School has started.  At least here on the west coast.  Yippeeeee!  Not that I want to get rid of my boys, no— they have been pretty fun to have around this summer.  I mean, the youngest is almost 13… so really, I didn’t even see them much in the morning hours.  And they are pretty good at keeping busy if mom is working.  And they even can forage for their own food.  But somehow, I have not seemed to be in my “groove”.  It has been harder to get upstairs into my studio to actually work.  Oh, I got things done, here and there… but it hasn’t seemed like I have had some really productive days.  Lots of plans, just not crossin’ a lot off the list.

So YESTERDAY was the first day of school!  And for me, the first WHOLE DAY of work.

I was so excited!  An uninterrupted day of bliss in my studio, playing with sketches, colors, fabrics… I was gonna get a lot crossed off the list!  (Which right now seems REALLY daunting, with Quilt Market just 8 weeks away, new fabric coming out this fall, and a book deadline happening at the same time!)  Liz and I blitzed on fabric-gathering this summer when we were together, and we have a STACK of new designs to work on.  And it’s all piled up in my studio! But the pile that was staring at me was all…… paper.  Ugh.  Paperwork.

Who likes it, I mean… really?!  Bank statements, bills, tax forms, receipts, blah blah blah.  It is unfortunate that I am the type to have to have things in order before the creative process can really kick in.  So THAT is what I did my first day of school.  Paperwork.

But, I got the stack down to a manageable size.  I mean, I am not THAT anal, that I can’t have sumthin’ there piled up.

So now…let the fun begin!  Today the task is to map out a new quilt for our book, using these fabrics.  

I can’t wait to get my hands on them.  Bought the fabulous batiks this summer in Kauai, at Kapaia Stitchery.  I just knew they had to be in a new Lizzie B quilt!

Soooo… uninterrupted time.  Lovin’ back-to-school.  Now I am looking for a school for the doodle.  Obedience school. Yep, the giant puppy that roams our house, looking for things to shred.  Her latest… this very cool package of chalk from Anthropologie that I was going to send to Liz. It was sitting in a basket on the floor of my studio (the “send to Liz” basket!) and the darn dog just thieved it right outta there.  Took it downstairs (to hide) and shredded it til it was open, and I suppose ATE a couple of pieces of chalk.  That’s gotta NOT be good for her.  (But, she didn’t eat much.  Guess it tasted a little… chalky?!!) Not only do we call her “The Shredder” , but also “The Goat”.  She will eat anything.  (See this earlier post, where she shredded my hubby’s entire wallet.  And guess what?  She did it a second time a few weeks ago.  Yep, new credit cards, DL, etc had to be re-ordered, and I had to puzzle-tape money back together once again.  65 bucks this time!)

So, if anyone knows the Dog Whisperer, or even someone a bit meaner, send ‘em on over!  Really, I am gonna have to head back to obedience school with this one. And I, for one, do NOT want to go back to school!  I just got back to work….