Halu-Halo

Fussy

...in every sense of the word...yes, I am.

I'm into the 9th month of pregnancy...need I say more?

I'm so fussy that Hubby, by sheer instinct, has started to give me more space...to let me make my enormous list of things to do before Babe comes, to talk talk talk (nag?) about each and every thing I need to complete on this list, and then to panic that I won't get it all done. 

Yes, this would be the start of the phenomenon of "nesting". 

I'm so fussy that I have started my cocooning process.  I don't leave my house unless I have to, because by golly, that would mean that I would have to get out of pajamas or my yoga pants.  Another reason is that I no longer even fit into the cute maternity clothing I purchased.  And because all I want to do is clean the house at the moment.  

Again, the whole nesting thing...

I'm even so fussy that I refused to use a ruler/rotary cutter when completing this doll quilt for a swap at Sewingmamas.  I wanted to use as few tools as possible for the entire project, so I don't have to take out my cutting mat or rulers from my sewing storage.  I then fussy cut all of the pieces, to include the binding, and I only used fabrics from my scrap bin because I didn't want to undo the already folded yardage in my drawers.

I decided to approach this process freely, with my goal to match the solids with its middle square, but I improvised on how large each courthouse step would be.

And by golly, it seemed to have all worked out the way it's supposed to.  It was definitely hard to let this one go.

Maybe this nesting thing isn't so bad after all.

Improv is hard, yo!

...much harder than I anticipated...then again, I don't know why I am not surprised.  I am very much my Virgo trait of being a planner, that I have always had a hard time "going with the flow."  I keep realizing that it is not in my nature to do so.  I have to practice to become internally flexible. 

My dear, poor husband...I have realized now how much he has had to be patient with.

And this all explains why public speaking was not my most favorite course to take in college, or my need for lists, my hesitance in just diving into projects.  I mull and worry and think "what if" when it comes to self expression.  I prefer to have concrete guidelines and parameters : cut here, sew here, measure here....

I finally completed the primary blocks for my first Improv quilt...and was I relieved to find that despite the different pieces of fabric, they all sort of flowed together.  Each block had its own personality, wouldn't you know?  I even said out loud, "where have you been all my life?"

Now I see how important this project is for me...it takes me completely out of my element.  And I've got to have the gusto to keep crawling out of my safety zone.

Improvising

Have you ever felt like you wanted to reign in your surroundings?  February is typically the month when I start to really wind down from the holidays, and when I feel the most not-in-control (vs. out of control, which sounds a little too much for me), and all I want to do is hunker down before spring break.

This year, I also feel like my sons are growing too fast and away from me.  All of a sudden, my first 2 are reading up a storm and are in their own corners in the afternoon, and the little one is left running after me.  So while we are all the same area, and doing constructive things, I almost feel lonely.

Is that crazy?  You'd think I would be running off in a corner...but I almost feel useless, simply acting as a mediator for squabbles and a taxi driver.

I decided that enough was enough and I re-started reading time in our home.  And I thought we should tackle the classics...the ones I enjoyed the most, though Little Women is somewhere hidden in the couch pillows.

 

I have always read to the children...but in the last couple of years I had been reading to the boys separately from the little one, who doesn't have the patience for Magic Tree House.  She much rather would like to listen to Olivia or Biscuit...over and over and over and over.   But she is somehow more still these days, and I have been able to reign in a few minutes of Mommy Time in the guise of reading time to all three of them

I've also started to get my quilting mojo back, slowly but surely...I have learned to follow my heart in my crafting and have been knitting a storm the last couple of weeks!  (a cardi for me, it's taking so long...but it's just what I need)  But I have finally been inspired to start my Project Improv piece.

My criteria for improv:
1. Using scraps!
2. No pattern
3. Fussy cut strips (vs rotary cut)

Improvising a quilt makes me a little nervous...but I am up for the challenge!  It might be just the thing to get me moving back into spring.