The Edge of Reason

The Never Ending Flat Surface Syndrome Dilemma

Alyssa is home! She arrived this afternoon and she is already upstairs taking a nap. That is exactly what I used to do when I went home from college for a break - I started it out with a good nap in my own bed. Looks like the apple didn't fall far from the tree in regard to her love of naps.

Over the course of the past several days I have put forth a lot of effort to conquer the Flat Surface Syndrome that I am guilty of contributing to. Before I began my clean up, my house had fabric and sewing projects laying on every available surface, and as I mentioned: it looked like a fabric store gone bad. Now, after four days of putting away and reorganization, I'm happy to say that all my flat surfaces are clean and shiny - and all my sewing projects have been put where they belong (away!).

What is it about flat surfaces? These areas of unused space just scream for stacking and piling and unloading "stuff." Today when Alyssa came home, the first thing she did was dump her keys and her coat on the perfectly clean and uncluttered island in the kitchen. I had to laugh because she is the worst offended of Flat Surface Syndrome. In fact, it surprises me that I have let this beast get the best of me since she went away to college. Anyway.... I knew that the minute she got home, my flat surfaces would not remain uncluttered. Yep, I was right.

Through the years, in an attempt to do the right parenting thing by teaching my kids how to pick up after themselves, Alyssa and I have had the Flat Surface Syndrome discussion many times. And every time we are expecting company, she starts to grouse because all of a sudden her treasure trove of stacks disappear (I take those right up to her room and dump them on her bed). Her response has always been, "If you are so concerned about clutter, why do you let the refrigerator look like an art gallery of trash?" She never says it in a sassy tone, but rather as a sincere question because I think she has always been boggled by the contradiction of my desire to alleviate Flat Surface Syndrome altogether. And she has a point. My poor refrigerator - it is where I display all those little pictures that I don't want to put away and that I don't know what else to do with. And, to be completely honest, it is an unsightly mess.

And so, because I believe in full disclosure (even at my own expense), I will give you a little peek at what Alyssa is talking about when questioning the state of refrigerator art:

She's right! It looks like trashy art. I honestly have to admit that the front of my fridge is a total disaster. But every time I go to un-clutter this mess, I can't bear the thought of taking down even one single picture. I have pictures on this fridge that were moved from my old home and fridge to the new home and fridge - those pictures are over 16 years old - and still they remain right there on the fridge where I can look at them every single day. Why? Because in spite of the messy appearance, I love my trashy refrigerator art.

The moral of this story is that I am a hypocrite when it comes to Flat Surface Syndrome. If the area is flat, as in horizontal, then I want it clean. If the area is flat, as in vertical, then I am the world's worst offender. So there you have it... I'm a hypocrite and I am just now figuring this out.

And now that I have publicly humiliated myself by sharing my messing refrigerator, I will be done with the whole discussion of Flat Surface Syndrome because, clearly, I have not yet conquered the problem in spite of the fact that my horizontal flat surfaces are looking darn nice right now.

As time draws near for the arrival of Mom & Norm and Lon & Deb, I felt the need to make a little craft for our holiday table. This is nothing special - and definitely not fancy - but I thought I'd post the project because it is a very easy way to use up old craft supplies while making name tags for the holiday place settings:

Supplies: stickers, cardstock, pop dots, talcum powder, child's paint brush and a bone folder. That's all you will need to make these little tags.

Instructions: cut the cardstock to the size of 4x6 inches. Fold in half using the bone folder. Use a Sharpie Marker (my favorite writing tool) to write the names. Add the stickers using the pop dots: place a pop dot on the back of each sticker, leaving the cover on the top of the pop dot. Using the paintbrush, dust the sticker with baby powder to get rid of the stick. Next, remove the cover of the pop dot and place the sticker on the name tag in desired location.

This is a great craft for children who want to help with the holiday decorations and it is a wonderful way to use outdated or old products. Or, in my case, it is a fun way to kill time when you feel like playing with stickers.

To all my friends and family, I wish you a happy holiday filled with much love and lots of laughter. When I pause to consider my blessings, family and friends are at the top of the list and I am so very grateful that for the love and support you show as we enjoy this journey of life together.

Happy Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving for dogs, Thanksgiving for me.

