Diary of a Mad Fabri-Holic

A place(mat) for everything and everything in its place(mat).

As a final hurrah for Project Spectrum June BLUE, I started a set of place-mats for my mom. SHHHH!  They're for my folk's wedding anniversary next month.  And, I do plan to get them something to go along with them so it's not just a gift for my mom...  My mom has blue and white dishes.  They're nice. Not my style, but then, when is any blue aside from peacock or turquoise my style?  I whipped out my blue stash, pulled some pieces that I think will work for her dishes, going all by memory here,

and got to work.  As all 6 of their kitchen chairs are different styles, I plan to make 6 unique place-mats.  I've been wanting to play with place-mats ever since the lovely wonderful post over on Whip Up a few weeks back...   Since the post was by Weeks Ringle, author of Modern Quilt Workshop, and referred to some techniques in the book, I got out my copy and played along.

I am pleased with the simplicity of place-mat #1.  I simply cut strips of varying widths and laid them out in what I found to be a pleasing manner.

I like this one quite a bit.  Modest much?

Then, I tried the method described in Modern Quilt Workshop for the "unifinished business" quilt.  I'm not so much in love with this one. I feel like I wasted lots of fabric, and also, like it's too busy.  But, I do think, with practice and experimentation, I could get a better handle on this method.  Probably.

So, two place-mat tops done, 4 to go.  Hopefully I'll have some time this weekend. 

But, I'm also chomping  at the bit to start my Project Spectrum July Purple project(s).  Cause, let's be honest, this is my month to shine!!!  I want to finish my T-shirt quilt this month.  I want to make a new bed quilt for our room.  But, I'm torn between the Love Beads from Modern Quilt Workshop (see Sarah's here), or Snake Charmer in Denyse Schmidt Quilts, or, Hop Skip Jump from the same book (check out Mel's wonderful in progress one here).

What to do, what to do?  While I contemplate my many fabulous options, I'll leave you with two truly adorable pictures of the kids from over the holiday weekend...

These were taken at different festivals on different days- we had a lot of face-painting this weekend.

Zip-a-dee-do-dah, Zip-a-dee-a, My Oh My, What a Wonderful Day!

That's right, the zipper quilt top is done!

Now, to decide how to quilt it, or to send it out like the lazy gal I am.  What would you do- if you truly sucked at machine quilting?

But that is not the only reason it was a zip-a-dee-do-dah day.  Daycare is back open.  My kids' school is cruel and closes from 12/22 thru 1/2.  So, the kids have been home that whole time.  Yet, we still have to work, which makes for some interesting juggling and wasted vacation time, etc.  And did I mention, the tuition for December is the same as for every other month?  Nice.  But today, they went back.  Thank God.

AND- the best news of the day- Scrubs is back!  With my oh-so-lovely secret boyfriend Zach Braff.  Ahhh.  My TiVo and I are so happy.

And it was also a zippy day in that we got some belated Xmas gifts.  BIL and my folks.  Another JoAnns card, can always find a good use for that.  And the gifts from BIL were, well, odd.  Oh, and FIL forgot my birthday, sort of, and to make up for it, he sent me a surprisingly large check.  So, I splurged and bought a ton of my wish list books from Amazon.  As for the rest, either yarn and needles, or, toward a new lens for my camera.  All good things!  **Frequent readers may remember that BIL never says thanks- still not this year, even via email, for his lovely handmade gift.  He's officially off my list from now on!

I also spent some time last night making a list.  But not checking it twice- again, too lazy.  I made a list of my UFOs, and it was shocking.  I put it in the sidebar on the right, but my HTML skills make it kind of a pain to read.  I also made a list of things I want to do soon.  Not so long- probably because I felt so guilty about the UFOs.  Oh my lord, how did it get so bad??  At least 2 of them I know got shunted aside as I was making them for our old house (we moved 13 months ago) and they don't actually match the new house.  2 got put off due to lack of supplies- Steam a Seam and also stabilizer.  1 was really tricky and I got bored.  1 I took a class on, then got home and just didn't know how to proceed.  Does that cover them all?  Probably not...  I have seen, while bouncing around the blog-o-sphere, that many folks make "No New UFO" resolutions, and I'm going to jump on that bandwagon.  Anything started in 2006, ends in 2006.  As for the earlier ones, well, I'm working on 'em.  Really.

Adventures in copyrighting...

Firstly, I am feeling significantly better today- apparently the mere threat of a visit to the dr was enough to start the healing process.  So, The Hubby has the assignment of calling the insurance company to find out why the kids and I don't have cards, but meanwhile, I am at work. Actually, very peaceful today.  No one is here, practically.  I am reveling in a newly purchased album download on my iPod, and working away.  Really.

On New Year's Eve, I did 2 more rows on the zipper quilt.  What a glamorous life I lead ;-)  It's starting to actually look like a zipper!  I hope to have the top done this week, and then to answer the ultimate, eternal question: quilt it myself or send it out??

There's a new ring in town, ladies!  The Quilter's Lounge is open- and so far, it seems like a great place to hang out!  I've joined the web-ring, which is aimed for ALL quilters regardless of art/traditional/etc. boundaries, and the discussions over at the Lounge site itself look promising as well.  Check it out!

