ALERT: Jackspeak

Jack slips on his backpack for the following conversation . . .

Jack: "I'm going to Texas."

Me: "Why are you going to Texas?"

"I need some hairspray, and some pipe cleaners. Green and red. Like my cape is red. I have to go by myself. But you can come with me. You can come with me, mom."

"Okay."

"But we have to walk. We have to walk to Texas."

"That's a long, long way, but okay."

"C'mon, I'm late!"

"Late for what?"

"Late for Texas! And then it'll be dark and we'll have to make a tent. And we'll have to make some fuzzy blankees."

"Sounds cozy, Jacky. Let's go."

It's for DECORATION.

Ah, yes, I know it now--this is the year. The year of Christmas crafting with my son. I'm elated. I'm so glad he's into it! Jack's first Christmas-decorating experience was spent in a sling, snuggled into my chest as I hung ornaments and tinsel. The second year was much the same. The third year was spent placing decorations up high, high, high and saying, "No, no, no!" when little hands wanted to pull and prod and touch and taste. But this year, he's got it.

It's all for DECORATION.

DECORATION. A magic word that loosens little hands from break-easy ornaments and untangles nimble fingers from the loopy yarn beards of assorted Santas. DECORATION. (I wonder if I can convince Jack that lotion and toothpaste and grape juice are for DECORATION, too...)

On to making our own decorations for the holidays. After teaching Jack about safely using 1 1/2-inch hole punches, we made a simple garland from card stock and Christmas cards saved from many years past.

I'm going gaga with garland this year. Plans for a good 'ol popcorn garland with red wooden beads are in the works. I know how it'll go--one piece of popcorn for Jack, one for me, and one for the garland. All part of the fun.

Holy moly. Just looked outside, just now. Wasn't expecting this:

Is winter officially here? After my stern talk with Old Man Winter, I'm actually hoping so.

A long (almost) winter's break

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Our holiday was as low-key as it gets. Brett and Jack spent the morning doing things that take the time that can be hard to find, like this:

By the way, we're proud of our Jack--he is now wearing his undies on a regular basis. I'm shooting for pants and shirts around the house by the time he's four.

We spent the afternoon at Brett's younger brother's house for a wonderful meal and great company with the Cardon clan. I am so thankful for my second family. Open arms, always.

Still, by the end of the day, I was so missing the Wilding clan. My side of the family. Still do.

Oh, and the Cowboys won the football game. That always makes for an especially pleasant Thanksgiving evening around here. Brett says he's not a football fan, he's a Cowboys fan. It's true and I'm lucky (only one game on the TV a week). Thirteen years ago my husband took the time to explain the rules of football to me in a way that I could finally understand--with pennies and dimes and quarters on the carpet. Since then I always watch at least part of a game. I feel quite accomplished when I figure out what the heck happened during a play all on my own.

On Friday, I invoked a new day-after-Thanksgiving tradition. Jack and I spent the better part of the day doing this:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

ALERT: Jackdo

First--a winner from this post has been chosen! Thanks to Amy from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for getting the Spidey-undies question right. A copy of The Little Box of Baby Quilts is on its way to you.

Now on to the "do" of the day . . .

When Brett and I moved to the Seattle area several years ago--kind of on a dare, to see if we could stick together in the throes of the real world (meaning not Utah)--we bought a house. And along with the house, we bought a refrigerator. A pristine white refrigerator. We loved our shiny-new refrigerator so much that we decided we would keep the front of it completely clean. No magnets, no papers, no photos, no grocery lists. Sparkling, spotless. Tidy-white only. We kept it that way for many years, even after our move back to Utah with said fridge.

Fast-forward a few years to a three-year-old and a book full of Star Wars stickers, given to Jack by his lovely Aunt Laurie.

A pristine white fridge. What were we thinking? How dull, how hum-drum we were in our pre-kid days.

Still kinda wish I had a "before" picture, though.

ALERT: Jackspeak

During our latest nature walk . . .

Jack: "Mommy, who eats pinecones?"

Me: "Hmm. I don't know if anyone eats pinecones. People don't eat pinecones, and I don't know of any animals that eat pinecones."

"How about turtles? Do turtles eat pinecones?"

"Um. I don't think so."

"I think turtles eat pinecones."

"Let's look it up when we get home."

"Okay. Turtles eat pinecones."

After looking it up online, we found out that indeed, certain animals do eat pinecones--namely squirrels and birds. Some varieties of pinecones contain seeds, and the seeds can be eaten. Who knew? I thought they were just for holiday wreaths and other strange miniature crafts. And for general kicking around.

Name that quilt!

