Diary of a Mad Fabri-Holic

Cowltastic Cavity

Today I dealt with one of my biggest fears.

I had a cavity filled at the dentist. 

May not sound like such a big deal to you, but it was for me.  Until this year, I've had perfect teeth.  No fillings, braces, poking, prodding, or anything.  Just some sealant back in high school.  But earlier this year the dentist found 2 itty bitty cavities.  I've always been terrified of the dentist, but after Annie's disastrous birth and my post-natal struggles with PTSD, any medical procedure (no matter how minor) sends me into a tailspin.  Allowing someone to stick a giant needle into my gums, then a drill into my teeth, well, not so good.  I made it through with a combination of willpower, nitrous, and Tina Fey's Bossypants on my iPod...

Then I went home and took to my bed, where I finished this knit:

It's the Honey Cowl by madelinetosh, a free download. I shook things up a bit by swapping out the Tosh DK for some Tosh Merino Light that I bought in DC last summer.  The tosh was in the most amazing colorway- a shimmer magenta/fuschia/purple- called Lepidoptera.  Seriously one of the most amazing shades of yarn I have ever seen.  BUT- and it's a big but (heh)- the 2 skeins varied more dramatically than almost any I have ever bought.

See what I mean? Oops!  But- again with the buts!- I handled this challenge cleverly.  To get gauge for the pattern, I held 2 strands together for the entire knit. Shear genius.  Gave me the right thickness AND blended the colors of the 2 skeins!  Whee!  I am totally thrilled with the outcome of this knit.  However (not but this time?), it did feel like it lasted a lot longer than 2 weeks.  It was excellent TV knitting, in that it required NO thought after the first repeat. (Also a good whiplash knit, as I didn't have to look down at the knit while I was working on it.)  Tedious, but stunning in the end.

Dontcha think?

How NOT To Close a Quilt Shop

For more than 30 years, the Great American Quilt Factory, also known locally as GAQF, has been a staple of the local fabric scene...  The closest shop to my house, and the first store I hit when we moved here 11 years ago, it was never my favorite (prices at the high end, not my favorite for customer service), but they offered great classes, had a huge fabric and thread selection, and generally served as a hub for all sorts of quilt-y activity. 

About 2 weeks ago, out of what seemed like nowhere, customers received an email (or in my case, oddly, snail mail) stating that the owners would be retiring immediately, and the store closing sale would commence ASAP.  The letter detailed the exclusivity of the sale and the need to bring your invite to shop- as the sale would not be open to the public until 2/16.

So I rearranged my work schedule to spend a Thursday morning bargain hunting.  I arrived before the store opened, as a serious shopper should, and noticed the first problem immediately.

The "secret sale" was advertised in 3 feet high neon letters... Hmm...  By the time the store opened there were at least a hundred people in line, and more pouring in every second.  No invites were checked.  The store rapidly became a teeming mass of humanity.  There was no room to walk, let alone shop- or even breathe. It was bad enough for me, but for the elderly shoppers, or moms who had brought little ones with them, it was a very special kind of hell.

Lines at the cutting tables were stacked 25 deep...  Some older, highly overdressed gentlemen were directing people to sign up for the prize drawings- a very very bizarre collection of non-fabric related electronic items that you could win by earning "prize dollars" through inane things like revealing your weight, or bringing in multiple family members.  These gentlemen turned out to work for the consulting firm that was apparently actually paid to "organize" this disaster.  If I knew the name of the company, I'd lodge a complaint with the BBB.

I finally made it to the front of the cutting table line- and while I was in the line, a fire marshall came in to examine the chaos.  He ordered people out of certain areas, and stopped the influx of new shoppers, but only temporarily.  It didn't seem to help at all, and I wish so much he'd put a stop to things then. 

I made it from the cutting table to the checkout line after about an hour in the store- and that was when it got really, really, horrible.  The line wasn't just stagnant, it was not moving, not even an inch.  After 15 minutes without any movement, someone went to check- and it turned out there were 4 lines- and only 2 were "real"- the other 2 were not being served at all.  Guess where I was?  Yeah.  Fun.  They started feeding from all 4 lines at that point, and we began to move foward at a pace that would have shamed a snail.  After 2 freaking hours, I had made it about halfway to the front.

