Dear July

Hello! Well, that was quite an entrance. Turning that supermarket parking lot into a pond for awhile really scared me. Here, let’s have a milkshake and calm down a little.

Here’s the thing. The boys have no preschool or camp this month. We have two weddings to go to, both of which require some travel. I’m teaching some Beginning Quilting* classes and the husband is playing summer league ultimate.

I think this is going to be tons of fun, but we need to be friends. I need you on my side, July. Please be kind. Being busy can be wonderful, but it can be stressful. So let’s make this a great month. June was busy too, but she was super nice about it. Be cool like her, ok?

Usually July and pigeons don’t mix. It reminds me of those two summers I lived in Brooklyn without air conditioning, next to the highway. In July in the city it’s hard to get the smell of garbage out of your nose, and if you’re like me you blame the pigeons. But you, July? This July? It’s the month of pigeon awesomeness. Because you’re going to be awesome, right? RIGHT?

Meet my newest WIP:

It’s the pigeon from Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. It’s one of my boys’ favorite books to read aloud, along with Elephant & Piggie and almost anything else Willems has written. Cloud 9 released these awesome prints on organic cotton, and so I’m making a nap blanket for my littlest guy, who starts camp/preschool for the very first time in August. This pigeon is the only one that can be cuddled. (I know you know that, July. You’re so smart.)

Check it out. It’s just a few blocks, some strips and 16 half-square triangles. I’m so excited at how quickly it came together and how cool it looks. I’m going to want to play with this design a little, I think.

So hey July, I’d love it if you let me finish this quilt this month. And maybe another for the big brother. But I’m not going to push it. Because we’re friends, and friends understand these things. We know how to keep it real when it’s time to get real. And we’re going to have some fun, promise.

* Just two spots left! If you are NJ-based and have always wanted to make a quilt (or learn how to finish one), give the girls at Rock Paper Scissors a call. It’s four Mondays starting July 8, and it’s going to be so much fun.