The Fogg "Seven from Heaven"

~~In lieu of a Holiday Card~~
I present & here they are, my life's work!  My piece de resistance...my Grande Opus...how's that for Italian and French in the same swatch; I am definitely a cultured lassie.  From left to right and in order of their ages (and that happened quite by accident because we are NOT an orderly type of folk!) you can see my homeschooled, homegrown geniuses:
Jade, 21, Zach, 19, Noah, 17 (next week), Nadia, 13, Eliza-Jane, 11 front row Summer, 9 & the littlest but oh what a spit-fire, Sarah Rose, coming in at 8 years old.

Jade is the oldest at 21, she works full-time at KOBA as the Assistant to the Compliance and Contracts Director as well as with the Director of Education to facilitate the implementation of the education of the enrolled youth. She spends a lot of time perusing tons of details and keeping the books/records straight to insure that the facilities have all their ducks in a row so as to be legal, she reviews the individual notebooks and cases of the kids, incident reports, etc and etc! I can't even write down all that she does and she will often have 12 and 15 hr days. She is in school full-time at Thomas Edison enrolled through a wonderful program called College Plus  which coaches students personally through their own program.  How does she do both?  And with aplomb.  Jade is an exercising fiend, she runs and lifts weights, is always trying to perfect herself and eats well, organically when she can, knows how many calories and fat and protein she consumes daily.  She is the proud owner of her fabulous, most amazing Thoroughbred, The Taggerung, or just Tagg, if he knows you.  Jade's been riding since she was 8 years old, and Tagg is her 2nd horse.  Jade is also a writer and is working on her first novel.  You can keep up with her musings at www.jadefogg.com  She's been teaching piano since she was 13, and currently has 5 or 6 students.  Jade is a hard-working firstborn who is much more than the sum of the parts her father and I put into her.  God has blessed.

Zach is 19, and lives in Tennessee where he is the Systems Administrator for The Bulk Herb Store.  He is the proof positive that home education really works, almost completely educating himself since he was 6 years old.  By the 11th grade, he had already accrued 32 credits with straight A's. Most students in Maryland graduate with 24 credits by 12th grade, so he had an extra 8 credits a year early. Zach excelled quite young with computers and was often seen teaching himself  CSharp at the age of 15. He has been fixing other people's computers for years now.  In Tennessee, Zach lives in his own 3 bedroom place in a small little town with the creek at the end of his drive. "God willing and the creek don't rise" was never more true when last June the floods in TN brought the creek almost to his front door, ruined his neighbor's house with the scum line at 6 feet, and washed out a portion of his road. He told me, "Mom, the power of water is amazing."  Zach also plays guitar and he and Noah can get on skype and play together.  I am amazed at how his skills have evolved. He is quite good, and I know I'm biased, but if he keeps up with this he will be choosing computers or his own band. Or both. 

Noah is the the quintessential outgoing extrovert.  The most important thing in his life is music theater, and 2010 saw him in 4 lead roles.  Talk about a conceited stage Mama!  That was me, I can not lie.  He was the Tin Man in Wizard of Oz with Catonsville Youth Theater with Director Chuck Dick, he played 

The Cat in the Hat doing his own choreography in a musical written by his voice teacher, Lisa Shaw at The Levine School of Music, he was Cinderella's Prince in Into The Woods through DC Theater Lab and he played the evil, suicidal cop, Javert, in Les Mis, with Act II at Levine under Director Kevin Kuchar.  2010 marked the year that proved to Noah that a career in the theater is not only viable, but that it may be his destiny.  He is also a skateboarder and spends a lot of time perfecting his tricks, jumping over banisters and leaving skin on the sidewalk. He and his father know every single solitary skatepark within 40 miles of our house.  Noah also taught himself guitar this year, he can be heard at times, through the vents, strumming at 2 am!  Which is why he can't often be seen awake at 9 am!  Editing and making videos is another passion, he's done quite a few, and he took a photography course from one of the best professional photographers around as well as one of the best homeschool co op teachers on the planet, Mrs Chris Schaeffer. She also teaches: Shakespeare each spring, world-renowned geography for all levels, political science & literature and the silver screen. Amazing.

