Thursday 13

In an effort to blog on a regular basis, I will resort to "theme days." This week's list:

Thirteen places I've been this summer (in roughly chronological order)

1. Quality Inns in various cities.
2. US Airways Center for a Phoenix Mercury WNBA game.
3. Rose Chapel in Fort Worth for a lovely wedding.
4. Perini Ranch near Abilene for a dear friend's birthday.
5. Carlsbad Caverns
6. White Sands National Monument
7. A minor league baseball game: Brainerd Lunkers vs St Cloud Bats
8. Park Point beach on Lake Superior
9. Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America
10. The dentist
11. The movies
12. Gettin' my kicks on Route 66
13. Swimming

Linky Loo

Thursday Thirteen...random thoughts

1. Hey Blogger, why is uploading photos hit-or-miss these days?!? Very irritating.

2. I started the book Emerald a couple weeks ago. Did King Edward and Wallis Simpson have a child? If so, what was her life like? It's been a great read so far.

3. I joined a sock knit-a-long with some other folks on Ravelry. I am using some Socks That Rock yarn to knit the Shur' tugal pattern.

4. The pattern inspiration came from the novel Eragon, which I checked out from the library on Monday. So now I'm reading two books at once - one at home and one during lunch at school. It feels weird, I am usually a monogamous reader!

5. This is an area where my brother and I have completely different attitudes. I will read books many, many times. The Little House on the Prairie series was in endless rotation for much of my childhood, and now I revisit Harry Potter every couple years. Ty, on the other hand, thinks there are too many books in the world to waste your time re-reading anything.

6. I am in more of a quilt piecing mood than a longarm mood. Mom brought me a king size quilt to finish, and she had very specific ideas about the quilting. Now I'm nervous to start on it!

7. I am mulling over some ideas for a challenge. The theme is "Geometry" - perfect for a high school math teacher, right?!? I'm leaning towards the Fibonacci Sequence.

8. My other idea, not necessarily for the challenge, is a Sudoku quilt. It will be fun to arrange the nine fabrics nine different ways!

9. I am continuing with the Sue Garman Block of the Month at The Quilt Show. I think my polka dotted background makes it very busy, but rather than abandon the project or buy a bunch of new fabric, I'm just going to continuing using my stash.

10. Hubby and I have been discussing gardening. He'd like to build a raised garden in our yard. I think it would be great as a family project...I've shared how baby K likes to dig in the dirt and water anything and everything! The drawback is that I know it takes almost daily upkeep to tend a vegetable garden, and with his schedule, I'd end up with those chores. I'm not too thrilled about that! Since planting season is several months away, we have time to decide.

11. Another decision that always crops up at the end of the school year is job-hunting. Hubby works at a charter school, which doesn't pay into the state retirement system or count as experience for public school seniority. For these and other reasons, I'd like him to get hired in a public school. Unfortunately, with the dire state budget we are facing, that is unlikely to happen for next year. We're hoping he can at least switch to regular school hours and get home in the early afternoon!

12. Speaking of school, several teachers and I were comiserating about the lack of motivation in our students. There is a significant percentage of my students who seem to take pride in doing nothing. They don't even bring a pencil or paper to class! So, President Obama, please don't push "merit pay" on me until you figure out a way to hold the students accountable for their actions too.

13. On a happier note, I was thinking ahead to summer vacation. One option is a trip to Minnesota to visit my new nephew, but I am leaning towards a trip to the beach and Legoland! Ever since I heard about it, I've been anxious to have a child who would enjoy it, and Baby K loves to build towers and bridges.

Thursday Thirteen

Reasons why I haven't been blogging:

13. Harry Potter (all 7 books...again!)

12. I met Edward

11. Hubby doesn't get home from work until 6:30pm

10. At least 2 hours of Sesame Street and nursery rhyme videos every afternoon

9. Nasty cold = couch potato

8. I discovered Facebook!

7. I am addicted to PuzzleBee online jigsaw puzzles.

6. This Hawaiian Star was pieced by my mother and I'm trying to do it justice!

5. My guild's presidential challenge deadline is October. How can it be September already?!?

4. I am trying to finish handknit socks for a birthday surprise.

3. Lots of after school meetings

2. A new season of TV is starting...did you happen to see FRINGE on Fox?

1. Did I mention I have a 2 year old running me ragged?!? See you soon, I hope!

Lists

There is a movement on Ravelry called "Mission Possible" - knitting resolutions for the New Year. I contemplated joining, but then realized that if I only finished 4 pair of socks in 2007, I probably wouldn't be able to dramatically increase that total in 2008! However, the projects I had in mind for that mission work out nicely for a Thursday 13 list:

