Monday inspiration

My husband and I have been having a hard time finding time for a date. We planned something last week and my mom, who was supposed to come over to babysit, cancelled on us. We planned something else on another day and one of the kids got sick. Another time, we realized that we simply had no money to hire a babysitter. It kept going on like this for quite some time that I finally blew up and told him that we needed to get creative if we wanted to go out (okay, I said some more things but I don't want to go into it here). So since going out at night was not working, hubby rearranged his work schedule so that he could work 4PM-12AM, I asked D's physical therapist to arrive half and hour earlier, and we arranged for my mom to watch D while my six year old went to school. Cool! Everything was working as scheduled. The therapist arrived on time, Good. I got a call that M had thrown up all over himself and he needed to be picked up, NOT GOOD. Okay, okay, we can work something out. I called my mom and asked her if it was okay for her to watch two kids instead of one (she said yes, of course, and told me how silly I was for asking, i asks anyway because I want to teach her a lesson about boundaries, but that's for another blog post) and I then tell my husband he needs to pick up M from school. Okay, everything back on track. M gets home and he seems okay. I ask him how he's feeling and he says he's feeling better. I don't ask him twice for fear that he might come down with something at that very second and, even though my mom's home, I would feel guilty leaving her with a sick child. Anyway, M then tells my husband that he has a headache, I pretend not to hear and grab my coat. There is no way in heck that we will not have a date today, darnit!!! So we made it out the door and into the car and off we went. We didn't even do anything ultra special. We had breakfast together and then went to Barnes and Nobles and his favorite, KB Toy Store. Okay, my hubby is a big kid too. It was just great to be with him, alone, and talk. That stirs my creative juices, to feel like an equal in a relationship, to feel like there is a give and take and not just a take which is what happens when you are with needy kids all the time. I also realized today that creativity is not just about putting stuff on paper, on fabric, about making something tangible. It's about making time to be with the one you love. I am inspired today.

Inspiration Monday - Monday's Muse

I am once again joining www.maternalspark.com in sharing what inspires me this Monday. Well, I have been really obsessed with fabric. Yes, fabric. I know that I use fabric all the time when I reconstruct and sew. But lately I have been wanting to do more with all the fabric sraps I have lying around. I love screenprinting faces on fabric which is what my clothing line Nelesc is all about (http://www.nelesc.etsy.com/) but I am interested in doing more. I borrowed Create Your Own Handprinted Cloth by Rayna Gillman, from the library and it has really gotten my wheels turning. I have also been wanting to make fabric books. Recently, I bought Fabric Picture Books by Gwen Marsten. My kids have these amazing fabric books that they love and I would love to custom make one for each of them or even make themed books for grownups. I have so many ideas in my head with so little time. We'll see how I fit it all in my schedule. For now, it's inspiring enough to see, through my books, what other people are doing with fabric.

Julia de Burgos Screenprinted Top

Hello all! Here is my new addition to my etsy shop. It's a new face, Julia de Burgos! De Burgos was born February 17, 1914, is considered by many as the greatest poet to have been born in Puerto Rico and generally considered as one of the greatest poets of Latin America. She was also an advocate for the independence of Puerto Rico and an ardent civil rights activist for women and African/Afro-Caribbean writers. She fits perfectly with the line and I am so glad that I finally added her. Let me know what you think.

YES WE CAN!

Yesterday I, and two friends, got up and voted at 6:00 in the morning with a sense of mission and charge. It was exhilarating, exciting, goundbreaking, to be able to vote for someone who signified change and hope. I took a picture near a "vote here" sign because I knew how historic that moment could be. Last night when I heard that Obama won, I was so overwhelmed with emotion. I called my mom, sisters, and anyone else I could get in the line to share the moment with. I felt the need to connect. To be part of something bigger. And I was. I think that was the most exhilarating part, that at that moment, I felt connected to the rest of the country, there by myself in my living room. It's an awesome feeling. I think i see a new image for my clothing line coming on.