Hi! Happy Weeeknd! Gratuitous photos of my paper piecing from earlier this week because I cannot post without some photos....

A couple of things:

- Blair of wise craft fame interviewed me about QuiltEssential over on her blog. I was so happy to share more about my book and to talk a little bit about the writing process. Pop over there to read the interview and for a chance to win a copy of your own.

- Quilt market is in less than a week and I will be there! I'll be signing books at the Stash Books booth on Sunday at 11:00. If you are at market, please stop by and say hello. I'd love to meet you.

- There are just a few bags of smalls scraps left in the shop, so if you want one, grab them before they are gone.

Ok. I think that's it. I've got big sewing plans for the weekend. You?

School starts in just a few days and we have been busy soaking up the last of summer between back to school errands. We're enjoying local produce, cooking and baking, organizing the studio, savoring the mild weather, spending time together. Before I know it, we'll be knee deep in backpacks, homework and sports (those have already started!) so I'm going to continue to enjoy what is left of summer.

That said, I am craving a routine. And studio time!

This is happening outside Jane's window. Every time I go down our driveway, I see the mother robin sitting patiently in her nest. We are all excited to see the progress of those little eggs.

I finished the quilt with the exception of the binding. And I attempted to video the loopy quilting method and, you guys, it was horrible! I couldn't get the tripod in the right position and I have no way to attach my iphone to the tripod base so I used a large elastic headband and it kept slipping. The whole thing was extremely comical. I still want to do it and will. Now that the kids are home from camp, I'm going to put Jane to work manning the camera so I can focus on the sewing.

I've found myself obsessed with reading this triology. I cannot put them down - such page turners! I think I might actually be relieved when I finish the third book as it will allow me to move on to doing something else.

I watched this creativebug video over the weekend and promptly set about making a rope basket. It's incredibly fun and rewarding. Maybe you want to try? I can also recommend the shrinky dink jewellry video. Jane watched that and has been creating small charms for her necklace and bracelet creations.

And I'm painting...I started a new painting on Wednesday of last week, worked on it again on Friday and am heading out the door momentarily to go work on it more. Hopefully, I'll finish up today. The oil painting has been a wonderful new creative outlet for me. And a great way to stretch my creative muscles in a different way.

And you? What's been going on lately?

I cannot get enough of the peonies this year. Or really, any year for that matter. I'm scooping them up by the bundle every time I see them at the grocery store. I'm going out to the garden with my scissors and cutting them to bring inside. They are sprinkled throughout the house, but mostly are found in the kitchen, because, let's face it, that is where I am most often found. And I painted them. That was new and fun, too.

We had a doozey of a week(end). Last Sunday (the one before Thanksgiving), Kate came down with the stomach flu. Jane was home on Tuesday with a migraine. Wednesday had Fatty in bed with the same bug as Kate - he surfaced on Friday. Thanksgiving morning, I had a fall at the beginning of a trail run complete with split lip, black eye and other scratches and bruises.

I am thankful it is all over.

Beyond that, Thanksgiving day itself was nice. My parents were here along with one of my brothers and his family. Our friends who were planning on coming stayed away (I would have, too!) and I was feeling lucky that I had two 12 pound turkeys so I could give one to them, along with a pumpkin pie and some other fixings. The food was great, the wine wonderful, the company good and the blessings bountiful despite all the illnesses.

The rest of the weekend was spent going to basketball games and hanging out, both at the house and elsewhere. I woke up this morning completely exhausted, but happy to return to some semblance of normal. There is another holiday coming right around the corner, and a certain someone is turning 13 later this week, and I am desperately trying not to lose sight of the magic of this season. Twinkle lights, anyone?

I'm wrapping up a big project in the next few weeks so bear with me if my posting continues to be spotty. With so much going on right now, something has to give and, at the moment, it is the blog. But! I want to be here - I miss making things and blogging about them. Soon.

