Always With the Drama

You lose there is drama.

S lost all of her soccer tourney games this weekend.  They were shut out all three games.  I thought they might have a chance the third game as the score was 0-0 at half and the girls looked like they were playing well before I headed over to C's game.  They ended up losing 0-5.  After a week of soccer drama and a head coach-less team, I'm not surprised.

C's team ended up in 1st place in their draw after this morning's game.  They won 3-0.  (They lost their first game yesterday on a flukey play.  An opposing player went down hard and C's team stopped in their tracks, but the ref didn't blow his whistle.  The other team scored.  The girls learned a valuable lesson.)

The day wasn't without drama for C's team, though.  C's coach ended up crying and some heated words were exchanged at the end of their last game.

The 2nd game, in the semi-final round, was hard fought.  C's team scored first quickly.  Scoring was back and forth until the game ended up tied at 4-4 late.  C's team scored a goal in the last seconds of the game--seriously--to win the game.  They should play the championship game tomorrow unless something really strange happens with the points system.  However......

Because the game was so hardly fought and was so close in skill with the other team being pretty beastly in SIZE and skill, not all the girls got to play and some girls didn't play many minutes.  A couple of these girls AND their parents took offense.  (C played almost every single minute of all four games.)

To be fair, the team had many meetings at their practices for this tournament where they discussed as a team certain potential issues such as this and how they would handle them if they came up.  I guess it's different when they come up and how you feel about them then.  The team voted at the half that they were going to play the players that Katrina thought would give them the best chance of winning.

They won, but the win ended up being very bittersweet.

Eclipse Quilt: Imprinting

I kept the block.  I did as suggested by my Twilight group and M.  I went with the paw.

I used the really neat Upside Down Applique method for this block that I've been wanting to try for months.  It wasn't necessary for this block, but I can see how it could be very helpful for more difficult blocks with a lot of detail and little pieces and for which it was developed.  By the fourth pad, I knew what I was doing for my satin stitch.  I think all of the paw looks okay, though.  The black parts are supposed to be nails and I did them in black batik fabric, but I didn't satin stitch them.  They are only straight stitched.

The pads are in the softest brown flannel, I've ever felt.  Another interactive detail......  I couldn't stop touching the fabric.

Don't forget my Twilight quilt blog.  This block isn't there yet, nor is Graduation.

I was out all day in the heat at the soccer tournament.  I was wiped out.  I finished the Imprinting block, but that was it.  The computer was tied up, too, or I might have done my write-ups.

Eclipse Quilt: Graduation

I finished the Graduation block tonight.

If you will remember this is where I left it:

M told me I needed to jazz it up.  He's very good at getting me do to things that I'm already thinking about doing already.

I got a button kit a JoAnn's today so I could make a fabric covered button..  I found a tutorial for tassel making on YouTube.

I'm liking it enough!  Eight blocks and counting (Nine with Imprinting.  A howling wolf for the Preface block and Birds and the Bees block)

Less than Thrilled

I am less than thrilled with the latest Eclipse block.

I loved my concept.  I've had the pattern for months and decided to use it for the Imprinting block.  The heart has two strands that twist together and the heart also is a spiral.  It was meant to portray the intertwining of destinies and the ties that the wolves and their mates had to each other.  The pattern is a Piece by Number pattern which is one of my favorite paper piecing designers.

My first mistake was enlarging the pattern too much and not realizing it until I'd already made half of the block.  It finished at 7.5" and I had to square it up to 7" which means I lost 1/2" of the top because I wanted to keep the point of the heart.  I don't really want to make it again despite the block peicing pretty quickly.

My second mistake is not LOVING my fabric choices.  I like the paw print fabric that I used okay, but I struggled choosing the other heart strand and the background.  I really didn't want to use red fabric and I liked the pink, but....I don't know.  M insisted I use the background fabric that I did and I'm not in LOVE with that either.  I wanted the fabric to be earthy and I've used a lot of batiks so I wanted to continue with that.  The other gals were no help!

I also am struggling with my need to applique a large paw print on the block somewhere.  I'm afraid it won't look right or just be unneeded.

Help!

It Gets Better

Yesterday I wrote about the soccer tournament that my girls are participating in this weekend, specifically that S's coach insisted that the team participate and then told us this week that he wasn't going to be able to coach because he was going out of town.

Let me tell you where I sit before I stand:  nothing less than a death in the family would be a good enough excuse for him to not coach this tournament.  I don't particularly care for the coach's personality, but S doesn't seem to mind.  I feel like he coaches with only his daughter's interests in mind.  I also don't like the guy he brought in as assistant coach this year.  (More than one parent had suggested that he needed help and that they would be willing to help coach, but he rebuffed them all.  This new guy is goofy and immature.  Most of the girls do not like him!)

