Diary of a Mad Fabri-Holic

Sunday, busy sunday...

Phew.  I am always 100 times more tired on Monday than on Friday.  Part of that is thanks to The Hubby's schedule which leaves me a single mom for much of the weekend, and part of it is just, we do a lot on weekends!  This weekend Princess Girl attended a birthday party- as did I- where NO children were beaten up!  We played in the yard lots.

 

A few lovely friends came over to watch a movie, knit and chat.  And eat yummy chocolate cake- a collaboration by me and The Hubby.  On Sunday I took both kiddos to the playground and ran them ragged,

then they napped and I...

...did some more work on the Ts.   I am up to 19 now, so I either need to recover 1 or 6 more from the garage.  These 5 come in part from my last garage scavenger hunt.   The weather is momentarily gorgeous, so I am hoping to get in there and look some more.  Our garage, by the way, is kind of a disaster.  It's full of stuff in boxes.  All the baby stuff and outgrown clothes, because it took me forever to really let go of the idea of the 3rd child.  Now, I just need to get busy and sell it all.  Also, The Hubby's defunct motorcycle, and TONS of my crap.  Somewhere in there are the rest of the Ts I can see in my head...

It's funny- working on this quilt has made me uber-nostalgic. I have broken out old CDs.  I have reminisced to unhealthy levels.   I have annoyed The Hubby with ramblings about way back when. And it's almost like I have sent some vibes out into the universe, because, last Weds. I found an email in my in-box from a boy from long ago.  Freshman year of high school, in fact- but he was a few years ahead.  I thought of him muchly over the years, and as it turns out, he too uprooted from suburban northern VA and ended up in- wait for it- CO!  Not so very very far from me at all.  (And he was here first, it seems!)  After learning that someone's husband (go congratulate her on her knitty.com publication!) went to high school with my husband back in MA, back in the 80s, I am starting to wonder if perhaps all everyone we went to high school with will eventually turn up near Boulder??  Anyway!  That email, and the ensuing virtual conversation, prompted me to do some good ole cyber stalking.  Thru the magic of Google and on-line resumes, I managed to touch base with my high school best friend.  We lost touch of each other ages ago- after Princes Girl was born, but we had drifted to a very distant place before then.  I am still trying to figure out how I feel about waking up these memories.  There's a lot of angst tied up in my high school self, and I don't want to let it all out again.  Then again, maybe some of this is a chance to feel better about some old stuff?  Who knows!  Meanwhile, I'll just keep plugging away at that memory quilt...

 

I coulda been a contender.

A post with no photos is boring.  Apparently, I am currently boring as I have no new project photos.  Here's my latest fabric indulgence: an 8-pack of FQs from the Fat Quarter Shop.
They're going to make a very very cute purse, soon.  The purse won't be from an Amy Butler pattern, though.

Now, on to the photo-less post!

Winter Olympic season brings up my fondest childhood fantasy: if I had only NOT lived on a desert island, I could have been a world class ice skater.  I wanted the spangly costumes (well, maybe not quite THIS YEAR's crop of spangly costumes...)  I wanted to fly fly fly up in the air and spin around- and have cute hair while I did it, of course.  I did not try to ice skate until I was about 8 or 9 years old.  When we lived in Bahrain, there was no rink. As I learned last night while watching a history-making skater, Turkey only has 2 ice rinks.  So the fact that I was able to skate at all while we lived there was a bigger deal than I realized- one of those 2 rinks was very close to our home.  But, no lessons in English, and my folks never pushed for it.  Probably because the rink was pretty crazy- a friend of mine got skated over so hard (that's right, this little girl fell and the big guy behind her went right over her thigh) that her leg was black and blue and cut up for ages...

But when we returned to the US, just in time for junior high, ugh, I enrolled in skating classes. It turned out that not only was I decent, but by age 12, I was already washed up.  An old maid, if you will.  I guess it makes sense in a sport when you can achieve the highest honor at age 15- with weird hair no less- but man, was it a buzzkill to find out I'd already missed my chance. Okay, I know- the odds are ridiculously high that I never had a chance at all, even if we had lived next door to the best rink in the world. 

