bored and waiting

As if I didn't have enough to do between homeschooling, ferrying children to lessons, and keeping the house clean, I have made it a habit to start some complicated project toward the end of pregnancy. We moved overseas when Will was 8 weeks old, giving me the opportunity to organize and pack and then repeat it on a smaller scale again when, pregnant with Mary, we moved on-base in Italy. Tim deployed for 9 months when I was only a few weeks out from Maggie's due date so of course I had to take on preschool and a TV interview to while away the time. I don't think I did much while waiting for Charlie except prepping for our yearly trip to Maine, which we did when he was four weeks old. I take that back, packing for 2-3 months in Maine with 4 small children is a big job. While expecting Timmy I began a children's writing course, which took 2 years to complete. Each time my boredom was supplanted by endless lists of chores, but they did give me something to other than twiddle my thumbs and wait for the big contractions.

This time around I bought a new sewing machine and quilting frame so I can eventually be a talented free-motion quilter and sell my creations on etsy or ebay. Tim assembled the 15' long table a few weeks ago and over the weekend I put the cloth leaders on the roller bars and pinned on a quilt sandwich so I can begin to practice. My errors have turned into a comedy; first I couldn't figure out how the rollers unlocked, making me think they were all on backwards before rerolling them all back the exact same way, Will had to rescue me when I hollered for help after I found that I couldn't lift the sewing machine onto the frame, and finally after we pinned it all on correctly I accidentally quilted the top to the cloth leaders underneath.

The book I bought with lots of great all-over quilting patterns says that it takes a year to become really proficient on a long-arm machine. I can't see me wanting to stand in my current state and practice much now, but I guess it will still be there after Baby Sunshine learns to take good naps.