Upcoming Knits:
1. Jaywalker socks in JanuaryOne colorway from Blue Moon Fiber Arts
2. Red, white and blue socks, pattern to be determined
3. Rockin' Sock Club kits from August, October and December 2007
4. Ordination Stole for Julie (due June 2008)
5. Baby blanket (potentially for Julie's pregnant daughter who is due in July)
6. A black cardigan, pattern TBD
7. TOFUtsies sock club kits...I think I have 2 stashed away!
8. Socktoberfest socks that were such a mess in 2007
9. Mitered Square blanket - 18 squares done, 126 to go!
10. finish striped vest...there is a little border part to do on the four main pieces, then the sewing together part
11. vest from Noro Silk Garden yarn...multicolored and self striping
12. Another log cabin out of leftover baby yarn
13. Socks from gift yarn

Of course, this list in no way resembles the order that my knitting will actually be accomplished! You'll just have to live with the suspense and check the blog frequently ;-)

And then there are the Upcoming Quilts...I'm going to a midnight Quilt In tomorrow, so I've been thinking of which UFOs to work on.
1. Graduation quilt...I need to put borders on the 20 blocks and then I'm ready to sash and assemble the top.
2. T-shirt quilt...my aunt has been having issues sending me the pictures to do the last 2 blocks. we may have to resort to the old-fashioned US Postal Service! Can you imagine?!?
3. I have leftover one-block-wonder pieces, so I could do a second quilt similar to the one I finished in December.
4. I bought a charm pack and a pattern for a new purse.
5. At Quilt Camp in the Pines 2006, I started a Storm at Sea quilt with John Flynn. I have a recipient in mind when I finally get back to that project.
6. More NY Rising Sun blocks since I am teaching that class in a few weeks.
7. A Marti Michell block-of-the-month from several years ago. I think I finished 9 or 10 of the 12 blocks.
8. Jackie Robinson's "3 P's in a Pod" mystery quilt. All my blocks are assembled, I just need a design wall and some uninterrupted time to put it together.
9. The second quilt I ever started, way back in 2004...an Underground Railroad sampler. I think I have 9 of 12 blocks done on that one too.
10. I bought fabric for stack-n-whack or one-block-wonders so I could start a whole new project!

Ok, you get the idea. I could probably think of a few more to make a list of 13, but obviously I have plenty of things to do at Quilt In. I'm leaning towards #1, 2 and 6 in case you wondered.

Thursday 13

13 ways Baby K tries to avoid a nap...





1. Scream


2. Cry


3. Shriek (at a higher pitch than a scream)


4. Thrash around


5. Suck on her toes


6. Babble at the cat


7. Wave at the ceiling fan


8. Eat


9. Rub eyes


10. Rub nose


11. Kick


12. Chew on stuffed animals


13. Chew on fingers

It was a 40 minute process this morning...

Thursday 13

I haven't pulled out my UFOs, so here is the quilt rack in my living room: Thirteen quilts!

(I had a small problem with Photoshop...I hit save before I changed the file name, so then I had to paste the cropped part back into the original, and you can see the seams. OOPS!)

Anyway, here are some details...

From the right - my pineapple quilt from the 2006 longarm challenge, a four-patch, and two versions of Ricky Tims Caveman quilts.

Next, we have a zoo quilt (you can just see the corner on the right), then a bright Batik pinwheel with a checkerboard border, my Christmas bargello, and Stack-n-Whack treasure boxes.

Finally, from the LEFT this time, my Grand Canyon photo wall-hanging, the black and orange is the back of a Halloween banner, the circles from my Jane Sassaman class, and a Big Baby Star whose binding needs to be finished and mailed off as a baby (actually toddler by now!) gift!!

And here's an extra...Baby K's big smile!

Thursday 13

13 things to do this summer

Our last day of school is next week – yippee!! Here are a few of the things going on…

1. Basketball! Season tickets to the WNBA Phoenix Mercury. We’re going to the playoffs this year…hope springs eternal.

2. Graduation parties. Tis the season. Kinda strange when baby K is just 9 months old and all our other friends have kids in college now!

3. Machine Quilter’s Showcase in Kansas City. I am scheduled for three full days of classes with very talented longarm quilters.

4. Continuing education with my school district. I am going to learn “Blackboard” which is a program that a lot of colleges use. Maybe someday I will be an online instructor!

5. Back to work at Cotton Fields. My parents are taking a trip to China and I’ll fill in at the shop a few days while my mom's gone.

6. Family vacation to Minnesota. Any hints for a plane trip with a baby?!? Yes, we’re taking Benadryl. We hope to see my brother and my great uncle in the Twin Cities, then we’re going to spend sometime in the great outdoors at a friend’s cabin north of Duluth.

7. Weekly movie date with a teacher-friend. Diane and I met at the New Teacher orientation in 2000, and by chance our classrooms are right next door to each other. Most of the time our schedules have coincided so we eat lunch together every day.

8. Quilt Camp in the Pines! It will be my fourth year. My roommate is so fun, and a very talented quilter. I am taking classes with Jennie Rayment, Martha Nordstrand and Karla Alexander.

9. Swimming. Mom and Dad have a pool, and Baby K enjoys bathtime so much that I think she will have lots of fun.

10. Reading. I haven’t reserved a copy, but I’ll have to get my hands on the final Harry Potter book in July.

11. Knitting. With several plane trips on the horizon, I am hoping to get several pairs of socks done. Then maybe I can get back to the sweater vest that is almost finished!