Yes, I waited in the line for 2 hours.  I had cut fabric, and a gorgeous full bolt of high quality black solid, and a huge collection of aurafil thread, and damnit, I was going to buy it. Except I actually HAD to get to work by this point.  The "consultant" could not give me an answer as to what to do about the items I had been trying to purchase for two full hours, and finally, I found a store employee who let me leave my full basket, along with credit card info, in the back room to purchase the next day.

Want to know what exactly made the line move so slowly?  For a sale advertised to thousands of customers, the "consultants" did not advise the store to rent more registers or credit card machines than normal.  So, they had 2 registers and ONE credit card machine to serve the hundreds of folks in line.  Oh, and they weren't accepting checks, so, guess how everyone was paying?

My amazing husband went back on Friday (his day off) right at opening and went straight to the register.  He managed to claim my items, but, thanks to the VERY crabby employee at the cash register, I ended up being overcharged- some thread made it onto the charge, but not into the bag.  I still came out ahead, but, that really cut into my savings.

All that agony for this tiny pile.  I'd be happier if you could see two more spools of aurafil.  But that black will be put to very, very good use.

The saddest part was that this 30 year institution went out on such a horrid note.  I sincerely hope the so-called "consultants" refunded every penny they were paid.  I've never seen such a clusterf*** in my life- and if quilters weren't by nature such nice people, it could have been even uglier.

Withdrawal is a brutal thing....

My.home.internet.is.broken.

Aside from death or injury of a loved one, this may be the worst thing that could happen to me.  I *might* have a small internet addiction issue.  I do everything on-line, except order groceries.  And that only because The Hubby actually enjoys the grocery store... Comcast is blaming a windstorm (for my cable internet going out?  'Kay.  Whatever.)  And they can't come to look at it until Sunday.

Sunday?  By then I may be curled up on the floor babbling like an infant.  So, this sneaky post-from-work will have to tide me over until then.

I'm better.  Ish.  I feel better, but I'm still coughing a bit, and also, my voice still scares small children.  Including my own.  And The Hubby is sick now, though hopefully not as miserable as I was.  Our dr has confirmed that I had merely a summer cold. It's possible that it was a record breaking summer cold, but that's all.  No plague.  Thank you for all the well wishes.  According to the doc, this one is realllly making the rounds, so, keep your Purell handy, folks!

Last night I felt better enough to keep a twice postponed appointment with my long-armer.  I took in 4 quilts.   

Train Boy's Fishy Quilt

it will be quilted with a lovely design of fish, whales, and wave designs in turquoise. 

Our friend Ben's big brother quilt, named "All About E"

It will be quilted in a turquoise variegated thread with that same stunning pattern of Karen's design that you all liked so much here.

And my most recent creation, tentatively titled "Can a Bohemian be a Square?"  (I loved the suggestion of La Vie Boheme, from Marsaili, but I want to save it for another project from my leftover fabric from this project...)

This one will be done in coral thread, with another fantastic squarish pattern of Karen's. As we flipped through her books, she and I both yelled (well I croaked!) YES at the exact same moment.  So we must be right.

And the 4th.  Well, I've left that one at Karen's place to percolate.  Remember this?

Poor, neglected Snakes on a Bed.  I made this Snake Charmer, pattern by Denyse Schmidt, nearly a full year ago. And it has sat in the closet waiting for me to tie it ever since.  The original is tied and it looks great.  But lately, I've thought that a) I'll never keep my backing from puckering if I try to do this myself and b) tieing won't hold up if this is to be a heavily used bed quilt...  So, I took it to Karen.  She's trying to come up with the most perfect quilting idea for it ever.  We discussed echo quilting the snakes, but she had some concerns about the centers.  Any ideas, anyone?  The quilt is going to hang out on her design wall for a while to inspire her...  Eventually, I'll get this thing onto my bed.  Really.

Meanwhile, I'm about to venture into life unplugged for the weekend.

