Quilt Experiment

One of the goals I have for this year is to complete projects that have been sitting around in my closet. This is one such project.

I began this quilt about two years ago after being inspired by some fabric I found (the outlining multi-color squares in the middle). This ended up being a 5' x 4' size quilt and everything from cotton, to silk, to wool was used in making this quilt.

I didn't really have an overall plan for the quilt nor did I have a pattern. Having no pattern proved harder than I thought. At almost every stage I ended up spending hours staring at the quilt thinking, "what's next"? I also found it harder to actually create what I was seeing in my head.

Moral of the story: I don't think I'll ever not work off a pattern again. Or at least, I think I'll wait for a year or two before trying that again.

But it's finally done and I think I'm happy with the overall result. If anything, I'm super excited about how the colors worked together and that I got my corners so straight.

Media Monday: Greek Conference

Matt was recently down at an InterVarsity conference for fraternity and sorority students. This is one of his favorite conferences to help with mainly because there are so many great photo opportunities. Some of his favorite pictures are over at his blog: http://fpphoto.blogspot.com/2011/02/greek-conference.html

Nurture Shock - Chapter 2

The second chapter of Nurture Shock is subtitled: "Around the world, children get an hour less sleep then they did thirty years ago. The cost: IQ points, emotional well-being, ADHD, and obesity."

A few of my favorite quotes:
"While modern parents obsess about our babies' sleep, this concern falls off the priority list after preschool."

"Sleep-deprived people fail to recall pleasant memories, yet recall gloomy memories just fine."

"Sleep is a biological imperative for every species on earth. But humans alone try to resist its pull. Instead, we see sleep not as a physical need but a statement of character. It's considered a sign of weakness to admit fatigue - and it's a sign of strength to refuse to succumb to slumber. Sleep is for Wusses."

Overall commentary on this chapter: I love how I have more reasons to sleep! Or reasons to put any kid I babysit in bed on time :)