Nap Time

Sarah Anne took a nap yesterday. It was a real, regular nap-for-baby. I wasn't holding her. She wasn't being swayed in her carseat. No one was wearing her in a sling. She just slept, there in my her our bed.An hour and a half into this novel experience, I admit that I went up with my heart in my throat to see if she was still breathing. She was. She was all sweet and soft and pink and still asleep!

I cleaned the mudroom.

I pulled everything out, put the winter coats away, wiped down the washer and dryer. I even scrubbed the floor on my hands and knees. Honestly, I stopped just short of painting the entire room. Naps have their limits.

Today, I thought I'd push my luck and see if I could get her to take a real, regular morning nap. So, I put her in my  her our bed and nursed her to sleep. Only this time, I did so while reading my new book: Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing. And now I'm in trouble.

I don't really love sewing. We sort of have a love-hate relationship. Every once in awhile, I think I can sew. I try a project, it comes out fairly well and then, I go buy more fabric. The tension tightens up on my machine. I fix it (but I don't know how I fixed it). The bobbin gets tangled. I untangle it. I get totally frustrated with the machine. Then the tension is in my shoulders and not just the machine.

Last time, I got a new machine. It worked for a project or two. And then there was the tension.And the bobbin.And then the needle broke. And finally, I gave up. Because there's only so much sewing one can do during naptime if the machinery won't cooperate.

Hope springs eternal.I just sacrificed naptime to reading a sewing book. All the while, I was thinking about the season Jennifer started sewing and how effortless she made it seem.One minute she was thinking she'd learn how to sew and the next minute, there were amazing quilts. And then there was Kristen--she of all things beautiful. And then, I started thinking about fabric. I do dearly love fabric. I do dearly want a reason to spend money at visit the site Jen recommended not too long ago.

I spent the whole naptime reading the book. It's full of great ideas, but it begins very slowly-in a good way.The author, Anna Maria Horner, leaves nothing to chance. She takes me step by step through the sewing process, from making sure the chair is the right height to stocking the sewing box to choosing an ironing board. Surely, she'll hold my hand through the technical glitches. And then, it's on to the projects: those little yoyos turned into magnets and a board upon which to stick them, a fabric box, two different skirts (both darling), a peasant blouse, some bags, pillows, and a soccer ball I can just picture for Sarah Anne's first birthday. The book is of course, beautiful--lovely to look at, lovely to hold, lovely to read-- because Anna doesn't just write about sewing; she designs her own fabrics and a whole bunch of other things. And it's all beautiful.

Did I mention she's expecting her sixth baby?

So, maybe I can do this. Maybe this baby will be the one who grows up wearing handmade clothes (made by me).Maybe the next quilt on my bed will be one I made. So much promise in a single nap.