If I make it, I'll talk to you all after the repair guys come Sunday.  Unless they can't repair it.  But, I'm not going to think about that.

The Lost Weekend

In the interest of full accuracy, that title should read more like "The Lost 5 days and counting."

Germs have struck Casa Di Fabriholic, in the most painful way.  By which I mean, the germs got ME.  Princess Girl had a quickie summer cold last Sunday/Monday.  She and I stayed home together Monday.  While mostly she slept and watched TV, and I worked from home, we did venture out for chocolate chip pancakes as I firmly believe in their healing powers.  And it worked- she was totally fine by 5pm Monday evening.  Our entire family seemed spared.

And then, Thursday evening, with no warning at all, the germs re-invaded our happy home.  They struck at me this time, and they won.  Some godawful virus that I'm hoping isn't the first American human case of bird flu has knocked me on my a$$.  Stuffy nose doesn't begin to describe it.  Sore throat?  Yup... try- lost voice for nearly 2 days and now can only croak.  Achy body?  Check.  Chills?  Check. Hot flashes?  Check.  3 days off work, and counting?  Check.

Insane number of Lizard Ridge squares knitted while in bed, whining about the quality of daytime TV, esp. WEEKEND daytime TV? 

CHECK!  Okay, clearly, not all of these were knitted since Thursday...  But 6 were, plus the one in my purse that has only one repeat to go...  and if you are wondering, yes, I have knitted more than the pattern calls for.  I have decided to stop at 35 squares- 4 to go- and set them 5x7.  I got a little carried away.  Which gave me something to do these last 5 days, at least.  Ever wondered what 31 LR squares in a pile look like?

They look like a huge, colorful mess that REALLY needs to be blocked.  Yikes.

Meanwhile, I'm off to the doctor this afternoon.  I just talked croaked to the Hubby at work, and he is starting to feel blah.  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I must heal before he gets sick.   Otherwise, how do we handle the kids?

The Good, The Bad, and the Very Ugly

The Good:
On Jan 8, 2008, The Hubby and I fly to London for 6 nights of child free bliss in my favorite city on this earth.  My folks fly into Denver on Jan 7, 2008 to stay with the kids!  We found a deal that was too good to be true, but, isn't.  We booked through a reputable website, are flying a real airline, and have already checked the hotel out online...  Thank you, Travel Zoo!

The Bad:
My quilt sold at auction for the suggested retail value.  The suggested retail value was exactly one half of what I would have told them, had they asked me before-hand...  They asked me today, the day after the event, for tax purposes.  It is my professional experience that once an item at a silent auction reaches its actual stated value, bidding stops.  People like to feel they are getting a bargain, at least, at a silent auction.  Live auctions are different.  Sigh.  On the bright side, my quilt went to a good home- a former co-worker who is now the Executive Director of yet another local non-profit bought it to display in her apparently bare office...  So at least I know it will be loved.  (To prevent a photo-less post, here's the back of the quilt in that photo I promised to take...)

 

The Very Ugly:
For the 2nd time in 9 months, our mailbox was vandalized.  We have a VERY funky mailbox (ours was custom designed in purple and green), and it appears that by installing this one-of-a-kind art piece, we made a tacit agreement with the spoiled neighborhood brats that they could destroy it one piece at a time.  Last Sept., they ripped off the right front leg, and stole it as well, so we couldn't even repair it.  This Tuesday they attempted to rip off the left front leg, and when it wouldn't come off, they bent the entire thing upwards to a nearly 90 degree angle and also bent the mailbox door out of shape, leaving us with sopping wet mail thanks to a rainstorm.  We have some other neighbors with a cool tree-stump carving of a gnome, and they have as of late had vandalism issues as well.  While police reports have been filed in all cases, it is apparently NOT a tax payer priority to have a 24/7 stakeout of my block to catch what everyone assumes are just bratty kids.  Grumble.  The Hubby is seriously thinking of installing a security camera.  We have a strong suspicion that it is a particular kid who lives up the block, but no proof.

Continuing Camera Woes- it's worse.

