Finishes for Friday!

I can't believe that it is Friday already...I am glad that it is, but it seems like it went kind of fast. It is the kind of week where I got things done, but I can't really remember what I did do. Have you ever had one of those weeks?

Last week I passed out the Teacher Appreciate packets to Matthew's 4th grade class, instructing them to show them to their parents and accomplish the things I asked for (likea thank you letter for each of their teachers, to paste a picture of a themselves on a paper star and add some $ if they wanted to participate in a class gift) and then bring it back to school on Tuesday 4/28. This week I have been collecting the completed packets - out of the class of 27, I am still missing 9. Next week is teacher appreciate week, so I hope to make contact with the families who haven't responded to make sure that I, at least, get their child's thank you notes to put in the Teacher Appreciation books. This is a project that I have been doing for each of my sons' classes since my oldest was in day-care (so about 13 years). Basically I xstitch a design for a front cover and bind all of the children's notes in a handmade book. The teachers love it, because it is special notes from their students bound beautifully (if I say so myself). So, speaking of these books, I put the finishing touches on the front covers (this year Matthew has 2 teachers who have been "job sharing"). Here is the finished products:


















They are the same Lizzie*Kate design - however the one on the left was stitched on white 28ct evenweave and the one on the right was stitched on 22ct hand-dyed aida.

The other big project we have been dealing with at home is Robert's (7th grader) medi-evil period project. There were several options to choose from and he decided to make a Knight's
Helmet...because no one else was...because it sounded challenging. And it was and still is! Basically, he used a baseball cap (with the brim cut off) and fitted cardboard around it and then used plaster rolls to make it hard...and then painting it metallic silver. It is coming along, but he is upset that it didn't look like the picture he printed off from the computer. Yes, there are probably better ways that we could have done it (like maybe putting the plaster over a balloon to make more of a round top)...but working with a stubborn 13-year old, let's just say that this is the best it is going to be unless we started over. I find it really hard as a mother to know when I cross the line to "take over" a project and when I should sit back and "let go", allowing the child to do it. Anyway, I think given the material he is working with and the guidence to finish it, he will receive a good grade. I can't believe that the teacher would hand out a bad grade because the model doesn't represent the photo "exactally". Well, he/we have to get this finished up over the weekend to turn in on Monday.

Well, I hope everyone is having a good Friday! Remember to live, laugh, love...and keep stitching! Lisa