art | Under the Maple Canopy

May 27, 2013
by mamaraby 1 Comment

I guess I still like writing after all…

Back in April, Jerimi over at My Antidepressant Life wrote about her pen-pal through the Letter Writer’s Alliance. First off, Jerimi has a great blog if you’re looking for something to read. Secondly, letter writing? An entire group of folks devoted to writing letters and absolutely yummy paper related items?

I joined right away even though I had a backlog of thank you cards waiting to go out and am spotty at best when it comes to sending out holiday cards be they for anniversaries, birthdays, or other appropriate occasions. In my defense, cards are freaking expensive for what you get and signing a card really never feels like “enough.”

But….letters? I love letters. Even better? While writing my very first penpal letter, I discovered that I still like writing after all. Just not blogging.

So.

Here’s the deal, if you’re a regular here and you’d still like to keep in touch, I’d love to hear from you. Want a handwritten letter in return? Drop me an email with your snail mail address (maplecanopy [at] gmail [dot] com) and I’ll send one your way! :0)

Finished Since Last Time…

We’ve finished three books in the last two weeks and are very close to finishing a fourth. Books #8, 9, and 10 were “Stuart Little” by EB White, “Bartleby of the Mighty Mississippi” by Phyllis Shalan,t and “A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning” by Lemony Snicket. Book #10 is E.L. Konigsburg’s “From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” which has been equally as delicious to read as #s 9 and 10.

From there, we’ll be on to #12, “The Son of Neptune” by Rick Riordan.

Another thing that I have settled on declaring finished lately is this here blog. I’m not done writing (seeing as writing is a lifelong process), but my writing ambitions are definitely finished. My apologies to those who have commented within the last month or so. I really did mean to get back to you, but the reality is that I won’t. I do feel the tiniest bit sorry about that. Only the tiniest bit, though. Much as I meant to get back to writing here, as time went on I found that what seemed so urgent or necessary before didn’t any longer.

The short version? I still have plenty to say, but I have no desire to say it here.

So, dear reader, my deepest appreciation to all of you for reading along with me. You are certainly welcome to continue, but know that I’m going to be shifting focus and what will follow in this space will primarily be a personal record of next year’s homeschooling. In other words, less blog, more record keeping. Read alouds, units I have created myself, resource lists, etc.

I won’t begrudge you if a litany of lists and records does not thrill you. :0) You have my permission to go therefore and read someone else.

April 15, 2013
by mamaraby 2 Comments

Finished Last Week

“Shattered” – My own “design” (process and history here)

Quilting by Cindy @ In A Stitch Quilting

April 14, 2013
by mamaraby 10 Comments

In Which I Stop Reading Big Name Quilting Blogs

So, certain persons online host contests. Do this, follow that, comment, make, and otherwise jump through hoops for this chance and that chance. Let’s be honest, most of them have sponsorships of some sort that provide the prizes. At least that’s the case for the big name bloggers. You can bet your rotary cutter that they aren’t out any money for the giveaway (or a great portion of the fabric they use to make their quilts). They’re selling something just like Target, WalMart, and Kraft. It’s every bit a business, except instead of selling a product or service, they are selling themselves. The blogger is the brand.

I find it just the tiny bit ironic then, when the folks selling their brand and hosting contests, declare some grand community purpose or some other such nonsense. As if somehow contests and giveaways aren’t that important. Chastise is probably the better word for it, and yes big blogger, I am aware that your comment was directed at me. Sometimes reading your blog or participating in your contest (and driving traffic to your blog) is just a means to an end. And really, can’t we be honest, since this is your business, isn’t that really the point? And, no I didn’t let your comment through on the original post because it seemed to me more the quilty equivalent of “well, bless your heart.”

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but when I enter a contest I kind of want to win otherwise I wouldn’t enter. I guess in this case I did sort of win. Sadly it was insight rather than fabric which would have been nice since we don’t all have access to the same fountain of free stuff (like sewing machines and fabric).

And that, big blogger, is the point at which I stopped reading big name quilting blogs just as sure as I stopped reading the pioneer gal. That sort of “community” isn’t for me. Too bad it cost me money to find out.

April 6, 2013
by mamaraby 12 Comments

Shelburne Falling Star

A few weeks ago I saw an announcement on Stitched in Color for a Shelburne Falls contest. I wasn’t going to participate, but then, while shopping for fabric to finish the picnic blanket, a couple of half yards of fabric found their way into my basket.

Buying fabric? Easy.

Figuring out what to make with the fabric? That’s an entirely different puzzle altogether. My mom asked me how I came up with the idea. Honestly? I have no idea. I read quite a few blogs (by which I mean I skim through them while focusing on the ones that most catch my eye) so it’s more than likely that someone made something with stars. From there it’s a Google image search for quilted stars, barn stars, free stars, paper pieced stars. I looked at patterns (free, Etsy, Craftsy), but none of them really seemed like the thing.

Carol Doak’s “50 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars” made its way home from the library, mostly for the Colorado star, but when it arrived I fell in love with her Wisconsin star. Heh, I live in Wisconsin, is that too kitschy?

A week ago today we had our local quilt guild’s sew day and seeing as the husband was off, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to work on this quilt. While brushing my teeth it dawned on me – stars…falling stars….Shelburne Falls….Shelburne Falling Star. This, dear reader, is how inspiration is born.

I could have done the traditional thing. Four stars matched up with a neat little square of HSTs in the middle. Yeah. I never follow a recipe as written and likely couldn’t even if I tried, why would I follow a pattern as written?

One week, two Shelburne Falls fabrics, four Kona solids, a full Saturday, some Diet Coke, just about the entire third season of NCIS, and countless hours later my kitchen is a mess, the children have had pizza for dinner more than once. Oh, and the quilt is finished.

It’s perfect, yes? I can’t say that it’s exactly how I thought it would turn out because to be honest my vision before beginning was fuzzy. I love the way things evolve. Mistakes become focal points. Pieces are shuffled. While I enjoy the finished project, I think I prefer the process a great deal more than the finishing. Wrestling this quilt through my domestic machine was no picnic not to mention how I feel about hand stitching binding, but there is a certain satisfaction with having arrived even if it’s a little bittersweet.

Speaking of binding…I will now bind all of my quilts in stripes. I just love the way the stripes look marching all in a row down the edge of the quilt. Perfect.