Thursday, May 3, 2018

May 3 - a heart and a dresden....

Today was a purple heart! Peanut allowed me to show it off with him this morning.


Hand quilting on the brown Dresden has made progress as well. I got the petals quilted up and outlined on Sunday night and started the cross hatching in the car line on Tuesday and just have a wee little bit to go before I can start on the outer frame. Guess I need to prep the next one in maroon very soon!


Last night was busy so this post is a little late this morning. Emily had gymnastics and then my last girl scout leader meeting of the year was at 7PM.  I got all my year end financial and troop reports done on Sunday so I didn't have to stress at the last minute... like I normally do! Just 2 girl meetings left  and we are done until August... although we might meet once or twice over the summer for fun things like our roller skating and maybe some scrapbooking. Next Monday the girls will plan their bridging ceremony (we are breaking from the other troops at the church this year and doing our own thing) - they already decided on pizza and ice cream with some people bringing a few things to supplement it on their last meeting/bridging ceremony on the 14th. Then they can make a little tulle skirt for their bears from Build a Bear last month. They did great at the chain stitch in crochet this week. Most of the brownies got it with the hook and the daisy's were doing it as finger crochet. Some got frustrated but they all gave it a good effort for trying something new.  I had some great parents volunteering to help out..... makes my life so much easier!

In fact... I borrowed Emily's new crochet hook (the troop bought each of the girls an I hook which I got at Joann's for a little over $2 each!) and grabbed some pink yarn and made this dish cloth while she was at gymnastics yesterday using just the single crochet stitch.

Today Aidan has his 4th grade FSA testing (well today and tomorrow for 2 hours each and then 2 days next week for math). I have a day off - so need to finish gathering and taking out the trash for pick up, then get my walk and grab breakfast before I find the sewing machine. My plans are to finish the borders 1+2 on the graduation quilt, make a backing for the churn dash quilt and then pin and machine quilt it and add the binding. I do need to get that one done first to mail out to my selected charity for the Hands2Help Challenge I joined. It's deadline is the end of this month.  The graduation quilt will hopefully get quilted up this weekend.... I have NOTHING planned..... well, other than 2 hours at painting with a twist with a friend Saturday evening. Hey - it was a free event for the first 45 people that signed up and Jill let me know about it first thing in the morning and I got in! Woo Hoo! Should be a fun time.

Here is the link to share your hearts for day 3 of the challenge!









7 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

it looks like you are enjoying your daily hearts - I did the daily circles a couple years ago and enjoyed it. With your girls in girl scouts I wonder what is your opinion on mixing girls and boys in the boy scouts - I have mixed views on it but I am quite a bit older than you and I wonder what the 30-40 something moms and dads think about it

Deb A said...

I have mixed feelings. Honestly... my son was in cub scouts - tried 2 troops and it was not for him. He is not a camper like my daughter is and it seemed to be classroom stuff and a 'child sitting service' for parents rather than an involved group. They always included families in their events which was nice.
I think there is a mis conception about girl scouts - we do camping and outdoor things but the troops are GIRL led so THEY decide what they want to do if the leaders are listening. (STEM stuff next year and hiking and camping in our troop as requested by the girls) .
We also have Bronze, Silver and Gold awards similar if not more difficult to achieve than Eagle scout and I have been told that having that on a college application or military application will pop you over the edge to get into the college and will auto advance your rank in the military to start. That is $.
I do think there have been more regulations added to girl scouts in the last few years with insurance being an issue and I don't care for the inundation of girl scout cookie flavors in everything that only the GSUSA gets... not the troops.

With that being said...

I like the idea of keeping the boys and girls separate.... sometimes keeping them separate allows them to feel comfy trying new things without the pressure of the 'other sex' making judgements. I have found that my council is actually a really good one providing various opportunities to the girls and troops so it hits any and all interests for the girls.
My troop does include siblings in our outings (I'm not technically in line in doing this) but it makes it easier for the parents and me sometimes if I need to bring my son with me. A few are in cub scouts that meet at the same time at the same church as us ... and they have stated that our meetings are a lot more fun. =)
See - very mixed feelings. My understanding is they are opening it up to girls due to lower membership and ease for parents of one place for multiple children so less running around. They approached GS to join but their proposal did not go over well a couple of years ago. I knew this was in the works for a few years now..... and still have mixed feelings.

Ultimately - if it gets kids in a safe environment to experience new things - then all is good.

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

I believe that this is the end of life as a 73 year old knew it growing up! I disagree with the PC and the changes in our cultural in many facets. I am glad to see the Girl Scouts and maybe the Brownies (if they still have them) stay the same. It is a shame that the parents use the organization as a baby sitting job. It was not the founders intent. I can handle change, but not the way the country has gone. Have a great day and glad that you are so supportive and involved with your children!

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

OOPS Forgot to tell you I love the purple heart and the Brown Dresden - that quilt is going to be so very pretty!

canuckquilter said...

Your daily hearts are off to a great start. They'll make a darling quilt. As for the dresdens...still love them, and I love your hand quilting.

canuckquilter said...

Deb, I'm sure your troop is one of the ones that rock :) So much of the scouting experience depends, on both the BSA and GSUSA side, on the leaders and the kids. My son is an Eagle Scout and my daughter has been a Girl Scout since 2nd grade and is heading back to camp this summer as a camp counselor. We've seen groups that worked great and others that didn't. Letting the kids lead (with appropriate supervision and guidance when needed, of course!)makes for the best troop.

As for mixing boys and girls, I'm sure some cooperation now and then for some activities wouldn't hurt, but my daughter is adamant that BSA can do as they wish as long as nobody "messes up" her Girl Scouts! She agrees with you that an all-girl group is conducive to building confidence and skills. Also, she has already experienced men and boys making assumptions about her abilities. She is adept at showing them the error of their thinking and doesn't want to spend her scouting time having to do that. She'd rather just be doing the fun stuff. For the record, the fun stuff is mostly the camping and active stuff :) The stuff people think Girl Scouts don't get to do.. I think we have an image problem!

Deb A said...

I agree Joann! My girls will be getting into camping more now as 2 of us are now BOLT trained and my co-leader got the ACT so we can go tent camping. It is all in what the leaders do.