Letting it Go

Last night I had a vision of myself as an organizing queen. I was going to sit down on my couch and go through two boxes of old papers. I was going to file them in clearly labeled folders, in order of date. I was going to be completely ready for school to start, with no baggage, with a new organizational method.

Did you notice the tense there?

It didn't happen.

What did happen was me, close to tears, with seven years worth of paperwork in my lap, on the floor, and spilling off the coffee table. No organization at all.

Now, at this point, I could have made myself a cup of caffeine-filled tea and plowed on through. I could have channeled my well-organized Grandma Mitchell and just thrown things away. I could have taken myself to task and whipped myself into shape and did all of those not fun things and had my past more organized with my present.

I didn't.

I made a cup of caffeine-free tea and put everything back into the boxes. On one I wrote "Misc. Paperwork 2002-2008." On the other I wrote "Misc. Paperwork 2008-August 2009" and then I put them in a closet. And then a started a new filing system and filed everything for the rest of August away neatly. And then I went to bed.

What can I say? I'm too tired to sort through all that crap. I'm moving forward. Highly organized from here on out!

(Maybe.)

(No. Definitely.) :-)

Quilt Paintings

Oh! Stop by Helen R. Klebesadel's website and look at her paintings of quilts.

I am in love.

Rushing Forward

Why, hello, Blog!

Since my last post, I have been to another Rangers game, to Austin to visit good folks, and to the wedding of a dear college friend. I have also registered for four classes, changed my work schedule, familiarized myself with a new campus, and bought books.

And, I have, dear Blog, pieced all of the squares for a quilt, ironed them, and "squared up" about half of them.

I have knit a dishcloth. (Sometimes things are measured in little progresses.)

I have tried to bake two kinds of cookies (cranberry chocolate chip and chocolate/white chocolate chip bars) with great disappointment. But we ate them anyway.

So next week I return to college, full-time, to complete an English degree begun seven years ago. I am excited. I have three English classes and a Political Science class and a B I G stack of books. I went shopping this week and bought a new backpack with pink and purple polka dots, and a purple notebook I've filled with college-ruled paper, and lots of pens, pencils, highlighters, and sticky notes. I am ready.

I'll also be working full time.

So... here we go!

On Piecing (Or, rather, on cutting)

After my successful completion of a tiny quilt in one evening, I was feeling very full of myself. I decided to pull out the quilt kit I bought right before I broke my arm, and figured that, in one evening, I could really knock part of it out. I had visions of needing things I didn't have, like more batting and basting pins.

Can you tell that I'm new at this?

Here is what I did get accomplished with the twenty-four fat quarters in the kit: washed them; dried them; ironed them; squared them up and cut them into strips.

That took four hours. FOUR HOURS. This is a LAP quilt, not a king size quilt.

But I was meticulous. Every one of those strips is close to perfect (except maybe the last four or five--I was getting tired and my back started to hurt...). As I cut, hunkered over the mat on my floor, I thought about quilting and how I was taking big pieces and cutting them into little pieces so that I could make big pieces again and I wondered at why I am so committed to making these things to keep people warm and whether it really matters and if this quilt would one day end up in a Goodwill with no one to love it. (My mind does wander.) And then I thought about our grandmothers and great-grandmothers cutting up pieces of their clothing to make something that would be beautiful and useful. I still have one with pieces of my grandmother's dress in it.

It's just awfully hard on this twenty-first century girl, having to delay gratification. I must learn to be patient and wait for beautiful things to develop, to take the time to cut perfectly, to know that the end product is worth all the time I invest in it.

I want to learn to do this with food, too, and my schoolwork, and, even, with my relationships. Because the best things sometimes take a while to square up, to cut just right.

I still have to cut those strips again, into squares, and then I'll begin the long (apparently it takes a while?) process of piecing. And then sandwiching. And then quilting. And then binding. And then I'll have a little lap quilt that will match my living room perfectly.

And it will be warm. And beautiful.

Needle Felted Pet Replica

Another odd craft find.

(click on the quote)

"Don't let the soft fibers [of your pet's hair] go to waste. Use some pipe cleaners and a felting needle to create a replica of your pet, made from her fur!"

I mean, seriously?

Doggie Day Care

Today is carpet cleaning day at the ol' apartment, so Roxie got to do something she's never done before. Doggie Day Care.

And they have webcams.







I don't just think she had a good day. I know she did. She looked out the window, sniffed butts, wrestled a little, and relaxed on the couch(see above). Periodically people came in and petted the dogs and cleaned up messes. Very cool!

Recovering

Whew! Been a bit busy here.

I've been recovering from:
1. My poor knitting gauge.
2. A two-week visit with a wonderful friend.
3. A great trip to Kansas City with Andy.
4. A fabulous weekend with my mother.
5. The process of enrolling in school again.
6. End of month and end of quarter closings at work.

So, sorry about the non-posting there for a bit. I'm reorganizing the life here, preparing for fall.

Be back soon.