harper no longer takes naps and that, if she does manage to fall asleep, she will stay up all night and turn her mother into a babbling, zombie-like creature.

So now Devon has decided to do the same thing - a year earlier than her sister - thus depriving me of the only time I had in the course of a day to do things for myself. That was quiltin' and bitchin' time, and now it's gone and I can't figure out how to pull those two hours back out of my day.

I am hoping that when Harper starts kindergarten this fall I can find an affordable, part-time preschool or daycare situation that will allow me a few hours everyday to work and quilt and write while still having time to spend with her until her sister comes home. I've done the math, and I just don't think I can afford the sitter more than I already have her now. If only there were some way I could make some extra cash...

Well, if I ever manage to write something for Quilter's Home, I might get a bit, but what I really need is a merchandising empire. I mean - who doesn't, right?

I have thoughts brewing, and if all goes well, by tonight I will have totally SOLVED all your future Mother's Day gift buying dilemmas. It means I have to put off writing an article that is due tomorrow night, but screw that. This is way more fun.

(Oh, and the quilting weekend was fun and informative. It was also weird, in a way that will take a long time to explain. But I did learn the secret to perfect triangles - half-square triangles, anyway, though there is a similar method for flying geese. It involves this woman:



Know her? My mother and sister HATE this woman, but I have never seen her show so I don't know what they are talking about. However, she - or someone very clever in the company that holds her name under license - has invented this nifty ruler thingy:



It includes a chart, so that you look up what size you want your final squares to be, and then cut your fabric to a larger size square that corresponds according to the chart. Then you put the two colors of your fabric together and draw a line diagonally from corner to corner, both ways. Sew a scant 1/4 inch seam on either side of those lines - again, both ways. Then using a rotary cutter you cut along the lines you drew as well as vertically and horizontally and VOILA:



Perfect triangles!)

7 comments:

Cathy said...

I was wondering how your weekend with your sister was. I think it is the "quilt in a day" lady's voice that is so irritating. I think her name is Eleanor. Was not sure how to write that sentence. You can correct me and let me know what I did wrong.

Good luck with that little girl. How about tv?

Marydon said...

So who is she? What channel is her show on or called. Hmmmm.

Well, is you little girl just being normal ... they are so funny at that age ... independent dependents.

Have a beautiful day tomorrow. TTFN ~ Marydon

Yvette said...

My mother can't stand it when Eleanor is on TV either. Then she saw her in person at a quilt show and acted like she was Elizabeth Taylor. Go figure!

Vicki W said...

Eleanor Burns' voice is really irritating but that woman has introduced more people to quilting than any other 10 teachers combined. I think she has published hundreds of books and patterns and she comes up with really nifty tools, like yours, that helps us keep our sanity!

Sew Diva Diane said...

My daughter told me that terrorist should be forced to watch Eleanor Burns. BTW, I love her. She was the first person who made me believe that I could enjoy quilting AND produce good looking quilts.

Anonymous said...

I can so sympathise with the pain of losing afternoon naps. Cam gave his up at about 22 months. I was so gutted, as he had been a good 3 hour afternoon sleeper. It took me ages to get back into a crafting routine. I can cut while he's awake, then sew later after all the other kids are sorted for the night (if I still have any energy left). Good luck.

KateKwiltz said...

Eleanor Burns' voice makes me crazy, as does most of her rambling. But she's got great shortcut techniques, and her patterns are incredibly easy to follow. Her Flying Geese ruler is fab, BTW.