I spent some time sewing the last two weekends. I was unmotivated both times, but plowed on because I like to see progress and my head is more right when I am making. The crazy star quilt top is complete. Another quilt top that I finished in August got a backing. I'm holding out high hopes for basting this weekend and quilting over Thanksgiving.

I've been reading every night before bed. My kids just finished their first trimester of the school year and I was thinking of the amount I have accomplished for myself in that time. The list of books I've read since school started is long and there was only one I didn't like. I'll post it later this week - no time for the links right now. I have been working solidly on other things as well. Things I'm not ready to throw out there, but I want to remember that despite all my doubts (which were and still are big), I am proud of myself.

Kate turned eleven yesterday. And this is blowing my mind. How did we get here? It doesn't seem possible, but it is. She is an amazing, helpful, smart, beautiful, stubborn, strong-willed, enthusiastic girl. I feel blessed and lucky to call her my daughter. She had a nice birthday even thought it was a school day. I let her eat whatever crap she wanted (cupcake after school, pie at the restaurant, cake later - oof.) and she even consented to practicing her piano without any fuss. Fatty and I gave her a sewing machine of her own. The two of us set it up in the playroom and she got busy trying out the fancy stitches on scraps. It was fun to watch.

Fatty's birthday is closing in on us, with Thanksgiving and then Jane's birthday to follow. I don't think I am making any Christmas gifts this year. Well, that's not true. I'd like to finish the snake trails quilt for my nephew - crossing my fingers on that one.

The dog just came up to the back door with a bird in her mouth. Nice.

Back here soon.

Thank you all for you good suggestions and comments on my sleeveless tova. I haven't looked at it again. I know I will try to correct the fit in some way, but with the beginning of colder weather, working on a sleeveless top just hasn't appealed to me. I will get there, though, I'm sure.

There have been moments this week when I have wanted to sit down and pound out a few paragraphs on the computer about things I have made in the last few months, but it has been hard to find a good moment. I do have things to share, but they aren't photographed and all that stuff takes time. And truly, right now, as I'm typing this, I should be doing something else entirely. But I'm fried and spent and just need to take a moment for myself. Most of the week has been packed full of things that needed doing, that still need doing, and other things that need even more attention, but that I have been neglecting. That elusive balance thing? Even more so elusive for me recently. But! I am still trying to find it, still working hard to find my groove.

Things are happening in the background around here that I am not ready to talk about on the blog yet. It's all good - really good, actually. But in the meantime, there hasn't been much time for making. I found myself almost in tears on Tuesday night because I can't find the time to wash my car and really, it's so not about my kid-crumb infested, dirty vehicle. When I thought about it on Wednesday morning, it's more about how am not creating anything at the moment. Not trying new recipes, not sewing quilt squares, not even knitting although there is a small project in my purse at all times. No handmade Halloween costumes this year, either. I miss the creativity and the joy it brings to me. And the time to do it. I miss that, too.

All that said, I took 30 minutes and started cutting some fabric for a quilt.

It's a start.

I'm back. Completely exhausted, but happy to be home.

The London leg of our trip was all business, but I managed a stop at Liberty for a little stash enhancement. I went there in search of the remnant table, which on our last trip 2 1/2 years ago was a mecca of good deals. No remnant table in October. Only in June and December/January, just so you know. Still, I found a sweet bundle of tana lawn in blues, reds and greens for a quilt for the sunroom and then purchased yardage of the red solid lawn for a backing. The other stack is the quilting cottons that are also available in the U.S. I hadn't been able to see them in person so I was happy to pick my favorites.

New fabrics give me the itch to get sewing, creating, making, but my time is so limited right now. I've been struggling with how to fit the making into my schedule. There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day. I know I can figure it out, but I think I am going to have to get creative. Maybe an hour a day? Or setting aside one morning or afternoon? Ideas, anyone?

That said, I do have some finished things to share. Back with the good and the not so good just as soon as I finish the last load of laundry and go through 10 days worth of mail.