Ok, I still have 4 more kids to review!  Yikes! 
I will be kind and spare you and save that for my next post, leaving you with the rest of that Impromptu Seven from Heaven photo op.  And mind you, Jade was on her way out the door, the babies were in their pjs, Zach was impatient, etc.  I hope I didn't bore you too much, though the grandparents are probably happy with me.  

ps  Forgive me but I just had to stick in a little knitted piece, stitched this up in a couple hours for the new baby, Penelope Jane of Zach's bosses.  Used gorgeously dyed wool, added a swinging pom-pom. Cute!

The "FINALLY" Quilt for Zach

Finally .... I finally finished a new quilt for my son, 19 year old Zach.  That's him right there, Zachary Harrison Fogg. The last quilt I made for this 2nd of 7 child of mine was when he was 2.  And that was 17 years ago.  That is a very sad admission for a quilt designer and instructor such as I am, it really is, but to thine own self  be true. And it's the truth. We were living in Chicago when I made Zach's first quilt, and this was the age before the glorious Amy Butler and Anna Maria Horner fabrics that we quilters have the privilege to hoard and collect.  Back then, I had to make do with Joann Fabrics & Crafts, and I had to drive 40 minutes to Indiana to get to it.  I used a Mickey Mouse sheet for the backing, and in my mind using that Mickey sheet was the very ultimate and quintessential idea of how quilting began, the way my fore-mothers made quilts 200 years ago. Remember this quote?   
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."   
I was broke basically, and pregnant with kid number 3, Noah, and I needed a quilt for him too, so the sheet was the only choice I had for a large enough piece of fabric to make the back.  And I 
wanted to be connected to my historic fore-mothers,  I am full of wonder and I mostly look at life through my permanent rose-colored glasses....but in reality, I was just broke!   I sat in the community room of our apartment house and stitched and stitched and then I quilted it by hand on a frame I borrowed from someone once my next one Noah was born, little by little.  It was only the third quilt I ever made, and was made up of various squares of kiddie-printed cottons and seersuckers, just a dumb arrangement of squares that didn't make any sense when I see them now, don't know what my mind was seeing back then.  I am giving amazing credit to  Zach for his unending patience and great sense of self-esteem as he has continued to use that Mickey Mouse- backed quilt most of his life and through all his teenage years.  


His virtuous patience has finally brought him a just reward.  And a big one, too. On Christmas Day, 2010, he opened his FINALLY quilt, an 86" x 90" token of my affection for this brilliant son of mine who now lives 12 hours away from me in Tennessee. His quilt is made of batiks that I collected for six years from at least 8 quilt shops from California to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  They range in tones from teal (my all time favorite color) royal and soft dusty blues to dusky purples and plums and then some subtle taupe-like browns, which help to settle down the blues.  I free-motion quilted with a bevy of paisleys, florals and curlicues, and there are several sayings and feelings stitched into the fabric.  And the backing?  


Nope, it's not that squeaky mouse again, but it is a sheet.  I am nothing if not frugal and 
remember, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." 
In my quilting stitches, Zach will find his name and nicknames, hiding among the patterns, and my name, the date of the quilt, and one special saying....
"This quilt hugs you when I can't"....because this quiltin' Mama misses him so much.    

And why such a big quilt, you ask.... I decided that Zach would have a queen-sized quilt this time because perhaps, let's hope not, but perhaps, it could quite possibly be 17 more years before he gets a new one out of me, so this one will have to last him!   

I Learned to Crochet When I Was 10

Thanks Mom! Learning to crochet was just the beginning of my lifelong foray into crafts that require needles.  Big needles, pointy sharp quilting betweens, hooks, bamboo or steel needles, I need them in my world.  My mom, who is also known as Dr Roberts, passed on her passion with needles to me.  She is a higly-skilled seamstress, and she learned in Catholic boarding school, of all places. For much of my childhood she made my clothing on a burgundy and silver sewing machine from Montgomery Wards. I learned to sew on that machine as well.  I was pregnant with my 2nd child, Zach, and we went out, bought patterns, and because of her great teaching skills, and my comfort with creating, I made a maternity outfit that day.  I bet a couple hundred garments came from that machine.  At some point, she began to put tags in my garments because none of my friends ever believed that she made my coat, she made my ball gown, that she made my velvet knickers and the satin clutch that perfectly matched my outfit.  

