Happy Valentine’s Day!
The girls were very excited to head off to school today to exchange cards and treats with their friends. I recall exactly zero Valentine’s Day celebrations when I was in school — I guess perhaps they weren’t that memorable? Overall I don’t remember having nearly as many “celebration” days when I was a kid, but I’m sure there were some. I complain because it sometimes feels a bit over the top, but the girls do get quite excited for them. I doubt middle schoolers have many class parties, so Emma only has a few months left to enjoy it!
We had a quiet weekend with no big plans. These two photos are some silliness while out to lunch on Saturday. We followed lunch with a stop at the library — after falling out of the library habit during covid, we’ve started going again at least once a month which is really nice.
We went out to brunch on Sunday, where we had “Tom Riddle” for a server. I’ve been reading the Harry Potter series to them at bedtime; we finished Chamber of Secrets back in the fall and are nearly done with Prisoner of Azkaban. They got the reference and we all got a kick out of Voldemort serving us pancakes and eggs. (FWIW I don’t think his name was *actually* Tom Riddle.)
I’m deep in QuiltCon prep, since I leave for Atlanta in 8 days! My stickers — which I’ll give out to anyone who wants one — arrived late last week and the patterns and foundation paper piecing templates for my two Spiraling Triangles workshops have been sitting in the corner ready to go for a few weeks. I’ve got all the materials for my postcard supply kits, and will be assembling those later this week. I’ll have to take two suitcases with me on the trip — one for my stuff, and one full of workshop supplies!
I also spent several hours over the last week making a pair of quilted shoes, which was really quite delightful. Stacy, one of my Houston MQG guildmates, showed a pair of quilted shoes at our January guild meeting and several of us swarmed her after the meeting to inspect her shoes and ask questions about the process. She graciously shared all of her tips and tricks, and from there it was a deceptively simple project.
They’re actually quite comfortable to wear, although they are a wee bit snug — I think I needed a size 42 instead of 41. (The kit comes in European sizes.) I’m waiting on a pair of custom shoelaces that I commissioned from my friend Ellyn, and then I’ll give them a test run! I’m anxious to see how well they will hold up to wear and tear, but hopefully I can get several good wears out of them. (And hey, if the uppers start to wear out before the soles, I could always replace it with new pieces.)
I’ll write a full post about the shoes when I get a moment to write it all down — probably after QuiltCon. I used this kit from Tandy Leather, along with eyelets and an eyelet setter, plus nylon thread. The kit contains the templates, but there are a few modifications needed to make the shoes with quilted panels instead of leather.
Now that I’ve made one pair, I have a few other ideas for modifications that I think would help with the structure and form of the shoe. Emma has requested a pair of shoes for herself, so I’ll be working on those soon, and I may just need to order another set of soles in my size for a second pair…
