Collaborative Quilting

So I volunteered my sewing services to my school for a charity auction and then realized I had so many other projects going on that I would never get anything done. So what is my solution? Recruit unsuspecting victims to help me out!

Mwahh haa haa haa! (evil laugh)

So I convince my work friends Kristie and Lynn (both fairly new to sewing) that we should start a "Stitch-n-Bitch" sewing club and have some fun crafty time together outside of work. They agree, but of course... little do they know what they have just agreed to!

I wrangle them over to my place and pitch them the idea. That together we create a wall hanging quilt to donate to the school's charity auction the next month. It was to benefit our school library which will be undergoing a very large overhaul this coming summer.

To my surprise, they agree. So I decide rather than tempt fate by bossing them around even more, I let them pick a pattern, a theme and some fabrics. They chose to create a "calendar quilt" since that meant that we would only have to make 12 blocks. We each picked a month or two to start on and dove right in.

Bless her little heart, Lynn, we found out, had never sewn a thing before this. Kristie had only started sewing last summer and claimed to be deathly afraid of quilting, but she is a whiz with figuring out patterns and the mechanics of most sewing machines. We started slowly, but as they got the hang of it, we quickly created a fabulous quilt.

I was really happy - as were they - with the final product. We each made some of the blocks and then I quilted and bound it. In the auction it sold for 175 dollars! Wowwza!

Next month, a full bedroom set! (just kidding)

I've been away for so long....

It's been a busy time lately!

This always happens around this time of the year. It's close to the holidays, the first trimester is coming to an end so there's lots of grading and paperwork to be done at school. And yet I find myself coming home and attempting to do something creative.

Like this





and this









or this!

My New Classroom

I have a new classroom this year, which is good for me, since I have so much stuff! I'm also teaching two grade levels of science this year, so I need two whole different curriculum's worth of stuff as well.

I have several "mascots" around my room. Here is the Beaker my mom sent me. He sits on my book display case.

We also got new fancy lab tables this year. Our old tables were at least 30 yrs old and had many wads of gum, carvings, and stains as well as holes in them.

Here are some views of my room from the front and from the back.

I'm feeling like I'm finally getting back into the swing of things in the classroom. It's always such a hard transition for me from summer to school time. And I'm always frightened of change and I had several this year - new room, new curriculum, new team, new students. All is going well, though.

And my other mascot is Mr. Bufo, the toad. He sits on the lab table by my desk at the front of the classroom. He's wonderfully squishy and the kids love him.

Rain rain, go away?

So of course, right after I make that pledge to walk to school, we get the remnants of Hurricane Gustav and it rains for two - three days straight. Is this me making more excuses? Maybe, but I didn't want to walk to school in the rain, especially when yesterday was picture day!

There's always next week....

Gettin' fit! Maybe...?

So I've made a commitment to get fit. I found this great online group of people who are crafters who are also dedicated to staying fit. Look at that cute little icon in my sidebar! Now every time I come to my blog, I will be reminded of what I signed up for!

Generally, crafting & fitness are two things that don't go hand-in-hand. Especially since most crafts like sewing & quilting are very sedentary hobbies.

But getting fit is something I've been thinking about working on for a while now. I've made very halfassed attempts in the past to improve my fitness level and get healthy. And for many reasons. First and foremost, of course, is for a better body image and to feel better about myself. Secondly, I have a family history of heart attacks, stroke, & LOTS of diabetes. I do NOT want to develop diabetes like my grandmothers, one grandfather, an aunt, and a cousin have. And my dad was borderline diabetic until his doctor put him on a strict(er) diet.

Now that I'm back in school, I usually find it easier to stick to a more structured schedule. That will now hopefully include some sort of exercise each day. I actually live close enough that I could walk to work. It would only be about a 20 or 25 minute walk. That's a good amount of walking if done two times a day. Of course that depends on how much stuff I have to carry to and from school. There I go... trying to make excuses again....

Ok.. here it is. I commit to walking to school or at least exercising at least 3 times a week. That will be a good starting goal. I may whine loudly about it, but bear with me please! It's for my own good!

