Quilting: A Full Contact Sport

guest post from Jennifer Topp

Quilting is a full contact sport.

Well, not really. It does however require more energy, stamina and concentration than I would have expected. Quilting is definitely not a sprint. More like a marathon. You have to be in for the long haul. The term “quick quilt” is a bit of an oxymoron.

At the encouragement of the Sunday regulars at the shop, I aimed to finally finish my new wave quilt. I finished the top as a demo for the class I taught but then the quilting slowed right down. Determined to have a finish, any finish, I pushed on. Literally! Have you ever tried to push a throw sized quilt through a sewing machine? It’s a serious upper body workout.  Finally I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and only had a few lines left to sew. I made sure my bobbin was nice and full. Nothing could stop me.

Well, nothing except sewing right into my finger. Oh yes. I was on the last line of my quilting. Most of the quilt was on the right so I had to push it through the throat in my machine. I was paying more attention to that side than the part under the needle. Then KACHUNK. My machine beeps wildly when it get stuck. I immediately turned it off then realized what had just happened. The needle went right through and broke off the machine. One of the only good things about living in a tiny space is that my husband and his tools were in the same room when it happened. I turned to him “help please” and showed him my index finger. He’s no stranger to puncture wounds and quickly grabbed his pliers and pulled it out before I really had a chance to panic.

I’ll get back to the quilting soon. Until my finger heals I think I’ll do a little garment sewing. Something quick and easy. Any suggestions?

2 Comments by emeline on May 15, 2012
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Weekend recap: your momma

Last Friday, by 6:30 p.m., I was so done. SO done. I needed a glass of wine in a shirt that wouldn’t be soaking with breastmilk vomit within 10 minutes of a shirt change.

Adjusting has been easy and hard. What’s easy is that everything that was hard with Ella has proved itself to be a non-issue with Tommy. He latches, he poops, he sleeps well at night. It’s been all very good. Save for the colic from 6 to 10 p.m. and managing Ella who has never been an “easy” child. She is bright, active, interested, curious, persistent and has a strong sense of justice. There are books out there that call her “spirited“. I still haven’t found the magical balance or the set of rules that will alleviate the difficult moments. I’m trying. And I’m trying not to let the (many) moments that I fail at it get me down.

I have to remind myself: Don’t Carpe Diem.

All that being said, this was a really nice weekend. I got to hang out with friends and drink wine outside… hallelujah for sunshine. And I got almost two hours to myself on Sunday morning with everyone out of the house. Just enough time for me to open up a box of old photographs and remind myself of how great my Mom is (the photo in the middle is of me and my mother, I was 6 or 7 years old). Do you ever feel that pain in nostalgia? Even when they’re happy memories? It always catches me off-guard.

A pretty bouquet of flowers, spicy shrimp pizza, a few moments of quiet, handmade cards from an adoring daughter, baby smiles and a warm sun = good Mother’s day.

2 Comments by Annabelle on May 14, 2012
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To all The Moms:

Past and present, adoptive and natural, single and divorced, stay-at-home and working, breastfeeding and bottle feeding, to the Soule Mamas and the Gwynneths, the natural birthers and the planned C-Sectionners, the vaxxers and non-vaxxers, the religions and the secular, the schoolers and the un-schoolers, the Lululemons and the Zellers, the moms blessed with healthy kids and the moms that deal with the hurdles that come along with disabilities, illnesses and disorders.

Listen Up.

It’s a dirty, unpaid job with no pay scale and zero yearly bonuses. I think we’ve all figured that out by now.  Some of us spent our entire lives dreaming of this role, and others have fallen into it.  We come from varying ethnic, social and economic classes- but we all know what it’s like to stay up all night with a teething baby. Motherhood unites us and divides us.

