A book, a gathering, and an update

Growing up, one of my favorite books was one I found on the "high shelf" in our family library.  Looking for something "new" to read, I stood tiptoe on my mother's desk and methodically pulled down one dusty book after another.  Most were on topics that didn't interest me, but I paused when I read aloud the title "The Nine Brides and Granny Hite."

The book is about a quilting bee in a small mountain community.  There are 9 brides waiting on the preacher to come back through their town to marry them.  In order to receive one of the beautiful quilts they are working on, they each must tell the story of how they met (and landed) their man.  I've gone back and re-read this book many times over the years, and I still enjoy it immensely.  Something about having a group of women working together, talking and sharing their history appeals to me so much.

On Friday I hosted my first ever "craft night" in my home - not only that, but it was my first ever "grown up" party where the kidlets (and their daddy) were banished to McDonalds playland for the duration.  It was a small gathering of all my favorite things: a few friends, a few snacks, a few drinks and a few projects.  I know it isn't the same as  a quilting bee, but I'll take it.

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Summer is fast flying and soon Autumn will be upon us.  This year our family "vacation" is right at the very end of summer - the last week in August and first week in September.  Because we begin our homeschool co-op right on the heels of vacationing, I'm finding it necessary to get my co-op responsibilities done now.  It has been nice to get things done at my own pace instead of the break-neck speed that procrastination usually necessitates. 

Perhaps because of this, I haven't been very "crafty" lately.  Well, I finished F's Christmas sweater v 2.0 (v 1.0 was already looking suspiciously too small) and began the biggest Christmas sweater on my list - big J's seamless hybrid.  I've been pleasantly surprised how quickly it is going - I was prepared for it to take several months of bored stockinette stitching.  It turns out that having such mindless and easy work means I pick it up more often than if I needed to follow an intense pattern.  I had put away the quilt top I was working on early in July when we had company in town, but I plan to get that out today and hopefully make some headway.

That is the crafty news from here.  What are you working on?