After starting with this, and then going on to this and that, I finally ended up with this:

What a relief to finally have this quilt completed! I showed it to one of the editors of this lovely magazine at Quilt Market, before it was bound. I had thought to bind it in the stripe but asked for her advice. She said, "You could go with any of these colors; why don't you just use what you have left?" I had a lot of cheery blue polka-dot fabric left. I really like how it turned out.

I believe every quilt deserves a name. Hmmm. Well, this one is "fuzzy wuzzy" for sure. But I named a quilt "Fuzzy Wuzzy Hearts" in The Little Box of Baby Quilts. And I named this project "Fuzzy Wuzzy Scarf." And I think I even named this quilt "Fuzzy Wuzzy" something or other.

ENOUGH WITH THE FUZZY WUZZY, JENNY WENNY. PLEASEY WHEEZY.

I just looked up "fuzzy" on my favorite thesaurus site and found these words: downy, flossy, frizzy, furry, hairy, linty, and wooly. Okay. Perhaps we'll name it "The Frizzy, Furry, Hairy, Linty Quilt." Perhaps not.

I do believe this quilt will be published in the next issue of Quilt It for Kids, an annual publication put out by Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. Just peachy! But that means I really do need a decent name.

Any suggestions? Anyone?

ALERT: Jackdo

Scribble, doodle, scratch.

Scrawl, sketch, squiggle.

WAIT! That has ears, eyes, a nose, a mouth . . . that's a FACE!
(Along with Brett's drawing in the background--the oh-so-80s "Blockhead" face.)

After two years of strictly abstract art, the artist admires his first work in realism.

Hello and Goodbye, Quilt Market

Hey, I went to Quilt Market last week! Between a pregnancy that is slowing me down and a Halloween with a three-year old, it's been a struggle to get my thoughts together. But I've been wanting to share a little bit about my time at the show.

I've been to about a dozen Quilt Market shows as a staff member of Martingale & Company. But this time I headed out on my own, knowing I probably wouldn't be back for a few years. For me, it's always an overwhelming experience--the new fabrics, the fresh designs, the funky trends, the stunning exhibitions. Not to mention the quilt-world celebrities! It's like being backstage at Live Aid (or the new generation's Live 8). If you're a quilter, that is.

The George Brown Convention Center, downtown Houston (as seen through a construction site--always something new going up in Houston). I think the building is supposed to look like a ship. I think.

For three days at the show, I walked. And walked. And walked. (When I returned home, I weighed myself. Even though I'm preggers, I had LOST WEIGHT from so much walking.) I met with editors from this and that magazine--both were too, too kind to me and shared their savvy advice. I talked with reps from fabric companies and touched base with contacts I had made at past shows. It's always exciting to meet new people in the industry, and it's wonderful to catch up with people you usually only "talk" to by email. Which brings me to the two highlights of my trip.

After finding Annie Smith of SimpleArts online--and her great quilter-to-quilter podcasts--we started emailing back and forth. I found out she and her family had once visited the po-dunk town I live in. To me, that's just too rare to be a coincidence.

Annie is one of those people you can't help but love at a first meeting--cheerful, energetic, positive, genuine. (Her beautiful daughter? Same thing.) Annie recorded an interview with me Sunday (or was it Saturday?) after the show about The Little Box of Baby Quilts. (I'll link to the podcast when it's available.) I just know I said some dorky things during the interview. That's because Annie put me at ease from the start so I could let the 'ol guard down a bit. The inherent dork that I am decided to show herself. I tried to hide her. I tried! Darn you, Annie. :)

I had a great time with you, Annie. Thank you so much for the opportunity to meet and talk with you!

Me with Annie Smith of SimpleArts.

Annie with her daughter, Kirsten, at their booth. (Loving Annie's yummy quilted chocolates in the background!)

The other highlight of my Market experience was meeting up with old friends at Martingale & Company. I worked for M&C for 10 years. Up until just last month, in fact. I wish I had taken more pictures of everyone there! But here's what I got:

In the Martingale booth with my friends Deb and Shelley. I miss you already.

The deliciously hip Cassie, another good friend of mine from M&C. Somebody actually said "You are a vision!" to her at the show. She is so cool and cute it makes me sick. But in a good way.

I think the reason Cassie and I get along so well is that she, like me, is a dork at heart. Here she is, totally dorking it out for the camera. Dork on, Cassie!

It was so fun to go to dinner with the Martingale crew and catch up and be hilarious with each other. I think there were eight of us. We talked movies from passing the bread basket around until the shuttle opened its doors at the hotel lobby. I had such a great time being with you all, one more time. I am really, really going to miss you.

And with that, I'm saying goodbye to Quilt Market for a while. I did what I went to do. I feel like I did something brave, going to Houston on my own. But I wasn't really on my own--so many old and new friends were there with me. I'm glad I went. I'm equally glad to be back home.

Now on to the next bold undertaking--focusing on slowly rebuilding our nest. This time, with room for four.