And let me say here that I have never met a man who treated me differently based on my parenting choices. EVER. I’ve met quite a few women though…

Why must we be our harshest critics? Instead of judging each other on whether or not our kids are allowed to eat at McDonalds, or sleep in our beds, or breastfeed until 5… why don’t we recognize that we  TRY to make the best decisions, with the tools we have, that make sense for our families?  Sometimes we fail, and sometimes we succeed. The End.

I know of mothers from our own community that line up at the Food Bank and rely on social assistance to clothe their kids and pay the bills.  Who struggle to keep their kids in school.  Who am I to judge how much TV those kids watch?

Don’t get me wrong here,  I am totally guilty!  I have contributed to these divides,  I have been too mainstream for this mom group and not mainstream enough for that mom group… I have struggled to make the right decisions based on my gut instincts. H1N1 vaccine anyone?

I’ll tell you this:  at the end of the day, when my kids are asleep,  and I’ve spent the day  making a trillion decisions, trying to be a good mother, trying to lead by example, trying to put in a good working day, making it to swimming, and managing to put a meal together that doesn’t get thrown on the floor- whether that’s a home roasted organic heirloom chicken, or some popcorn and pancakes- I NOW know better than to judge my fellow mothers, mine included.

We may not always make the right decisions, but we are all in this together. And like it or not, we need each other. So let’s tell give ourselves a hug and tell ourselves that yes, we’re doing a good job- however we choose to do it.

Now come and sew.

5 Comments by emeline on May 13, 2012
filed in daily, emeline, homelife, musings
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either::or

Eminem :: Moby

table cloth :: place mat

Comic Con :: SXSW

lego :: wood blocks

soup :: salad

organza :: chantilly lace

famous :: infamous

Louis CK :: Chris Rock

3 Comments by Annabelle on May 12, 2012
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Friday Sendoff: if your life was a romcom

I’m currently living my life as a Walking Receiving Blanket, so I’ve been a bit stumped about how to write an interesting post about baby spew. So I’ll spare you.

Instead I have come up with a fun game to play! It’s called: If Your Life Was A Movie….

Last weekend we stumbled on a movie on tv and Dave must have been exhausted because he would never ever watch a romantic comedy. (He was also locked under a stone cold sleeping baby so he might have had little choice in the matter…) We laughed quite a bit because there are moments in that movie that might as well have been stolen from our own conversations. AND the title characters names were “Anna Brady” and “Declan O’Callahan”… COME ON!! Anna…BELLE… Dave O’CANTWRITEHISLASTNAMEHERE. Clearly someone spied on us and made us into a movie (before we had babies and I turned into a Milk Stained Zombie).

The only differences were that I have never gone to Ireland to propose to my American boyfriend on Leap Year, nor have I walked Dingle in heels.

a better way to walk in Dingle

There might be a few other differences as well, like, how I met Dave was rather different and uh, pretty much everything else having to do with the plot. Whatever! These are mere details.

So, whenever we’re stumped on Fridays, we’ll bring out “IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE” and we’ll challenge you with the Genre. You can choose to elaborate the Whys in your answer. You really don’t have to have any REAL similarities, they can also be imagined. Really, this is about having fun!  (For example: I lived my 20′s thinking I was Amelie, only I was the version that smoked cigarettes and drank beer from a pitcher and had no real personal style, beyond dying my hair different colors and wearing ill-fitting clothes. But other than that, I was her doppelganger.)

Genre this week is Romantic Comedy, and my movie is Leap Year. (Funny fact: Matthew Goode, the romantic lead admitted in an interview that this was the worst movie of 2010.)

Happy Friday!

6 Comments by Annabelle on May 11, 2012
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This is what procrastination looks like

post from Meghan

emeline & annabelle log cabin

It’s a familiar feeling. You have a list of things that need to get done. Deadlines are looming. However, instead of rolling up your sleeves and diving in, you convince yourself that there is some other (peripheral) task that needs your full attention. RIGHT NOW. Until Saturday, I had assumed that this feeling was reserved for writing University papers, paying VISA bills and oven cleaning.

