Hopeful Homemaker

Ready

August 19, 2013 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

It has begun. I sat in my kitchen this morning as the first rays of light began creeping through the blinds.

Last month I found this indigo dyed table runner for $3. I like how it looks on top of the French linen mangle cloth I use on my table (which I obviously don’t bother to iron!) As we swing into school I find myself wanting to simplify everything in the house to a clean blue and white color scheme. I’m not sure why; perhaps the simplicity of it speaks to what I’m trying to feel inside. Perhaps I like the contrast it provides for the family room full of school supplies ready for use. Maybe it reminds me what a fresh start the school year is for all of us.

My 7th grader started today. Tomorrow six of them will go. One starts kindergarten in a week. It will take a couple of weeks for things to shake out and for a real schedule to come together, probably after Labor Day. It’s the time of year when we have feet in two different worlds and I hope the transition is a good one. I want to be the calm in the storm for all of them as they find their bearings.

Calm and ready. And simple. Waiting for what lies ahead.

Medallion: Pluses and Arrows

August 14, 2013 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

I took a little break this week from my Anchor Quilt project to pull out a WIP. After cutting and piecing a lot of one inch squares, the next border on my Lone Star Medallion quilt is complete. It’s a busy border with the King’s Road print used as the background and a floral print (both from Pat Bravo’s Carnaby Street collection for Art Gallery Fabrics) for the pluses, but I like the way it looks.

These little plus signs measure 1.5 inches across, and the tiny squares finish at 1/2 inch.

One of the things I really like about this border is the way it reads as an almost solid from a distance, but has interest when you look more closely.

I also think it gives the eye somewhere to rest after the extra-busy look of the mosaic and flying geese borders that sit just inside it. It kind of calms things down a bit.

Now I’m working on the next border, which involves twelve more of these:

Yep. Twelve more paper pieced arrows are on their way to being complete. I have two sections done and now get to do the scrappy piecing of the ends.

I really love the way these arrows look together. In fact, several of my children have walked in the room and told me I should make an arrow quilt with them grouped like this. It would be pretty, wouldn’t it?

And so it’s slowly coming along. What do you think?

Jennifer Linking to Freshly Pieced

3 comments medallion, quilting

Bittersweet

August 11, 2013 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

Today my littlest one is four years old. I find myself tipping back and forth between how natural it feels and how final it is. She’s ready to be four years old; it’s what is right, and really, I’m ok. She still loves to be near me, still loves to snuggle and feels safest with me. I love that about her. But her birthday marks things that no one else’s does in our family. It marks the end of things. No more three year olds, ever. And that seems so final and so sad to me while at the same time life keeps me moving so quickly that there’s no time for the sadness of it to really penetrate my heart. I feel it in passing, and then we’re off and it’s soon forgotten. I remind myself that I’ve enjoyed three year olds EIGHT times! I am so blessed. But even with the knowledge that this world has been mine for much longer than is common, there’s an ache that is real.

We started the day with early morning cinnamon rolls and four pink candles. She got a new dress from one of her grandmas and we made time to curl her hair the way she likes it.

Her sister painted her fingernails, and she got to wear the birthday hat in Primary while everyone sang to her. The look on her face for that song was classic; I can’t tell you how much I wish I had a picture of it!

Smiles like this – the pure joy on her face – swallow up any feelings of bittersweet for me. She was so happy and it made all of us happy.

And we ended the day as we began it, with four more candles and more birthday songs. {I wish I knew what was reflecting the candle light onto her face like this, but at my house it’s snap the picture or miss it.}

There were two ice cream cakes, actually. I made one for her big sister who spent her birthday at soccer games and at a campground and never got a cake.

And there it is. My youngest is four and loving it. I’m sure I will, too.
Happy Birthday, Puddles!

2 comments 8 kids, birthday

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