I really need to get moving on preparing my home for Thanksgiving. But I'm using my bad back as an excuse to procrastinate. Therefore, my house still looks like a fabric store gone wrong. So in the meantime, I grabbed some fabric scraps and decided to make doggy scarves for the dogs to wear on Thanksgiving day. Sadly, I have yet to perfect a scarf pattern for our big dog, Buddy, so he will have to go bare-naked while the little dogs show off the latest fashion trend in doggy attire.

Here is a picture of the scarves I made for my miniature dachsie, Misty, and for my brother's schnauzer, Sophie:

 

So... my house will not be in tip-top shape, but the dogs and the table will be looking good!

I'm getting excited for the holiday - a feeling that is still new to me since we spent so many lonely holidays without extended family. But things are different now: Alyssa will be home from college on Tuesday (I can't wait to see her), my mom will arrive on Wednesday, and Lon and Debbie will be here on Thanksgiving day. Yippee! A house filled with love and laughter. I practically squeal out loud every time I think about seeing my mom again. And my brother is one of my absolute favorite people on earth, so I always look forward to spending time with him. I am blessed that he is so generous with his time and will make the trip down to Virginia and share mom with us (he gifted her the trip, so technically she is his this time around). I'm so very fortunate to have such a wonderful family - something I give thanks for with every prayer I say, because at the end of the day, it's not about a clean house or a fancy table... it's about family and love and gratitude - that is the real meaning of Thanksgiving. And this year, I will be giving thanks for every single minute I have with the people I love and cherish so very much. And our dogs... because they are part of our family too!

Project Wall Hanging

About a week ago, I fell down the stairs - all thirteen of them... face first, right into a window. Since then, my back has been acting up - okay, it hurts... really bad. Today I'm on a heating pad. Yesterday I was down flat. This has been the cycle for an entire week - heating pad, down flat, heating pad, down flat. So while I give my back a rest, I thought I would share some pictures of what I was doing before I fell down the stairs: Project Wall Hanging. I finished these quilts before I was down for the count. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the muscle spasms go away in time for me to clean up the mess that this project created in my house, which currently looks like a fabric store gone bad.

This is a picture of the wall hangings I made to give to my family on Thanksgiving day. I made three of these and I will mail my sister's gift to her since she won't be able to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. My thinking is that by giving the wall hangings as early Christmas presents it will allow the recipients the opportunity to incorporate them into their holiday decor, that way, they can enjoy the gift for the entire holiday season. The finished size of each wall hanging is 22"x28".

The pattern I used was from a company called Art to Heart. This company has all sorts of great projects and patterns for those who enjoy applique quilting. Note to my sewing friends who have not tried their hand at applique quilting: it is so much fun! You are missing out on a very versatile method of quilting if you haven't yet tried this style. In fact, it is my favorite thing to sew because it allows me the opportunity to use my decorative stitches.

Last month while at the quilt show I stopped to see a demonstration using sewing machine feet that were universal for all machines (these are the feet used by Mattel to make Barbie clothes!). The gal demonstrating these accessories was doing all sorts of amazing things with her sewing machine. Things like sewing on pearls and yarn and finishing edges with teeny-tiny stitches... and she made it look so easy. Well, being the easily influenced girl that I am, I ended up buying those feet. I also purchased her demonstration in class format on a DVD. And I bought the training manual that went with it. Yep. These purchases set me back a pretty penny. But you know what? I later took the time to do the classwork in my home. And I now use those feet and the manual all the time. These feet were the best investment I have made this year! For the first time ever, I was able to make professional looking napkins for my Thanksgiving table using the satin edge foot. Below is a picture of the additional Thanksgiving placemats and napkins I made to go with the fall placemats I made in October.

The name of this product is Creative Feet. For those interested in these accessories, I highly recommend purchasing the demonstration DVD and the training manual to supplement your purchase. Without the visual demonstration and the manual, I would not be able to utilize the feet to their full potential. But with the combination of all three items, I have been able to take my sewing to a whole new level. I truly believe that the Creative Feet have helped me utilize my sewing machine the way it was meant to be used (but that I was not adept enough to do without the aid of these feet).