Nope.

Apparently, even your fun and relaxing hobby can become a source of procrastination (though, arguably, if this happens, you should think about getting a new hobby). I have a semi-serious list of things that need making: curtains, school uniforms, back log of baby gifts, Summer Fair banners (sorry Julie!). But on Saturday, instead of tackling any of these, I decided that it was time to explore the log cabin.

I bought Modern Log Cabin Quiltingseveral months ago, and despite reading it cover to cover, I have not yet made anything. The Log Cabin quilt appeals to me for many reasons: it’s easy to piece, uses up scrap material and is incredibly versatile. This is a great book for getting to grips with log cabin basics and for inspiring you to take it in new directions. So, while the kids were happy out in the garden and D was taking care of dinner, I made this!!

emeline & annabelle log cabin projects

Nobody said procrastination couldn’t be pretty!

7 Comments by Annabelle on May 10, 2012
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Creative Bursts: Poppy Tunic

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Isabelle, one of our incredibly versatile teachers, regularly sends me links to new patterns and new things- which I love. Ironically, I find very little time to keep up with developments in our industry, so I’m glad that she forwards all her finds- like this Poppy Tunic from Make It Perfect- an independent Australian pattern company

Now that my Wiksten Tank dress is finished (and worn oh, about 6 times since I’ve sewn my last seam) I’m ready to attack a new project.  I can’t manage to get a good self-portrait of the tank dress but I guess that’s just another excuse for you guys to pop by the shop and see it in the flesh. I’m really happy with it, and as usual (I can just see Suzanne rolling her eyes at my relentless “make things complicated” attitude), I have plans to turn it into a button down, double breast pocket tank dress. Stay tuned!

So what else do I have on the go?

Daniel foolishly convinced me that I could sew the Drape Drape Blouse #8  (illustrated here by 2tout2rien a new-to-me french sewing blog). The french sewists LOOOOVE all the Japanese stuff.  Which is good, because I feel like I’m going to need many tutorials. I’m not sold on the top though- mainly for fear that I will look fat strange in something so voluminous… so I’m not holding my breath on this being a total success.

What else, you ask? We have a big wedding in August, and I thought that the Macaron Dress by Colette (pattern available in store) would make a nice piece to wear. It’s weird, I feel a sense of responsibility to wear sewn goods to events like that- you know, to represent E&A! At the last wedding we attended, I wore a  Rescued dress that fetched many compliments AND  withstood a night of heavy, heavy drinking .  That reminds me- no light colors for the Macaron dress…

3 Comments by emeline on May 8, 2012
filed in daily, emeline, pattern review, projects
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Weekend Recap: Looking Ahead

We had a busy weekend. If you were in the shop at all, you can attest for the  Insane Saturdays that  have become a weekly event! We had a big mega- party at the In-Laws’ house  and a busy day of bike riding, soccer playing and lazing about our old stomping ground park.

Despite, or maybe because of all this activity,  I yearned for country life this weekend more intensely then at any other time in my life.  I wished for some wide open spaces, some  silence and a neighbourless view.

I love my walking-distance  school, pool, municipal library and food stores.  I love that I have neighbours I’d trust my life with, and friends within a few blocks to share daytime runs and quick coffees with. And the shop? Guys, I have anxiety attacks if I don’t see it every day.  So I love my city life.  I really do.

But looking up at that big bright moon on Saturday night made me want to be somewhere else all together.  To transplant my family into another environment- and you guys know how intensely I hate change, right?

I hate feeling unhappy with the immediate- and it’s not something that I let myself feel often.  For one, I know better;  two because I hate complaining/complainers and lastly because we have our health and we have each other.

But it’s Monday and I still  haven’t been able to shake my “run to the woods” feeling!