He insisted that the girls participate because even though they would probably get killed by all the competitive teams, it would be good experience for them.  He didn't come out and say these other things, but this is the impression I got.  1) He really wanted to do a tournament and we should reward him for coaching by doing the tournament.  2) It would be a good opportunity for his daughter, the soccer goddess, to play.  3) He wanted to extend the soccer season as long as he could.

We felt guilted into the tournament.  I was less than thrilled about it being on the holiday weekend.  I gave in because S wanted to play with her team--INCLUDING her coach.

When I found out on Monday night by EMAIL that he wasn't going to coach, I had a fit.  I did wonder if I was the only one, but then I talked to some of the other parents and they were as upset as I was.  A group of us talked about it more yesterday at practice.  Everyone was pissed....  We all were in agreement that we wouldn't pull the girls because it wouldn't be fair to the team or the other teams in the tournament.  The coach knew we were talking and came over and confronted us.

What a dickhead!!!!

He didn't understand what our problem was with him not coaching.  He refused to acknowledge a reason why anyone would be annoyed or disappointed in him for him not coaching.  He suggested we were being selfish.  It made no difference if he coached or not.  He went on and on.  ....He said he didn't care if the girls played.

My point is that he shouldn't have insisted we do this tournament if he wasn't going to coach it.  Team is Team, including the coach.  If there was any chance he wasn't going to be there, barring emergency, he should have at least let us know.  He was very cavalier about the whole thing, refused to apologize, and refused to understand why we had issues.

As it turns out, one of the other moms not involved in this discussion and not understanding why we chose to have the discussion with Scott then, told us she's known for over two weeks that he wasn't going to coach.  She was surprised to learn many of us didn't know until this week.  He knew from the very beginning that he wasn't going to coach. 
I don't want S to play on this team anymore if he's going to coach!

Summer Vacation

Today is the kids first day of summer vacation.  So far, so good on Day #1.

Our weekend plans include a soccer tournament for both girls.  This is not what I had in mind for a holiday weekend, but I was trying to make the best of it.  I was positive about the whole thing until S's soccer coach emailed this week to say that he won't be coaching for the tournament.  What?!!!!!  He forced us to sign up for this damn thing and then makes other plans for the weekend.  There are some pretty annoyed parents besides me.  I haven't replied back to his email, but you know I'd like to.  I need to get my emotions in check first.  Fortunately for him, we have to be up there anyway for C.  If we were just going because of S, I may have pulled her out.

On that note, I'm itching for a fight......

I think I'm going to do a "I Just Punched a Werewolf in the Face" block as one of the next quilt blocks.

Graduation x2

C's Continuation Ceremony was this evening.  I was confused by the term, but I learned that it's the term that is used in this district for 5th graders "graduating" to 6th grade and middle school and 8th graders graduating and moving on to high school.

I took today off because I knew the afternoon would be too hectic with the ceremony at 5:00.  S also wanted me to come to her class party at a local park for her last day of school.  We shared a Subway sandwich for lunch which was the only real highlight of the day.  She was fighting with her BFF again and was in tears and hovering most of our time at the park.  Long story short, she refused to apologize to and with her friend on the count of 3 as suggested by both moms.  I had no sympathy for her after that and was kind of embarrassed by her behavior.  Long story short, they came out holding hands an hour later and S spent the evening at the BFF's house.  LOL.....

I hot rollered C's hair and helped her get ready.  She looked beautiful in her dress.  She was visibly nervous about the ceremony when I dropped her off early to meet up with her class.  M was late getting home and we barely made the ceremony.  My mom and dad came, too.  They saved us seats so we were all good.

C was awarded a Citizenship Award (an award for attendance, participation in extra-cirricular activities, and .... good behavior at school) and the Presidential Award of Excellence for carrying at least a 3.5 the entire year.  We are very proud of her!!!!  (not bad for a curfew breaker....LOL)

In my spare time today, I worked on a very simple Eclipse block.  I picked out the fabrics last night and got the pattern ready.  (I begrudingly used the blue background fabric--bad Coven memories--because it was just too perfect not to.)

The block isn't done.  M is insisting I use a real tassel so I will be making one of those after I find instructions and I want to make a fabric-covered button so I will need to buy the kit.  I don't want to make the block too busy, but I need to make the block my own and I want to figure out a way to add an invitation to Alice's graduation party at the Cullens.

Twilight Book Addicts

I continue to find it hilarious about the back and forth that continues to go on regarding who is allowed or has a right to make Twilight quilts, block designs and permissions, etc.  (as if I really would want to use 99% of the....cr...) I believe this to be true:  all block ideas must be directly credited to the creative genius that is Stephenie Meyer. We cannot in good faith take credit for any quilt block as an original idea because without the Twilight series they would not be and groups would not be. We only have the benefit of taking her work and channeling her writing through our creativity.  As far as a graduation block goes....An Eclipse graduation block is what it is:  and, for one, inspired directly by events in Eclipse.  A cap and diploma are a generic and natural representation of graduation.  Why am I even trying to explain myself?!  I'm not really as bothered as it may seem.