But, whenever the Winter Olympics roll around, I get to watching TV.  And god bless Tivo for letting me skip all those other pesky sports I just don't care for or about.  And while I watch, I pretend to know what I'm talking about- ask the poor Hubby.  "Look at the height on that jump."  "Oh, her edge was off."  "I could tell she was going to fall by the tilt in her spin."  Regular Cliff Clavin of ice skating, that's me. So everyone, for a moment, pretend it's me on the ice in one of those almost-stripper-from-the-80s-outfits, and think of how cool I could have been.  ;-)

Meanwhile, on an injury note, I've given up my resolution to stop whining. That lasted what, 2 days??  Turns out I wasn't as ready to give up crutches and the small brace as I had thought.  My dr let me try a smaller brace- I begged for it as I was tired of the sexy fracture boot.  Yesterday was the first day in small support brace- and by last night, I was in agony. So back to the boot for me.  I'm also whiny because my co-workers tend to hand out cards at the drop of a hat- yesterday they passed around a birthday card for a consultant maybe 1/2 the staff even knows. But I didn't get a get well card, and when I came back from nearly a week out recuperating, I was not showered with the love I expected. So that has added to the whininess that I said would be vanquished.  Crap.

Thanks to all for the lovely comments on that baby girl quilt.  I think I'm going to try free motion wavy lines to compliment the vertical lines in the quilt.  Of course, as frequent readers know, I have zero free motion skills, so this could be interesting.  Back soon with better photos, I promise.

Things to do instead of finish my capstone, or the financial aid application for the fancy private school.

The queen of procrastination strikes again.

1. Take the kids to a movie.

2. Go to a slightly raunchy party with girlfriends.

3. Knit some of a purse.  (Front done, bought yarn to finish today.)

4. Play silly Internet games. 

5. Watch an old favorite on TV.

6. Take a nap.

7. Surf blog rings, more than once, just in case there are new posts.

8. Play with newly arrived fabric from Equilter.

(My hearts are on black, but apparently they sold out of that since I placed my order earlier this week...)

9.  Tell myself over and over agin that I have more than half of the draft done.

10.  Steal ideas from a friend...

Oooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

I decided that I have not been getting enough attention lately.  One friend has emergency surgery, one friend has surrogate twins by emergency c-section, one friend's husband takes an amazing new job- across the country, and one friend's dog is killed in a hit and run.  So, to get some attention, I hatched the brilliant plan to throw myself down the stairs at work.  Okay, maybe not so brilliant.  Don't I look lovely??  (It's a severe sprain but not a break, and the awful popping noise I heard when I hit the ground was apparently one bone pushing over another.  Eeewwwwww.)

  At least, I am still fabric related- see my lovely batik pillowcase under the hideous swollen ankle?

Very exciting- I swore up a blue streak in front of co-workers and some adorable catholic high school volunteers.  And then, getting to the car to go to the ER was quite a production- nothing like having your CEO hover over you when all you want to do is puke from pain, and die of embarrassment...  So, The Hubby happened to be in my neighborhood, and he came and got me, took me to the official workman's comp ER...  I had a trainee Xray tech- oh my god.  She had to keep fiddling and readjusting my ankle.  I thought I was going to die.  I actually screamed during one of the Xrays. I know, I'm a big baby. 

I'm home now on bedrest (oops,  I should leave the computer alone, huh?)  I was supposed to take today off to work on my thesis draft, due in 6 days.  But, I'm already starting to feel fairly icky from sitting without being able to elevate my foot.  So, back to bed and crappy daytime TV for me.  Wish I had something on needles to work on!!!

Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Elvis is in the Building!