Back to School

My last few moments are quickly dwindling... my time has come to head back to school. No more carefree days of summer... no more sleeping in. No more lounging on the couch watching whatever cheezy movie I wanted to that day. No more spending weekday hours in the garden with Stinky, my cat. No more "sure, honey. Let's go to that late night movie and get to bed at 1am." No more wearing my pj's all day long.

But it's really not that bad, right? Why did I pick a profession that has such traumatic transitions??? I need to switch to a year-round school.

:(

Wahhh...

Visiting North Georgia (part 1)

Just got back from a vacation to the North Georgia Mountains to visit with my folks. We stayed up near Ellijay at the cabin of a family friend. It's a georgous location on several acres of land right near where a stream meets a river.

During the time I was there, I spent a lot of quality time outside communing with nature, I guess. It's just so peaceful there & it's so good to get away from the "big city".

I also got to spend some quality time with my parents. Dad was working on various projects - but never the ones he planned to work on.

I dragged my mom to several quilt shops in the area. Some I had found online, and others we found by mistake. Either way, I found some fabulous fabrics. I also became a fan of the super inexpensive fabric section of the many local Walmart stores we visited. We don't really have Walmarts in my area and I have mixed feelings about that chain of stores, but down in Georgia, that was frequently the only option. And when you have to drive 30 minutes for the only shopping option, you take what you can get.

I took lots of pictures and have lots to share, but not all at once, so expect more from me about my trip! I've been distracted lately 'cause I'm getting geared up to get back into the classroom again. I've been putting my classroom back in order and tomorrow have to attend the beginning of the schoolyear "pep rally" for the school district. Not really looking forward to all that just because it seems like the official END to my summer.

Oh well. It had to end sometime, right?

SKOOL is winding down...

It's almost the end of the school year and it's been super-crazy as usual. Kristie & I finished the Avon walk last weekend and I'm trying to get all my last minute grading done for final report cards. I also found out that I'll be (once again) moving grade levels to be a split teacher - 7th AND 8th grade science. So that means I may have the same students THREE years in a row! Yikes!

I'm also moving classrooms, so I'm having to pack up all my things - and if you know me well, you know I'm a classic "packrat" teacher with LOTS of stuff to move (you never know when you may need all those plastic bags and popsicle sticks!).

Oh, and I'm trying to find time to do fixer-upper projects at the house and work in the constantly growing garden as well as work on sewing projects I've signed up for.... Too much on my plate all at once right now! Grrr!

And since my good friend in Gainesville says it's just not a blog without a picture:
It's the backyard last fall and Kristie with Mr. Toad!

SPRING BREAK! FINALLY!

So I finally finished my last Parent-Teacher conference at 8:15 tonight. Whew! I'm glad that's all over. I'm tired of talking and smiling. Most of the parents I see are the parents of the students who are A+ students. "Your child is great. Your child is perfect. Your child is amazing." It gets old. But they need to hear it, I guess.

Now on to my spring break. Not much planned, and I like it that way. Hubby and I would have liked to go somewhere tropical again this year, and since, as I look out the window right now, it's SNOWING AGAIN, it would have been nice to go somewhere warm. Oh well. New house needs our love and attention and money. I'll be spending some quality time with Stinky.

Meow.

I love Mr. Pulaski!

Why do I love Kasimir Pulaski? Let me count the ways...

1. I get a day off of school because of his heroic actions. According to Wikipedia,

He was a Polish soldier and military commander who fought in the American Revolution under the command of George Washington. Pulaski was a noted cavalryman and played a large role in training Revolutionary troops. He took part in the sieges of Charleston and of Savannah. From 1777 until his death, Pułaski fought in the American Revolutionary War for the independence of the United States. He was a noted cavalryman and, as the "Father of the American Cavalry," created Pulaski's Legion, one of the few cavalry regiments in the American Continental Army. He took part in the Battle of Brandywine, the Siege of Charleston (South Carolina), and the Battle of Savannah (Georgia).

On October 9, 1779, Pułaski — during a cavalry charge, while probing for a weak point in the British lines at the Battle of Savannah — was wounded in the groin by grapeshot. He was carried from the field by several comrades, including Colonel John C. Cooper, and taken aboard the privateer merchant brigantine Wasp. Two days later, without having regained consciousness, he died of his wounds.

2. Ok.. so there's really not a number 2. I'm just happy to get Monday off. Thank goodness I teach in the Chicagoland area.