So, when I finally got in touch with the camera repair shop this morning (the owner went out of town last week, apparently), it turns out that he couldn't repair my camera in house, and so, without consulting me, and even though I told him I needed it in hand for our vacation, he sent it to LA without telling me.  Yup, my baby has been shipped off to sunny CA, and will most likely NOT be back in time for our vacation.

Putting aside the fact that he told me he'd call me with an estimate before he started, there's the fact that, due to a previous nightmare involving UPS and a never-found camera, I would never ever in a billion years have authorized sending my camera anywhere, and also the fact that I told him when I dropped it off that I needed it back in hand by 10/12.

I am so upset I feel ill.  When my old camera was stolen by UPS, it took months to resolve.  And the sender had underinsured it, so I couldn't even afford to replace it.  This camera is my baby.  I've had it for just over 2 years.  The Hubby gave it to me as an early Xmas gift in 2004.  It's not left my side since.  I often even bring it to work- you just never know when you might need it. So this 10 day separation has been brutal.

Now, to find out I won't even have it back for our annual vacation, I'm ready to cry- or vomit. I was already imagining the amazing shots I would get at the aquarium, and the beach.  And with my family, too.  You know, the kids with their grandparents, that sort of trivial little thing.

After talking to the shop owner, I freaked out, and called him back a few minutes later- got voicemail- and left the man a freaked out message asking what on earth it will take to get it back in my hands by 10/12.

Here's the best part.

It was still 100% functional.  I only took it into the shop because the lens was sticking a bit.  It was an annoyance more than a problem.  Had I not taken it in, I'd be happily using it right now.

Snaking around... (aka, I'm running out of inspired snake post titles. I'm saving the best one for last, too.)

Thanks to everyone who sent a nice comment or email about my best friend problems.  I have sort of come to the conclusion that, if we can't agree that mistakes were made on BOTH ends (yes, mine too!), then it's not really fixable.  That sucks, but I don't know what else to do.  I'm doing better, except, every time I check my email my heart kind of stops while I check to see if there is another angry missive.

Ah, well.

Hey, look.  Snakes.  (Did i ever tell you guys that I have a fairly paralyzing fear of snakes?  It's true.  Randomly, it developed when I was pregnant with Princess Girl. The Hubby and I went to the zoo, and I totally freaked out when we walked by some snakes.  Never had before.  I think I thought they wanted to eat the -unborn- baby.  Crazy hormones!  Baby came out, hormones went away, but, the fear stayed!)  And now Iplan to sleep under snakes every night.  I think I will probably have to skip a certain summer blockbuster to be as it combines my two worst fears- air travel and snakes...

It may be obvious to you that one of the snakes has suffered an amputation.  Well, much like Patti, I seem to be losing my mind when it comes to counting.  (Except Patti later found her missing pieces, and I just made a mistake!)  I had one extra 2 block, and one to few 2M blocks.  So, I need to make one final piece of a snake to fill in the hole.

As always seems to happen to me at this point, I'm going layout crazy.  I get it up on the wall, like it, then walk away, and fifteen minutes later, I don't like it so much anymore.  So I move around some blocks, like it, and then... The entire cycle repeats.  I photographed a few different layouts to give me ideas of what does and doesn't seem to be working.

If you click on the image, it will take you to Flickr, and to links to larger versions of each of the individual layouts...  It's much much easier to see the color changes in the larger photos.  If anyone wanted to offer an opinion, you know it would be welcome!

The new Stitch N Bitch group seemed very cool- lots of young and funky folks there- and- many of them are quilters as well.  Amazing quilters!  That's exciting.  The east side of town part of the group is meeting next Tues at my closest LYS...  Five minutes from my office!  What did I work on during the Stitch N Bitch, you want to know?  Here is my progress:

That's not Typepad eating a photo.  Rather, my progress was- Nothing.  I started working on the sleeves (here are someone else's so you get the idea)from One Skein.  First of all, I had to make 3 different gauge swatches.  Mine kept being way too small, and finally I went up 2 entire needle sizes.  I worked the first 13 rows of the pattern during the meeting, and was worried that I would not be able to fit the sleeves over my hand- it just didn't seem like it would finish wide enough.  As I tried to stretch them and see, I BROKE THE YARN in the cast on row.  Wah, whine.  My knitting lately has pretty much sucked.  Bad luck all around, really.  Or, perhaps not bad luck, but, lack of skill and patience?  I think I need a quick remedial project to get my mojo back.