Or at least, he will be soon. EPE has once again agreed to allow Cranston Village Fabrics the license to produce official Elvis fabric.  Can I even tell you how much this made my day?  Here are some images from their website of the fabrics, due to be in stores- any day now!!!!!!!!

There goes my no new fabric in 2006 resolution.  Maybe somewhere deep down I knew that they would again make Elvis fabric, and that's why I haven't started my Elvis quilt yet?  I do have quite a collection of Elvis fabric... painstakingly culled from eBay.  Tonya, I promise, when I finally make this quilt, it will have black velvet in it somewhere.  Probably also blue suede and gold lame, as well.

Other happy things: I finally updated the Stash Sunday blog.  I have almost finished my Suki knitted bag (one handle to finish, and then to felt it).  People keep admiring my tie bag :-)  Even total strangers.  Princess Girl has made it to the interview stage of the fancy schmancy private school we are hoping to send her to (Saturday is the actual interview date.)  The Stock Show is in town and we're going on Thursday night.  Yeehaw, Rodeo Action!!!  My sick friend came through the emergency okay (she could still use good thoughts) after scary emergency surgery.  I got to meet a blog friend in person- and that was nifty!

Now, since I told Amy that I'd post this someday when I didn't have a new FO to share...  Here's my Asian log cabin that has the Alexander Henry (?) kitty fabric in it...

Again, click on it for a bigger image...  I quilted it myself, terribly.  Don't judge me too harshly.  At least it's an FO, right?

MeMe x4

The Lovely and Talented Jeanne tagged me (at least, I think she meant me Samantha, but there are a lot of us these days...)

Four jobs you've had: quilt shop employee, coat check/beer bar/receptionist at a wild Boston nightclub, a professional fundraiser, and, several internships...

Four movies you could watch over and over: garden state, lord of the rings (#1), hmm, this is tough as I like NEW movies and don't watch things over and over a lot, but also 16 Candles and Pretty in Pink, etc.

Four places you've lived: Boston, MA; London, England; Istanbul, Turkey; and Manama, Bahrain... and more more more

Four TV shows you love to watch: Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, Desperate Housewives.

Four places you've been on vacation: Las Vegas, NV; Italy; Poland; Alaskan cruise; more more and more...

Four websites you visit every day: stashbusters/maverick/quilter's lounge webrings, Flickr, Netflix, the website for Train Boy's class at daycare.

Four of your favorite foods: sushi!!!!, Godiva champagne truffles, decadent Italian, and broccoli cheese soup

Four places you'd rather be: at home sewing, in Las Vegas playing, at a thrift store with unlimited funds, or at a bookstore with unlimited funds...

Four albums you can't live without: this changes frequently but right now I am on a soundtrack kick- Wicked, Rent, Phantom of the Opera, and also all my Johnny Cash. Don't mess with my Johnny Cash!

Four people you'll pass this on to: Ms. Pink, Mary Frances, Jenifer and Tonya.

And because nobody likes a post without photos... 

Here's my Tumbling Blocks.  All batik.  Very Maverick-y- Istarted on one machine and finished on another, so, I had to fight hard to get the seam allowances to work...  It hangs in our bedroom now.  I love it despite its marked imperfections...

The Pity-Party is OVER- it's safe to come out now!

I thought I'd try this another way today. Instead of all the things that got me down yesterday, we're going to look at things that made me happy today.  I'm going to make it a wee bit of a photo essay, too...  (And there are crafty things in here, if you're into that;-) )

