No camera... grr.

#2 son took off with my camera. I don't know where it is! So these are taken from my phone.


I decided to try watercolors. I have no idea what the heck I'm doing but it is really relaxing.





















Tony has, too! I like how he wrote his name... that's 'NY' up top, he makes sideways 'y's. He is so proud of this!

















He also made this, which I love, in school.
















I'm hand stitching some Civil War repro fabrics into a lap quilt for the couch/ car, since we never have enough. I can't bring myself to use the machine anymore. I need something to do that doesn't require instant gratification...

















I will post more later. I'm about 3/4 of the way done with an Irish Chain Quilt from Moda, using Heather Ross Far Far Away prints. I'm not a 'trendy' fabric kinda gal but her prints are so nostalgic for me.

We had a GREAT Christmas! I don't do resolutions, but this year will be filled with even more 'finding ourselves.' I'm going to plot out even more amazing, delicious ways to eat healthy, steer clear of the processed stuff (and drive thru's, may the various Gods help me with that) and cook, cook, cook- which I love to do, anyway. I'm going to try out a recipe for oatmeal bread later, and profiteroles.

Nicky is the original dump 'em out, s&m kid. Don't take that the wrong way. He dumps everything out, slams doors (like for hours if we'd let him) and he loves to be corrected. We don't hit him, mostly because he'd like it too much. Tony wrestles hard with him and he literally begs for more, lol. Even now, he's throwing a toy down the stairs and saying, 'Nitty, NO!' hoping I'll go stop him. He has a hard time pronouncing 'k' so he pluggs in 't'. We've got an eval in a few weeks to determine meds for him. I keep putting it off, hoping behavioral therapy alone will help, but it really isn't and things are getting worse. We have in- home behavioral help coming within a few weeks, so he'll have help @ school and here, as well. He is a really bright kid, but his behaviors are at an impulsive 18 month level. His teachers are all inspired by his progress, and they're helping him and challenging him- thank heavens, no one has given up on him. I'm about ready to run away most nights though... But then I look at him snuggled up sleeping and I realize how much I love him and how much he needs me... Oh yes and I taught him to sew. :)

Tony is progress, progress, progress. He has incredible selective hearing. Phonics and art are his strong points, and imitation- he can imitate inflections to near perfection. I can see him acting. Both boys have lots of little friends in and out of school, but the girls fight over him (literally) and he is so clueless to it sometimes. Socially, he has a way to go to catch up, but my little 1 lb preemie is a major inspiration for me. He doesn't know the word 'victim' or the phrase 'self pity.' I have a lot to learn from him.

Mike is still doing really great. Still bald. Still does laundry, still doesn't listen unless I put suggestive words in front of what I want him to do. You want a guy to listen, mention T&A someplace in the request. They WILL hear it.

There ain't no easy way out

::fanning self:: Tom Petty. Ooooh yeah. :-D



Mike said it looks like it says Manos. I told Mike he looked like my a... anyway, this is on my blankie. :-D MAMA'S Loves.

















Mama vs. Nicky. Nicholas picked this fabric out a few years back and I made him a blankie. Really simple- front and back is this green print, and the middle was batting. It has been dragged for miles down the street on long walks, and it's been to both of his schools. Already he has the deep love of textiles.

















You be- illin.' I started this blankie after Tony had croup. He was premature, and any sort of lung illness seems to whoop his butt. Nicky had a fever this weekend. Today, I picked up Nicky at noon, and six kids were waiting for their moms because they had a fever. Then, N's teacher asked me to check out T because HE felt warm. So I took him home. He's fine. It must have been boogie fever. Heh. Yes, I'm an idiot like this IRL, too. :)

















I'm only just learning how to use colors, textures, and patterns to reflect how I feel, and who I am. I hope I'm always 'just learning.' Mastery is no fun, because mastery means you're at the end- there is nothing else to learn. Christmas, denim, old traditional patterns; old, worn, but very soft shirts... this is what I feel, and it's what I love. Familiarity, color, structure.

















The background is a remnant from an old, very very worn quilt. The left heart is the back of another worn quilt. The right heart is new fabric.

...

I'll get you a Satanic Mechanic...

Color and comfort-

Not much to say. Ok that's a load of BS. Nothing much INTERESTING to say. Well, except that I ordered some fabric here and there off etsy.com. Oh how I love thee. Silk kimono clippings... hand dyed silk, shibori...






















Hobo quilt! I cannot tell you how much I love making this one. I haven't taken my sewing machine out of the closet in months. I want to make another one of these, but in black, gray, and white. Maybe a dash of salmon pink.














Croup, the one I started when Tony was sick. Grey cat wants to steal the limelight, of course. We have two kitties now- White Cat, who has been with the family for ...8 years, I think. And this little dude, Grey Cat, who came from a neighbor who loved him, but whose 2 year old munchkin didn't do so well with him.
















