Handmade and other goodies

Leading up to Christmas, I took some time out from working on my son’s quilt to work on presents — specifically, sweaters for both kids.

Variegated sweater with butterflies

Crocheted sweater for 4-year-old. Butterflies crocheted from embroidery floss and stitched on with thread.

I have more butterflies to add to the girl’s sweater. Maybe I’ll add a couple each time it goes into the wash. By the end of winter, it should have a whole flock of them.
Knitted sweater front in variegated blues.

Knitted sweater for 10-year-old -- front, back, and neck. Note that the yarn knits up in stripes; they do match front and back.

Trickiest part of the boy’s sweater is getting the stripes to match. I’ve taken most of this week to make sure I’m starting with both sleeves such that the stripes will be the same on both arms. With luck, he’ll have the sweater to wear when he goes back to school next week.


Princess tow truck

I can't take credit for this one. The girl wanted a "princess tow truck car" for Christmas, and Santa obliged. Snow White is on the other side of the truck, and Belle and Aurora are inside the doors. Jasmine was on the front, but fell off.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers, and happy Thursday to everyone else (or Friday if you’re that far ahead)! It’s been a busy few days jammed with family, although I had a good writing day on Tuesday.

Just a short note to say I’m thankful for each of you who takes the time to read my blog. Thank you!

The women in science fiction and fantasy posts will return next week, with both T and U posts. Also coming up: a guest post from Erin Conroy of Turtleduck Press.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Step by step makes a project

Back in June, I posted about summer projects for while I travel. I figured it’s past time I posted an update on that.

I’m working on a new quilt for my son’s bed, roughly twin size. I’m using 8-inch squares, and the size requires 88 of them. I’ve got just over 1/4 of them completed right now. I want at least half of the squares completed before I start stitching them into rows. I’ll post pictures when I get to that point, too.

It won’t be soon — it takes me 3-4 hours to stitch each square. I can get an hour or two a day in, by taking time in the morning and evening, but that’s still a lot of hours to go.

circle, batting, and square for quilting

Laying out the materials. My son picked out the batting -- it's fairly thick, as you can see. He likes thick blankets.

initial pinning of a square to quilt

Circle folded over & roughly pinned. My circles are a bit on the small side, and with the batting so thick, the edges don't quite mesh as they should.

Square with all the circle edges pinned down.

All the circle's edges pinned neatly. There's some bowing of the pieces, but batting squishes and fabric stretches, so I managed to get the squares together so I could sew them.

Quilt square, sewn

A completed square.

Quilted square, yellow with red thread

Back of a square. This shows how much the square bends because the circle's too small.

Close up of one corner of quilt square.

Close up of one corner. You can see my stitches still have room for improvement.

What can you do in an hour?

Why an hour? Because it’s a chunk of time I often have. In the mornings, after I make my son’s lunch and tidy up the kitchen, it’s about an hour before he heads off to the school bus and I get down to work for the day. In the evening, it’s about an hour between when I get my daughter to bed and when I need to get my son to bed. After that, it may be one or two hours before I head to bed. Just as some examples. And, of course, there are all those hours on the weekend that might get ignored and frittered away.

In an hour, I can . . .

  • Hand piece one quarter of a quilt block.
  • Index 5-15 pages (depending on the text).
  • Write 1,500 words.
  • Read 2 or 3 chapters in a book (been a while since I timed my reading, so this is a WAG).
  • Weed and mulch a flower bed.
  • Do the week’s grocery shopping.
  • Cook and serve dinner, maybe even squeeze in the clean-up.
  • Watch an video lecture for an online class or do the associated homework so I’ve got deeper background for future stories.
  • Go for a run, then stretch and shower afterward.
  • Read a stack of books with my daughter.
  • Go outside and blow bubbles and draw with sidewalk chalk with both of my kids.
  • Bake a batch of cookies.
  • Clean all 3 of the bathrooms.
  • Play cribbage with my son.
  • Pay bills and clean clutter off the table where they’ve been stacked.
  • Or

  • Watch an episode of an SF show on Netflix with my husband (We went through the new Battlestar Galactica earlier this year, and Netflix has various flavors of Star Trek as well, for example.), possibly plus an episode of a comedy like Arrested Development.

Sometimes, it’s not an hour; I only have 15 or 20 minutes — but I can still get a chunk of a lot of these done.

What about you? What can you do with an hour?

Summer’s end

As I write this, we have mostly blue skies and sunshine outside. A cool breeze is blowing, and no pollen remains in the air, courtesy of Irene. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones or sustained damage because of the storm, and I know there is more flooding yet to come. Right now, right here, however, it feels like the first taste of fall.

I’ve always loved fall — loved going back to school, loved new chances and opportunities, loved the promise of new beginnings. This year is no different; I’m energized and excited, ready to write.

So as my son heads back to school to learn (but not tomorrow because schools are closed — Irene, I presume) and my husband heads back to school to teach, I’m heading back to what I do. The running, which fell by the wayside for the summer, once again is on my schedule. I have a list of old stories to complete and new ones to write. And I’m looking forward, beyond the next four months, to chart where I’d like to go over the next few years.

What about you? What thoughts does fall stir in you?

As always, thanks for reading!

Vacation

I’ve been doing a cross-country road trip with my family, which has put me a bit behind on reading and posting. There will be no A to Z post this week; next week, I will continue with de Bodard, de Pierres, and Duane.