A few months back, needing a new project to inject a bit of creativity into my world, I decided to crochet myself a bag to hold my yarns. Because of the years and the familiarity of my fingers with needles and hooks, I picked up some new wools by Debbie Stoller and cranked out this bag in a day or two.  I realized just how lucky I was to have the inspiration when I was young.  Train up a child in the way he should go....if you know any Hebrew, you'll know that that type of training means to guide a child in the way he's naturally bent.  And when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs, 22:6, KJV.  And I'm 42, a mom of 7, and I still see that I have hundreds of stitches yet to learn, many sweaters, quilts and dolls are yet to come from my needles. 

My mom, Romaine, as she's also known, crocheted when I was young. I vividly remember the green and ecru baby doll blanket she made for me. One day I saw her pick up the hook, and I hadn't even known that she could do that!  Somehow, through the magic of genes and osmosis, I began to crochet. She didn't teach me, per se, I just kind of caught it from her.  She also has done, and whatever needlework my mom does, it is done with perfection, macrame, knitting and needlepoint. Her needlepoint is worthy of any museum display. My children have their stockings needlepointed with Santas so detailed, you'd think he'd just hop off the mantle....the stockings are lined with poi de soie, and back with ultra suede.  What a joy it is to fill these dynamic stockings with candies and treats on Christmas Eve.

In the last couple years, I decided to become a 'real' knitter like my mom, not just one who makes patternless scarfs and hats, but I want to make any item I see so I needed to delve a bit deeper into the knitting world.  (*note - you can join Eliza-Jane and me on Thursday nights at Borders Books in White Flint to knit w/my Meet-Up group and at The Yarn Spot in Wheaton)  My mom is my inspiration to me to continue to make my work "handmade" versus looking homemade. This is what she always told me.  "Take the extra time to block your work," she would say, "you spent all that time making it, make sure it looks great!"  "Iron those seams" and "Install that zipper properly".  My mom's work is always impeccable and the example I needed to inspire me on to greatness.

And my mom is the reason my 5 girls can all do something with needles.  It is my rule and requirement that these girls acquire skills and make projects in several disciplines.  Some of them may never sew or knit or crochet perpetually like my mom and me, but learning these skills are the perfect learning mechanism to train one's hands and brain to accomplish anything.  Learning to knit socks will join my girls with women and men of the past who never imagined a walmart with zillions of choices of knitted objects.  A genuine satisfaction comes from the knowledge that most folks today can't even begin to know a knit stitch from a purl, much less realize that the fibers their garments are made from originated from either an animal, a worm or a factory.  Because of my mom, my 11 yr old, Eliza-Jane, sees a shawl in the store window of H&M in the mall yesterday and immediately imagined what size needles were used to obtain that gauge, are there in any 'yarn-overs' in the pattern....she sees herself not only knitting that garment, but spinning the fibers first.  My mom sat Eliza-Jane down when she was 8 and guided her little hands to understand the basics of knitting.

Mom, you rock. 

This Orange Bouquet has a Serious Story

Sometime early Summer I planted one of my favorite flowers in the universe, Tithonia (Tithonia diversifolia) or the common colloquial name, Mexican Sunflower.  It is a glorious specimen, the cultivar I planted has blooms a minimum of  4 inches across, and because of its native country of origin, it needs little water. Tithonia diversifolia is very hardy, attracts butterflies and hummingbirds like nobody's business, and grows enough flowers to make a bouquet weekly.  The flowers are not known for their aroma, but the smell is soft and distinctive, and can add a nice scent to a small room.  I have grown Tithonia in years past, so I thought nothing of it, took no special care or anything.  The seeds germinated easily and the plants grew in the starter plastic food container I use.  After a couple weeks, I decided to plant just two Tithonia seedlings in the garden because I expected them to be 6 feet tall and as wide, and space was diminishing in my beds.  And I was right about the space they'd occupy.  They grew tall alright, and then they grew and grew and grew.  I actually began to wonder if someone was sneaking some seriously off-limits chemical fertilizers in my natural organic garden while I was sleeping because by month three, the taller of the two was 11 feet high!  Whoa Baby!  I was getting my vases ready for some real lovliness to bring in to decorate my kitchen.

