I'm Setting The Record Straight!

I am not a "real" quilter. Most of you already know that, but some of you are a little confused so I thought I'd put that out there. My quilting days can be traced back to just a few short years ago when my handy-dandy Singer sewing machine died. I had a sewing machine not for crafting purposes but for utilitarian purposes. I had a sewing machine to hem pants and I am not kidding when I say that that was it's one and only use. When it died I bought a Bernina. Whatever you do, if you need a sewing machine, do not take a quilter with you to buy a replacement, you'll come home with a machine that has more featues than your car... and more decorative stitches than you will ever need... I am so not kidding.

Anyway, I felt that to justify my expense (oh, did I mention it cost as much as a car payment, or two? Oh yeah, a "real" sewing machine's price starts at triple digits and only goes up from there. It's insane! ), I should learn how to do something more than hems and whala! A quilter was born; ok so maybe not a "real" quilter, but a quilter non the less.

I always think of "real" quilters as people who make large quilts with fancy techniques, or miniature quilts with a gazillion tiny little stitches. Yeah, that's never gonna happen. I will never make either one of those qualifying quilts.

Here's something I have learned, real quilter's have sewing machines that have first and last names. I am so not kidding. Their machines have names like "Bernina 'something or another'. If you ask someone what kind of sewing machine they have and it doesn't have a last name, they are not "real" quilters. Oh stop it, if you are a real quilter you KNOW this is true. Stop pretending you have no idea what I'm talking about, you so do know the make and model of your machine. You probably know mine's!

Quilters and their machines are like men and their cars. It's crazy! OMG! They pimp them up too... I started pimping mine recently so I might be turning into a more dedicated quilter myself. See the fancy little lamp I have on mine? Oh and I have a vice pincushion on it too... I'm thinking I might bedazzle it soon. What do you think, TOO much? =/

I'm so bad. I will never be a real quilter. I accept that. I can live with it, but I thought I'd put it out there so other folks can see that you don't have to be a REAL quilter to have quilting fun. Quilting is a great crafting activity. Give it a try...you'll love it!

What Were YOU Doing on This Day, Ten Years Ago?

As a young woman I had heard over and over again, "I remember what I was doing when JFK was shot. I was ..." Somehow I didn't get the significance of that. I didn't understand how something that happened "to someone else" could really have a life changing impact on your life. It seemed to go against my steadfast belief that "you are responsible for your own actions and no one else's". That changed, on Sept. 11, 2001.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day in New Hampshire. A sunny, crisp and cool morning that reminded me of why I love Fall in New England. After having dropped off GP at school (what was to be his last semester, ever) I came home to tackle this cabinet. I say tackle because it had been a work in progress for a few years before I had decided that this was going to be the year when I would finish it. I laid it across the table, gathered my supplies and turned on the kitchen TV. Engrossed in my sanding and glazing I heard something that caught my attention and when I looked up at the TV there was one of the twin towers with smoke coming out of it. I stopped what I was doing and brush in hand raised the volume.

The anchor, I think it was Peter Jennings, said a plane had just crashed into the tower. My thought was, "What an idiot! How the hell do you miss the twin towers???" I swear, that was what I though.... but lets regress, there had been a plane crash a few months prior, and the pilot crashed into a building, accidentally! He had lost control of his plane and crashed it into a building, and it was all over the news, just a few months before. I, being of the flying class, the ones that believed that flying was safer than driving a car thought, "This is insane. They need to stop handing out flying licenses to every Tom, Dick and Harry!" I swear, this is really what rushed through my mind as I stood there, in the safety of my kitchen paintbrush in hand, shaking my head. Mind you, I did not know it was an airline jet. And of all the things that I could have thought, even now as I remember it, I don't think there was any reason, any reason at all for me to have thought of terrorism as even the most remote possible cause of this crash)... THEN, as I watched and listened to the anchor speculate as to the cause of the crash, the second plane came into the screen, and right before my eyes, crashed into the second tower. THAT'S when I knew, this was not an accident. This was bad, really bad.

I will never forget what I was doing when something that happened thousands of miles away from my home, to people I did not know, changed the way I live my life to this very day. Pretty much the same way my parents will never forget what they were doing when JFK was shot and killed... but alas, I know my son and children of his age will never understand what it is that makes this day so unforgettable. They were too young to have lived the life of freedom we enjoyed before TSA, before Homeland Security... to them, this is just the way things are. This is the way they have learned to travel, to live. You cannot REMEMBER what you never lived.

My cabinet stands unfinished in my family room and every time I look at it I remember. I remember I was painting it on this day, ten years ago.

I bet you remember what you were doing too.

*Image is a cropped screenshot of the Jules Naudet footage that is included in the Naudet brothers' documentary film 9/11, originally broadcast on March 10, 2002 on CBS, and later released on DVD. It is a historically significant image of the crash of American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Buttons and Blooms Weekend Sale!

