hand stitching and fun mail

I've discovered that no matter how much I want them to be, quilting and homeschooling are not really compatible occupations.

School started for us this week and I have had zero time to work on my unfinished quilts. Between first week whining and crying and shouts of, "But I don't remember how to add two plus two!!" and a lovely migraine I've been experiencing, I have felt ever so slightly unmotivated to even LOOK at my sewing room. 

But...embroidery is a thing that lends itself well to schooling. I can sit right next to the complaining children and answer their questions without running back and forth from one room to another. I can keep them on track and pay attention while also doing something more appealing than staring at the wall and waiting for the next meltdown. Here's what I started working on today:

I was inspired by the whole Celebrate Color thing, and the fact that I love Anna Maria Horner's style of flowers. So I used my color palette for fall and ideas from a swatch of fabric and drew up an embroidery design. I'm not saying just yet what this will be when it's finished, but I like the way it's going. And I think the folk-art effect of the felt lends itself well to autumny things. Yes, I know autumny is not a word. Get over it. 

Then once I finally peeled my flattened behind out of my chair to be done for the day, I went to check the mail and found this in my mailbox!

It's my weeks late but nevertheless awesome package from the "I Heart the 80's" swap. Yay! I love everything about it. Especially the quilt! My boys really liked the Pop Rocks, although the midget seemed a bit perplexed by the cacophony of crackles emitting from his open-hanging mouth.

Hope you're having a swell day, all.