here there be dragons

There’s nothing quite like a deadline to keep me motivated. Two weeks ago, I was determined to get my niece’s quilt finished, and while the actual deadline had passed, I had a self imposed deadline – could I get it finished by Saturday afternoon, before I had to head out for a meeting, and before Mr Barefoot was due home from a quick trip down the mountain to visit his mum?

Turns out, I could. Well, the top at least. With the house to myself (ish – the teens were present but all still asleep), I chucked on an audiobook, and got to work. By 3pm, I had a finished quilt top, leaving me just enough time to quickly brush the threads off my t-shirt and head to town. Sunday morning was taken up with Scouts market duty, thankfully cut short due to a sudden downpour of rain, and I was home to Frankenstein some batting and get it basted, and the quilting started.

Monday’s job was getting the binding attached and stitched down, with the company of a very apt, cozy old movie – How To Make An American Quilt. When it was released, I was twelve, in my first year of high school, and it was a grown up movie. In the three decades since, I never got around to watching it, and to be honest it had completely dropped out of my memory bank. Then, Pip from Meet Me At Mike’s proposed a Craft Film Club; it sounded like a fun concept to try some new-to-me movies, and chat to some new-to-me friends in the blog comment section, so I was in. It was rather serendipitous that Pip’s first choice was so perfectly aligned with a project in need of a companion movie!

And then it was done, wrapped and bundled off to my folks who were headed in that direction. I think it might be one of my favourite quilts so far. I wonder if I could borrow it back to enter in the show next month?

Today, we’re in full life-admin mode. There’s floors to be mopped and washing to be hung and school rooms to be reset, ready for the weekend ahead. I love a clean house to wake up to on a Saturday morning. The craft room is already clean and begging to be messed up. Before I can do that though there’s errands in town and kids to collect and next’s weeks lessons to plan. Dinners for the big boy and stalking the second boy riding his motorbike after dark for the first time. Chats with the girls and walks with the dogs and new trees to be watered. My list is growing more than shrinking, but I’m hoping one last big push of productivity and I might even be able to cast on a new knitting project this afternoon. Unless I start a quilt. Or pull down my print making box. I can’t forget to edit my photos as well… Happy Friday friends! What are you making this weekend?