Common Thread Designs

Little Lila the Luckiest Pup!

2012-02-03T20:56:00.003-05:00

Lila the Luckiest Pup!

Hi There!
I know I will make you say OHHHHH! when I introduce you to a little sweetie I have had the priviledge and joy of getting to know on her way to her "Forever Home" tomorrow!

This is Lila! Oh my, oh my. Where to start! She is my foster pup from Lucky Pup Rescue (dot org)! She is a 14 weeks old Lab Mix, (we are guessing a pointer or maybe a beagle?)and SUPER CUTE and verrry BOUNCY!
She came off the transport from Arkansas last week, with a slight look of trepidation as we handed her to her "soon to be" new Mom and THEN she couldn't stop LICKING her! She has truly found a match made in heaven with her new family and
I know they will love her forever.
Lila TRULY is a Lucky Pup! WOOF!

2011-12-21T16:05:00.001-05:00

Its NEVER too late for Gift Certificates!

Free Range Sewing for all ages! I have a fun, ongoing class on Tuesday mornings at my favorite quilt shop, Cotton Weeds Quilt Shop in Freeport Maine. We call it Camp Sew & Sew!
I have about a dozen fearful and fearless women who have challenged themselves to develop their skills, make time for their passions and to just have "girl time"! There are seasoned quilters who haven't tried garment or home dec projects, there are complete novices and then there are those in between who just need "permission" to have FUN while they are creating!

Wiggly log cabin by Deb

If you are looking for any last minute gifts which also have a VERY practical aspect then this is PERFECT!
It's a rolling enrollment which means you begin anytime and are only "charged" for the days you attend! The cost is $85 for 8 amazing weeks of complete support for your stitching! You choose the project, or we develop one together and I will guide you through to completion! In this process, you will work on skills you wish to learn. Do you want to install a zipper or draft a pattern from a favorite garment? Maybe you want to figure out how to read a commercial pattern or maybe you want to just play with colors! This "wiggly" log cabin panel was created by a wonderful woman who had only sewn straight lines in her quilting classes. She was used to points matching and corners being the correct angle. She and I worked together to help her un-learn the traditional and "allow" the possible!
Pretty, huh? I love her color choices!
http://www.commonthreaddesigns.com/

2011-12-14T16:50:00.000-05:00

A child's Christmas.

You'd Better Watch OUT! And a wee bit of kid wisdom...

So do you remember the "talk"? Ya know, when it all became so very clear but you didn't want to say anything, just in case you were WRONG? And then, once you were initiated you were sworn into a sacred club. A secret keepers club (not ikky, just the Jolly type)! You knew what the younger kids didn't and you knew that it was a deep and meaningful job to hold it tight....to keep the MAGIC alive! Ahhhhh.

Well, I have to say those days are long behind us here, in our family, with teens and busy schedules. I sat down to look at my Facebook page (another topic altogether) and saw that some of my friends were talking about having the "Talk" and it brought back this memory:

When my son was in the 'little person Christmas Magic' stage he couldn't sleep on Christmas Eve. (I know very few kids do but this seemed a little different to me, not the "usual", whatever that is) so I used to get a little frustrated with him UNTIL I realized he wasn't not sleeping because of the general...'oh, it's so exciting', thing! He couldn't sleep because he didn't want a strange man to come into his house in the middle of the night and eat cookies and hang out in the living room while everyone was asleep! The WHOLE idea TOTALLY creeped him out! Its kind of funny now that he's a "big kid" (high school age) but looking back, I remember how terrifying it was for him! THAT certainly explained the middle of the night visits to our room for comfort! He always was and thankfully, still is, a snuggler! (Don't tell him I told you, though!)

We now can laugh and joke and have all kinds of fun around the holiday but all of our little ones, so very dear and trusting, sometimes have a hard time voicing what they are feeling. I guess magic is more "fun" for some than it is for others! Sometimes I am 'afraid" or have anxiety over things I am not entirely clear about. I am an adult (most of the time, I confess....I digress from time to time) and I can think it through and talk myself out of my trepidation, running it by friends and family to get my facts straight! Young children are just not equiped with enough experience or groundedness to process this "magic" (aka the UNKNOWN) with any clarity and therefore, for some, it can become entirely overwhelming! Starting to see where I am going here? Melt downs or screaming fits? Maybe a withdrawn child? Their anxiety comes in all forms!

I do not share this as some child expert, (far from it) but as the parent of sensitive children and (gratefully) also from the perspective of a well seasoned Waldorf parent! An amazing educational process which has given our family the gift of helping to see how our children process (or simply cannot process) adult information! They are not "little adults" but "pure light and wise little souls" who need care and kindness and to be shown the ways of the world with reverence and awe. Back to the MAGIC thing...magic is very.... well.... MAGICAL, except when it is frightening! Recognizing the difference really helped me to parent my son with less judgement and more understanding of HIS needs (not mine)!