Yesterday I had an adventure at Kinkos.  I took in 2 of my lovely new books of bag patterns, and wanted to get the patterns enlarged to the actual, workable sizes.  The sizes printed on the patterns that said "copy at 200%" etc.  But the lovely, conscientious gentleman at Kinkos refused to make any copies for me since I didn't have a waiver from the publishers.  Um, hello, these are pattern books. I do own them, and I did purchase them with the intent of making the bags inside.  I have no desire to sell them- these are going to be bags for myself, or for me to give as gifts.  I am doing exactly what the author of the book intended with her stuff.  Mr. Kinkos did offer to set me up on the self service machine (so basically, the Kinkos policy appears to be that *I* can use their machines to break the law, with their help even, but they won't do it for me), but I had about 20 pages to copy and enlarge to odd sizes (167%. 110%. 400%, etc.) and I was in a foul mood (my mouth was still screaming in pain at that point).  I had planned to drop off the books, with instructions, and pick up my enlargements on the way to work today.  So, I left in a fouler foul mood.  Then, when I got home, I noticed that the copyright statement on one of the books did actually state "Permission is granted to reproduce these patterns for personal use."  Which was exactly what I wanted to do.  But, I was too crabby to go back to Kinkos.  I'll try again later this week.  I know some of you lovely readers are pattern designers and have copyrights on your work.  And some of you must have tried to reproduce patterns in a larger size to actually use them?  Did I do anything all that wrong?

Zzzzzzzzzzzzipping along!

Okay, I managed to squeeze in a teensy bit of quilting this week, between the virus from hell, and the end-of-year rush at work (people racing to make their charitable gifts by the end of the tax year...  Historically, the busiest week of the year in my line of work...)  Speaking of work- an awesome blog/real world thing happened!  I "met" a fellow blogger, Lisa, a few weeks ago.  She lives not so very far from me at all, and she is quite an amazing quilter/artist.  She and her kids had worked on some Katrina quilts, but for various reasons, needed to finish them up later, and were looking to find a good home for them locally.  So, drumroll please, Lisa stopped by my house last night and donated them to my work.  Hooray!  We will either use them on the beds in the nap room (a place where women can safely and comfortably get rest away from the streets) or, if that's not right, we will give them to a housed woman in need of nice bedding.  Either way, the generosity of a quilter made the world better today!  Go, quilters!  (I imagine us jumping into the air, fists pumped, like some 1970s cartoon...)  FYI, I didn't think to photograph them myself, but Lisa has them pictured here on her blog.

So, I worked a wee bit on the Zipper Quilt., when not feeling like I was going to burn up, freeze, or die.

I got 2 rows pieced.  It's a bit more time consuming than my usual work as the zipper teeth are so small.  But, it's such a nifty effect.  For anyone interested, you can click the button on the right hand sidebar and go visit many many other Modern-Quilt-Alongers.  Cool to see what is coming out of this quilt.

Also began to make a Margaret bag from this book.  (It's the one on the bottom left side of the cover).  The wild fabric is the outside, the orangish is the lining- 100% stash!  This is a test bag to see how it comes out- I have some lovely Amy Butler stuff waiting until I am certain I won't mess it up. I am dying to make about a million bags- but of course, I haven't got the time right now.  Oh, and I was offended slightly by one of my new bag making books.  The author suggests buying pre-bundled fabric, as the people in the store can make it match better than you can. How very un-Mavericky!  And potentially dull, as well.  The book itself is fantastic, though, so I guess I can forgive her for catering to a nervous audience.

I also might maybe have done some on-line fabric shopping at some of the year end blow out sales.  Maybe ;-)  Here's my pride and joy purchase- perhaps the weirdest novelty I have ever succumbed to...

Meanwhile, your heroine has been fighting of the Skanky Virus.  That's what I want to call it, cause that's what it is.  Skanky.  I had the worst sore throat and really fun hot/cold flashes for a few days, and now have the most painful canker sore in history (TMI?  Sorry!).  I can barely eat, but I am starving.  Not really fair.  Wah.  Maybe I'll lose some weight this way, though.

Hope the rest of you are going to ring in the New Year with more vim and vigor than me.  If my mouth heals before 2006, I'll be so happy!  (Oh, and for those of you wondering, my back is doing fantastically- healing up really well, and now just itchy.  I have been lifting the back of my shirt all over the place to show it off.  I love the fact that I work in a place where I am treated like a professional, I raised $100,000 in the last few weeks, and yet, my CEO enjoyed checking out my new tattoo...)

Up Close and Personal

For those who may be interested, here are 2 tattoo photos. Please, imagine me skinny?  And, imagine New Zealand, and also the small red stars or dots that will mark where I've been... I have now gotten over my shock, and am really quite liking it, save for the new zealand issue. 

Also- I played around with the Zipper layout, and like this much better- seems more balanced to me:

PS Can you make out the gnomes on my jammies?  I may be wearing 'em all day, as I woke up with a nasty sore throat and by the time I was ready to leave for work, felt so lousy that I called in sick instead...

