Back to Batik...

I've been plodding along these last few days. Moving slow, but getting somewhere. Ever seen the movie "Knight's Tale"? "To trudge"... that's what I'm doing. Trudging along. This is one of the projects that I have been trudging through. I need to finish it by the 1st of May. It's a graduation present for one of our "adopted" kids- she's a nursing graduate. We worship with folks in a university town, so I try to make all the college grads at church a quilt. Usually, it's only one a year, so it's not a problem. This year we got 4 freshmen, so we'll see where I stand in a few years. The good thing is, not every program graduates at the same time. And kids transfer and before you know it, there's only one quilt to make each year. I usually try to keep it simple. I love this pattern! It is from the book, "New Cuts For New Quilts- more ways to stack the deck." by Karla Alexander. This pattern is called "Safari" as she used all animal and jungle prints. I am using 28 different batiks- utilizing the "more is more" theory! Each of the blocks are little 5 1/2" squares- see where they start in the corner? They are all the "same"- just flipped in different directions, and alternating darks and lights. You cut 8 blocks at a time- improvisationally- so they are not exact. I like that, 'cause then you don't even have to pretend that you're trying to match up points. That would be pointless! I have 24 more blocks to go and then there are a couple borders to grow it out to about 60"x80". I think it is rounding out to be a nice warm-looking quilt, and that suits Lindsay to a T.

I got a package in the mail, this morning. Hmmm... I don't hear any gasps of shock or thundering ovations. Apparently, you guys have no idea of just how postally challenged I am. It's really quite pathetic. I live only one mile from two different post offices and yet... getting mail out is a gruesome ordeal. So I collect stacks of stuff that need to be sent out. My sewing counter is the main staging area. Oh, who am I kidding? "Staging" would suggest that there is another step to the process and I can assure you that most of that stuff just sits there until the recipient comes to fetch it! I told you it was pathetic. I would just like to say that this whole dilemna is part of a much bigger problem. But you probably already knew that, right? See, I start with a pile of "stuff." It's never quite complete. It is always lacking that last thing- like a letter or a note indicating who said stuff is from! And then there is the challenge of finding a box of the proper dimensions. I must say that the postal service's new Priority Mail boxes are very handy and more than likely worth the extra few bucks in mailing costs to not have to find your own box. Plus, they come with the added bonus of not needing tape. Yes, the tape is also a hurdle that often stops me in my tracks. Now let's see... where did I see that tape last? That's right! Abe was wearing it as an anklet when I was taking that picture up there! (see the little toes peeping into the picture?) I knew I should have made him hand it over, but I was on a chair at the time, and by the time I climbed off... well, frankly, I forgot about it. After a 30 minute search, we found it under the couch. So the box is found, the letter written, the tape applied... now for an addess... Now where did I last see that address book...? hmmm... I spend another 30 minutes looking for it. No luck. Yes, I realize this is making me look a complete and uttter disaster... and yes, that's a fairly accurate description. Can't find the address book. I pretend that Bill needed it and probably took it to work with him. If all else fails, blame the other half of this disastrous equation! So I decide to just call Mom and ask her for her address. Kinda quashes the whole "gonna surprise her" bit, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Well, her phone is busy and so I spend a few more minutes trying to chase her down online. She's not biting, and then I realize that she sent the kids a postcard for their birthdays- I could use the return address... Nope. No return addess on the postcards. Mom, we need to talk about that sometime. What if some hand-cancelling postal worker decides you need another stamp? It happens. At any rate, I finally find a letter from Mom- with a return address, thank you very much. Get that label all written out(the permanant marker was surprisingly right where it belongs!) and then... now where did I set that tape down? I'm kidding. I drive the mile down the road and the little harrassed box goes to a better home than mine! Shew! Nearly burst into tears on the way out of the P.O. parking lot- almost made a left turn to take me to the Chinese restaurant, only to get a grip and make my way home where I trudged through getting another quilt on the frame. Gives a whole new meaning to "going postal" doesn't it?