Morning Glory Studio

mov[e]in...

Honoré here: She's [Christian] there! Yesterday, we [her mother, sister and I]  delivered her and all her stuff to Rutgers. We left at 5 am and arrived about 9 am; Christian slept all the way - she'd pulled her first of what I suspect will be many all-nighter's (though she must get her rest!) and so did Kayla - she was just up too early and riding in cars puts her to sleep, almost immediately (wonder when she'll grow out of that?).

Saturday was move in day for freshmen/women and that, in/of itself was a sight to behold. I can't believe the stuff kids take to college-literally everything from soup to nuts. When I went away to school, only fifty years ago, all I recall taking: my clothing, toiletries, school supplies, bedding - including a bedspread I got with  S & H Green stamps my grandmother saved for me. That was it; c'est toute.

This event was extremely well organized. Police and student "Move In" crew members were on hand to facilitate a smooth unloading and delivery of stuff to dorm rooms. Just like at the airport, we were able to park only long enough to discharge the stuff, then off to the student union parking lot to park our cars.

 

And as we were doing that - or guarding the stuff sitting on the sidewalk - "Move In" crew members

appeared with big laundry tubs...

using them  to tote the stuff to the dorm elevator (only big enough to handle two tubs and two crew members at a time) and rooms. Not a long wait and certainly no ordeal, at all. And we were so fortunate that yesterday was nearly a perfect day, weather-wise. Was a treat to be outside.

Students were greeted with these signs on their doors - I thought that was a very welcoming touch...

and this is a picture of  Christian in her room...

This is fun:  each dorm room's window is festooned like this...

 

Kayla was quite intrigued with this wall mural, that greets people on Christian's floor's lounge area, about Paul Robeson...

Welcome to Rutgers, Christian!  Stay well. Get plenty of rest (very few if any more all nighter's). Eat three squares a day, especially breakfast. Study, study, study. Explore thoughts and ideas. Read good books (it's wonderful that the library is only across the street). Make new friends. Take walks. Swim. Stay open to new ideas. Continue to be your creative and interested self. Most of all - have the the best time of your life.

We'll miss you - already do !

Love,

Aunt Honoré

to school...

Honore here: Good news - our girl Chris is definitely on the mend, tho' she had a minor setback, another reaction - a rash -  last week. That was the bad news. The good. Easily reversed with a strong dose of benadryl and a creme to tamp down the itching. etc. I'm sure you can hear our collective sigh of relief.

I took this picture of her and her new MacBook's hot pink cover after the trip to the doctor last Thursday. She's smiling alot because she's reading email from her soon-to-be college roommate. 

Saturday, she goes off to school (fingers, toes, arms, legs crossed xxx)...

Yesterday, Monday, was back to school for Missy Kayla. I've been greeting her on her first day at school since she first started at age four in the Montessori program (I think I need to do a retrospective of those years). This year, she's in the fourth grade. Kayla loves school and is delighted to be back. Can you tell?

I'm happy to report that at 5:25 pm last Saturday (8/21), I finished sewing all 36 blocks of Chris' quilt together. It's big (78" x 86") - too large to quilt on my machine so it's off to the long-arm quilter next week. With luck,Chris will have the quilt mid October. Said quilt top was also too large for my design wall, which is prompting me to add another panel. I'll share how I make a quick and relatively inexpensive design wall panel in my next post. And with that said, I'm off to make the panel.

Cheers~

...the week that was...

Honoré here: On Sunday, August 15, at 4:55:07 pm, I completed the 36th block of Christian's Quilt. This is block # 3 - I really like the fact that the center piece is so much bigger - a great size to showcase the Make Life fabric.

Time to celebrate, especially after the grueling week Christian, her mother, grandmother and I had.

Christian contracted a staph infection on her forehead...and that was painful enough, especially since she had to have two shots at the infection site. [Shudder]. Just as it appeared she was getting better, she took a turn for the worse: she ached, lost weight, etc. She was in/out of the hospital emergency room and the doctor's...and just when we thought she was on the mend, her temperature shot up to 104 degrees. The doctors, stumped, admitted her and put her on IVs to hydrate her, feed her and medicate her and tried to figure out what was wrong.

Hematologists were called in and who knows what other specialists. Finally, they determined the cause of her fevers: her body was rebelling against the antibiotic prescribed for the staph infection. She was released from the hospital this past Friday and is slowly regaining her strength, thankfully. We are all so grateful that the cause for her illness was determined and now, we're playing catch-up  as she goes to college on the 28th! And of course, there's much to do.

But, we'll get it done and if not, that's OK, too. Her mom's going to be there the weekend of Sept 10 and I'm sure she will take more "stuff" on that trip. As for me, I'm proceeding with the quilt, squaring up the blocks so they are all approximately 13.5" x 13.5" and then, I begin to assemble the blocks. My goal is to get the quilt-top to the quilter by the end of month/first of Sept.

It's really becoming a reality...truly to be continued.

Cheers~

quilt blocks, books and bubbly...

Honoré here:  The "block party" for Christian's quilt continues...a preview of Block #2  (that purply color is really pink!)...

Five down, seven to go and then, onto Block # 3. Aim to start it Wednesday; we'll see.

My reading stack from last week....

...and a little bubbly to wind down this day....

Cheers~

proceeding...

Honoré here: Thursday, my friend Nora (whom I met in Sisters in April and who is in the area for the summer, in order to escape the hot AZ weather - ha!) met in a classroom of a retail fabric store to have a stitchin' get-together. She worked on some of her pieces using the techniques we learned in Sisters at our Intuitive Color & Design workshop...

and I, proceeded with tracing templates onto fabric for Christian's quilt...

This weekend, I've been sewing blocks...so far, I've completed seven. Only five to go and then, all of Block #1 will be complete. I have been trying to time the stitching of a block...just to get a handle on how much I can accomplish in a given hour - 75 minutes. Barring any interruptions: telephone calls, breaks, time out to eat, and machine thread jamming, it has taken me approximately 60-75 minutes per block. At least I have an idea of the amount of time I'll need to devote over the next couple days to complete the twelve Blocks #1.

Each block has 21 pieces and I have to iron each seam as I put the pieces together. I've set up a production line: block pieces to my right ...

and an ironing station on my left...

I just swivel my chair from one side to another; cuts down on jumping up and down tho' I I still need to get up occasionally to trim a strip. The exercise is good.

My mother was always a good one for plotting out a project timeline; she would make a sample to see how much time was required as well as to figure out and practice on whatever she was creating. She used the same approach for writing an annual report for work, creating a piece of weaving, or painting the entire interior of her house, which she did, alone over a period of two - three months. I always admired her for that approach and wished I had adopted it sooner.

Here's a preview of the finished blocks...

...and a close-up of one with a Make Life center...

I'm eager to see how this is all going to turn out but I've a ways to go...to be continued.

Cheers~