Despite this record height, though, and unfortunately for the flower-loving soul that I possess, there was only foliage.  Thick and lush foliage albeit; it testified heartily to the copious amounts of horse puckey I'd put in that earth, BUT not one single, solitary bud.  Pooh.  I waited another month. Pooh.  I waited patiently.  Then I waited really really Paaaatiently.  I was rewarded with better character for it and nothing but even lusher leaves and a ridiculous stem, the likes of which I'd never seen, almost as thick as my wrist.  I began to visualize my orange and glorious Tithonia flowers after being picked in an artsy glass vase on my nightstand. I would water those plants a bit extra each time I was in the garden.  I caressed Tithonia's fuzzy leaves.  I told her that she was exquisite, unique, just the most elite shade of green ever. But still, Pooh.  Nada.  Mrs Tithonia understood 'nada' because she's from Mexico.  The worst part for me was that with a plant that huge, one can only imagine how many flowers it could hold.  It was tortuous. 

One day a brisk windy storm came through, and Mrs Tithonia fell over almost like Goliath;  that's how big she'd become.  By this time, I wasn't actually all that sad.  I had begun to berate Mrs Tithonia at times; I had now given up hope on seeing any Tithonia flowers for 2010.  I noticed that at the base of the fallen 'trunk', the roots came through the earth in a circular plate, at least two feet in diameter. Wow! It looked just like the base of the trees one sees toppled over when the power goes out, pulling up the earth along with its exodus from Mother Earth to keep itself company I suppose.  And I was sad to notice, still, not one single flower.  I couldn't figure out what had happened.  I have an uncanny way of recognizing seeds, so I knew that I had definitely planted the Tithonia variety, which come to a triangular point at one end, and have fuzzy bristles at the other. Perhaps, this was some sort of hybrid, accidentally packaged up?  I was desperate to find Mr. Burpee seed catalogue's express direct hotline to figure this thing out. 

Perhaps my Tithonia flower could be in a record book?  "Tallest dang useless flower to never grow a single solitary flower" would be the proper entry if Guinness should ever call.

Five months had passed now, and I had planned to chop up the foliage and trunk-like massive stem of Mrs Tithonia for the compost pile come November when - OH GOLLY GEE - and lo and behold, this very week, this very late in October, my fat, mutant gargantuan Tithonia plant was covered with blossoms!  My Summer Girl walked all around that sad giant plant as it lay down on the Fall earth....it rested there as if it needed to languish a bit to finally bloom (maybe that was why?) and Summer Girl counted 23 flowers, huge and sunny in color, looking like the tastiest shade of bright lollipop orange, with over 100 buds ready and waiting their turns to burst open. Those buggers are waiting to put on a show for me!  Despite the roots uncovered to the air and the prone position of that 11 foot tall plant, it is blooming right now crazily.  Suppose I should call Mr. Burpee now?   Usually in the Washington, DC area, we get the first freeze a week after Halloween, but there have been years when my flowers continue to bloom until almost Thanksgiving.  I am hoping that this will be one of those years.  I plan to cut luscious bouquets, ambrosial and touched by God, daily as new blooms open so that I can enjoy every picture perfect blossom for as long as possible.

Portable Handiwork

It's a funky picture, I know!  But did you know that I'm making a hexagon quilt?  Here are the ones I've assembled thus far.  It's all English paper-pieced, each little hexie is made one by one, and then hand-sewn to its sibling.  You need 6 siblings, and then a lil' mama in the middle. If you had 7, it could be me and my kiddies, but then that's dumb, I know that 7 around the perimeter would not make a hexagon. I ain't doing all this homeschooling for nothing!  It's a great portable quilt because all I need to work on a few hexies are the paper hexagons, a teeny-tiny pincushion, spool of thread, and some needles.  What is your portable piece right now? Next post, I'll give you some more examples of all my portables.