Here is a close up of the edges of the napkins - I used the satin edge foot and a regular zig zag stitch:

Enough about sewing. I have one more fun thing to share. Last week I received the Vera Bradley holiday catalog in the mail. I don't carry a Vera Bradley purse, but I love the totes and accessories. My favorite VB products are the eyeglasses case and the cell phone wristlet and I've yet to find another company that makes these in so many styles and colors. And then there is my Alyssa - she is all about Vera Bradley products - she would have one of everything if her budget allowed, so the catalog was more than welcome in my home; I planned to get a head start on some Christmas shopping as I sat down to browse the pages. Little did I know that I would find something fun for myself! This is the picture of my new tote style purse. It is made out of rain slicker fabric, which to my knowledge is new to the Vera Bradley line. The color is called Symphony in Hue. And carrying this tote is a dream. It lies flat against my side and it holds everything I need and more, including a book and my little camera. I love my new purse!

I did end up buying a darling Christmas tree ornament to give to Alyssa, which helped alleviate the guilt I had from spending money on myself this close to Christmas. When I showed Jeff the purse, he thought it was great because 1) it won't get dirty during the winter, and 2) I haven't purchased a new purse in over two years and he knows that when I find one I like, I use it forever.

I like to say that I work hard and I play harder. But right now, I am not doing a dang thing other than resting my back - so no work and less play. I am so bored. I really hope my back is well enough for driving by tomorrow because I need to get ready for my company (and I want to use my new purse again). But the good news is: Project Wall Hanging is complete. When I hurt my back, I had doubts that I would be able to finish the wall hangings before Thanksgiving, so it comes as a pleasant, but painful, surprise that I met my deadline with days to spare. And now I can begin the much anticipated countdown of "Mom comes to dinner!"

Old games, out of control crochet, and a stack of books.

When Alyssa and John were little, they used to receive a handheld game in their Christmas stockings every year. This was before the days of Gameboy and Nintendo DS - clear back to when a battery operated game was considered to be the latest and greatest thing on earth. I would start looking for the perfect handheld games in October because the games became part of our holiday traditions, and heaven forbid if Santa didn't add a new game to the stockings. Over the years Santa even found a little battery operated Battle Ship and a little tiny battery operated Simon. One of our favorite mini-games was the teeny-tiny Bop-It that fit in the palm of your hand (it was so cute!). After several years of giving the handheld games, technology took a giant leap and the original Milton Bradley battery operated games were replaced by much fancier battery operated toys like Gameboy and Nintendo DS - these cost nearly four times the cost of the MB games, and were not nearly as indestructible as the simple games we started out with. 

Several months ago, I was looking for something and I stumbled across all our old handheld games. Surprisingly, they still worked. Even more surprising was that after fifteen years, we still have all those games. But the most surprising thing of all was that the games were actually where they were supposed to be: in the game cupboard! Bonus for me that my all-time favorite game, Yahtzee, was in the box. Since since then, I have played Yahtzee every single day. I keep the game right next to my television remote control, and I sneak in a game or two (or five or ten) during the television commercials. Jeff laughs at me because I love Yahtzee so much. But the thing is: Yahtzee is still fun, and I'm not one to set aside something that is fun just because it is old.

Something else I do while watching television is crochet. Sometimes I crochet just to be doing something because I can never just sit and look at the television - it makes me feel guilty. I blame this self-imposed guilt on my mother because she never just sat - her hands were always busy. So to alleviate the guilt, I have found that if my hands are busy it doesn't bother me at all to sit for hours on end glued to the TV. Thus, the crochet hook and yarn because I like TV! But since I don't always have a crochet project in the works, I often find myself throwing together a kitchen dishcloth or two. The reason I share this is because my kitchen dishcloth habit is getting out of hand. Last month I gave away 20 of the dishcloths. The month before that I gave away 10, and the month before that I gave away even more. I'm running out of people to give these things too, but I can't seem to stop making them. Currently, I'm looking at a stash of about 40 dishcloths... and I bought more yarn last week because perish the thought of running out of yarn. 

Changing the subject since talking about my dishcloth obsession is making me feel a little out of control.

