The Princess and the Pea Mama

Growing up I never ate lima beans, lamb, or lobster.  I never ate peppers, raw tomatoes, liver, broccoli tops, cauliflower, and peas either.   In the case of the latter, it was because I thought they were disgusting.  I never ate the former items because my mom didn't like them.  If she didn't like them we didn't eat them.  I'm with her on the lima beans, but I sure missed out of lamb and lobster.  Hmm, maybe she just hated food that started with the letter "L"?

I'm doing my damnedest to not do that to the girls.  Of all the foods I hated as I child I now eat almost all of them, except peas.  Peas are seriously the most vile things on the planet.  They stink and they taste like mud.  Eating a pea is akin to popping a bubble filled with mushy sewage.  

Hubby likens me to The Princess and the Pea, except that I can tell that there is one pea in an entire dish of shepherd's pie.  Or that the samosas do indeed come with peas without even opening one.  Okay, the last one is generally a given.  But the foul odour of peas is distinct and I can pick it up despite pastry or potato coverings.

As I said, though, I am trying not to pass on that dislike to the girls.  I plug my nose when I defrost the frozen peas, scrub my hands with smelly soaps when we go pea picking, and make Hubby feed Smilosaurus dinner if peas are on the menu.  So far I've been successful, both girls love peas.  The Monster will eat them fresh or frozen, raw or cooked.  And Smilosaurus practices her pincer grasp at least once a week with a bowl full of peas.  Good for them.  

But they better not ask me to make split pea soup, ever.

State of the Dining Room

President Obama may be addressing US Congress, and really the world, tonight on the State of the Union, but I am currently concerned with the state of my dining room.  Or should I say, the kitchen table (since there isn't one), the office, the recycling centre, extra fabric/batting storage, obstacle course for the Smilosaurus, and landing zone for nearly everything that comes in to this house.  I love it and hate it.

While the basement is under reno, or as I like to call it, under the idea of renovation, I am stuck quilting on the dining room table.  That means I have to clean up before every meal and if Hubby needs it to look at plans.  Hence the bin of blueprints, a shredder, a sewing machine, ironing board, box of current projects, and cutting mat in the corner.  I want one of those pretty studios filled with organized thread, pretty little boxes of scraps, and an inspiration board. Damn you who have them!

Am I a little bitter?  Hell yeah.  I am so tired of the clutter, of watching that the girls don't play with my thread, and of constantly cleaning up my creativity.  Now I know why kids hate when we constantly tidy their toys and art stuff.  I'm not a messy person (seriously, can't you tell?) but I would love to keep some in progress works spread around.  Oh well, one day.

But I am not telling you the highlight of my day.  I spent almost a half hour on the phone with Mark Lipinski!  We bonded (at least I think so) over discussions about cabbage rolls and the Polish/Ukrainian border.  And I got his commitment for Quilt Canada next year.  He will be the keynote for our Professional Development conference, so mark your calendars for April 26-27, 2010. 

Thread Catcher

One of the annoying side effects of improvisational quilting is the constant starting and stopping when you sew.  Depending on your plan of attack it might be difficult to chain piece. That can leave a lot of cut threads, mess, and wasted time.  A good quilting friend of mine taught me this trick.

Take a scrap of fabric and double it up (or use two small pieces).  When you finish a seam, sew a a few stitches in to nothing, then sew in to your scrap.  You can then cut your piece from the scrap without a tangle of threads to deal with.  When you come back to your machine for the next seam just sew from the scrap piece, cutting it off when you go to press.

I usually keep two of these by the machine.  One for the start of my sewing and one when I finish the seam I'm working on.  That way you always have one handy to plug in to the end of your seam when you leave the machine to press.

In Progress

There are 7 doll quilts in progress at my house.  One is a present for our friend's little girl.  The rest are for a special order.  This is the first time I've sold quilts.  I'm excited and nervous that the recipient won't like them.  But the process is great.  I do enjoy the opportunity to try something new without great fabric expense.  It is also a great way to play with scale and colour.