Harrowing Evenings

The first week of school has been amazing! On top of friends, new exciting classes, and enthusiasm for research, I've had oodles of time to quilt! What a blast.

Mostly I've been binding. Oh, and I forgot: quilting all day Tuesday! Dr. Reid and I spent a harrowing Tuesday evening together in the company of Derek and Penelope, he chasing down serial killers and I strong-arming my largest quilt yet through my machine. Have no fear; we both came out on top. Bummer of all bummers, though, I finished the last episode in the last season of Criminal Minds at the same time as my quilting. (I suppose I can be thankful it was not before.)

Needless to say, with twenty feet of binding ahead of me, I need some new comrades to keep me company. The British hilarity of Top Gear has me chuckling up a storm, but it's not the same as a show with a long-term storyline. Any suggestions? It may be time to dive into Gilmore Girls. I feel, as a child of the early 90s, it's almost a requirement. However, I'm not completely sold on it as of yet.

What do you like to watch as you sew?

sneak peak of the quilt I'm working on that has yet to be revealed

Binding and Soaking in the Sun

The crazy pressure and pace of last week has lightened to a calm, relaxing drift. Spending the week in Georgia with my girlfriends, I’ve been soaking in the gorgeous sun and seventy degree weather. Taking time to slow down and step back from non-stop productivity has been a much needed break. I cannot believe it’s only Monday night, and I can sit in quiet contentment knowing how rested and invigorated I will feel when school rolls around next Monday.

This week for the show, all I have to do is bind up the quilts, pick the color of my business cards, and finalize my artist statement. The car has been perfect for binding, chatting and stitching away, and I’ve become a must faster binder over the past couple days. Each quilt feels like such an accomplishment, and the show is becoming something real and tangible. My mom printed these lovely little labels for me to stitch onto the backs of my quilts this year. She accidentally printed thirty, so I have a lot of projects to start and finish before December, but luckily, with twelve under my belt, I'm a good way along, and the whole summer is spread ahead of me.

Needless to say, my FinishIt2014 list is going to be rapidly growing in the next couple weeks following my show, and my works-in-progress will be multiplying. Fortunately, I have such a wonderful support group for just such a condition over at Freshly Pieced with Work in Progress Wednesdays. How many more finished do you anticipate (or dream about) this year?

Up to My Neck

Mid-November hits and the books and leaves pile up to my neck. Every year it catches me a tad off guard. I grow antsy for Thanksgiving Break. My sewing takes a backseat to reading books and writing papers. Coffeeshops become my homes away from home. On the phone today with my mom, she pointed out that my November posts from last year sound very similar to this. In fact this one could have been written this past weekend, and I think I'd like to steal that prayer and repurpose it for this week.

"Lord, open and soften my heart today. You have been so generous toward me. May I give out of all I have and even out of what I think I don't have. Take my time. Take my money. Take my power. Take my powerlessness. Take my weariness. Take my fears. Take my tongue. Take my questions. All that I have and all that I don't have are in your hands. Amen."

Nevertheless, I did sneak in a teensy bit of sewing on Sunday afternoon and tried out machine binding for the first time. Success!

{Check out the beginnings of this project here and here}