Texas Freckles inspired me to start this, which is yet another portable project, and her blog is worthy of a few minutes and a steamy cup of hot jasmine green tea.  And a biscotti.  And maybe a chunk of cheddar.  Why be bored while you're reading all your blogs?  If you follow the link to Texas Freckles, you'll find step-by-step directions because I am not about to do all that when she's already done it so perfectly!   (Thanks, Melanie)

I've been knitting of late...because...

It's a Handmade Christmas. (doesn't that sound like a Hallmark movie?)  That's what I've been telling my kids constantly these days.  I'm always making presents for folks, but when it gets near Christmas, I usually am about 20 presents short, and then those people get an extra loaf of cranberry bread or peppermint bark, and that's good and all, yummy in fact, but I wanted to see if I could get more than a few items made up this time.  I've been knitting up scarves, hats and cute little pouches to prepare for December 25th.  There will be beautiful photo albums as well for my family and friends, some jewelry, a couple of quilts, salves, tinctures and of course, as always, plenty of cookies and baked goods.  I can't show all the items now since some of gift-getters will see them, but I'll show you something, because what's a blog without a few pictures?

Are you preparing for Christmas, all you crafty hand-maidens out there?  As a Christian, I really don't think that Christ needs us to have this holiday.  He had the whole of the New Testament, and He didn't once tell us to remember this day in this kind of celebratory way.  Really,  there are much better ways to honor Him.  However, that being said, having the holiday to celebrate giving, making kids smile, remembering those that are often forgotten, well, that is all about the Lord I serve, so I relish this season.  I encourage you to find just one thing you can make and give away. Put your heart into it. If it's fairly simple, do an assembly line sort of thing.  One year, my 3 older kids and I made bath salts times 12.  We got jars from the thrift store, and made labels. Another year, my daughter Jade and I made body cream we scented with essential oils.  Would you send me a note and picture if you're having a Handmade Christmas at your house?  I'd love to be inspired by you.

My lovely Nadia is modeling one of the Handmade Christmas items.  How do you like that Bohemian flower? The hat is knitted, then I crocheted the drawstring and flower from velvet-like yarn.  The green quilt has been dubbed Green Glory.  It has some fabrics I've collected and saved for years.  I might have to keep this one!

so i'm back, but i'm keeping this in lower case - just in CASE...

....i really want to be a blogger, i read a ton of other blogs, like at least 95, maybe more, and i enter in blog contests....i've won twice, a quilt and a wonderbundle from a blogger in new zealand. but i am so unfaithful on here. it's not that or because i'm a homeschooler of 7 kids (two of them are actually done, so just 5 at home now) because i do a lot and always have done a lot as a homeschooling mom. it's not because i quilt too much, knit too much, crochet too often, spend too much time in the garden or read too many books...i have ALWAYS been an over-the-top kind of gal, done all of that and more, and still found time to do what i want to do. (we all do, really, do what we really want to do) i think that my problem with blogging on a regular basis is due to two things. 1 being intimidated by the computer and the internet and 2 my funky non-conformist artist side that doesn't always do well with regulated activities.

so that's why this posting is staying in lower case. i am not worthy of upper case today. oh don't feel sorry for me, i'm fine, just a way to force myself to decide if i will truly keep up with this blog thing. my son, noah, has graciously offered to help me keep up to date with it. he is a budding photographer, quite good already, and is learning all sorts of cool stuff daily like aperture, ways to change the lighting, etc, he's just pretty good. so the pic you see here is the one he just took of me ironing a quilt i made as a barter for an incredible friend who teaches a ton of homeschool co-op classes. (isn't he really good?? this kid o'mine) this one was made as a story quilt, it's called "i'll fly away", and is a symbol of our short life here on earth vs the eternity we'll have with our Maker. she and i are of the same faith so when she allowed my son to take a class in exchange for a payment of a quilt, i was quite excited to do one on heaven and earth. the quilt uses the strong free style so aptly illustrated in 2 books by Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston, Collaborative Quilting & Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again.

