Jane Austen


Full disclosure: I've never read Jane Austen before.

When I told my sister-in-law this she commented that she felt like she didn't know me anymore.

I've always been totally honest in this space, so I thought I better make the confession to all of you. And yesterday I went out and bought all the books (on sale!). It will take me a long time to get through them at my current pace of about 5 pages before my eyelids close at night. Besides, I can't take away from my quilty time...
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A Fund for Jennie

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A few weeks back an on-line colleague lost her husband, suddenly. Jennie Perillo and her young girls are now struggling to define a new life without husband and died. Like me, Jennie is a food writer. Like me, she has two young girls. Like me, she shared a passionate life with her husband.


Right now a new not-for profit, Bloggers Without Borders, is raising funds for Jennie and her family. Food writing, let's be honest, isn't a lucrative job. But it is infinitely rewarding, on a daily basis. The goal of the fundraiser is to hopefully provide some security for Jennie and the girls as they move forward into a new normal.
Bloggers the world over are holding fundraising auctions and drives for donations to A Fund for Jennie. You can donate directly by clicking through on the button above.


Readers here at Backseat Gourmet may or may not know that I am also a quilter. I design quilts, write about quilting, and quilt at almost any moment. A Fund for Jennie has some amazing auctions, and while I'm proud of my skills in the kitchen and what I could share from it, a quilt is where my heart goes when healing needs to be done.




To see my work click on any of the gallery quilts on Naptime Quilter or take the time to explore the site for details on my creative process and thoughts on quilting.


This is my contribution to A Fund for Jennie:


A custom, one-of-a-kind modern quilt. It can be anywhere in size from a crib quilt to a generous lap size (roughly 60'' by 80'' or 70'' by 70''). I will work with you on a colour scheme or inspiration. The majority of it will be completed by machine, but I always hand finish my quilts.


You can submit your bid in the comments on this post. We'll make arrangements to make the donation through Bloggers Without Borders for the successful bidder.


Bidding opens at $500 (US or Canadian, it's pretty close these days).


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A Fund for Jennie

,
A few weeks back an on-line colleague lost her husband, suddenly. Jennie Perillo and her young girls are now struggling to define a new life without husband and dad. Like me, Jennie is a food writer. Like me, she has two young girls. Like me, she shared a passionate life with her husband.


Right now a new not-for profit, Bloggers Without Borders, is raising funds for Jennie and her family. Food writing, let's be honest, isn't a lucrative job. But it is infinitely rewarding, on a daily basis. The goal of the fundraiser is to hopefully provide some security for Jennie and the girls as they move forward into a new normal.

Bloggers the world over are holding fundraising auctions and drives for donations to A Fund for Jennie. You can donate directly by clicking through.
This is my contribution.

A custom, one-of-a-kind modern quilt. It can be anywhere in size from a crib quilt to a generous lap size (roughly 60'' by 80'' or 70'' by 70''). I will work with you on a colour scheme or inspiration. The majority of it will be completed by machine, but I always hand finish my quilts.

You can submit your bid in the comments, then we'll make arrangements to make the donation through Bloggers Without Borders for the successful bidder. I've already got a quilt on the go for Jennie and her girls, but I want to share the love a bit more.

Bidding opens at $500 (US or Canadian, it's pretty close these days). Auction is open until noon MST September 2, 2011.

Thank-you, the auction is over.
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Girls' Room - Before

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Last week I had the most awesome pleasure of a week to myself at home. No kids, and mostly, no husband. I think it might have been the best week of my life. Well, at least of the last few years. We sent the kids to Camp Baba/JoJo/Grandma - our family out of town. Hubby was working, and I stayed home.

I quilted, I read, I worked a little, I cleaned up my house. It was all done at a leisurely pace and with very little stress. I ate nachos for dinner and went for long bike rides because I didn't have to report back to anyone. I mentioned that it was glorious, didn't I?

One of the things I did do that certainly felt like work, but was utterly necessary, was clean out and redo the girls' room. It was chaotic and crowded in there. And with only a two bedroom house and a husband who works at home it was high time I got it organized so the girls and I could actually function in there if Hubby is home working.

Our house is only two bedrooms and a few years ago we switched and gave the girls the bigger room. This means all their toys and activities can be in their room, instead of taking over the house. And that way my crap can take over the house instead! But the room was messy and full of stuff no one was using anymore. So, in between my little breaks of personal creativity and relaxation, I tackled the room.

This week I'll share the before pictures. Next week, after I finish hanging pictures, I'll share the after pictures.
Christmas decorations still on the wall, an old mattress for guests/trampoline, and crap everywhere!

Two dressers, yet clothes piled everywhere. This bookshelf creating a hallway and blocking off the room.


The bookshelf - the closest bit of order in the before pictures.

A dresser storing fabric, some of my clothes, the Monster's clothes, and dress-up stuff. The diaper genie still there when diapers disappeared from our lives 3 months ago.

The dresser I grabbed from my Mom's basement (minus the legs) to refinish for the girls. It might have been my brother's when he was a kid. It sat next to the deep freeze, filled with fabric scraps from home ec and family sewing projects in the 80s, as well as some baby clothes of my Mom's and some Ukrainian embroidery.

I'm pretty sure I drew on this as a kid. No one remembers, but it is most likely that I, the biggest brat in the family, did it.

Next week, the afters. Just wait! I can tell you that the girls love it and so do I.