Good Week for Quilt Tops And Forging Ahead

Despite this only being Wednesday, this has been a productive week for completing some projects that were time-bound.


This picture is a wall hanging I finished today for the Sacramento SPCA's big fund raiser - Reigning Cats and Dogs - that is held in October. It is not a large piece, but a dog fancier may take to it and bid on it during the auction portion of the event. I am delivering this to my quilter tomorrow, so there won't be problems with getting it to the SPCA in time for the event. 


I also finished the t-shirt quilt I made for my friend's daughter. That top is quite large and is nearly reversible. It turned out to be very sweet, whimsical, and unique. I am so hoping that the young lady for whom it was made will cherish it. It was created from t-shirts given to her and her classmates when they went on field trips during her elementary school years. 


Finally, I am over the ice dance test "retry" experience of last Saturday and am now focusing on some serious practice to prepare for the ice skating competition in Las Vegas in October! It won't be long now.


Onward. 

Some Days are Diamonds, Some Days are Dust

I had one very dusty day yesterday. I did not (again) pass my Ten Fox test. I had a good, relaxed warm up, but got nervous when it was time to dance in front of the three-judge panel. 


After warm-up, I saw my freestyle coach sitting in the stands. I asked her if she saw my warm-up, she replied, "Yes." That was it; just "Yes." I knew at that moment what she thought - "No way is she going to pass this test." I asked her what she thought. Her response was "I don't know. It's the Mohawk; it's a problem." I NEVER should have had this conversation with her right before the test. Lesson learned: Don't ask a question if you can't handle the answer. Ah duh!


One judge passed me, the other two, including his wife, gave me the big "Retry." I'm not surprised. I knew the minute I got off the ice that I had not passed the test.


Here's what I got from the test:

• I skated *clean*, meaning no falls or major mistakes, like missing steps, falling out of pattern, etc.
• I certainly got judges' feedback (read BIG criticism) that I wanted. To wit: "No expression," "Edges too shallow," "Walking steps, not running." Oddly, no comments about the outside Mohawk and drop three-turns, although as my friend Janet said, "It was probably the whole picture that they were looking at" (or something like that.)
• I did get to dance with a drop-dead stunning *fab* ice dancer, great human being and friend in Coach Chris. He was amazing yesterday. So supportive, stayed with me the entire time from when he arrived until I got the results, tried to keep me calm. Coach C, you get very high marks for being there for me!
• I did get to listen to "Slow Boat to China" for the last time. I will never use this music again for anything.
• I know what I need to work on, but don't know if I will ever be able to accomplish what the judges are looking for. I will never ice dance like a 40 year-old. Just isn't going to happen, I fear. 

Here's what I didn't get from the test:

• Being able to recognize that not passing is not a metaphor for my life. Going to have to work on this one. I'm feeling pretty down right now about this result. So much hard work (not to mention money) for a less than positive outcome is hard to accept. 

I am spending the day at home licking my wounds from yet another "Retry" and working on a quilt for a silent auction for Sacramento SPCA's big fundraiser in October.

Onward through life. 

A Long Haul

Today is the culmination of what seems like a very long, arduous journey to retry an ice dance that I had tested two years ago. 


After receiving an "Invitation to Retry" the Ten Fox when I tested in San Jose so long ago, I've been working toward taking USFS up on that offer. 


As the expression goes, "Be careful what you ask for!" when you do things like submit an application to re-test thinking to yourself, "The Club will not be able to find three dance judges in August in the Sacramento area who want to spend a Saturday afternoon watching, among others, a mature, adult ice dancer try once more to pass a Bronze level dance. Come on - certainly these folks have others things to do during the dog days of summer, like watching their zucchini grow or watching paint dry."


Apparently that is not the case because at about 2:30 today I will take the ice, with some shred of pride that I am even testing this dance again, knowing that at least I will be dancing with a drop-dead stunning young man who is a *fab* ice dancer and great human being/friend. Sidebar: Thank you, Coach Chris, for getting me to this point. You've been THE best about all of the travails associated with getting to test day.


What do I want from this test? Not in this order, here's the long answer (there is no short one, I'm afraid):

• I want 2 of 3 (although 3 would be totally-over-the-top cool) judges to mark the "Pass" box so I can put this dance behind me. 
• I'd like Coach Chris (and Coach Jayne) to be proud of the job I do.
• I don't care about overs, but I do care about getting feedback (read 'criticism') to improve my dance skills. 
• I never want to hear "Slow Boat to China" again (and I picked that song "Why?").
• I want to skate a clean dance, put out the best performance I can, and leave the ice with my head held high. 
• I want to accept that if I get another "Retry," it doesn't mean that I'm not a great wife, good dog Mom, loyal friend, and/or decent quilter. In short, not passing this test is not a metaphor for my life; it is a point-in-time event over which I have little control given the highly subjective nature of judging (maybe the judges will hate having to listen to "Slow Boat to China" and mark me down because of that - who knows? could happen!)

That's it in a nutshell. So, onward through a day that, like any other day, is 24 hours, during which less than two minutes will be spent taking this test. Nameste.

Work-in-Progress

I am not a fan of quilts with millions of small pieces; in fact, I manage to avoid them at all cost, but when it was time to decide on a Christmas quilt for our living room, I plunged into the fray, purchased a Thimbleberries pattern (top photo) and am now firmly ensconced in this sweet Village Patchwork design.


Yesterday I constructed the first row (bottom photo). I've been working on this top for what seems like an eternity. You can't really tell from the picture, but there are probably 30-40 pieces - maybe more - in each house and star block.


I started on the tree blocks and have made 17 of the needed 60 branch pieces to construct these. That translates into 60-1 1/2 inch x 4 1/2 inch rectangles and 120-1 1/2 inch squares. I have half of the sections (30) either sewn or pinned and ready to sew. This afternoon, I will work on the other half. 


This top isn't so difficult to make as it is tedious and unforgiving. You can't squeak by making small mistakes the way you can when working with large pieces. I've re-made a number of block sections, but the work paid off when I made the first row and everything fit together perfectly. "Whoopee!" she cried. 


I am also working on a t-shirt quilt for a dear friend's daughter. Today, I go to my long arm quilter's home for the second of private lessons in how to make one of these tops. We are designing it together and it is quite an enjoyable experience. I have all the interfacing fused to the back of the t-shirts, so today we'll probably get out the design wall and put up the pieces to see what we have. The creative process in action!


Tomorrow I have a dance lesson with Coach Chris. Only one more lesson left (after tomorrow) before I test the Ten Fox on August 21. Passing this test is a roll-of-the-dice. Given what has happened to my best skating buddy with her last two dance tests (completely unfair judging) I am going into this test with a good deal of trepidation. But testing with a Hollywood good looks, Gold-level ice dancer helps a lot! 


Onward in quilt land. 

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Merlin, 11.5 years old

DeeDee, 8 years old

These pictures are too adorable not to post.


The left *pic* is our "old gentleman" curled up in his doughnut bed, enjoying every moment of his nap. I think this bed is really too small for him (he is a big boy at 65 pounds), but he seems to think it is just fine for him.


By way of contrast, DeeDee is showing her most ignoble pose as she snoozes away in one of her favorite places, up against the wall. We refer to this as her "upside-down-pretzel-dog" position. I think she has her best REM periods in this position. 


You gotta love dogs, right? 


Expenses:

• Photos by Dear Husband, our resident pet photographer: One Skinny Cow Ice Cream Bar.
• Adorable doggies: Priceless.