I saw these fabrics at Spring Market and almost keeled over. I am such a Whimsicals Fan I border on groupie. How bad is that? I know, it's bad, LOL! Anyway. I had to order them and have been harassing the folks at Red Rooster since July (they were supposed to ship way back then, but they kept being delayed for one reason or another), and they finally came in yesterday! OMG! They are soooo cute. I love them all, and think everyone needs a yard, or two of these so I am having a weekend sale to share my love of Buttons and Blooms. I even put the book on sale for those who need a little inspiration and find themselves in love with the fabrics but pondering the age old question, "What would I use it for????"

I love the wallhanging in this book. I saw it at market and yep, it was amazing... Here's another great quilt I saw made up using the panels and fabrics from the collection. I asked around an no one knew who designed this one or even of there was a pattern. It was at one of the distributors, someone at their company had made it... I love it!

I also love the little owl in the book. It's like a pincushion on steroids!

But if I had to choose only one thing to make from this book, being theWeekend Warrior that I am, I would make the runner. Be still my heart, I am in love with the simple applique and the easy piecing. It screams, "You can make me!" and who who doesn't love having something to show for their weekend of crafting??? I know I NEED to feel like I am getting something done. No matter how small, if it's done, I feel accomplished. It's the little things that make me happy.

Sale ends at midnight on Sunday. Don't miss it. These fabrics are gorgeous, I know you'll love them! You can see the complete collection here:

Buttons and Blooms by Whimsicals

What Do YOU want To Do Before You Die?

My friend Linda Lum DeBono posted a great link on her FB wall this morning and I just couldn't stop thinking about it. It's not that I haven't thought about dying, I think about it all the time (that's a whole different story), or that I don't have a Bucket List (now really, who doesn't?), because I most certainly do. It's just that it caught me off guard and as soon as I read the question I knew what I wanted to do most of all... and although my Bucket List is a mile long, the answer to the question wasn't on the BL. HMMM. Kind of makes you wonder if you really need the list at all.

Now I won't tell you mine because I don't want to distract you with what I want to do, and I would suggest not reading anyone else's answer until you have posted your own, but tell me, what came to mind when you read the question? The first thought...not the rationalized, life plan answer... the very first thing you thought of. Did it surprise you?

Wow, who knew Sunday Mornings could be so full of soul searching? Absolutely amazing! Thanks Linda for sharing your great find.

You can read all about the Before I Die Project HERE!

Just Call Me Sharpie Girl

It's been so long since I actually completed a project it is almost anticlimactic. I started my October Scare months ago, and I am so not kidding. I bartered with my niece who is a piecer and after I cut out the kits I gave her two backgrounds to piece. She then returned the two completed backgrounds for me to appliqué. which was no big deal. It was fast, it was fun, it was easy peasy. Now why is it that I hadn't finished this baby? It was the embroidery. What is it with me and embroidery? I just can't embroider. I am an embroidery failure. I just don't get it.

My embroidery is so bad it's like a toddler scribbling with crayons. Really, my straight lines have sharp edges. How the heck does that happen? I have no idea.
So this weekend I decided I would "bite the bullet" and take my time finishing this little cutie. I just had to clear it out and put an end to this "pending" project. I couldn't move on. I had to put this one behind me so I whipped out my black sharpie (Oh yes, I did, LOL!) drew in my lines, and then stitched on the lines. Oh and if you are thinking it's not so bad...I'll have you know that AFTER I stitched my little spider legs I went over them with my extra fine sharpie and "Fixed" them. Oh, it's "Just" a wall hanging. It's not like it's some fancy schmancy quilt... a crafter has to do what she has to do, and until my embroidery skills improve (I don't really foresee this happening anytime soon), I shall be a "cheating" with my sharpie so you can just call me Sharpie Girl. =)

If you would like to make an October Scare quilt of your own, you can order the kit here.

I Have a Zero Tolerance Policy for Attitude

At forty five I feel I have lived a life far beyond my years. I feel that life's turns have tumbled me to where I am nowhere near what I thought I'd be "when I grew up". I studied hard, played hard and expected nothing but the best from myself, and for myself. You get not what you deserve, but what you work for and earn.

GP and I were at a local restaurant the other day and after the server had done one eye roll too many, one "What?" too many, and one "sigh" too many. I called her out. I did. It's been nagging at me for days. I can't let it go, and I know why. I have reached the end of my "Taking crap" line. Yep, I'm done

I have to tell you. I am so sick of people who think they are entitled to huff and puff at the "inconvenience" of having to write down "Lettuce and cheddar cheese only, croutons on the side, ranch dressing on the side, no garnish." I mean, really? Are you freakin' kidding me? Maybe the fact that I have spent MONTHS, teaching my son exactly how to phrase this so that he gets exactly what he wants, so he doesn't totally flip out and have an emotional meltdown at the table, has something to do with my zero tolerance for "attitude".