1. The party I took the kids to last night was really fun.  Some friends of ours throw it every year- and Santa always comes.  You sneak a gift in before hand, and Santa passes them out to everyone.  Great pot luck, friendly people, so much good ole holiday spirit.  See? (Train boy got- shocking- a Thomas Xmas train- I scored it for $5 at Ross last year when it was out of season- and he hasn't let go of it voluntarily since.  He's even sleeping with it.)  I did debate not going last night as I was so angry at Princess Girl for the poop, but, not fair to Train Boy, and what was I supposed to do with the 2 giant tuns of dee-licious pasta salad made by The Hubby?
2. Stopped at Ross yesterday to pick up some last minute Xmas gifts, and got myself the most comfy, cute jammies for $12. Also did get the last minute gifts, so that was nice to be done with. 
3. The Hubby found, in a box, buried, 2 CDs that we treasure- each one contains one song written just for us by my Aunt Karen.  She is amazing and gifted, and pretty well known, too.  One song was written for our wedding, and the other for Princess Girl when she was 3 weeks old.  We had thought they were lost forever. Today I uploaded them to the computer so I will never ever lose them again.  (Both songs have the power to make my bawl.  Our song was played for us for the first time at our wedding, and I cried the whole way thru.)
4. Today I spent nice time with the family at Disney on Ice- and Finding Nemo on blades was  way better than I would have expected.  The choreography was good, the costumes fantastic, and the skaters were REALLY into it. Needless to say, both children had fun.  So much fun we almost forgot that we paid $7 for 2 ice cold hot dogs.  That was a fun conversation with the concession staff...
5. Because the hot dogs were icky and cold, we stopped for lunch at Panera on the way home.  Their cheddar broccoli soup can cure me of nearly anything.
6. When we got home, I finished the bowls for Xmas.  Yes, yes I did.  Oh my gosh, I did.  (Which means now I can work on other things, like my art-bra challenge piece, without guilt!)  6 bowls for teachers, 6 for family.  Here are the new teacher bowls, for Princess Girl's teachers.   Can you find Elvis in this picture?  Miss Carrie, who we adore, is a huge Elvis fan, like me, and she and Princess Girl bonded over that love way back in the day.  Tomorrow, we bake the cookies to put into the bowls.  Peanut butter w/Hershey's kisses, cut-out sugar cookies the kids will decorate, and my world-famous peppermint bark brownies.
7. The Hubby brought some delish cheesecake home from a party at his work last night (he works in a big ole museum that is often rented out for private affairs, and sometimes we benefit, food-wise.)
8. Look what my house looks like tonight- just enough snow to be really gorgeous! Yes, one strand burned out, but this IS a post about being happy, damn-it.  Also- wanna see my outdoor flamingo, all you flamingo fans? See how he's having a conversation with the reindeer? If you can't tell, the flamingo is made out of an old shovel and other yard equipment.  (Weird aside: I am SO much like my Dad.  The Hubby got me this flamingo as a wedding anniversary gift- and I had been begging for it.  My Dad, unbeknownst to us, bought himself a peacock by the same artist at nearly the exact same time.  My folks live in SC, me in CO.  How weird was that?)
9. Remember how I was crabby cause my mom accidentally ruined my Xmas gift from The Hubby?  She sent an envelope to ME, not marked DO NOT OPEN TIL XMAS or anything like that. When I opened it, out came a gift card sleeve with this logo emblazoned upon it: . Yeah, why did that ruin my present?  We own nothing made by Apple.  Nothing.  Hmmm.  I didn't think they'd get me a gift card to buy a whole new computer, so I assumed I was getting an iPod.  (A few weeks back The Hubby proudly told me he was getting me an awesome gift, so, it was possible.)  After I told him about my mom's mistake, he said, can I just give it to you today?  Normally I would have said NO and waited- really- but, he seemed so eager. And, I figured, I can get it all set up before I go in for four hours of tattooing next week...  So, voila: a VIDEO iPod!!!  Did you know you can also store digital photos on it?   And watch some TV shows??  It was to be for my birthday, and he even went to the trouble to get shiny pink paper and a pouffy pom pom thing. Honey, I love you, and would have even without the snazzy gift, but man, I do like it.  The only downside is I can't seem to find a lot of my CDs from the move (a year ago tomorrow, in fact), which is lame.  So, I'll be scouring the remaining boxes ASAP.