The struggle between country Emeline and city Emeline has always been present- specially for those of you who have known me a long time. Sarah calls it the Stiletto/Birkenstock Dilemma!   I think I would be disappointed with myself if at 60 I still hadn’t listened to my gut and just tried it.  Said yes to the unknown.

Annabelle and I played a game, a long time ago (one that I have referred to many times here on the blog, and one that I force B to play at least once a month. He sucks at it, by the way. Anyways, we  asked each other to wake up and describe our environment and daily routine, only 10 years in the future.

And to synopsize mine (because we went into DETAIL- like what are we wearing, what does our hair look like?) but what was stamped in my brain was the view I had  from my kitchen window- there was nothing but trees and woods. It wasn’t palacial and perfectly groomed- it was wild and thick and I heard nothing but quiet.

I’m trying to look ahead this week and get excited about some big events: mainly Mateo’s 6th birthday tomorrow! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were nervous first time parents, wondering how on earth  the hospital was allowed to discharge us with this tiny thing.  That we were trusted to care for him and not loose him in the parking lot or leave him in the elevator.  It shocked me then, and still shocks me now!

So yeah, staying in the moment, trying to not look too far ahead, and being grateful for what I do have today: a wonderful husband, a healthy loving family, a supportive community and a deeply fulfilling business and partner.

Here’s to the week ahead?

1 Comment by emeline on May 7, 2012
filed in emeline, recap, the shop
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Either::Or

Courtney Love as Kurt Cobain’s wife and lead singer of Hole:: Courtney Love as Crazy “Artist”/” Socialite”

Hello Nasty :: Ill Communication

Vans :: Converse

Kim Kardashian Wedding News :: Jessica Simpson Baby News

Foodie :: Film  Snob

Floral Jeans :: Bold Colored Jeans

Hipster Eyewear :: Hipster Hats

Cable :: No Cable

Annoying runners :: Annoying yogis

9 Comments by emeline on May 5, 2012
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Friday Sendoff: RIP Pierre

{Pierre 1976-}

Dear Sir,

You stole my bike from under my nose. My precious Pierre.  Knowing that he’s in the hands of a common thief, well, it’s a wonder I sleep at all these days…. {dramatic lip bite and downward cast eyes. Slight quiver}

Sure, he may not have been securely locked, but still.  Explain to me  how that gives  you the right to help yourself to him?  Haven’t I earned the right  to leave an unlocked bike at my own store? And to think I was right there when you took him- on that bright Saturday afternoon. Shame on you.

I bet you didn’t even know Pierre had a name.  People like you don’t name bikes- ok well most people don’t name bikes. Fine. But I am sure that you since noticed how flat the front tire is, not to mention how hard it is to change gears.  Ha! Well that’s what you get when you steal a bike with a baby seat on it.

How dare you ride Pierre (stripped of his practical basket and sensible baby seat) on Monkland? At least have the decency to leave the hood.  This is my turf son. And you were damn lucky I had all three kids in my practical station wagon AND I was engaged in an intersection, when you so smugly rode by.

Sir, know that I am only mildly intimidated by your hoodie sweatshirt.  But I  will find you.  I will find you and politely ask that you return Pierre, his basket and seat back to me.  Where he belongs. And if when you say no, well  I will probably not insist and I shall walk away.  But know that in my fantasy,  I publicly berate  you in front of your friends, and you apologetically hand Pierre over.  You also hand over $80 for a new tire and a tune up.

In the meantime, I will console myself with Pierre Deux.  He may not be a Peugeot, but he has one of those back rack things for saddle bags. Sure, he doesn’t have a side mirror nor a bell, but he’s brown and has a front light.  He may not have the 10 speeds of the original Pierre, nor a back brake (or a functioning front brake for that matter)  but you will not steal him from me. For I own a lock now, sir.  A fancy one.

{Pierre Deux- or maybe I need to name him something totally different like Henry? Thoughts?}

7 Comments by emeline on May 4, 2012
filed in daily, emeline, musings
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