Okay, I'm off to work, and to obsessively check my email some more...

And by the way, i am what I drink ;-)

You Are a Margarita Jelly Bean

Wildly optimistic and jovial, you know how to get through anything with flair. You have a certain "je ne sais quoi" that makes you an alluring companion.

What Flavor Jelly Bean Are You?

H*0*T*

Two warnings: kind of a whiny post, no crafting involved, and also, no new photos.  So, before I commence to whine, here's a recent kid photo...

Back when it was cool, sigh.  And now, on to the whining.

I'm starting to think maybe I'm not supposed to finish the snake quilt.  First, there's that amazing book to read.  (Done- and, go read it!!)  Then, I run out of fabric.  Replacement secured.  On Sunday, Princess Girl was off with a good friend to play the day away, and Train Boy went to the pool with me.  We came home, he crashed, and I went to piece the final snake blocks.  I was one away from finishing the 2 blocks (still had 10 2M to go), when the power went off.

Did I mention, it was over 100 degrees?  All weekend.

The power stayed off for 17 hours.  At 9pm last night, our thermostat still seemed to think the house was nearly 90 degrees.  After 1 hour 27 minutes on hold, I was connected to someone at the power company.  Yes, I did just say one hour twenty-seven minutes...  The truly helpful person (sarcasm) let us know it would be late the next day before our power was back on.  Due to a "transformer issue".

The cruel irony here is that only 6 homes in our neighborhood appeared to lose power.  We could see our neighbors inside their homes watching TV in the comfort of their ACs/swamp coolers/fans.  After checking on Train Boy and seeing that he was sleeping in nearly a puddle of his own sweat, we gave up and went to a hotel nearby.  And now, we are broke ;-) 

We got home this morning at 9am-ish.  The power company truck pulled up right after us- nearly 17 hours after the power first went off.  The guy got out, came into our back yard- the transformer box for the 'hood is apparently back there- flipped a switch, got back in his truck and drove off.  Less than 5 minutes of work, and the power was back on, but, 17 hours to get that 5 minutes done.  The cynical part of me wonders if they waited until regular working hours to avoid paying him overtime?

I only got 4 hours of sleep- thanks to Train Boy being afraid of monsters in the hotel room, and Princess Girl and I ending up sharing a bed while Train Boy slept with The Hubby.  I forgot to go to the dentist this morning for the cleaning I scheduled 6 months ago, and, now I am so sleepy at work I can't focus.

Ah, well, at least my house will be cool when I get home.

Worst. Mother's. Day. Ever.

The Hubby let me sleep in, gave me a gift and a kiss before heading off to work. The kids were not horrible brats.  My mom sent me a nice gift card.  So why oh why am I so whiny?

That's why.  After a morning spent being a good, attentive mommy, I packed the kids off to nap-time, and sat down to sew bindings on the 3 quilts shoved in my stash closet, the ones that make me feel guilty each time I go digging for something else.  "Come on, Sam. We want to be done. We want to be FOs, to bring love and warmth to people, and to get the hell out of this cramped closet."  So, being a good quilter, I got them out, cut and prepped the bindings, pinned them on, and got ready to sew the top sides down.  About 10 inches into top #1, I ran out of bobbin thread. No big deal, right?  Went to wind a new bobbin, pulled the bobbin holder into position, and heard a bad noise.  The holder moved under my fingers- it's NOT supposed to do that. I heard the noise of something falling INSIDE MY MACHINE.  That turned out to be bad.  At first I thought, well, I have other bobbins wound in different colors, I'll live. Then I realized- when the bobbin-winder is set, you can't sew.  As I try to sew, the machine's little goody two-shoes computer reminds me to disengage the bobbin winder.  At this point, I'm taking it personally, this feels like a cruel joke the machine has plotted and waited for just the right day to pull off.  (Did I mention, Mother's Day is my least favorite day of the year?  Truly.)  So, now I have 3 bindings pinned and NO SEWING MACHINE.