Here are some of the child rearing ideas (pure genius, those Waldorf teachers!) which I learned to employ around stressful times, OK, all the time!:

-Don't ask their opinions of any situation! They will sense that you don't know what's going on either! That's unsettling for them don't you think?

-Never take them shopping unless you have prepared them ahead of time, detailing the behavior you expect from them Let them know what behavior is expected and what will happen if it does...Like how proud he/she can feel about being good in the store and how happy Dad or Mom will be when he/she hears about it! (positive rather than negative reinforcement)

-Don't give them choices, too many choices take them out of their imagination! They only need to choose either the red socks or the blue socks if you feel they must have a say! Keep It Simple Sweetie! KISS

-Allow them to try things on their own & to make mistakes but help by interceeding when their frustration levels begin to rise. Don't let them get overwhelmed, just a little challenged.

-Patience is absolutely required and a sense of humor is priceless! Plan the extra time it takes to do things with little ones! Don't rush them on your schedule all the time! (I know, sometimes its unavoidable....)

-Enjoy them while they are with you, because they will be gone all too soon! People TOLD me when I had little ones "Oh they grow SO fast!" I was so overwhelmed and tired I just thought....yah, could ya hurry it up, here? But then I hit my stride as a parent and began to slow down to really enjoy them and I am so glad I did. I now know that EVERY age is adorable!

-Have fun and maybe worry 'a little' but always make time for yourself!
Remember, "If Momma ain't happy then NOBODY happy!"

Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year!!
Susan

Wow! Thanks Santa!

2011-12-08T08:58:00.001-05:00

Ho Ho Ho! Santa brought this by to share with you! I wanted to show you what the

beautiful "Batik Jewels" table runner looks like in Hoffman Fabrics Holiday Screen Prints! Yummy, huh?

I haven't made it in blues and creams/whites but I bet it would be GORGEOUS as a Hannakah table mat, maybe with a gorgeous gold in the middle as the jewel.

You can also see it on CTD's website in the soft teal color it was photographed in for the cover at

http://www.commonthreaddesigns.com/

The pattern is a quilt as you go so it moves very quickly!

Here is another image of this project on my table. Great job Santa!

Ok, maybe my Mom made it, but it is her pattern design, so I can only say THANKS, Mom!

Peace on Earth.

Susan

2011-12-03T14:37:00.001-05:00

Bingo is a rare gift from God in the form of a dog. He has no worries (not even at the veterinary office, and he has been there a lot), he lives in the moment and only has one message to share each new day.....LOVE! Everything about this big ole' pup is so endearing and so very precious!

Bingo came to us in a very unusual way, a very sad way, actually. He was raised by an older couple who were so kind and very loving themselves. They truly adored him, deservedly so! Unfortunately, they both crossed over within 2 weeks of one another. I tend to think it was because their hearts were so connected one could not go on with out the other. They were friends of ours and we were also close to their kids (our ages) and grandchildren (our children's ages).

We heard about the sad situation via a group email soon after it happened. The email described the details of their passing and everyone's deep greif and utter shock at the whole situation. The email then began to list some of the concerns and challenges that the family now had going forward. At the top of this list was...."What do we do with Bingo, a 100lb (unaltered) male yellow lab goofball?" Well, 'goofball' was all we needed to hear to KNOW he would be perfect for our family. We already had a sassy (BOSSY) female welch corgie but we figured she would train him. We were right on that, but what we didn't realize was that he was able to teach her many lessons, as well. He has shown her great gentleness and how to wait for your meal and how to be really big in a small house while trying not to be snapped at by "that other" dog (you just have to look very sheepish and you can practically write your own ticket)! She is now a MUCH mellower girl...he really has taught her by his gentle example! He also taught her how to squint your eyes when someone with a big tail is wagging next to your (shorter) face!

It took about a year for our new friend, Bingo to stop "looking" for his man, David. Every time he spotted a tall man in a wool cap he would perk right up and his tail would wag furiously...and I would feel so sad for him when he realized it wasn't his first owner. As we came to know one another over this time our family came to understand how deeply he gives his heart to the humans (and animals) around him. LOVE.

I wanted to share this story with other dog owners & lovers at this time of an unusually difficult economy. Bingo (and our family) were so lucky to find one another through a close common relationship but these happy endings are far too few! So, please, if situations arise where you are not able to keep your beloved pet PLEASE work very hard to find a new situation for your friend by using a qualified animal rescue operation! DO NOT give up your animal to just anyone...they do NOT have an emotional attatchment to your animal and may not care for him properly OR worse! You really don't want to know the evils that humans are capable of where helpless animals are concerned!

I have now fostered 3 dogs who were surrendered in the south. They are Such AMAZING dogs and now have loving new owners and homes here in the NE. Happy endings are priceless. Please contact http://www.luckypuprescue.org/ for information on either becoming a foster partner or, even better, adopting a wonderful new freind! Help us to help all those pups who truly deserve another chance to share their beautiful gifts of LOVE!!

PEACE,

Susan