Books. Let's talk about books. I was unable to attend my book club meeting this month because I took a tumble down the stairs and have been struggling with neck and back pain. I told the girls in my book club that book club Tuesdays are jinxed for me - every time the second Tuesday of the month rolls around, something comes up and I have to scramble to make it to the meetings. I've missed the last two meetings, so I haven't talked about books for a long time. Next month it is my turn to select, and I really hope the jinx is gone by then.

This is a picture of the short stack of books I've recently read. I removed the not-so-great books from the stack since I don't like recommending the so-so stuff. Therefore, if it is shown in the picture, that means I liked the book well enough to pass along. I can't pick a favorite from the stack because I enjoyed them all.

There are a couple of books missing from this stack because I loaned them out. The first missing title is The Thirteenth Tale, by Dianne Setterfield. It is her debut novel and I could not put the book down. I LOVED IT! The following review pretty much sums up how I felt about the The Thirteenth Tale:

"This book was a spectacular read! I have read Rebecca, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights and loved them all. The Thirteenth Tale is as good if not better than all of those classics. It is impossible to put down once you are drawn into Vida Winter's tale and it is impossible not to feel the shivers down your spine with the flitting ghost that always seems to be in the background of both the story and your own mind. It twists and turns, leaving you guessing and needing to know more. And it leaves you hanging on until the very last page, literally. It is definitely worth the reading and I can't wait until Setterfield publishes her next novel."

The second book that is missing from the stack is titled Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford. This is the book I have selected for book club next month. I was fascinated by the history and the story told by Mr. Ford. I'm anxious to discuss this with my book club friends. Here is a video tour of the hotel and its history:

So that's that - a few of the things I do when I'm not sewing. As I age, I find myself becoming more and more of a homebody. And I think the reason for this is because I can always find ways to amuse myself regardless of whether those things are cool or fashionable or in keeping up with the times. As long as I have some books, some yarn, and a game or two, I'm happy... just don't take away my sewing machine or my television, because those are two things I could not live without (and my iPod - I would miss my iPod!).

It Boggles

I was boggled, but now I'm not. Which is a very poor explanation of where I went for all those weeks and months, but that is how I look at it. Every day for the past month I've woke up and said to myself, "Self, you need to write on the blog today." And every day for the past month, I've procrastinated because I was boggled.

Here's the deal:

• I was boggled about the redundancy of Facebook and blogging since most of what I post on the blog is now shared in brief status updates on Facebook, and most people who read this blog are my Facebook friends (well, not my mom - she doesn't Facebook, and of course she reads my blog... she's nice that way). But with the exception of my mom, who wants to see my pictures twice and read about things more than once?
• I was also boggled about how to be myself without crossing the line of sharing things regarding my teenagers that they would not want me to share - although what they do most certainly affects me in a direct way. And I strongly feel that because their actions affect me, I have every right to talk about those things. Still, it's a conundrum.
• Additionally, I was boggled because I just can't seem to figure out how much to share and what to keep to myself, because the truth is: I don't like to sugarcoat things and I could never pretend to be someone I'm not - that's just not my nature. But the question remains, "Do I want strangers to know this stuff about me?"
• And finally, I was boggled because I wondered if maybe my blogging days had run their course now that my kids are almost grown up. I mean, really... who wants to read about boring me all the time? Seriously, all I do is worry about teenagers or celebrate their lives. And if I am not doing that, I'm crafting, which really isn't all that exciting unless you are me and find great joy in playing with fabric and yarn.

So that was the boggle in a nutshell. However, I have recently heard from a handful of people (okay, eight people to be exact) saying that they miss my blog. And so I figure if there are eight people who really want to know what is going on in my life, I am more than willing to share because the truth of the matter is, I miss my blog because it is a written journal of who I am, who I want to be, and what I am doing along the way.

So here I am. It feels kind of weird to be writing again. I think I've lost my groove. I know I lost my password because it took me forever to log in. I hope I remember how to do this.

Before I go any further, I want to share a favorite picture from my adolescent years:

I recently learned that my friend Alison Jones Kennedy passed away suddenly due to a heart attack caused by a virus. (Alison is in the back row on the right. I am in the back row on the left.) My heart aches with the loss of such a beautiful person, and I am still struggling with the reality that Alison is no longer on this earth. My prayers are with her two young daughters, Madeleine and Gabrielle. It is for them that I weep the most.

