Teach Your Children Well

Disclaimer:  This post has nothing to do with quilting, costuming or crafting. 

A couple of days ago my youngest, who's five, and I were sitting at the table.  She was coloring in her princess coloring book and I was doing costuming paperwork

She sighed and commented that it was too bad that girls couldn't marry girls, because she really loved her sister.

I put down my pencil and thought for a moment.

She's at the point were simple answers are best, and Mr. Chaos and I strive to be truthful with our kids.

Me:  Well Muffin, some girls do love girls, and some boys do love boys.

Muffin:  Really?

Me:  Yup.  there are different types of love.  I love your Aunt Emmy very much, and she is my sister.  The same way you love your sister and brother.  But,  I love Daddy is a completely different way. 

Muffin:  Huh?

Me:  When you are a grown-up there are different kinds of love.  There are some girls who love girls the way I love Daddy, and some boys who love boys the way I love Daddy. 

Muffin:  Who will I love?

Me:  You will love whoever you want to, and when you're a grown-up you will know who you love. 

Muffin:  okay.

that was it. 

she continued coloring and I sat there and watched her for a moment.

It was one of the proudest moment of my parenting life.

I know this post is completely different than anything else on this blog, but acceptance is important.

I want my children to know I will love them always.

Who they chose to love will not change that.




regardless of your personal feelings, you decide what to teach your children. 
I choose to teach my children acceptance.

2010 Finishes - Big and Small

Looking back, 2010 was the year I really got into quilting.

 

Last year I finished 9 crib size or larger quilts.  The details for each are listed on my Big Finished Quilts page.

 

 

I also made:

1. crayon tote inside, 2. christmas potholder, 3. 12 days banner (2), 4. stocking sample (3), 5. Bitty Blue Front, 6. detail birthday dress, 7. Halloween Zig Zag, 8. cathedral in progress, 9. charming mini sent june, 10. girls new shade, 11. birthday shirt, 12. birthday dress, 13. STUD June anything goes, 14. Finished Summer Mini Quilt

I'm pretty sure there are a few small 'uns I forgot to photo, but overall, it was a productive year.

Much more positive to look at what I did finish than what I didn't get done.

What does 2011 hold for me, sewing-wise?

More finishes, less new projects.  I've told myself that I can start a new project when  I finish two older projects.  Wanna see my UFO list? 

1. String X's
2. Muffin's Trip Around the World
3. Carolina Christmas II
4. Tic-Tac Toe
5. Sew Buzzy Stars
6. Ravishing in Red
7. Alice in Wonderland
8. Crazy Mom Quilts Quilt Along #5
9. Double Wedding Ring Tree Skirt
10. Pure Hexagons
11. ColorWheel Geese
12. Em's Halloween Runner
13. Cool Braids
14. Harry Potter

 Some of these are pieced tops, ready to be quilted.

Some are blocks from bees, just waiting to be sashed and set...gonna design settings though...

Some have half the blocks pieced...

you get the picture. 

We will be moving this summer and I REALLY don't want to pack half finished projects...

I think I'll post this list in the sidebar.  Might help me make some progress on it.  Kind of overwhelming at the moment. 

Know what else this means?  I'm limiting my bees and swaps.

Right now I'm part of 8 different bees.

Too Many.

My life has gotten much crazier than when I signed up for them. 

Sew Bee It 

Bee Improvisational 

Not Your Grandma's Quilting Bee - Bumble Bees 

Not Your Grandma's Quilting Bee - The Hive

Sew Buzzy 

Scrap Happy 

[3x6] Sampler Quilt Mini Bee 

Ravishing In Red

I'm going to finish up the bees I'm currently in, and then cut back to one.  (maybe two.)

and limit my swaps to one at a time.

*sigh*

limits.  setting limits.

saying "no" is so hard.

I wanna sew more with my kiddos. 

I wanna sew stuff for my new house.

there are just not enough hours in the day.

Last Bit of Christmas Sewing

Alrighty, here's the last of my Christmas sewing reveal.

In the two weeks before Christmas I also made eight potholder/trivets, various sizes and styles, all made with a 12 days of Christmas Charm pack.

(I adore Kate Spain)

I didn't have a chance to take any pictures of them, Mr. Chaos was wrapping them as quick as I could finish them.

My sister-in-law was nice enough to snap of picture of the one I made for her, so you can get the general sense of what they looked like.

I've decided that grommets are the best.

love them.

gonna use them all the time.

I also made ten of these

Crayon totes for my nieces and nephews.

Yup.

Ten.

I only needed 9, but I somehow mis-counted the number of "boy" ones and "girl" ones so I have an extra boy one.

I'll save if for a random birthday gift.

All of the totes are different.

My kids picked who got which one, it was really fun to watch them figure out who would like what.

I was a bit nervous because the two oldest are in 6th grade, and I thought they might be a bit old for them.  I swapped out the crayons for colored pencils, and they love them.

That does it for my Christmas craziness.

four big quilts,

eight quilted potholders/trivets

and

ten crayon totes.

Part Four of Four ~ Completed Quilts

Here is the last of the four quilts I  completed in December. 

This one had been sitting in my closet for a year.  One of the first tops I pieced, it is super simple 8-inch squares.  Boring.  I think that's why it sat in the closet for so long.  :)

Simple Squares

This was gifted to Mr. Chaos' Aunt.

 Hope she likes it!

Well, that's it for the big quilts I completed in the weeks before Christmas.

Next, I'll show you the smaller bits I made too.

it was a super busy december.

Part Three of Four ~ Completed Quilts

This is the quilt I am the most proud of and I totally love it.   

May I introduce you to my Pinwheel Sampler?

I adore it.

I participated in PS I Quilt's Pinwheel Sampler Quilt Along.

Mr. Chaos helped create the layout, which I like better than the standard 4 x 4 square.

I quilted wobbly  organic circles in the pinwheel blocks

 and curly-q's in the blank areas.

I did a border of squares and mini pinwheels, which really finished it.

The fabric is Hello Betty - the retro colorway.

I didn't mean to purchase the retro colorway, it was the very first pre-cut I bought (it was a layer cake)

This wonderful quilt now happily resides on the back of my sister's couch.

She watched me build it, the WHOLE time commenting on how great the colors were and how much she loved it.

how could I not give it to her?

She's hinting telling me that she needs some matching pillows.

on a side note, JoAnn's was out of warm and natural when I bought batting for this one, so I went with organic cotton.

 (after my coupon was the same price as warm and natural)

i have to say, I may never go back.

It has such a nice, soft feel to it.

not stiff at all, it drapes very nicely.

 and it's still thin and wrinkly.

Yuck, Yuck, Yucky

I've been dealing with kindey stones for the last eight days.
oh.
my.
goodness.

painful.

No sewing has been done.
No costuming has been done.

a lot of sleeping has been done.

I have the bestest husband in the whole world.
he has been taking awesome care of me and the kiddos.

I'm drinking a lot of fluid and hoping it will pass soon.

sorry of the delay in the rest of the quilting reveals.