And I can't even take in into the repair shop until tomorrow.  They have the nerve to be closed on Sundays.  So, I can't even find out how long I'm going to be machine-less until tomorrow.  (Yes, I am machine-less- I only own one.  Frankly, I've always been skeptical of people who own more than one, but today, I am paying for the skepticism.)  Anyone near Denver got a loaner? 

Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

Did ya ever have one of those days when you wondered why on earth you ever had kids in the first place?

(Oh, yeah, this post is another mommy-stuff-only post, so, feel free to come on back tomorrow for some quilty or knitty news, but today, it's all about the kid...  It's ironic- I took this blog out of the crazy-hip blog mama ring cause I never really blogged mama stuff, and now it's spewing out of me all the time!)

Princess Girl's best friend's birthday party was today.  PG was SO excited, she woke The Hubby and I up at the butt-crack of dawn.  Strike one- Mommy starting the day in a bad mood is never good for anyone.  We had a long talk about how you can wake mom and dad up for emergencies- if you're sick or hurt, or if you had a bad dream- but- anything else?  You can play quietly until we get up on our own.  She's gonna be 5 in about 6 weeks, I don't think this is too mean.  Esp. with a Hubby who doesn't get in from work on Fri and Sat nights before 1am!

I admit to already being grouchy...  The morning was okay, except I was so sleepy I didn't realize how late it had gotten, and so we had to rush to get to the party on time.  It was at a local kiddie-fun-indoor place, affectionately known to many local moms as the "ghetto chuck e cheese."  If any ball pit anywhere ever REALLY did live up to the urban legends of dirty diapers and needles hiding at the bottom, this place would be it...

  Because, as is the case every Sunday, The Hubby had to work, I had to drag both kids.  This means a LOT of running and chasing, and trying to keep your eyes on 2 at once.  Let's just say, it wears a mommy out- esp one who's still going to PT for her bum foot!  Finally, we were taken to the back room for (terrible) pizza, and then it was cake time.  Both kids had held up really well until this point.  I wasn't doing so hot- the topic on everyone's lips was kindergarten, and where all our kids DIDN'T get in...  Except, did I mention, our dentist's kid who did get in?  Yeah, she was there- so I had to be nice to her dad, who, normally, I love, but it was just too soon for me to be able to pull it off yet.  Awkward, to say the least.  I was reassured- some of our friends who didn't get into the schools they want are considering moving.  I was reminded over and over again- our public school, elementary at least, is one of the best in the state. I should consider myself lucky.  I admit, in a horrible way, it felt good to see others at least as if not more miserable than me!  (Many of our friends live in Denver itself, and most do not live near the better DPS schools, and so are panicking as all assumed we'd get into our private choices...  Or even the public gifted magnet schools...)

Wait, I'm off topic. Let's just say, the conversations revolved around unhappiness with school situations, and didn't make anyone super happy.  The kids were eating the pizza- actually, both of mine had the sense to refuse it.  It was about to be cupcake and singing time.  Suddenly, our dentist's kid bursts into tears.  Crap, she's sitting next to Princess Girl- that can't be good.  Oh, no, it wasn't.  My charming adorable child had pinched this other girl in the face.  Why?  What on earth could have provoked it?  Dentist's Daughter had the unabashed nerve to start singing happy birthday- before it was time.  The horror.  Good thing PG put her in her place.

Can we say, Mortified Mommy?  I don't think we've ever left a party so fast in my life.  Train Boy had to finish his birthday cupcake in the car on the way home...  Which means I've got a chocolate-covered-carseat to contend with now, as well. 

I still cannot believe she did that.  On the way home, and it was a drive that I am NOT proud of as I wasn't handling it very well- Princess Girl admitted she didn't even ASK Dentist's Daughter to stop before resorting to the pinch- she just wanted her to stop, so, she pinched her.

Oh my god, I am a total failure as a mom.