the blue blog archives: the perils of motherhood

One of my jobs as mom is to sharpen all the pencils in the pencil bin we have in the kitchen. That's where we keep all our pencils - for homework, for writing things on the calendar, for making grocery lists, for secret twin messages and for what wee one calls "draaahhhing". About once a month, after fruitlessly searching the bin for a pencil with a point to jot down a number, I end up sitting down for twenty minutes or so sharpening all the little buggers on one of those stylish, cleverly designed but oh-so-very-not-automatic German pencil sharpeners. And then I have to take a two day break from knitting due to a giant pencil sharpening blister on my middle finger!

So pretty much all I managed this weekend (besides sharpening the pencils, of course) was to finally sew the labels on the neutral quilt and purple lover's quilt (remember them?!) and send them off to the lovely women I made them for. I washed the quilts before sending them, which was scary as hell, but they came out looking great with that old-fashioned wrinkly look that quilts have.

posted by alison at 5:01 pm | in caring quilts

Comments

Glad to know I'm not the only one with pencil issues. 80 pencils in our pencil (flower) pot, not one with a tip. I make the kids sharpen them, but my youngest (of 4) is the same age as your two oldest.

Posted by: Lara at May 5, 2009 7:12 PM

Funny you should mention the quilts - I saw the pics in the sidebar yesterday (while looking for the link to the kids' Nothing But a T pattern) & wondered what the recipients' reactions had been. They are amazing & I just wish that I could make myself quilt. But I'm thinking that, even though I sew, anything to do with yarn is really my first love. So I'm thinking now of getting a little loom to see how I like weaving. I have the same problem with pencils & I'm the only one here who uses them!

Posted by: Donna at May 5, 2009 7:42 PM

We only use mechanical pencils except for one big bucket of pencil crayons that took over from the box of broken crayons.
How did you make your lovely labels?

Posted by: Angie at May 5, 2009 7:57 PM

To make the labels, Angie, I used one of those fabric sheets that you can run through the inkjet printer and printed the "Thank You" label on that. Then I followed some instructions I saw in the Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts book. You sew a piece of fusible interfacing to the label (right sides together), cut a small slit in the center of the interfacing so you can turn everything right-side out, then fuse the label to the quilt. This finishes the edges neatly. Then you just blindstitch around the label. It's a nice, personal finishing touch.

Posted by: ALISON at May 5, 2009 9:03 PM

And I thought I was the only one with that kind of blisters ;)

Posted by: Hege at May 6, 2009 2:35 AM

The quilts are just lovely - especially the personalized notes.

I hear you on the pencil sharpening blisters. Can't you make a game out of it for the kiddos?

Posted by: Jennifer at May 6, 2009 5:36 AM

So incredibly thoughtful! I am sure those quilts will be so appreciated and loved. I hope your blister heals up fast and you can get back to your knitting:)

Posted by: Shannon at May 6, 2009 10:04 AM

Washing a freshly finished quilt is akin to washing and blocking lace. It's a wee bit worrisome, but nothing else makes it really look just right. IMO

Posted by: Robby at May 6, 2009 11:41 AM

The quilts look lovely.

Posted by: silverarrowknits at May 6, 2009 3:54 PM

Your quilts are beautiful! How did you wash/dry your them? I will be doing that soon eek!

Posted by: Laura at May 7, 2009 10:38 AM

Laura, I just washed the quilts (each separately) in the washing machine on a short cycle with a small amount of my regular laundry detergent. This is exactly how I washed the fabric before I sewed the quilts together and exactly how I would wash any clothes I would make out of the same materials. The batting is all cotton and it's not some antique quilt that's all falling apart, so I figure, what the heck! Plus, I really wanted to be able to tell the recipients that it's fine to wash them with just a little care. I dried them in the dryer on a medium setting. And they came out great! Phew!!

Posted by: ALISON at May 8, 2009 6:01 PM

I wouldn't want to mess with any German engineering, but I might suggest an electric pencil sharpener (even a nice, small, battery operated one that fits in the drawer) might give you your knitting days back. The quilts are beautiful.

Posted by: KERaven at May 9, 2009 4:39 PM