A New Baby Girl to Sew For!!!

Yep, that's right. I've got a new baby girl to sew for!

Oh, the fun stuff I get to make this summer and fall.

Okay, back to packing and writing papers.

Can't Help Myself

Couldn't stand it - I have to finish my degree. Still, it will only be two classes, which will leave me plenty o' time for other things, like getting settled in to our new little home. I've got projects galore that will hopefully get me organized. Time will tell.

Just an update. No pics. I'm lame. But I'll take some of my sewing space when I get moved in to it (T-minus 24 days and counting).

And, in case you think I've been wasting time, here's what I've got to do this week:

• Critique 2 novel chapters for novel writing class
• Write an 8 page paper on a poet - not fun
• Start a 12 page paper on 1920s English literature and art - sorta fun
• Research for both papers
• Write a poem
• Pack as many boxes as possible in between times
• Oh, cook meals
• Ultrasound on Thursday, where we will hopefully find out pink or blue
• Meet with summer quarter professors to set up independent study
• Pay bills
• Give notice on house
• Outing to the Killer Whale Museum in Friday Harbor on, well, Friday

That's all I can think of for now. But see? I want to be sewing. I'm itching to sew. But I can't do it. Literally - everything is already packed away. Sigh.

I'll be back in the saddle soon. Promise.

A Productive Summer Awaits

Shhh. Don't tell on me, but I might just spend the summer NOT going to school.

Yes, I will be one quarter, just two classes, shy of my degree. Right now, "so what?" is my defense.

We haven't had a summer off from school for 5 years - either Aaron or I have been in classes full-time.

We're moving to Moscow, possibly in June, so I can't finish right now. It's cool. Moving in, getting settled, checking out our new town, heck, our new backyard, is going to be great. Also, making friends is kinda important too. So when I have this baby, I'm not asking complete strangers to watch my kids while we go to the hospital. Just thinking I might not be too comfortable with that.

So I've all kinds of projects to do when we get there. Laundry bags - wait till I tell you how cute those will be. Lego cinch sacks. Ditto the cinch sacks for train tracks. Some storage bins for Laurel's doll clothes and accessories. Fun stuff like that. Easy projects. Loving it.

So, next Sunday will be pictures of my plans. They are going to be awesome!

Where I've been...

Yes, it's been over a month.

I can 'splain.

Back at the beginning of March, I got a big ol' bonk on the head. My first (and hopefully last) concussion. Not fun, let me tell you.

No one knows really how long they take to recover from. I'm going on 4 weeks now and still not back to normal. Reading is still difficult to do. I haven't even wanted to get out my sewing machine. yes, it's been that bad!

So that's where I've been. I'll be back in the sewing saddle soon (I hope). We're gearing up for our big move at the end of the summer and I've still got to graduate. But I'll be doing some sewing in there as well. I've been going crazy without it.

Someday...

Do you ever find yourself saying things like:

"Someday I'll get to sew more."

"Someday I will be able to sew without a little person in my lap/on the table/asking for milk/touching my fabric with sticky fingers."

"Someday . . . "

I'm feeling that way lately. I've got so many, SO MANY, projects in the works. I can barely make a dent in them. Why?

Hmmmm, let's see.

I'm in school full time. 15 credits. Lots of homework.

I have four children and am pregnant with my fifth. I'm currently dealing with nausea like never before and am totally exhausted. All. The. Time.

I homeschool two of our children.

I will be moving in six months. Just before baby is due. Awesome. The stress from that alone is killing me!

I am starting to sound whiny. I don't mean to. I love my life and and so blessed to have the opportunity to finish my degree. But I'd be a big ol' liar if I didn't 'fess up and say I just want to be home with my babies and sewing machine.

I will post pictures shortly of what I've been working on. Some doll dresses, some quilt blocks. Good times.

Breathing out...

What do you do when you are overwhelmed?

There are those bumper stickers that say stuff like:

"When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!"

Well, that's not me, entirely. I go shopping for ideas for projects. I've got the fabric. So, when the going gets tough for me, I get sewing. It's my therapy. It has a certain sense of accomplishment, no matter how small.

Case in point. Yesterday afternoon, after homeschooling lessons were done, I got out the sewing machine. I sewed together four strip sets of five honeybun strips each. Not much. But it put a tiny dent in something I'm working on. It is quantifiable and definite. I like that.

I also realized that one of the classes I'm taking is not bringing me all that much satisfaction. I took it because I needed another class, not because I need this class in particular. Unfortunately, the time of day was awful for me (1:30? Give me an 8:30 class!), the professor was knowledgeable but talked on and on for an hour and a half, and the reading material was dry, dry, dry.

So I dropped it. It is so liberating to have my schedule magically free up like that.

So I can sew again! And craft with Laurel!

I've got a little secret . . .

First, don't you wish you had lips like that? Oh, just me. Okay then.

Second, I've got a secret. A good one. But I can't tell.

I know, Aaron is always telling me that two people keep a secret . . . if one of them is dead. Nice, huh? But true. But see, I'm not telling you the secret. Just telling you that I have one.

But I will tell this much (can you tell I hate keeping secrets?):

• It involves my laptop, some colored pencils, scissors, tape, posterboard, and eventually a jelly roll (that's fabric speak for 40 2.5" strips rolled together for those not in the know).

More to be revealed later.