here in this pic i was iron-basting it. i also used a few safety pins. it held together just fine and while it was free-motion quilted like crazy....and it is now bound with a perky rainbow stripe, symbolizing God's promise. tonight, it will get a label, and tomorrow, it will go to its new home. i will save that next pic, the completely finished quilt pic for then, as my friend, the receiver, is also a professional photographer, so she'll be able to show it, ''i'll fly away'' in its best light.

for now, i will remain, your lower caps bohemian artist, anna, who will/perhaps/may/soon/might can/etc graduate to a proper-sized case when she has done a couple more posts consistently. cross your fingers, and i'll be back soon with updates on all that's going on since the eons that have passed since i last posted. ~anna, wife of 1 hunky carpenter, mom to 7 home-educated genuises, lover of Jesus and of great books, folk artist, quilt instructor, cottage gardener, writer and taxi driver to the future for my kids.

Yep, I won!

Yep. Yep. Yep.
I won the Quilt Raffle from Dark Horse Designs blog by Nancy Geaney.

Seriously.

I had only just recently found her online, a former super-model whose blog features fabrics from Jennifer Paganelli at Sis Boom Pow. When I won, and Nancy asked me to pick my favorite color combination for this whole-cloth type quilt, I went with a brown and tealish/turquoise combo (my fav colors) that I saw on a post where she demonstrates a turkey placemat for Thanksgiving. As you can see, this beauty is just gorgeous. Getting to pick my own colors? I didn't expect that.

The backside is just gorgeous luscious blue in toile from Jennifer Paganelli's line, Flower Power. Don't these colors make you want to stand on a box with flowers in your hair and sing out loud?? And here's the best part of all. From the day I won until the day I received the quilt in the mail was 8 days. 8 days!! Wow. That's service. See how sweetly she packed it up? Notice that little potpourri sachet with the velvet ribbon. And the little kitty note card.


How did you know that my oldest, Jade, and I love lavender? Nancy, I salute you. You made me one giddy quilter, and this is now my new cuddle-up quilt for watching Survivor and The Office while I work on my applique projects. And speaking of applique projects....here's my newest project now.

So what do you think?

This project, which I'm showing you just a bit of right now (it's in progress as you see)....and, well, it's a vision I've had for a while that was inspired by the floral rugs at the Garnet Hill catalog. I thought that I'd love to do a quilt with random flowers, leaves and curlicues all over, no real rhyme or reason to their placement, per se, just a bit wild...like my cottage garden, and my dreams and how my mind works. I 'saw' this in my mind's eye, on and off, and now I'm playing with the idea of it. Just playing. It will probably be 4 blocks, with flowers & leaves that overlap the seams, for a seamless look. The background is a lovely strawberry batik covered with meandering chocolate vines...(hmm, chocolate & strawberries, so you know it's good) Well, that's the idea, ok, but I'm still just playing with it right now. I do a lot of stuff that I just fool around with and it turns out being another little pathway in my journey. A huge portion of my quilting is about the journey. More on that later.

And now, since I have not blogged in more than a week, I will leave you with another pic, my glorious and ever so beautiful birthday quilt from the quintessential online friend, Joanna the Magnificent. Go and see her blog, Applique Today, and you will see why she is the BEST. We met on Pat Sloan's yahoo group years ago, and finally in person last spring when she came to stay with me for a week. One day, we will show you some of the quilts we've designed together. One day. Maybe at Market in Houston, right Joanna? She named this baby, Fiori, which means flowers in Italian, which is partially my heritage. What kind of cool friend is this??

So more blogging to come from moi soon, especially since I won another blog contest for the 2nd Friday in a row!!!! Yes, I am SHOUTING!! Go read up with Amy at Seven Stitches to see how I just won her Wonder Bundle. Yep.

Lucky Duck, yep, I am.

~anna