So, as you can plainly read, today I am happier.  Thanks for all the love in the comments and email- it really helped!  Tonya is so right- as old friendships fade, I'm expanding into wonderful new ones.  Deb, I WISH I had made some martinis last night- I'm dying to try out Peppermintinis with ice cream...  Bonnie, thanks for the compliments on my kid quilts.  I have made that damn YBR pattern so many times I can nearly do it eyes closed, but I think, with a rotary cutter, that could be bad.  It is the perfect fast kid pattern- you can really show off a novelty print, and get it done in a night.  Everyone, you are simply the best for putting up with me in the mood that I was in yesterday.  I just might make it through the weekend after all. 

Oh, #10- tomorrow night, annual sushi dinner with my best girlfriends.  We'll be missing 2 this year, but, it's always one of the best nights of the year!

Hold your applause...

I know, I know, you're all in awe of my amazing knitting skills.  Well, please hold your applause.  I have been working on the scarf, and, well, I have made some mistakes.  See?  #1.  JoAnn's didn't have the exact same yarn as the pattern suggested, so I improvised.  Let it be known here and now- a quilter who is posing as a knitter should NOT improvise.  The yarn was ?thinner?, if that's the right term, so I cast on some extra stitches. And, well, instead of that lovely scarf I was picturing, I appear to be knitting a baby blanket.  For a largish baby!  Ooops.  #2.  My scarf seems to be getting wider as I go.  I was so proud of myself for learning how to change colors (at the beginning of a row) by following the Stitch and Bitch instructions.  I seem to have missed a step, and my scarf blanket appears to be getting wider after each color change.  Hmm.  Still, knitting it is very soothing, and I figure, if nothing else, I'm getting good practice on my knitting stitch. Plus, the size 17 needles scare The Hubby a bit, which may come in handy.  And, because I was knitting, I didn't have to concentrate too much on the abysmal movie we watched last night.  George Lucas, you should be ashamed.  I've seen better high school plays.  I'm sure, based on my kids ages, that I will soon see better elementary school plays.  Yikes.  I'll take Harrison Ford over Hayden Christenson (sp?) any day.

I was surfing around one of my favorite blogs where I am, yes, a lurker, and discovered something too much fun to resist.  It's called Frappr, and you can create a shared group map where folks can identify their locations, and say hi.  So, I beg all you faithful readers, click on my Frappr link down in the "Surfin Safari" section of the right hand sidebar.  Sign up!  Let me know you are out there- and where there is.  You can even leave your blog address in your message, so others can come visit you!  I've already met one new "friend"- very nifty.  I have a feeling, based on how often I check my Flickr photos, that I will soon be a Frappr junkie, too.

On a similar note- lately I've gotten many emails from cool chicas all over the globe who've been reading my blog.  It totally makes my day to find an email from a stranger telling me how much they enjoy reading this humble little endeavor.  Please, please, gentle readers, feel free to leave comments.  I love to know I'm not alone on the Internet, just typing to hear myself talk.  Or some other mixed metaphor.

FYI, The Hubby has to work 3 nights this week, blech, so I promise I will have the time to quilt, and post about it, before Sunday.  Stay tuned oh faithful quilt-watchers, I swear, I'm not abandoning you for knitting.  Just spreading my wings.  And thank god for you, the wind beneath my wings.  LOL.  Sorry, but now perhaps I can make you ALL have that song stuck in your head all day, since it's been stuck in mine...

Vail-cation! (and stash sunday)

Phew.  What a weekend. Friday, I went to an awards luncheon for work, which was very lovely as a group of kids we nominated for their work at the shelter got a statewide award!  Very cool.  And a nice lunch out.  Sadly, Princess Girl is fighting a nasty cold, and so the kids stayed home from daycare and spent the day with dad.  I picked them up on my way home, stuffed Sonic into them, and got them to bed. 

