Quilt 1, Part 2: Fancy

     

The rectangles are now squares and all paired up into sets of four. Soon they will all be delightful little pinwheel blocks, bright with color and pattern. The more I sew, the more excited I am to spend a late summer evening snuggled under this quilt.

The rest of my fabric shopping spree arrived today. Frankie is excited to hear the mailman knock on the door and to examine the colors and patterns of all the fabric. He’s also curious to sew something, so now I’m planning a little fabric dolly blanket for us to make Rosie for her birthday. Straight lines all the way.

     

Summer is rolling along though and most of the scenes are these two together, playing and laughing. Picking (well, eating) peas from a dear friend’s garden, playing in the yard and the park, wonderfully dirty legs and feet to be washed before bedtime, Rosie’s hair curling in the humidity, long, unexpected naps. Every day has frustrating moments, to be sure, but by the time they are asleep and I sit down at my machine to sew, I can only see each day through the golden lens of summer. Warm, glorious, halcyon days.

 

Quilt 1, Part 1: Fancy

     

Another busy summer day. Frankie started summer preschool while Rosie and I went to the park for Boot Camp with Babysitters. She charmed the babysitters and was pushed in the swings for most of the class and I did burpees and other exercises. When we picked him up, Frankie reported that there is a “big, big huuuuge sandbox” with diggers and a bulldozer and that, after much nervousness before going today, he was okay with going back for the next class. Success!

After naps and an early dinner of mac and cheese, we were off to soccer. Again, Frankie preferred to watch the instructional half and then excitedly played during the scrimmage. He took a couple of good falls (and got back up!) but ultimately became very frustrated and fitful that he didn’t score a goal tonight. We had a long talk about sportsmanship and he eventually calmed down. Ever the little sister, Rosie is determined to join the big kids on the pitch and is getting pretty quick as she sprints off. I spend half of soccer chasing her down and the other half providing emotional support. The life of a parent, I guess.

It’s quiet in our house without Loki. Hero sits a little closer when I sew, work, type. It’s comforting for both of us. I now have a pile of 2.5 x 4.5 inch pieces of Bonnie & Camille’s Happy Go Lucky waiting to take shape as Fancy, one of the first quilt patterns I decided I wanted to make. 260 cheerful little rectangles are ready and waiting for the next step in this process.

 

And so it begins

 

This afternoon both kids napped and I ordered fabric. And when I say fabric, I mean a lot of fabric. Enough to make at least four quilts. Maybe six. Bill joked that while he watched television, I would be making heirlooms. That got me thinking.

I started to consider the special items we have in our home. In most cases, we know who they belonged to but we don’t know much more than that. I thought it might be interesting to chronicle the creation of my quilts and what happens in our home while they are made so someday our children will be able to snuggle under a quilt and know more than just who made it.

So this is my attempt to record our life and the progress of my craft. Wish me luck!