Spring Feelings

We finished our last exams this morning, so Term 2 is officially behind us. It was a term of uncomfortable growth, but growth nonetheless!  We're all looking forward to the fresh start that Term 3 and the beginning of Lent will bring.  At least, I am.  The boys?  I'm not sure they're that introspective.  They spent the afternoon outside playing "spy," dressed in their church blazers and jeans, waving Lego guns that look frightfully like real ones.  I confined them to the backyard after they told me they were hiding the guns every time a car passed our front yard, so as not to alarm the occupants.  I imagine that looked only more sinister, not less!  

The gorgeous weather of late (after the snow we had on Monday!), constant birdsong, and legitimate green grass poking up through the diminishing patches of snow all contribute to that restless spring feeling.  I swapped out the winter scene napkins for our spring table linens this afternoon.  In the laundry room, three well-worn and dirty snowsuits await my care.  Just as soon as the foam core arrives (Amazon delivered it as I am typing this!), the "Things of Spring" sampler will be mounted and framed and hung over our mantel.  

The feeling that I could start All the Projects and Must Right Now, has overwhelmed me.  Instead of working to finish hand-quilting T's belated birthday quilt, I spent hours last night researching and planning and thinking about one for G.  A quilter I am not, and that truth presents itself every time I am in the throes of cutting and piecing one.  At some point each child was promised a handmade (by me, ha.) quilt when he or she turns 10, so I have 2.5 left.  T wanted his to be zigzag and blue.  The fabric is no longer AT ALL what I prefer; in fact, as I was cutting it I kept asking myself, "What were you thinking?" T likes it, so I supposed that's all that matters.  

The little house is still waiting on the plumber to move the toilet, and the builder has another pressing job, which means that nothing has been done for the last week.  But! The new ceiling insulation is up, we sourced some fabulously priced solid-wood doors, and have finally decided on paint color.  Finally.  You would not believe how paralyzing such a decision could be, but I knew as soon as I chose something, I'd regret it.  See above re: quilt fabric.  I drove the builder totally crazy with my dithering and waffling, and ultimately settled on something I'd told him I didn't want.  The name of the color is my favorite: Crisp Linen.  Hopefully that's a good sign.  Our builder also actually laughed when I explained my open shelving idea for the kitchen and showed him pictures of what I had in mind!  The image of kitchen above is from this book, which was a Christmas gift.  Already on page one, I realized that this is the "style" I'm aiming for.  Especially the AGA and the hanging laundry rack above it.

My re-read of Kristin Lavransdatter stalled out at the end of volume 2;  there are far too many good books to be read for me to languish over a re-read.  So I started The Master of Hestviken.  I may even like it better that Kristin Lavransdatter (How is that even possible?!), but time will tell.  I've been listening to many audiobooks while I sew, since I can't sew and watch anything.  The House of Seven Gables is the most recent.  I ordered fabric and thread to begin another Alicia Paulson sampler, this time from her book.  It’s the carrot I need to finish T’s quilt.  No, a finished item isn’t enough of a  carrot for me.  Instead of the DMC threads her pattern calls for, I'm substituting Weeks Dye Works for most of the thread.  I like the tonal quality of the WDW thread, and am looking forward to the finished product.

Whew!  This was certainly a brain dump of a post.  Spring pulls my attention in so many directions.