An Old Favorite

Every once in a while it's nice to take out an old quilt from the closet and hang it out on the line, just to admire it. I remember how I felt when I was making this one. It was challenging in a lot of ways--the free form cutting, the curved piecing, getting up the courage to cut into those beautiful batiks! I had no design wall at the time, so the blocks were hung anywhere I could find a vertical surface as I struggled to arrange them. Every friend who dropped by was asked for her opinion on the layout. I didn't know how to do the free-motion quilting, but managed to do it on this one. And in the end I really was pleased with the results.

This has been a kind of lonely week. My husband is in the States on business, and Menucha started day camp, so there have been some long and quiet days. I did get to Beitar on Monday for the meeting, but was only able to be there for a short time. Babysat for DG Baby Ariel for two days--that's enough to wear anyone out! He is a non-stop motion machine, always busy, always checking everything out. We played together for hours on end. And we spent a lot of time practicing his walking--he is a little toddler who walks just like a drunk sailor! Half the time he looks like he's about to tip over and fall, but he just keeps going anyway, full of determination. And he loves the steps! I have a lot of steps in my house, both at the entrance and inside, and he just loves to go up-and-down, up-and-down all day long. Of course he has Savta (that's Grandma in Hebrew) right behind him every step of the way, making sure he doesn't fall down those steps. When his parents returned from their little vacation last night at nine o'clock, you can guess I was ready to give him back. I put away some of the toys, gave up on the rest, and fell right into bed!