Quixotic Pixels

I knocked off a couple of quick stash-busting projects this past week, both of which make me happy. The first is the basketweave pillow from Anna Maria Horner’s book, Seams to Me.

The book provides instructions for making your own pillow form and the cover is designed to fit over that. I had an ugly old pillow that I wanted to recover, so did a little math to change the dimensions of the patches so my cover would fit my pillow form. This was easy. If you do this, remember to use 1/2″ seam allowances. I used 1/4″ instead, since that’s what I typically use for patchwork; however, piecing gathered squares is a little more tricky than piecing flat squares and the wider seam allowances are nicer to work with.

I didn’t like the plain edges of the original pillow and wanted to add something extra there. I found a crazy fuzzy chenille-y trim at my local fabric store and added it to the edges. The stiff trim coupled with the gathered edges created some tricky sewing, but by using (and bending) a lot of pins and perservering, I ended up with a very nice pillow (if I don’t say so myself).

I also made some refrigerator magnets with the help of my kids. Together, we knocked of 50 of these in the evening. We now have plenty to keep all our artwork properly displayed on the refrigerator and some can be packaged up for nice gifts to friends and family.

Instructions can be found here.

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I need to poke fun of myself. Toward the beginning of the new year, I proclaimed that I wasn’t going to make any resolutions. Well, I’ve changed my mind. My proclivity for changing my mind is what makes the title of my blog apt: I am quixotic.

quix?ot?ic??[kwik-sot-ik] –adjective
1. (sometimes initial capital letter) resembling or befitting Don Quixote.
2. extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable.
3. impulsive and often rashly unpredictable.

Currently, I’m demonstrating the third sense of this term.

Anyway, you must be wondering about the rash/impulsive decisions I have been making. Don’t worry. They’re not earth-shattering.

First, I ‘ve decided that I must take more photographs of my children this year…not just photos of special occasions, but candid photos of everyday life. So, here’s a couple to start.

I caught Claire off-guard when she was watching Coraline in 3-d. Yes, she looks scared there, but isn’t really. My little girl is quite the drama queen and thought she was being funny making that face. I’ll give her that one!

The second photo is of a special occasion. Sam earned his orange belt in taekwondo this week and was enormously proud of his accomplishment–Robert, Claire and I were cheering him on every step, block, kick and punch of the way.

My second goal is to spend more time in the garden this year. I left most of the planting work to my husband last year and only went out to mow the lawn or to pull weeds. The glorious spring weather we’ve been having has given me the urge to grow stuff. I planted some primroses this week and will soon be starting tomatoes and other veggies that need some time indoors.

In case you were wondering, the pennies are my wholly inadequate attempt to fend off slugs. Supposedly, slugs get a little shock when they come into contact with copper. I didn’t have enough pennies to make a decent barrier. I should tell people it’s a “wishing flower pot” so they toss loose change in there for good luck, lol!

My third goal is going to be the most challenging one. I need to reduce my arts and crafts stash dramatically. Here’s what happened when I tried looking through my supplies closet for a piece of blue fabric:

I have too darned much crap, which is overwhelming. The overabundance actually makes me feel less creative. I’ll probably start out with a lot of crafty/patchworky type projects and put the clothes sewing on the back burner. This approach is more likely to result in less clutter in the closet.

I’ve gathered some fabrics together for a string quilt. Seeing them all together like this makes me exicted about the project. I think they’re fun colors.

I’ll use white sashing to offset the colorful blocks.

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Today was my birthday and a very nice day it was. I spent it doing things I loved.

• I drank coffee.
• I hung out in a used bookstore where I found a stack of novels to keep myself entertained for a few weeks.
• I treated myself to lunch.
• I browsed around some clothing shops which were stocked with interesting but poorly made garments. I kept saying to myself…I could do better! So, no new clothes for me today.
• I read a gem of a book called Beginner’s Greek. It’s been compared to an Austen novel–lots of books have, but this one genuinely deserves it. It’s beautifully written, humorous and insightful.
• I sewed a few pieces on my polka dotted dress and contemplated making a scrap quilt.
• I watched my son practice tae-kwon-do. He did so well today that he received an invitation to test for his orange belt. I enjoyed watching him dance around with excitement.
• I teased my husband and he teased me back.
• I kissed my daughter on her strawberry-scented head.
• And while I love to cook most days, I didn’t feel like it today, so I didn’t. I picked up some yakisoba from the local takeout joint and bought a scrumptious chocolate mousse cake from a nearby bakery. For me, there is no better end to a day than eating chocolate.

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