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Happy Boxing Day to all...  Did everyone make it thru Xmas okay?  I did, but man am I beat.  And back to the grind already.

I was spoiled rotten by my family.  Truly.  Piles of knitting and purse/bag making books.  2 of some even- hoping for an easy exchange...  A gift card to JoAnns- i can buy notions!  And some lovely, wonderful cash- I see a yarn store trip in my future. Mrs Pink, care to escort me and help me pick supplies for my first attempt at a knitted bag??  And, wonderfully, the Wicked soundtrack. Which is already uploaded to my iPod for listening pleasure.  Yippee!  And did I mention, new jammies (with GNOMES on 'em!!) and a new nightshirt?  Sheer luxury! 

The kids also spoiled rotten.  As you can see, Princess Girl DID appreciate her new quilt:
The detritus of a present opening orgy is scattered about her...
Train Boy is recovering from his headfirst encounter with a swing.  The black eye is fading to green, and last night, for the first night since Thurs when it happened, he actually did NOT wake up screaming in pain!  Score! 
Santa did deliver for both of them- and they are thrilled. Princess Girl rec'd a veterinarian play set, and I'm pleased to report all her stuffed animals are doing well.  Train Boy got- shocking- some new train stuff, and he's pretty much been doing that non-stop.  This morning, instead of waking up The Hubby and I (as always), he went straight to the family room and started playing!  Speaking of The Hubby, he got some lovely gifts, including a special request scarf:
Also, fantastic towels with neat applique, and a silly apron.  Life was good at Casa Fabri-holic, except for a slight delay with dinner. And, FYI, 4.5 year olds and 2 year olds, no matter how adventurous, don't seem to like oyster stew.

So, now that the holidays are over, what's a girl to do?  Well, as I was surprise-gifted at work with some amazing gifts from co-workers, I'll be having an emergency bowl session.  Sigh.  And, I got back to work on my Modern Quilt Along zipper quilt!  It's cut and ready to piece, but i think the top right corner is too dark, so I need to keep screwing around with the layout...  I'm liking it- it's very cool blue purples, and I usually lean to more pinkish/red shades, so this is fun!

Also, with all those new bag books, I'll be getting to work on some Tote Along projects.  I hope to start the first one tonight, in fact.

And, on Xmas Eve, I got an extra bonus gift!  My fabulous living room wall quilt  (remember this?  )had been quilted and was ready for pick up at the LQS.  I didn't think I'd see it before Valentine's so that was wonderful.  It's almost bound, but I'm going to be a Grinch and not post photos until it is hanging on the wall.  I am loving it- stay tuned to see it in place later this week.  And of course, now I want to make a bowl for- ME!  To coordinate with the quilt and live on the coffee table.

FYI, the swelling and redness are MUCH better on the tattoo, and I am now officially LOVING it.  Although, New Zealand is missing, so, I'll have to go back in. And, I'm nearly done compiling the list of places I've traveled, so at some point in the near future, we can add the red stars tracing my journeys...  I really appreciate everyone's support through my after-anxiety-attack!  I have one other, small tattoo of an ankh on my left shoulder, and that one didn't hurt at all, so I was ill prepared for this. I decided, it hurt way less than having Princess Girl (but that was a nightmare, as many of you know) but way way more than having Train Boy (who admittedly was born 13 minutes after we arrived at the hospital and wasn't exactly difficult).  There was one spot on the left side, upper back, where I almost got up and ran away- and that spot still, while healing, hurts more than all the rest of it.  I think it's looking better enough that I will take some photos tonight!

Phew.  I think, that's it from me.   Was that a marathon post, or what?

Modern Quilt Along!!

Well, as I'm racing around trying to finish handmade gifts for my A-list relatives and the kid's 6 teachers (3 per class) by the end of next week, my modern quilt along zipper quilt is sort of languishing on the cutting table.  It's maybe 1/3 cut out.  I'm doing batiks, a la Angela.  I however am a long time batik addict- something about the richness of the color and the changes from inch to inch of the fabric just sucks me in every time.  Since I have an insane stash of purple batiks (can we say obsession?), my zipper quilt is going to be a total stash quilt, which makes Judy happy too!  I absolutely adore the Modern Quilt workshop book- so clean and neat and modern looking.  Makes me wish my whole home were decorated by West Elm and Flor.  Anyway!  I chose the zipper pattern because it was the one that led me to the book, thanks to Mel, and seeing her progress on Flickr.  And I'm doing the smallest size for stash purposes- easiest to handle.  Plus, it can be a wall-hanging, and then I can move on to Love Beads or one of the other amazing quilts in the book!!!  Here's a photo of the purples I am using- pre-cutting as I haven't photographed the sad small pile of rectangles yet. 

Okay, I doubt I'll make it back to post tonight, so here's today's ornament.  In honor of the MQA, it's a funky one of a kind piece I bought at the Denver Art Museum about 4 years ago.  Yes, it is a painted light bulb that hangs on the tree with beaded wire.  I LOVE it and it goes super high up ever year to keep it safe from the lovely kids...