amazing

Who needs a Wii

 

shelves of books

 

dolls

  

or baseballs,

 

when what they really want

 

is a drained pool

the home stretch

All that remains to do on the Auction quilt is the binding. But after piecing and quilting, I'm thinking I need to change the blog name to the crooked quilter or maybe sew not straight. Who knew it could be so difficult to sew a (long) straight seem?

 

I like the green of the back. The leftover will make a nice skirt.

And even if the quilt goes home with someone else, at least we have this:

I think it's time for some sewing machine maintenance. Right after I make Claire a skirt and sew the lining into Robyn's knitted tote and, and, and...

tea

Saturday night we went to hear Greg Mortensen speak about Three Cups of Tea, Stones into Schools and the experiences that led him to write both books. It was pretty amazing. While much of his talk was about education -- educating girls in particular -- a recurring theme was the importance of listening.

One story he told was about the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. About how when sometimes you think you're helping an awful lot, you're perhaps doing what you think is best, instead of asking what the person (people/country) really needs. He told about refugees receiving tents that turned out to be highly flammable when crammed with families keeping warm with fire. And he suggested that, in fact, they didn't need others to send them tents, but they sure could have used a small factory in which to make their own tents. He talked a lot about empowerment. But he also talked about how our military leaders have begun listening in Pakistan.

Follow that with yesterday's Godly Play parable about the Good Samaritan. It's such a basic story about loving your neighbor. It ends with wondering questions: I wonder who was a neighbor to the man who was hurt... I wonder who was a neighbor to the robbers... I wonder what would have happened if it had been a child who was hurt...

Bigger, better, more, faster. That's how I feel sometimes. Maybe it's time to be a better listener.

slowly, but surely

I'm a slow crafter. I'm not sure whether it's an attention issue -- as in a lack of -- or just a speed thing. In the time it takes me to complete one sweater, Robyn makes sweaterS, scarves, socks and mitts. I've been working on the Nantucket Jacket for MONTHS, and finally, I'm almost finished with the back.

All that to explain why I'm so pleased with my progress on the Auction quilt.

The squares are pieced and the blocks sewn into rows. Next up: joining the rows and adding a pieced border. I harbor illusions that I'll finish the top over winter break. Well, I can certainly dream.