17 January, 2007

D.E.A.S.* (It's Magic!)

I came home from my LQS yesterday, Block-of-the-Month had me energized and ready to tackle the new challenge, "Ohio Star Surrounded". But, there were demands on my time from the moment I came through the door... dogs to walk, laundry to fold, phone calls to return, a meal to plan, volunteers to recruit, a meeting to prepare for... before I knew it the afternoon was almost gone; I was frazzled and exhausted.

My daughter teaches second grade, part of the daily routine in her classroom is a required activity called d.e.a.r.= drop everything and read! I believe that d.e.a.r lasts for 15 minutes in her classroom. It's the magical part of the school day that everyone looks forward to, for it's restorative powers.

I declared it was high time for a little magic, d.e.a.s. (drop everything and sew!), late yesterday afternoon. I had the Ohio Star Surrounded at the forefront of my mind. Is that what I did? Heavens, no! I took a handful of the freshly cut, stacked and stored scrappy-strips and stitched up one of the String-X blocks that I had found on Bonnie's website. I just had to see for myself how it would turn out; after all, I needed an example block to take on retreat with me! Right? The instructions say the block is approximately 14" square. I love that! I deal in absolute approximations!! This was so much fun. I strongly recommend making d.e.a.s. part of your daily routine... it's calming, centering and restorative. The magic worked, it's just what the teacher ordered!! The blocks-of-this-month can wait, they're beautiful and worth waiting for; in their own time.

Yesterday afternoon it was time for a little magic, *Drop-Everything-And-Sew...
Life is Good!

8 comments:

quiltkeemosabe said...

Just checked out Bonnie's site! It's wonderful. Will definitely spend more time there. And your block looks wonderful, too. Are you foundation piecing? Are you using the sandwich wrap paper she recommends? or the old phone book pages? I may have to do something with all my scraps now!

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

Quiltkeemosabe-- Yes, the strings are on a foundation. I am using "packing paper" (unprinted newsprint)I have a large box of that. The blocks make up really fast. It takes much longer to cut up my scraps into usable strings, but I'm wading my way through...

Nancy Near Philadelphia said...

Very cute! Yes, Bonnie's got a wealth of info on her site. She's a mighty fine machine quilter, too, and a fun person to be with.

Shelina said...

Oh I love this idea. Drop everything and sew! Sounds good to me.

Laurie Ann said...

Great x-string blocks. Love them! Aren't they just too too fun to make? I love the little dachshund fabric patch I see in there. How sweet!

dot said...

I ike it, drop everything and sew. I think I do to much of that but life continues and there is always something that needs to be done. I like your string blocks. I might have to try this after everything else in in check.

Unknown said...

DEAS gets my vote too - now I just have to persuade my family and employers that I should be able to do it for at least three hours every day - that's gonna happen - not! Lovely concept though :o)

Anonymous said...

Your string block is great. Bonnie has some excellent quilts using scraps. I've made her 4-patch and furrows into a mini and I love it. I also have about 4 others cut out and ready to sew. She is such a nice girl too. I like your "life is good" saying - even when things go wrong and life is tough, we grow and learn so life is still good. I found your blog through a comment you made on Bonnie's blog.