Then, a wonderful old friend came over to my place, and gave me a Knitting 101 lesson (interspersed with girl-talk, and vodka!)  What a great night.  Keep in mind, I've been knitting for less than 48 hours, but here's what I've tried so far:

I guess it could potentially turn into a scarf for Princess Girl.  There's lots of dropped stitches and stuff.  I'm both knitting AND purling!  It's very cool.  I am using the Stitch and Bitch book, and there's a scarf I'm hoping to try ASAP!

Saturday AM I raced around like crazy running errands, and then joined some fabulous girlfriends for a night away from it all- in Vail.  I've never been to Vail before.  Honestly, didn't see much of it on this trip, either.  We borrowed a condo from a friend's boss, and it was wonderful.  On the way TO Vail, we stopped at the outlet mall, and everyone had some fun.  Then, in Vail, dinner out with amazing food, and booze, and then the hot tub, followed by an evening of Ouija Board antics.  Apparently, the spirits were pissed at me.  I"m not having any more kids, and I'm never going to finish this, or any thesis. And there was something else bad for me, but I was tired and tipsy by that point and remember nothing.  Nothing!  Today we returned to the real world of our lives and children and stuff.  Sigh.  The worst part was a tie between the one hour it took to get breakfast at Village Inn today, and, the $140 I had to shell out to the sitter thanks to The Hubby's lousy work schedule.  But, it was worth it to get away for one sweet night.  I'll just pretend the $$ was spent on a hotel room, which somehow seems more reasonable to me...

And, I didn't forget Stash Sunday. Since today's theme was something old, I pulled out 2 orphan blocks from my 1st ever quilt project.  Here are two blocks, totally hand pieced, that didn't make it into the final quilt:

I even still have scraps of some of the fabrics left!  They have made it into several subsequent projects.

Hor-o-scopes and more

Hooray for the beginning of a new month, as the Hor-O-Scopes are out!  I stumbled onto Crazy Aunt Purl through some serious blog surfing a while back, and I do adore her horoscopes!  Check 'em out!

Thanks to the commentors and emailers for the sweet comments on the food, party, and my sad friendship.  The party was a blast, but I think in my darkest secret heart, I harbor dreams of being Martha Stewart.  Funkier than she, and with less of a criminal record, but that polished and perfect.  So, I tend to see any small shortcoming as a disaster.  My problem, and I am working on it.

On a quilting note, I learned through Deb S. of an amazing new group formed by Carol Doak.  It's for quilters to share our largess with less fortunate quilters, specifically those affected by the recent hurricanes.  I can't imagine losing my entire stash, and maybe even all my completed projects.  If you think you might want to help out, check it out.   Hey, all my Stash Sunday pals- maybe we can get rid of some of our stashes, so we can buy more.  No, wait, that's not what I meant.  I meant, we can help fellow quilters get back to quilting.  I know it's my sanity and stress relief, and I imagine people affected by the storms need that more than me.

Also on a quilting note, I'll be avoiding my UFOs for one more week at least.  I have a pregnant co-worker, due in 6 weeks.  They chose to let the baby's sex remain a secret so I was going to whip out a quilt as soon as the little one made an appearance.  However, this late in the pregnancy, they *may* have found a serious problem.  My poor co-worker is being told that they'll just have to wait it out and see, but the baby may have serious problems when s/he arrives.  Needless to say, my friend is traumatized and living in sort of a shadow state. So I'm doing what I hate to do, and making a gender neutral quilt, and getting it to her ASAP.  Something happy and tangible to hold on to.  All my blog pals, can you send prayers or good energy (your choice) out her way?  Thanks.

I thrifted again last night, and found the coolest cow print boots.  Also an adorable vintage handbag, and some of those great 50s grapes for my coffee table!  I think I am an addict.  Oh well.  Also got The Hubby a shirt that is beyond belief, but has no time to photograph it today.  Let's just say, pin-up cowgirls.

And for you Sublime Stitchers, new patterns! Sushi will be coming to my home ASAP!  Now, says my inner Martha, that's a damn good thing.