Is it snacktime yet?

Today I started my diet. I think it will be successful, because it has morning and afternoon snacks (my weak times), and the way it cycles low-calorie weeks with higher calorie weeks makes sense to me. Sounds like just the thing to jumpstart my sluggish metabolism, which is the whole point.

I woke up early and took the time to eat my (pre-planned) breakfast in a leisurely manner. It was wonderful. I felt satisfied, not overly full, and we even managed to get out of the door on time. (We ended up forgetting something and had to turn around, but still, I count it as a major accomplishment.)

Now I’m going through my bloglines and trying not to think about my morning snack. I realize I subscribe to a whole lot of food bloggers. Orangette has a yummy post about pasta with onion sauce this morning. I can nearly taste it just looking at her pictures. MMM… pasta.

Another thing “they” always say while dieting is to drink more water. That sometimes your body thinks it’s hungry when it’s really thirsty. Except that drinking water makes me hungrier. And I spend the morning running back and forth to the bathroom.

*sigh*
Is it snacktime yet?

G is for Generous

First off, I'd like to say a big Thank You!! to everyone who has contacted me about donating fabric, blankies, their time, good thoughts, and everything else in regards to the blankie project. I really appreciate everything that's coming this way from near and far.

One of the first people to contact me was Karrin, who said she'd be sending me a box filled with mainly quilt blocks leftover from other projects and swaps she'd been in... I don't know what I was expecting exactly, but this is what I got:



and these:

and my favorite:

A total of 82 (okay now that I'm writing this, I can't recall if my final count was 82 or 86, but either way, WOW!) blocks to be made into quilts for CPS kids. I'm in shock, in awe, in utter amazement.

Not only that, but Barbara's letter reached me the same day -- she said that while she's just getting started knitting and can't do a blankie just yet, she'd love to contribute to the cause and sent a gift certificate to Jo-Ann's! Another wow!! You guys are just great!

I know there are others out there who are diligently stitching away and a big thank you to everyone who has offered to help.

I'm a little overwhelmed with this outpouring of support, and just want everyone who has contacted me about donating to know that ya'll are all the best of the best and I appreciate each and every one of you. I know that when we make these donations to the Rainbow Room, the coordinator is going to be just as amazed as I am right now... (mainly because when I first contacted her about donating I had 2 people ready to help me, and I phrased it as "a few crafters" who wanted to donate. lol)

Now, off to the sewing machine!... :)

I Could Use a Little Help (Long Post but Worthwhile)

I work for the Family Protective Services Agency, but I am not directly involved with the Child Protective aspect of our agency. I process invoices and push papers around. People always ask if it's difficult to work here, and I always said no because I really didn't see all the bad stuff. I don't think I could handle some of the things people see in our line of work.

I've also felt the need to give something back, in general, to the greater good. I think crafters have generous natures, giving away their labors of love to friends and family, as well as responding to calls for help, prayers, contributions, and hugs when needed. I've knit hats for preemies, sent items to auctions, and done what I could when I had the resources, but no particular cause has ever really resonated with me. I saw people who were passionate about a cause and hoped to find a cause I felt as strongly about. And last week, at work, I found that cause.

You may have seen on the news the raid of the polygamist compound in Eldorado, TX. Normally this wouldn't have popped up on my radar, except with it being the biggest child removal operation in at least 50 years it has affected FPS personnel statewide. People are scrambling to make sure these women and children are protected, save, and well cared for. I've seen the workload on people that work in close proximity to me double as their support personnel are re-routed to other areas.

While discussing this with a co-worker, we talked about how scared and uncertain some of these kids must be and other removals she's witnessed with kids who don't have anything to call their own. This struck a chord with me when thinking of my daughter, who until she was nearly five would not go anywhere without her precious blankie that had been made for her when she was born. As a quilter and as a mother I feel that every child needs a blankie like that, to feel secure in a strange situation.

So I would like to provide quilts or blankets to the children that our agency assists that are in difficult situations and might be comforted in knowing someone made a blankie especially for them. This is a big project and I'm hoping for some help from you, if you're reading this and feeling called upon to help like I am. I have a few quilters, knitters and crocheters who are willing to lend a hand here locally but we can't do it alone.

Right now we are requesting donations of fabric, batting and thread so we can make quilts for these children. We'll also accept quilt tops, crocheted or knitted afghans, or completed quilts (any size, but 42 x 48 inches makes a nice size for a young child).

Depending on the response we get, we'd like to be able to make regular donations to the local Rainbow Room, which provides clothing and personnal items to children that don't have those items. Ultimately we'd like to provide a hand-crafted afghan or quilt to every child that passes through the Rainbow Room, who has just had their life turned upside down, and who just need some comfort and love.

If you can spare some supplies, a little of your time, or just want to be involved in any way, please email me (ritabelle73 at yahoo dot com). I'm working through our agency's Rainbow Room Coordinator to find out specifics of ages of children, preferred sizes of blankets, and sheer number of blankets that could be used, but all items sent will be used to support this worthy cause.

F is for Finished

Well, I did it. The quilt is finished. Last night I showed it off to the Quilt Guild (oohs and aahs all around), and tonight it goes to Parkside Community School to be a silent auction item in their scholarship drive.

While I do hope the scholarship drive raises lots of money and is very successful, I'm not being entirely altruistic in giving the quilt away. This quilt was being made as a test subject to see how long it took me, so when someone commissions a quilt, I can price it accurately. Also, I'm hoping the advertising in the auction program will bring a few inquiries my way. Slowly but surely, I'd like to grow my quilting into a little business on the side. I'm also planning to make some more purses and put them up on etsy. I'll be updating when I get those done, so stay tuned!

E is for Earth

This weekend we worked on clearing out some grass to get our garden started. We had a small garden last year and decided to go full force this year. Geoff and I were using the bigger tools to break up the sod and get the top layer of grass off, while Emily was using a small mattock to remove any little clumps of grass we'd missed.

I thought the construction paper crown and the braids left over from the morning's ballet class were an elegant touch. Also note the hot pink work gloves. She really knows how to garden in style!

What Ever Happened?

For my mom, and whoever else might have wondered what ever happened to the quilt I'd been working on...


It's ready for quilting!

If you're wondering what happened to the rest of the block tutorial... well, I got distracted. That's me, The Distracted Quilter^TM.

Anyway, I got a call from a gal about town who's putting on a silent auction, so I offered her up this quilt. So I've got to get it done this week.

And I've been having some very severe heartburn the last two days, so I took today off. Wanting to get the quilting done on this quilt had nothing to do with it. Really.

D is for Dyeing

Here we are finishing up dyeing the eggs for the Easter bunny to hide tomorrow. Lately my energy levels have been bottoming out, so between work and doing just enough laundry to go to work, hooking the camera up to the computer has become a big, hairy deal. But I've decided to make the effort in order to share with you our artistic endeavors in the field of ovum decor.