Teaching an autistic child independent living skills is no easy task. It means many, many embarrassing moments when the clerk stares at you with the "why don't you just tell me what you need lady, and leave the poor kid be?" look. It means you might get into a squabble right in front of the cashier because he refuses to figure out how much money he must give the person. It might mean that you hold up the line at the supermarket because you need him to count his change before he leaves, lest he be shortchanged. It's no small task. But one day I will be dead, and I know that he will be able to shop for groceries, make change, and eat out, among other things.

Children grow up and my once cute little boy is now turning into a young man, and because I have not had "autistic" tattooed on his forehead I have found that sometimes, some people, feel that they can treat him with contempt. It's subtle, but it's there. And I for one, will not stand for it. I think if more people were called out for their bad behavior they would stop being jerks. I think folks feel that they are safe hiding behind a badge and need to be called on it, so I am starting with the woman in the mirror.

The number of special needs children turning into adults with special needs is alarming. I guess everyone forgot that these kids grow up, and when they grow up they look just like anyone else, and if they are lucky, they talk and do things that everyone else does...except they do things in quirky ways.

Here's a hint, if someone is talking to you while staring at the table, they are probably NOT being rude, they are probably AUTISTIC. If someone is talking "at you" while on a cell phone, they are just being rude... see the difference? I was once at a restaurant where I actually told the server, "My son speaks English. Do you understand English?" Oh yes I did. She was some young Chickie whose every other word was "What?" and the more she, asked, the more GP flapped (stimming is an outward sign of happiness, distress, anxiety...); but I would NOT speak for him. I would sit there till the freakin' cows came home before I would say what I knew he could say. He could do it and he would, and I would not let that arrogant kid get away with being a jerk. Oh she clearly understood English, and after I called her out she "listened a little more carefully" and understood his order... I understand the need to have someone LOOK at you when they speak to you, I do. I struggle with it every day. I have a "Look at Mom" mantra going 24/7. But if the person is not looking at you, and clearly not distracted otherwise, wouldn't that be a clear sign that something is amiss with this person? Hello?????????????? The lack of empathy makes me angry.

If someone is telling you exactly how they want something, over and over and over. What would lead you to believe that of you keep asking the same question you won't get the same answer? "Do you want tomatoes on that?", "I want a cheese and lettuce salad with croutons on the side and ranch dressing on the side". So, you don't want onions on that?" "I I want a cheese and lettuce salad...." Hello? How many times do you need to hear the same sentence before your brain clicks to "ON" and tells you "This is a recording!" It drives me nuts. It's scripted language, it's obvious. It's so clear it could be water from a spring. Oh, OK...maybe not to everyone, but you really don't have to be the sharpest tool in the shed to get it, you really don't.

Scripted language is like a recording that helps autistic children cope with the anxiety of having to express their needs and wants to strangers. I don't expect everyone that I meet to know this. I just expect people who are in the service industry to realize that when someone is telling you exactly what they want and how they want it, you should just take them at their word and let them be. It's not rocket science. It's common sense.

So I had to vent and tell you that I now understand those angry old ladies that snap at people with very little provocation because I have turned into one of them. Be warned, if you are my server and you even glance at my son in any way that is not kind and caring, I will call you out on it. I will not sit there and pretend I don't notice because his life is too full of real challenges, he tries really hard to fit into "our" world, he is doing the best he can and if you can't or won't work with him, I'd like to see the manager because I have a zero tolerance policy for "attitude"!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Are you lovin' my sweet Nellie? I think she's the bomb. If you're not a primitive lover, you probably won't understand the love of primitive portraits. The little kids with the small bodies, thick necks and big heads are not for everyone but I tell you, I have a soft spot for these cuties For the longest time I have wanted to add one to my home but as you probably know by now, my house is tiny (and yes, I do mean that literally). When you have such a little house you have to be very picky with what you put in it, lest you end up on one of next season's episodes of Hoarders. I had looked and looked and had not found one that I loved so it was put on my home's "wish list". Then, in late Winter Cynthia Ereksen posted a Saturday workshop for a "Primitive Portrait" and sight unseen, I signed up.
I've never been disappointed in any of the pieces I have painted with Cynthia and this one was no exception. As soon as I saw her I knew it was just meant to be. Notice she is learning to stitch... coincidence? Nah. Destiny! She was meant for me to paint and was well worth the wait.Isn't she the cutest thing ever? Look at that sweet little face, and her fancy little dress. Oh, I just love her. Now I just have to find her a spot in my tiny little love shack; I know there's bound to be a spot for her... I just have to find it, LOL!

Hope you're month is on a roll too. Is it really the ninth already? Wow! Time does fly when you're having fun...