12. Quilting. I have several tops lined up for the longarm and a few things to finish piecing. (hahahaha, the UFO pile might be NEXT week’s Thursday 13!)

13. Lesson Planning. This is one of those eternal inhabitants of a teacher’s to-do list. I taught AP Government for the first time this year, so I need to go back and revise everything now that I have some experience with the subject! Of course, August will roll around and I will be saying, where did all that time go?!?

Thursday 13

Today's list is inspirational quotes. I collected about 180 of them to post in my classroom. Here are the first thirteen!

1. Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. William Jennings Bryan

2. The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving – Oliver Wendell Holmes

3. Enthusiasm…nothing great was ever achieved without it. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

4. Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. – Epicurus

5. One person with courage makes a majority. – Andrew Jackson

6. What you think of yourself is much more important than what others think of you. – Seneca

7. One’s work may be finished someday, but one’s education, never. – Alexander Dumas the elder

8. We will be known by the tracks we leave behind. – Dakota proverb

9. Stumbling is not the same as falling. – Portuguese proverb

10. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Learn from the ones you do make. Dare, risk, take chances. – Cicero

11. Never feel that your success may be too hard a climb – the very highest peaks are reached just one step at a time. (unknown)

12. Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance. – Samuel Johnson

13. Freedom for a country, for a world, is something that must first begin within the hearts of individuals. (unknown)

Books

Today's topic is 13 books I love. Most of these titles I have read at least 3 time! My mom says I read faster than anyone she knows. If it’s light fiction, I can get through almost 100 pages an hour. Yes, I read every word, and retain it too!

1. Harry Potter... every couple years I start with Year 1 and read them all again.
2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon... a great series that I'm anxious to read again. Lots of yummy Scottish men in kilts ;-)
3. The Yarn Harlot...in print AND online. I'm waiting for Knitting Rules and Casts On to arrive next week.
4. Earlene Fowler mysteries...the quilting titles caught my eye first, and she gives you a great feeling for the San Luis Obispo area.
5. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott...I have a collection of "how to write fiction" books, and she is my favorite.
6. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert... details of her personal journey after a messy divorce. Now if I could get someone to finance MY journey!!!
7. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (series) by Alexander McCall Smith...I talked about these books a few weeks ago. I really need to get caught up on the current installments! However, I was not as impressed with his other novel 44 Scotland Street.
8. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova... I heard the buzz about this novel when it was first published. It is a great story-within-a-story retelling of Dracula.
9. The Bestseller by Olivia Goldsmith... just a fun read!
10. The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton... I love her illustrations. This is a cute bedtime story for Baby K.
11. Little House on the Prairie...another series that I would read over and over as a little girl.
12. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell...why are kids always drawn to survival stories? This is an award winner...Newberry or Caldecott, I'm not sure, but it's well deserved!
13. The Gift of Magic by Lois Duncan...as long as I'm strolling down memory lane, I'll include this one. It's about a girl with ESP. I went through a stage of fascination with ESP and poltergeists as a kid. Plus, I was trying to find something to read in my school library and this title jumped out at me!

A list

Newsflash...having "theme" days on your blog actually gives you something to talk about! Whoda thunk it! I blame the lack of fiber content on life getting in the way. When I have time to play with my longarm, it's usually just a quick pantograph. I'll share when I try something custom! I haven't had time to do any piecing or knitting either. So here's the list for today:

Some people have been giving out "Thinking Blogger Awards," a list of blogs that they find inspiring. For 13 on Thursday, I will share my daily reads:

1. The Yarn Harlot. Her 2006 Knitting Olympics inspired me to join the blogiverse.

2. Red Shoe Ramblings. The Daily Art Thang continually shows the beauty of the world around and within us.

3. Stumbling Over Chaos. A knitter with adorable cats. She has become "contest central" -check it out for a multitude of ways to win yarny goodness!

4. January One. Awesome photography of knitting! She knows good patterns...Jaywalkers, Log Cabin blankets, mitered squares, and the Central Park Hoodie.

5. Franklin. He knows Dolores. Enough said.

6. Crazy Aunt Purl. Southern fried commentary on life in L.A.

7. Lazy Gal Quilting. I learned to free-piece letters...now I want to add titles to all my quilts!

8. a Mad Fabriholic. I love her bold fabric choices! And lessons on being a great mom - redecorating during breakfast AND a surprise trip to Disneyland this year!

9. Rockin Sock Club. Check here for the latest news on the club. Everyone's at camp right now, sounds like fun!

10. Knotty Girls. Jen and La tell it like it is. Drop in for Eye Candy Friday!

11. The Calico Cat. Another crafty cat lover ;-) And we went to the same high school - the internet is such a small world!

12. Ms. Imbrium. I *love* the Donegal!

13. Be*Mused. Bright cheery quilts galore.