My Original

Lazy Jelly Cabins
by Celeste Harrington

Well, as far as I know, this is my own original quilt design idea. I searched the Internet for something like it, but never came across anything. While the log cabin block is not my idea, the way I constructed it is! It uses a complete jelly roll with as little waste as possible and involves only a minute amount of precutting! It is sew as you go. So easy. So scrappy. So fun!

I really enjoyed making this one. I found an old Lila Tueller Soiree jelly roll and had this idea for it. It is one of my all time favorite fabric lines!

Tutorial to follow!

Just in time

A sweet friend of mine commented that Braden took his first steps just in time! Just in time for his first birthday on Friday! Yeah! It was so much fun to watch, even though I have seen four others do the very same thing! Milestones never get old.




Today has been a much better day. Nicole only threw up that one time yesterday. She has spent the day resting and getting her strength back. Braden was way more cheerful today! Thank you Lord. Much more accomplished. On those days like yesterday when NOTHING gets done, things begin to look bleak. When you already feeling behind in life in general, it makes it seem as though every day is that bad! Then there's the sunnier days like today that show you the real state of affairs and offer hope.

Do I dare continue?

Wow. It has been way too long. Dare I continue this blog? I used to so enjoy it. I love reading blogs so much. They are a huge source of creative inspiration for me. I can't tell you how many wonderful blogs I enjoy reading. Such fun!

Maybe I will turn over a new leaf. Hmmm.

We have been attacked by a viciously contagious stomach bug the past week and it's not over yet. So, suffice it to say, I have not been very "creative" lately. I stand there and stare at all my projects, but I am frozen. I guess I feel like if I pick something up to work on it, someone will come needing me or I'll have to clean up more throw up. Need to sew SOON.

Here's a little creative inspiration from the last couple of months for all of you:

A sweet baby girl quilt for a friend. Oh, how I loved this one. Hard time saying bye-bye to it.

My dutch pinwheel quilt. It was a disaster in many ways, but I still love it.

Made this quilt for our sweet piano teacher that got married. Soft and flannel-y.

So why DO I home school?

Is it because I can meet my childrens' individual needs? because I can preserve their valuable childhoods? so I can protect them from unwanted influences?

Sure, I can relate to all these reasons.

Is it because I enjoy teaching and sharing their learning with them?

Yes, that's a good one.

Or what about the repeated pleas of "Oh, just one more chapter!" and "Please don't stop reading there!" as we read a history novel like Johnny Tremain?

That certainly is motivating.

But really it's the little moments that catch me by surprise that reinforce our decision to home school. Bear with me as I paint you a picture from this morning:

It had been a busy morning - cold and with lots of rolling power outages. I came out of Baby Braden's room after feeding him and putting him down for morning nap. Across the hall I see a five year old sitting on the potty in a dimly lit boys' bathroom. This is the boy who had been loudly requesting my assistance while I was busy with Braden. He has been quiet for a while and now I see why. The dark windowless bathroom is lit by a lantern and on the floor nearby is his big sister. She is patiently and with much encouragement guiding him through his stack of reading word cards. I come close and he smiles big. An easy "No, that's not it." or cheerful "Good job!" sounds so natural coming from her. She smiles big. So do I. She has made his day.

These moments don't happen everyday - not even every week. But when they do come, I am reassured and encouraged in this journey. It is not easy. But these precious, God-given moments are just enough to make me want to press on. This is why I home school. This is what it is really all about.

Good night and God bless you.

Thoughts, yet no thoughts

That's how I feel these days. I have such wonderful thoughts swimming about in my brain! But by the time I have a moment to collect them, I haven't a bit of brain cells available to organize them into coherent sentences!

I so want to continue this blog. It has been hard to even want to find the time lately. Our days are so FULL! I wake up, often later than I want to, and hit the ground running. I have implemented a chore card system and that requires energy from me even though I am not the one doing the chores. There's schooling! With three children needing my time, I am so much further stretched and pulled. And all this while wrangling Mikey, the super energized almost 4 year old, and keeping sweet Baby Braden happy! (Can you believe he's almost 8 months old????) There's so much going on. And I know there are many women who have far more children and far more to do than I do, but it is a lot to me. I always try to remember this when thinking about friends and acquaintances who have fewer children than I do. When I had one or two or three, it was overwhelming. I remember thinking I couldn't do any more than I was already doing. Then with each additional child, God provided. And so it is with five or eight or 15!

So I get up day after day and tackle what's before me. Some days I handle it better than others. The days when I am up earlier, I do better. (Thanks Brian for forcing me out this morning!) One day at a time. One moment at a time. One frustration at a time. One uttered pray at a time. One hug at a time. One by one I walk through my days!

Hopefully I can begin to share more in the future. I have so many projects to share with you. I am still quilting and enjoy it more all the time. I have had more time lately than when Braden was more of a baby, but even now available time comes in spurts. Some days my beautiful fabrics just stare at me across the game room. But even the sight of them makes me happy.

So now it's time to make some lunch and switch a load of laundry. It is a beautiful day which means the kids can get outside after lunch too! Yeah.

Have a blessed day!

Celeste

More giveaways!

OK. I am having so much fun with this Moda Bake Shop progressive dinner party and giveaway! You have to go see it all! Lots of fun! Lots of wonderful new blogs to subscribe to as well, including The Polka Dot Chair! Run, don't walk!

Celeste Who?

Go enter this fabric giveaway and then hopefully you can return here in a few days for some blogging updates!