keeping busy...

The book proposal has been gone for three weeks now. My plan was to work diligently on pieces of the book... start writing directions, re-make one of the projects, finish sketches of the planned work. Reality has been a bit skewed from my plans, though. I wasn't counting on hitting a "creative black hole" immediately following the proposal's submission. Or suddenly needing about four extra hours of sleep a night for a few days after letting go of that big box. And we had two school vacations in the weeks following (my youngest goes to an area charter school which has a different vacation schedule than my older girls). We've been busy... Maggie had her wisdom teeth out, the girls have had bunches of friends over, I've had several friends over, our youth group spent an afternoon tubing at a local ski resort, the house is fairly clean.... It has been a fun three weeks, just not very book-productive.

Now, the girls are all back in school, I've emerged from the creative black hole, and I'm ready to get back to work. My plan is still to tackle re-making a project and to start writing out directions. But I've started sketching ideas for two more books and am eager to start trying out the ideas. I also have a stand-alone magazine pattern in the works.... Guess I'm pretty good at de-railing my own carefully laid plans!

Oh! The past three weeks have not been void of sewing.... I did finish up a quilt that I started almost a year ago for a friend's 16th birthday. If I get the binding on in the next couple of months, it will even be in time for the birthday! This is a fun quilt in black, white and red with all kinds of fun conversation-print fabrics... music, animals, asian prints (this girl is going for her black-belt this month), and polka dots. The backing is fluffy and fleecy, turquoise blue with lime-green dots. It is a very heavy, snugly quilt. I made the mistake of pulling it over me while watching a television show with the girls last week... and was asleep within five minutes!

I've also pulled out a table runner that I have been working on for my sister for... ummmm... a long time. Several years ago, Erica asked for a navy and white table runner for her new table. The navy and white would match a beautiful (Moraccan?)bowl that she picked up while traveling. (She gave me a similar bowl, shown in the photo.) This pattern is INTENSE!!!! Every year, I pick it up, work on it for several days, then start to see double of everything and pack it up for another year. This table runner will have more detail in it than several of the quilts I've made. At the rate I'm going, I might have it done in... ummmm.... several more years. I hope she'll still have the table and the bowl....

Well... my sewing machine is calling! Have a great day! I hope I'll have more to show you soon! Joy!

PS... the table runner is from Weekend Scrap Quilting by Jeanne Stauffer and Sandra L. Hatch. The black, white and red quilt is from a magazine article. Unfortunately, the article and the quilt blocks got separated months ago and I have no idea what magazine it is from or who is the author of the pattern....