Sowing Bliss

Last night I was reading to my seven year old, who still cannot read any book with an actual plot by herself, and the literary choice of the evening was "Spookley the Square Pumpkin." For those not familiar with this bit of annoyingly rhymey childhood wonderment, it is the story of a farmer who sows his pumpkin patch as usual one year and gets a square pumpkin in amongst the rest of the average globular ones. As you might imagine, Spookley is ostracized from the pumpkin patch until he saves the day during a storm in which three pumpkins fall from a cliff into the sea before Spookley can wedge his square self into the hole in the fence, saving the rest of the patch and becoming the Citizen of the Year whose seeds are then coveted to sow future generations of life-saving pumpkin heroes who come in various shapes, sizes, and every color of the rainbow. I'm always a bit distressed that we never find out the fate of those three cliff-diving pumpkins, and also have never reconciled the wisdom of sowing a pumpkin patch on a cliff by the sea, but what do I know?

You know you want to choose it for your next book club meeting.

In any case, what I loved about this particular "Reading Snuggle Time" was that Greta, upon hearing the word "sow" over and over, and only knowing the "sew" form of this set of homophones, and putting the word "sow" together with the different colors and shapes of Spookley's offspring, turned to me and said "Mom! I think the farmer is a quilter like you! He's sewing all these different colored pumpkins together into a beautiful pumpkin patch."

How do you not want to refuse to send a kid to school so that she will never learn to read on her own when you get that kind of adorable brilliance?

But back to school the girls have trod, and back to work I go, stumbling down the basement stairs each morning to sew my face off as I try to catch up on all sorts of design work that had to be lain by the wayside of summer break. It's a different kind of sewing bliss than the type sown in long lazy days with my girls, but almost equally fabulous as I am well aware of how lucky I am to be able to enjoy my hobby as a career, even as the balance sometimes makes me feel like I need to be superhuman to do it all.

Then I remember that I am superhuman, so it all works out.

The Two for Teal Mug Rug Swap is officially underway! I am thrilled to have gathered 30 participants (well, 29. Plus me.) from all over the country who now should have in hand their fabric and assigned swap partner. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with to enhance tea time. (Ah! Tea Time! Another bliss moment of the school year.) $105 was raised and has been donated to Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Thank you all for your support of awareness of this ridiculous disease.

To prove I am getting back to work, some extreme closeups of projects you will see in pattern form soon:

These fabrics just scream "I'm Yummy!" and I am having trouble resisting the temptation to lick them.

Project pulled from UFO heap, sort of seeing some potential to actually give it another shot. But not in these fabrics. Good Lord Almighty.

Now and then I think "I must move away from this color palette." But then I regain my senses.

 

 

Keep sowing!