Last week as I scanned photos for the memorial service, I felt the pull of home - my childhood home - that place where all the memories of my youth reside. I now live far away from that home, and although I have created a home in Virginia, my heart will always be in Washington with my family and childhood friends. Throughout the week I corresponded with the people who helped shape the woman I've grown to be, and I felt such a longing to be with them because, as my friend Rick said, "we grew up in a movie and the kind of childhood we had cannot be found anymore." He is right. We had an idyllic childhood and only now, as adults, do we fully appreciate how lucky we were to grow up together wrapped in a cocoon of innocence and joy. We were the lucky few, and we do not take that for granted. Our friend Alison was a integral part of our youth and she will always be remembered as the girl who touched lives with her inner beauty, shared her generosity of spirit, and painted the world with her artistic nature. Rest in peace sweet Alison.

Now I will paint my blog with some of my recent colorful creations. I'm not the artist that Alison was (and boy was she talented), but I muddle my way through as I continue to play with fabric every day.

This summer I made my first two baby quilts. I gifted them to two of my scrapping friends - one who had a baby girl, and the other whose toddler had open heart surgery. I've not made baby quilts before (well, I did make one when I was expecting Alyssa, but that was so long ago that it seems like a dream). Making baby quilts is fun! There is something about making a warm cuddly for a little person that just makes me smile. Here are snapshots of the two little people quilts I made:

I also designed a my first circle pattern to use as a centerpiece for my kitchen table. Figuring out how to create a perfect circle was a real challenge and I was quite pleased that after much trial and error I actually figured out how to do this:

 

And of course I had to make more Greek letters for Alyssa. She has now come up with the brilliant idea of ordering Vera Bradley cloth napkins so that we can use the fabric to make the letters. All of the girls in her sorority now want Vera Bradley letters and I have an on-going list of orders coming in. The Vera Bradley letters are shown in the tee-shirt on the right:

In October I attended a quilt show (I went two days in a row, because one day was not enough!). While there, I found all sorts of nifty things to make. This is one of the quick quilt patterns that I purchased. The three panel mini quilts can be switched out with the seasons. I made the autumn scene first. Next up is JOY for Christmas and then I want to design a heart themed pattern for Valentine's Day. I've discovered that making my own patterns is almost as fun as sewing:

 

And now it is the end of fall, which means it is time for my annual holiday sewing spree. I am in the process of making three Merry Christmas wall hangings to give to my extended family units as Christmas gifts. The only glitch is that I need to have these completed by Thanksgiving so that they can be used during the holidays (I plan to give them to my mom and sister-in-law on Thanksgiving day when they are here to celebrate. Yes, you heard that right! My mom will be here for Thanksgiving, and if you know me at all, you have to know that I am over the moon excited for this rare event). I'm making progress, but still not done - this project is far bigger than I ever imagined. But the challenge has been good for me and the results are turning out quite nice.

 

Note that in this picture I am wearing gloves. John took the picture because he could not believe that I wore "Michael Jackson" gloves when I sewed. The reason I wear the gloves is because they have grippers on the fingertips and they help me rotate the fabric without having it bunch up. I LOVE my Michael Jackson gloves, but I will admit that I really do look like a dork when I wear them. Since this picture was taken I have gotten my hair cut - which really does help alleviate some of the dork factor.

So there you have it. My life in a nutshell. Alyssa is still attending George Mason University. She started her first student teaching this semester and loves it even more than she imagined. John is a senior at DHS and we have managed to dodge the H1N1 virus with the help of Tamiflu (my security blanket - thank God for a doctor who believes in preventative measures). So far this year we have done the senior picture thing, the homecoming thing, and the SAT thing. And all I can say about that is Alyssa was much easier than John because she took charge of these details; all I had to do was pay. With John, I am having to be a lot more "hands on" when it comes to the finite details of senior life. But, because I am well aware that each of these events is a "last time" experience for me, I am cherishing every single opportunity I have to spend time with my son. 

Back to the boggle - it wasn't so bad, which is apparent in the length of this post, which leaves me wondering why I allowed myself to be boggled in the first place.