small hands

I took Monday off (in addition to Friday), to take my little dude on a field trip to see the Peking Acrobats at the Zellerbach Auditorium. A fine time was had by all.

After I returned him and his colleagues to school, I went and got a slice of pizza on Hopkins Street and took it home. I think I'm done with pizza. I just can't navigate the wetness to my satisfaction and really, why not give it up and just grab something else when I'm feeling peckish? Lately, I've been snacking a lot on Japanese rice crackers and roasted almonds, baby carrots, and sliced oranges.

This weekend I worked in the yard (and the glorious sunshine) both days and was in the zone, man. It was wonderful. On Sunday, I took a walk to the drug store and when I returned home, I approached my house very slowly to take in the lovely yard and house.

As you can see from the picture, I'm working on a Double Irish Chain quilt. It is the perfect project for anyone who loves, deeply loves fabric. I get to glory in all of the strips cut from remnants fabrics I've used in other projects, to imagine combinations of fabrics and interesting juxtapositions. I have three gallon sized ziploc bags of strips (1-1/2 inches wide), which will yield 3 quilts, I expect.

I was impressed by the fact that I was not exhausted when I picked my kids up from school. I bought a sourdough baguette and we had jambalaya, haricot vert, and sliced baguette for dinner.

I really needed the day off, so I took it. [I need two weeks in Hawaii, but a day off will have to do.]

I drank lots of Trader Joes Volcano Super Dark and cut strips for more Double Irish Chain quilts. As I was taking some recycling to the bin, the mail carrier drove up and delivered this fabric from Fabric Tales. They delivered it from Japan in less than a week! That's what I'm talking about.

I took a shower, then went for a walk around Lake Merritt. I love Oakland and in particular the architecture of the buildings around the lake. I went to get a bowl of pho for lunch in Chinatown and stopped by the Goodwill store. I didn't buy anything.

I did some household chores and now I'm going to meet a friend for a drink.

Have a great weekend.

I finished the second baby quilt on Sunday.

I bound it with light gray fabric and somehow it seems more masculine than the Bento Box quilt.

I imagine the baby when he or she is older, on her stomach on top of the quilt, looking at all the colored pieces of fabric.



I think she'll enjoy them, don't you?

This is my desk. [The presence of the cordless phone is deceptive--I hate talking on the phone, especially when I'm at my desk at home.]

This is the desk I covet, from the April 2008 Martha Stewart Living:





How brilliant is this desk? It's built out of two bookshelves, attached with a piano hinge. Doesn't it seem completely do-able? That Martha has some very creative people working for her.

* * *

Work has eclipsed the rest of my life.

Daylight Savings has worsened my insomnia considerably.

I start quilting the second baby quilt today. I will do so while watching Elizabeth the Golden Age.

I finished piecing the Double Irish Chain baby quilt last night. It's for the second twin and uses the same fabric as the Bento Box quilt.

I was able to get a lot of it done on the weekend because my children were in Colorado snowboarding with their dad. They came home Sunday evening full of stories and delight with their short vacation.

The piecing for this was very intense, probably because I was able to devote so many consecutive hours to it. I really enjoyed it though. The pattern in the book called for 2-inch squares, but I thought they would be too big for a baby quilt. I modified it to 1-1/2 squares and then had to adjust the pattern.



The larger square is 5-1/2 inches and the rectangle is 3-1/2 inches.

Since the twins are due this month, I better get to work on the quilting and binding.

* * *

In other news, Spring is here [thank God]. The weather has been in the high 60s and when I step out of my house I smell blossoms. I worked in my garden over the weekend and had dinner with my friend J. at The Martini House in St. Helena.

The sun is up when I get out of bed in the morning. That is a beautiful thing.

* * *

Trader Joe's Volcano Super Dark coffee is making me very happy this week. Super dark.