Edging! I blew the ass out of my favorite jeans, so now they're being used to *hug* my Croup. Plaid fabric: LL Bean from the SS. The long strings that came off the pants when I tore them into strips were used as some of the stitches in the Hobo blankie... what a neat way to recycle.

















Nicky wouldn't let me take a decent picture. He used the toilet every time we reminded him to do so today. He also did something vile to the carpet. But as long as he was reminded, he did so well!!!
















Mama loves her bebes. :o)

Old and New.

I picked up a quilt top a while back, courthouse steps, at a local antique place for $16... I believe I blogged about it. Every single piece of that quilt top is amazing... although it isn't backed, it is two layers of fabric. It's sitting on the couch right now. I cherish this piece of history that was lovingly sewn together with needle and thread by a skilled woman, long before I was born.

Enter: Frankly, I don't know.

I sent the kids on the bus this morning, and M was upstairs, recovering from a night of ...fun. Ok technically he was working, but it's more of a hobby, I swear. For almost an hour, I was cutting slowly, positioning pieces, re-positioning pieces... and I caught a glimpse of that quilt. The patterned fabric is vegetable dyed, and the white is from curtains that were in a pile to be thrown out at the swap shop. The hand feel is wonderful. I don't freakin' think so, bub. This fabric... shall LIVE!
















Basted, waiting to be stitched. Approx. the size of a FQ. It will, likely, either be added to my big blanket or it will go on the wall.



This little gem! This here was a tiny piece among many that was left over from a small quilt I made months ago... from fabric adopted from the swap shop. I found it in the bathroom... Nicky (the 5 year old eloping madman) stashes some of his treasures under the sink, and apparently, this was one that he'd left behind. I love that kid. ::) The lady in blue, she's some sweet...
















I think I'm going to hide the apple cider... it is amazing, though.

Same Shit, Different Day.

Sort of, anyway. Nicky's behavior is getting a wee bit more dangerous. He's always had an elopement issue (running off) but we've kept him safe. We bolted the doors and we both check them before bedtime, along with bunjee'ing the fridge and the pantry. We lock the downstairs bathroom, because he'll flood it. We shut off the water to the upstairs bathroom. Our windows are all set up so he cannot open them past 3", except for our bedroom, which is locked, unless we're up there with them.

He always wakes us up when he gets up.

Well, at 5:30 am today, he sure did not.

He busted out. He grabbed a stool (I didn't even know he could pick it up!) and he moved it to the door and he un-bolted it. Got outside. Opened our two neighbors' vans. (**an aside: I live in an apt complex, fortunately (?) and these people are friends!**) One of the neighbors wasn't asleep yet- he's a night owl- and he grabbed N and brought him in, called up to us. He's a close family friend who has BTDT with his own.

We got alarms for the doors this morning once the kids were at school. We'll hear the alarm in our bedroom, but he won't hear it at the front door. We tested it and it works great.

Despite him being a major pain in the ass, I love him so much... in fact, I love him FOR being a pita. He's mama's baby and dada's boy... (Tony is mama's big boy and dada's burrito boy.) As time goes on, I occasionally become more afraid that I'll lose him... however, we'll persevere and we'll keep him safe. We're a happy, loving, close, completely whacked-out-of-our-mind family and we're going to stay that way. haha. :)


Sewing: I get some time to do that, but not much. I expect that to improve tomorrow!

See? I've been doing some strange things. The denim is from a favorite pair of jeans that blew out someplace you don't want to see. The puffiness between the stitches is a sensory joy. The lavender, I dyed that a while back. I don't want to dye fabric again. My hat goes off (and my money flies out) to those with the courage and the desire to dye fabric!

















Something old, something new... something ...hmm, something from the back of a quilt and from the swap shop, and something blue? Not in that order, though.




















Playing around with saturation, I was able to show off the wrinkly puffiness I love so much!




















I tried. I honestly tried. I am not very good at all at taking pictures. OBVIOUSLY. This below is insanity. I felt lost, sitting at the table... which is where I sew. I had no pull to work on my basket blankies (my ongoing projects) so I had to do something! I grabbed three baskets of scraps and some bigger pieces and I let my fingers do the rest. I didn't care about color or shape. I LOVE this thing... it reminds me of one I did a while back.



















I cannot get this whole blanket in one shot. Things are changing... I have removed some things here, and I've added some things there. My favorite author, I paraphrase, said this: 'A man can't step into the same river twice. The man changes, and the river changes.' I don't know what I'm doing- I can't possibly. There is a perverse- and thrilling- comfort in knowing that.
















Peace, love, hugs, black coffee, and piece of mind to everyone.