Oh, and maybe I’ll post a vacation pic or two later.

Summer projects for the road

When our family goes on vacation, we almost always drive, no matter how far we’re going — a couple years ago, we drove from Pennsylvania up to British Columbia, down the Pacific coast, then back across the country to go home. This gives us ample time to listen to audiobooks (seems to be the only time my husband and I listen to Tess Gerritsen), although some books are too complex for anything but routine driving conditions (Oryx and Crake, Blue). The other thing it gives me time for is creating something with my hands.

On previous trips, I’ve knitted sweaters, crocheted and knitted bookmarks, even crocheted doilies (not that I keep any out on our tables). It keeps me busy, and it also helps recharge my muse because I’m indulging in a form of creation that doesn’t require words.

I’ve decided to do something different for our next trip: circular patchwork (see Carol Britts program for pictures to give you an idea). I’ll have to prep all the materials ahead of time — circles, batting, squares — but as I create each block, it’s already quilted. Single blocks can be readily held on my lap, and even joining finished squares into strips should be feasible in the car.

I’m not a hand pieced or quilter — it takes too long. I’d rather use a machine and have a finished product. So many calls on my time! On a trip, though, I’ll have time. I’ll also be developing a new skill. Will I be able to finish a quilt on a trip? No idea, but I can at least start and see how far I get.

The hardest part? May be going through my fabric stash and deciding what to work with!

Adventures in food with kids

I’ve been experimenting with new recipes from Food52 again this week. (Well, except for two days ago, when I did a makeshift jambalaya just because I felt like it, even if it’s a better dish for cool weather.) Of course, the girl has hit the toddler age of “If it’s not mac-and-cheese or hot dogs, I don’t want it.”

Chicken tikka fajita schawarma used pita bread, and let’s face it — everything is good when you put inside a bread pocket, right? The sauce — a combination of yogurt, mayonnaise, and pan-roasted garlic — was a big hit. No one else was really interested in the cucumber, but the red bell pepper strips and most of the tomato disappeared.

The hot smoked paprika pork with mango salsa in flat bread went well with the boy — I toned down the amount of hot paprika I used, and he’s a big fan of anything with mango. The girl? Ate flat bread. The 2-1/2 pounds of pork loin makes a lot. I’ve got leftovers for lunch, though, so I’m happy.

The jambalaya was another instance of the girl not eating much — she sampled the sausage, maybe ate a bite of rice. The boy? Chicken, shrimp, sausage, rice — what’s not to like? He had seconds.

Last night, I tried buffalo shrimp wontons. Given my kids’ reactions to other foods, I tried a variety — some shrimp marinated in Tabasco, then wrapped in the wonton wrappers with the cheese mixture, some with the wrappers and the cheese, and some with only the wrappers. Oh, and I twisted up some of the wrappers and fried them up plain because yummy! My husband and I split the spicy ones, plus had some of the cheese-wrapped shrimp. Our son had mostly wonton-wrapped shrimp (dipped in cocktail sauce), plus a single one with the cheese. Our daughter was going to go with just the fried wonton wrapper with ranch, but we told her she had to have at least one shrimp to have the ranch dressing. She bit into it and discovered that she likes shrimp. (Side note: I remember her brother having a similar reaction at a seafood restaurant when he asked to try some of my lobster.)

Tonight, we’ll have leftover jambalaya. I’m hoping the girl will eat some of the shrimp this time, since she discovered she likes them.

N is also for No Excuses

You didn’t think I’d forget my mantra, did you?

What am I not making excuses for now?

  • Running — I’m two-thirds of the way through the Couch-to-5k running plan, and I’m contemplating entering a 5k race on May 7.
  • Paperwork — Not only does it have to get done now, but I’m spending time tweaking my system so it’s easier to deal with papers as they come in (at least once every week or two, when I’m paying bills), rather than letting them just pile up.
  • Planning ahead — I’m thinking about a five-year plan. Not in detail of what specific projects I want to have done when, but in more general terms of where I want to take my career and its different aspects over time.
  • Writing — Not a lot done on that this week, but that’s because (to refer to Tuesday’s post) I’m juggling, and those balls are in the air while I deal with taxes and so forth. They’ll come down again, though, when it’s their turn, and I’ll write. That’s not an excuse; it’s the reality of how I work.
  • Family — My work day is limited by the time I spend with my husband and kids, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What about reasons, instead of excuses?

Well, the water transmission main that broke this week put a crimp on housework, with dishes and laundry stacking up for an extra day. (That was a little problematic for the boy, who needed a clean pair of sweats for his gym class. I figured a little dirt in the water wouldn’t hurt the wash for those, so he had them, and then they were washed again after the water was clean.)

What about you? What commitments are you holding yourself to?

As always, thanks for reading!

N is for nectarines, Netflix, and Nutella

Just because I like them all.

Nectarines. The fruit that most means summer to me, juice dripping down my chin, and none of that fuzziness that can be so irritating with a peach.

Netflix. Wonderful service if you’ve got kids. Being able to stream so many things at a moment’s notice for a monthly fee? And then there’s my husband, who is rewatching several series from when he was growing up. Or the fact that we can now watch the new version of Battlestar Galactica from the beginning.

Nutella. Awesome spread, great on toast or a crêpe, and absolutely delicious stirred into oatmeal. Spreadable chocolate — what more could one want?

If you haven’t already, give them a try.

What random “N” things do you like?